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on Central and Western Asia |
| By: | Pal, Soubarna |
| Abstract: | Using annual data for India for the period 1984-2003 and employing parametric technique (GMM), the present paper jointly determines GDP growth, real exchange rate and net foreign assets in Indian economy. There is evidence that public investment exerts a significant influence on real exchange rate and the growth rate and does so non-linearly. A comparison of the Indian estimates with those available for the UK and the USA economies is also revealing and highlights the role of governance on the effects of public investment. |
| Keywords: | Public investment; Economic growth; Real exchange rate; Simultaneous model; Generalised method of moments |
| Date: | 2008–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdf:wpaper:2008/24&r=cwa |
| By: | Powers, Nicholas; Blackman, Allen (Resources for the Future); Lyon, Thomas P.; Narain, Urvashi |
| Abstract: | Public disclosure programs that collect and disseminate information about firms’ environmental performance are increasingly popular in both developed and developing countries. Yet little is known about whether they actually improve environmental performance, particularly in the latter setting. We use detailed plant-level survey data to evaluate the impact of India’s Green Rating Project (GRP) on the environmental performance of the country’s largest pulp and paper plants. We find that the GRP drove significant reductions in pollution loadings among dirty plants but not among cleaner ones. This result comports with statistical and anecdotal evaluations of similar disclosure programs. We also find that plants located in wealthier communities were more responsive to GRP ratings, as were single-plant firms. |
| Keywords: | public disclosure, pollution control, India, pulp and paper |
| JEL: | Q53 Q56 Q58 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-08-38&r=cwa |
| By: | Canegrati, Emanueke |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the presence of Granger-causality amongst market indices in six Asian stock markets: Malaysia, India, China, Pakistan, the Philippine and Japan, from April 7th 1992 to July 23rd 2008. Using daily market returns I performed a Granger-causality test, based on the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model, in order to detect the causalities amongst indices. Different sub-samples were considered, which take into account the distinction between bearish and bullish phases of the markets. Results show that there is not Granger-causality amongst stock returns for the overall sample, but that there is Granger-causality amongst some indices during bearish and bullish phases. In particular, I found that market index leaders does exist both in up and down trends, even though these market leaders are not necessarily the same in the two phases. |
| Keywords: | Granger-causality; Asian stock markets; market indices; VAR |
| JEL: | G14 G15 |
| Date: | 2008–10–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:11246&r=cwa |
| By: | Demet Beton (Eastern Mediterranean University); Glenn Jenkins (Queen's University and Eastern Mediterranean University) |
| Abstract: | There is a fear that, if Turkey were given admission to the EU, massive migration to the other member countries of the EU would result. This paper develops a theoretical framework for the migration decision that takes into consideration the impact on uncertainty of some of the important economic and social variables that are addressed by the EU membership and institutions. It emphasizes future expectations of living conditions and the level of uncertainty associated with them as a key variable in making migration decisions. It suggests that the more prosperous and stable Turkey is expected to be in the future, the less likely a person will now want to migrate. Hence, the greater certainty now that Turkey will gain admission in to EU, the more attractive is it for potential migrants to remain in Turkey. This framework suggests that measures to hinder Turkey's entry into the EU by having national referendums to approve its entry will increase the uncertainty of the future economic and social prospects in Turkey and will encourage migrants to migrate now to the member countries of the EU. |
| Keywords: | Turkey, Migration, Uncertainty, Accession, European Union |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2008–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qed:wpaper:1182&r=cwa |
| By: | Pinelopi K. Goldberg; Amit Khandelwal; Nina Pavcnik; Petia Topalova |
| Abstract: | New goods play a central role in many trade and growth models. We use detailed trade and firm-level data from a large developing economy—India—to investigate the relationship between declines in trade costs, the imports of intermediate inputs and domestic firm product scope. We estimate substantial static gains from trade through access to new imported inputs. Accounting for new imported varieties lowers the exact import price index for intermediate goods on average by an additional 4.7 percent per year relative to conventional gains through lower prices of existing imports. Moreover, we find that lower input tariffs account on average for 31 percent of the new products introduced by domestic firms, which implies potentially large dynamic gains from trade. This expansion in firms' product scope is driven predominately by international trade increasing access of firms to new input varieties rather than by simply making existing imported inputs cheaper. Hence, our findings suggest that an important consequence of the input tariff liberalization was to relax technological constraints through firms' access to new imported inputs that were unavailable prior to the liberalization. |
| JEL: | F1 F13 F14 |
| Date: | 2008–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14416&r=cwa |
| By: | Danzer, Alexander M. (Royal Holloway, University of London); Ulku, Hulya (University of Manchester) |
| Abstract: | Using a new data on 590 Turkish households in Berlin, we investigate the determinants and impact of integration on economic performance. We find that usual suspects such as time spent in Germany and education have positive impact, while networks have no impact on integration. There is strong evidence that political integration and the degree of full integration promote income. Using endogenous switching regression models, we show that local familial networks increase the income of unintegrated migrant groups only, while transnational networks decrease it. We also find that education is more welfare improving for integrated than non-integrated immigrants. |
| Keywords: | integration, economic success, ethnic networks, Turkish migrants |
| JEL: | O15 J15 C25 D10 |
| Date: | 2008–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3762&r=cwa |
| By: | Singh, Lakhwinder |
| Abstract: | Economic development theory has recognized that access to finance enables economic agents of production to exploit growth opportunities. The governments of less developed countries since world war two have been striving hard to enacting suitable policies to enable rural households in accessing timely credit. This has led to a rise in the agricultural production and productivity. The pattern of economic transformation followed by less developed countries, which has squeezed agriculture sector surpluses without reducing the burden of population dependent in such economic activities. Consequently, the borrowing generally in such kind of economic transformation process becomes burden some. The modern development process in both the rural economies of Indian and Pakistani Punjab could also not able to replace the older money-lending system, which remained excessively exploitative. This process of financing rural economic activities can be called as double squeezing of agricultural households. An attempt has been made here to examine the growth, structure and deficiencies in the rural financial systems of two Punjabs during the period 1975-76 to 2003-04. Some suggestions related to public policy for providing timely and adequate credit have also been made. |
| Keywords: | Rural Finance; Indebtedness; Economic development; Two Punjabs |
| JEL: | O1 O17 O57 |
| Date: | 2008–10–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:11195&r=cwa |
| By: | Ruttan, Vernon W. |
| Abstract: | In this paper I present case studies of the history of Nation Building in the United States and Turkey. In the United States the nation building project involved the transition of thirteen British colonies to a nation state. In the case of Turkey the nation building project involved a transition from a multinational empire to a Turkish Republic The motivation for writing the two case studies was the abrupt shift in policy by the Bush Administration following the terrorist attack on the New York World Trade Center Towers on September 1, 2001. During his presidential campaign and during his first months in office George W. Bush vigorously criticized what he interpreted as the nation building efforts of the Clinton administration. Before the end of its first year in office the Bush administration had committed American lives and resources to nation building efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. My first effort was to write a short paper in an op-ed style. â‚̅ӗhy Is Nation Building So Bloody?Ã¢Â‚Ì‚Ý This paper serves as Chapter 1.0 of this paper. My second effort was to read widely in the classic political science nation building literature and in the more recent policy oriented literature. An example of the first is the collected works of Stein Rokkan, edited by Peter Flora, State Formation, Nation Building, And Mass Politics In Europe: The Theory Of Stein Rokkan (Oxford 1999). Rokkanâ‚̢Ģs work had been published largely between 1960 and the early 1990s. An example of the more policy oriented work was the book edited by Rancis Fukuyama, Nation Building: Beyond Afghanistan and Iraq (Johns Hopkins, 2006). I found much of the scholarly work too formal and abstract for my taste. I found the policy oriented work too close to the policy process to provide an objective perspective. My response was to step back and read in some depth the history of the United States and Turkey nation building projects. The result is this paper. In the case of both the United States and Turkey the nation building efforts were largely a response to internal political and economic forces. |
| Keywords: | International Development, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2008–02–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:umaesp:7305&r=cwa |
| By: | Martin Beck (GIGA Institute of Middle East Studies) |
| Abstract: | The region of the Middle East is highly conflict-loaded. The absence of one distinct regional power may be considered both cause and consequence of this structural feature. At the same time, there are significant power gaps between states in the Middle East, with Israel among the most powerful actors and accordingly defined as a potential regional power. Due to the specific empirical setting of the Middle East region, an analytical design emphasizing relational and procedural dynamics is required. In attempting to develop such a design, this paper utilizes three well-established schools of thought of international relations: (neo)realism, institutionalism, and constructivism. These three schools of thought are further used for developing hypotheses on both Israeli regional policy and its effects on the Middle East. After illustrating these hypotheses in relation to four periods in the contemporary history of Israel, theoretical lessons to be learned for the analysis of regional powers in other world areas are presented. |
| Keywords: | concept of regional power, Middle East, Israel, regional policies |
| Date: | 2008–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gig:wpaper:89&r=cwa |
| By: | Arnaud Mehl (European Central Bank - ECB); Julien Reynaud (European Central Bank - ECB, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I, EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris) |
| Abstract: | This paper explains why public domestic debt composition in emerging economies can be risky, namely in foreign currency, with a short maturity or indexed. It analyses empirically the determinants of these risk sources separately, developing a new large dataset compiled from national sources for 33 emerging economies over 1994-2006. The paper finds that economic size, the breadth of the domestic investor base, inflation and fiscal soundness are all associated with risky public domestic debt compositions, yet to an extent that varies considerably in terms of magnitude and significance across sources of risk. Only inflation impacts all types of risky debt, underscoring the overarching importance of monetary credibility to make domestic debt compositions in emerging economies safer. Given local bond markets' rapid development, monitoring risky public domestic debt compositions in emerging economies becomes increasingly relevant to global financial stability. |
| Keywords: | Public domestic debt, composition, risk, emerging economies. |
| Date: | 2008–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00332049_v1&r=cwa |
| By: | Mayra Zermeño |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes developments in non-oil tax policy, administration, and revenues in Azerbaijan, and suggests measures for further improvement. The main finding is that Azerbaijan's non-oil tax revenues increased significantly as a share of non-oil GDP in the last five years, but remain below potential. The non-oil tax revenue shortfall is mainly due to widespread exemptions, but there is scope for strengthening tax and customs administration. In the short term, expanding the tax base and better tax and customs administration will yield more revenues. In the medium term, more far-reaching reforms including reducing some direct tax rates, should be considered. The overall reform package could be made broadly revenue neutral by improving taxpayers' compliance and reducing exemptions. |
| Keywords: | Tax systems , Azerbaijan , Nonoil sector , Tax policy , Tax revenues , Customs administration , Tax reforms , Value added tax , Working Paper , |
| Date: | 2008–09–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:08/225&r=cwa |