|
on Central and Western Asia |
| By: | Kumar, Rajiv (Asian Development Bank Institute); Vashisht, Pankaj (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | India's financial sector is not deeply integrated with the global financial system, which spared it the first round adverse effects of the global financial crisis and left Indian banks mostly unaffected. However, as the financial crisis morphed in to a full-blown global economic downturn, India could not escape the second round effects. The global crisis has affected India through three distinct channels: financial markets, trade flows, and exchange rates. The reversal in capital inflows, which created a credit crunch in domestic markets along with a severe deterioration in export demand, contributed to the decline of gross domestic product by more than 2 percentage points in the fiscal year 2008–2009. In line with efforts taken by governments and central banks all over the world, the Government and the Reserve Bank of India took aggressive countercyclical measures, sharply relaxing monetary policy and introducing a fiscal stimulus to boost domestic demand. However, this paper argues that with very limited fiscal maneuverability and the limited traction of monetary policy, policy measures to restore the Indian gross domestic product growth back to its potential rate of 8–9% must focus on addressing the structural constraints that are holding down private investment demand. |
| Keywords: | india global financial crisis; gdp growth |
| JEL: | E66 |
| Date: | 2009–11–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0164&r=cwa |
| By: | Smeeta Mishra; Rajesh Kannan |
| Abstract: | This study analyzes the content, usability, interactivity and connectivity of Indian executive blogs. Results indicate that among the Indian CEOs and top executives who blog, most are associated with the Information Technology and Internet sectors. |
| Keywords: | blogs, Information technology, internet, sectors, content, CEOs, usability, interactivity, connectivity, Indian, executives, |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:2487&r=cwa |
| By: | Bhamoriya, Vaibhav P.; Gandhi, Vasant |
| Abstract: | The effective management of water resources is assuming enormous importance in India in the recent years. Sound water resource use is crucial for sustaining and raising food production, increasing rural incomes, alleviating poverty, and meeting drinking water as well as other human and industrial needs. It is now widely recognized that apart from engineering feats, good institutional arrangements are crucial for the sound management of the resource. In light of this, the development of water institutions has been taken up in India, but remains a major weakness. Existing water institutions are found to be lacking on various counts, and one of the critical deficiencies identified is the lack of adaptiveness to the significantly varying resource status, the temporal and spatial variation in availability and needs, and the different socio-economic settings. As a result, institutional failures are common and lead to poor management of the resource. This research has undertaken an in-depth examination of the issue of adaptiveness in the local water resource management institutions in India, exploring the status of its existence in the present institutions, the nature of its need, and the impact better adaptiveness has on performance and sustainability. The research is based on a survey of 464 households across a sample of 22 water institutions in three different states. It explores the relationship of adaptiveness to institutional structure, institutional processes and institutional governance and models the association of these and other factors to various measures of performance of the institutions. |
| Keywords: | International Development, |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare10:58885&r=cwa |
| By: | Silvia Helena Barcellos; Leandro Carvalho; Adriana Lleras-Muney |
| Abstract: | There is considerable debate in the literature as to whether boys and girls are treated differently in India. But son-biased stopping rules imply that previous estimates are likely to be biased. The authors propose a novel identification strategy to properly identify the effects of child gender on parental investments. Using data from a time use survey they document gender differences in childcare time which have not been studied before in developing countries. They find that boys receive on average 10% more time than girls. They are also more likely to be breastfed for longer, given vaccinations and vitamin supplementation. |
| Date: | 2010–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ran:wpaper:756&r=cwa |
| By: | Russell Pittman (Director of Economic Research, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, and Visiting Professor, New Economic School, Moscow.) |
| Abstract: | One important issue facing reformers considering the restructuring of the seaports and freight railways sectors of a developing country is the creation of competition or, alternatively, avoiding the creation or preservation of monopoly power. In seaports a crucial distinction is often that between intraport and interport competition; in freight railways, between competition among train operating companies over a monopoly track and competition among vertically integrated railways. In both cases it is useful to frame the issue as one of competition at the component level within an open system versus competition between closed systems. In both cases as well, the market definition paradigm suggested by the Horizontal Merger Guidelines of the U.S. competition agencies provides a useful framework for analysis. |
| Keywords: | competition, ports, railways, market definition, India |
| JEL: | L14 L23 L33 L91 L92 O14 O22 R48 |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:doj:eagpap:200906&r=cwa |
| By: | Bishwanath Goldar |
| Abstract: | The paper examines the factors that influence energy intensity in Indian industries. It has two parts. In the first part, trends in energy intensity are analysis and cross-industry panel data (taken from ASI) are used to estimate an energy demand function. The results show that energy demand responds negatively to a hike in energy prices and positively to a hike in real wages. There are indications from the results of the analysis that the post- 1992 decline in energy intensity of Indian manufacturing is attributable mostly to an improvement in energy use efficiency of energy intensive industries, which in turn may be traced to hikes in the real price of energy paid by manufacturing firms. |
| Keywords: | ASI, prices, technology, industries, demand, energy, real wages, Indian, manufacturing, real price, manufacturing firms, |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:2483&r=cwa |
| By: | Arby, Muhammad Farooq; Malik, Muhammad Jahanzeb; Hanif, Muhammad Nadim |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the size of informal economy in Pakistan by using monetary approach with some modifications, electricity consumption approach and MIMIC model. Under monetary approach, we take care of the issue of the stationarity of variables and use autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model instead of simple OLS and add education as an additional factor affecting the size of informal economy along with some other technical improvements in the standard monetary models. The electricity consumption approach and MIMIC models are used for the first time in case of Pakistan. The results show that the informal economy in Pakistan has been about 30 percent of the total economy which declined considerably in 2000s. Currently, about 20 percent of the economic transactions are taking place in the informal sector. |
| Keywords: | Informal Economy; ARDL; MIMIC |
| JEL: | E26 |
| Date: | 2010–05–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:22617&r=cwa |
| By: | Zain, Ul Abideen; Farooq, Waqas |
| Abstract: | The current study extends the knowledge of cognitive processing of advertising messages by urban children in Pakistan. Data were collected from 230 children in age bracket 7 - 12 years, drawn by using the cluster sampling approach. Structured questionnaire using three point rating scale was used. Data analysis showed that children’s capability to understand, decode and process advertising messages is directed not only by their own cognitive capabilities at different age levels but also through societal and personal backgrounds. Some communal and social customs related to tolerability and aptness of human behavior also manipulate the processing of advertising messages by children of either sex. Some other factors including the model liking, role played, story, and jingle will not only influence liking or disliking of some specific advertisements and therefore its decoding. At this age group, it was not appropriate to use advanced psychometric techniques for study, so, a simple three a point scale was used for data collection. Further research may explore other insights by using development in measuring tools and techniques. How advertising messages are decoded by children and which are important sources of persuading and influencing is a topic not explored much in Pakistan. Therefore, the study would add some insights for good understanding the children’s capabilities to process and ultimately scheming valuable communication approaches. |
| Keywords: | Advertising; Cognitive Processing; Communication; Pakistan; Children |
| JEL: | M37 |
| Date: | 2009–12–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:22699&r=cwa |
| By: | Subhash C. Ray (University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | Private land is often taken by the government on behalf of another private investor in the interest of employment creation or general economic development of a region. This paper draws upon the parallel between the experiences of General Motors in Poletown, MI in the 1980s and the recent events relating to Tata Motors and the agricultural land in Singur, West Bengal to raise a number of questions about government taking of land for private development .A brief review of the history of land acquisition through Eminent Domain in the US serves as the background for a discussion of the different important questions like the problem of strategic holdouts and fair compensation. The essay ends with an emphasis on the moral obligation of the government, especially in India, for proper rehabilitation of the displaced when exercise of Eminent Domain powers becomes unavoidable. |
| Keywords: | Eminent Domain; Strategic Holdout; Fair compensation |
| JEL: | K11 R11 |
| Date: | 2010–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uct:uconnp:2010-09&r=cwa |
| By: | Gereffi, Gary; Frederick, Stacey |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of two crises on the global apparel value chain: the World Trade Organization phase-out of the quota system for textiles and apparel in 2005, which provided access for many poor and small export-oriented economies to the markets of industrialized countries, and the current economic recession that has lowered demand for apparel exports and led to massive unemployment across the industry’s supply chain. An overarching trend has been the process of global consolidation, whereby leading apparel suppliers (countries and firms alike) have strengthened their positions in the industry. On the country side, China has been the big winner, although Bangladesh, India, and Vietnam have also continued to expand their roles in the industry. On the firm side, the quota phase-out and economic recession have accelerated the ongoing shift to more streamlined global supply chains, in which lead firms desire to work with fewer, larger, and more capable suppliers that are strategically located around the world. The paper concludes with recommendations for how developing countries as well as textile and apparel suppliers can adjust to the crisis. |
| Keywords: | Markets and Market Access,Economic Theory&Research,Free Trade,Labor Policies,Access to Markets |
| Date: | 2010–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5281&r=cwa |
| By: | Salam, Abdul |
| Abstract: | Domestic production of wheat, rice, cotton and sugarcane has experienced severe implicit taxation, averaging $1.72 billion per year during 2006-08. These distortions to producer incentives, which have resulted in huge resource transfers, must be removed if Pakistan is to address the recurring crises afflicting the crop sector, alleviate poverty, and achieve sustainable development. The institutional capacity to conduct in-depth policy analysis must also be strengthened. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2010–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iatrpb:60989&r=cwa |
| By: | Nallari, Raj; Bayraktar, Nihal |
| Abstract: | This paper is about micro foundations of productivity and growth. There are several studies on productivity for advanced economies but relatively few for developing countries. Using data from the investment climate surveys of the World Bank, estimation results from 45 developing countries, complemented by extended analysis at firm and industry levels for Brazil and India for the period 2002-05, indicate the following: (i) confirmation of the importance of total factor productivity at firm, industry and national levels, but total factor productivity progressively tapersoff at each level of aggregation implying that there is a less than one-to-one relationship between micro-efficiency, sector growth, and macro growth; (ii) capital accumulation is more important at the macro level than the micro level; (iii) productivity at the micro level is driven by research and development, the capacity utilization rate, and adoption of foreign technology (all of which involve management decisions), and is negatively related to corruption and instability, tax, and financial regulations; and (iii) confirmation of the lower contribution of total factor productivity to output growth in developing countries than in developed economies. Management decisions are involved in a lot of day-to-day operations at the firm level and therefore management is an unmeasured input. In developing countries, at the firm level, there is a need to understand the contribution of quality of inputs (management quality, education and labor quality, training, experience of workers, use of computers at work) and also the role of external agglomeration (for example, location in a booming city, competitive pressures from new firms, trade competition, and regulations). |
| Keywords: | Economic Theory&Research,Economic Growth,Labor Policies,Achieving Shared Growth,E-Business |
| Date: | 2010–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5267&r=cwa |
| By: | Auriol, Emmanuelle; Biancini, Sara |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the incentives that developing countries have to enforce intellectual properties rights (IPR). On the one hand, free-riding on rich countries technology reduces the investment cost in R&D. On the other hand, it yields apotential indirect cost: a firm that violates IPR cannot legally export in a country that enforces them. IPR act like a barrier to entry of the advanced economy markets. Moreover free-riders cannot prevent other to copy their own innovation. The analysis, which distinguishes between large and small developing countries, predicts that small ones should be willing to respect IPR if they want to export and access advanced economies markets, while large emerging countries, such as China and India, will be more reluctant to do so as their huge domestic markets develop. Global welfare is higher under the full protection regime if the developing country does not innovate. It is higher under a partial regime if both countries have access to similar R&D technology and the developing country market is large enough. |
| JEL: | F12 F13 F15 L13 O31 O34 |
| Date: | 2009–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:22270&r=cwa |
| By: | Frank Vöhringer (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne); Alain Haurie (ORDECSYS); Dabo Guan (University of Cambridge); Maryse Labriet (KANLO Consultants); Valentina Bosetti (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Pryadarshi R. Shukla (Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad); Philippe Thalmann (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) |
| Abstract: | The FP6 TOCSIN project has evaluated climate change mitigation options in China and India and the conditions for strategic cooperation on research, development and demonstration (RD&D) and technology transfer with the European Union. In particular, the project investigated the strategic dimensions of RD&D cooperation and the challenge of creating incentives to encourage the participation of developing countries in post-2012 GHG emissions reduction strategies and technological cooperation. This paper summarizes the main policy-relevant results of the project, including the requests for: (I) almost immediate decisions on ambitious mitigation; (II) a strong increase in Annex I support regarding R&D spending and technology transfer; (III) a well-designed mix of instruments and targets in an effective climate deal that addresses manifold national interests and concerns. |
| Keywords: | Climate Policy, Technology Transfers |
| JEL: | Q54 Q55 |
| Date: | 2010–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2010.43&r=cwa |
| By: | Tekguc, Hasan |
| Abstract: | Farmers and consumers suspect that processing firms abuse their power in the milk marketing chain. We employ threshold autoregressive and moment threshold autoregressive tests and contrary to expectations find evidence of a downward trend in UHT milk real price without a corresponding decline in farm-gate prices. The downward trend coincides with increased competition in the dairy industry and with the growing market share of the formal sector at the expense of the informal sector. Major dairy processing firms expand their market share and still enjoy healthy profits thanks to increasing returns to scale in processing and distribution in a growing market. |
| Keywords: | Dairy, Turkey, Oligopsony, TAR, M-TAR, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2010–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa114:61087&r=cwa |
| By: | Kurup, Hari K K; Sumayya, B K |
| Abstract: | Land is a key factor for any economic activity. Land market transactions play an important role in the process of economic transformation and development. Conventionally land is considered as a factor of production. However, it is increasingly becoming a speculative asset. It is in this context that this paper examines the impact of economic slowdown in land market. The study is carried out in the nine villages under the jurisdiction of the sub registrar Office, Badiadka of Kasaragod district in Kerala. Data on 967 land transactions were gathered. The trends in land market indicators like size of area, number of sales and price of land are subjected for a detailed analysis. The study also made a comparative analysis of the timing of economic recession in different sectors. Only in stock market the reflections of economic crisis was felt much earlier than any other sector. This may be because of the fact that stock market is interlinked to global economic conditions. Within the domestic sectors, economic recession has been visible in the land market earlier than other sectors. This was reflected in all the key variables that were examined in relation to land. This may be because of the fact that land market transactions involve huge amount of investments and a higher level of risk. A close watch at the movements in key variables such as number of sales, area transacted and land prices would therefore help along way in shaping right policies to ward off economic fluctuations. |
| Keywords: | Land market; land speculation; land price; economic recession and land market |
| JEL: | Q15 E3 |
| Date: | 2009–06–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:20109&r=cwa |
| By: | Morgan, Peter (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the effectiveness of unconventional monetary policies and their relevance for emerging markets. Such policies may be useful either when interbank rates fall to zero, or when a credit crunch or rise in risk premium impairs the normal transmission mechanism of monetary policy. Unconventional monetary policy measures encompass three broad categories: (i) commitment effect, i.e., verbal commitments to maintain very low interest rates for a certain period, either conditionally or unconditionally; (ii) quantitative easing, i.e., targeting the level of current account balances of the central bank; and (iii) qualitative or credit easing, which involves purchases of targeted assets to lower rates and/or increase liquidity in the target market. It also examines issues related to the exit strategy from unconventional policy, and assesses the applicability of unconventional policies for Asian economies other than Japan. <p>Most studies of the commitment effect (or duration effect) suggest that statements by a central bank regarding the duration of a policy of very low or zero interest rates also affect market expectations of interest rates, but the impact is mainly limited to shorter-term rates. The literature on the effects of quantitative easing monetary policy is less conclusive, especially when one accounts for other announcements by the central bank. Regarding qualitative easing (credit easing) policy, the effect of expanding outright purchases of government bonds on bond yields looks limited. However, other kinds of asset purchase interventions do seem to have been more successful in relieving market stresses. <p>For Asian countries aside from Japan, unconventional policies look most attractive as a way to relieve funding blockages in specific markets rather than to stimulate overall growth. Only India; Republic of Korea; Singapore; and Taipei,China adopted unconventional measures, and those of the middle two were chiefly related to their use of the Fed's swap line for United States dollars to ease dollar shortages in the region. However, if growth of United States consumption slows structurally, this may force Asian economies to rely more on unconventional monetary policy measures during future downturns. |
| Keywords: | unconventional monetary policy; monetary policy emerging markets |
| JEL: | E50 E52 E58 F41 F42 |
| Date: | 2009–11–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0163&r=cwa |
| By: | Lopeza, Ramon |
| Abstract: | Commodity price increases associated with the entry of China, India, and other countries into the world economy have led to increased pressure on common-property renewable natural resources. The problem is particularly worrisome for economies that obtain a large share of their income from the exploitation of natural resources in the production of an exportable commodity. This paper contributes to the analysis by examining the issue in the framework of a general equilibrium dynamic model and by solving for both the steady state and the transition dynamics. The authors show that i) a resource-rich, capital-poor economy is more likely to be subject to a"natural resource curse"and complete (irreversible) depletion of natural resources; ii) the latter's likelihood rises with the relative commodity price and labor inflow; iii) a labor inflow under internal equilibrium results in a higher steady-state capital-labor ratio and manufacturing output, and unchanged natural resources and commodity output; iv) import and export taxes result in larger steady-state natural resources and commodity output and smaller capital stock and manufacturing output, and may prevent complete depletion of natural resources; and v) the latter may also be prevented through capital inflows (foreign aid), labor outflow ( liberalization of the North's immigration policy), improved regulation, technical change, and a production tax. |
| Keywords: | Economic Theory&Research,Political Economy,Emerging Markets,Population Policies,Debt Markets |
| Date: | 2010–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5310&r=cwa |
| By: | Kee, Hiau Looi; Neagu, Cristina; Nicita, Alessandro |
| Abstract: | To understand the role of trade policies in the crisis of 2008, this paper constructs the overall trade restrictiveness indices for a wide range of countries using their tariff schedules in 2008 and 2009. The index summarizes the trade policy stance of a country, taking into account the share of each good in trade as well as its corresponding import demand elasticity. Results show that there is no widespread increase in protectionism via tariff policies since the global financial crisis has unfolded. While many countries have adjusted tariffs upward on selected products, only a handful of countries, such as Malawi, Russia, Argentina, Turkey and China focus on products that have significant impacts on trade flows. The United States and the European Union, by contrast, rely mainly on anti-dumping duties to shield domestic industries. Overall, while the rise in tariffs and anti-dumping duties in these countries may have jointly caused global trade to drop by as much as US$43 billion during the crisis period, it explains less than 2 percent of the collapse in world trade. |
| Keywords: | Trade Law,Trade Policy,Economic Theory&Research,Free Trade,Trade and Services |
| Date: | 2010–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5274&r=cwa |
| By: | Rana Hendy (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, CREST-INSEE - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Statistique); Catherine Sofer (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 examines the intrahousehold ressource allocation in Egyptian married couples and its impact on females labor supply. Using data from the Egyptian Labor market and Panel Survey of 2006, we estimate a discrete-choice model for female labor supply within a collective framework. The economic model incorporates the possibility of non-participation for females which represents the working situation of more than 70 percent of Egyptian married women. The originality of this paper consists on testing new distribution factors, i.e., a set of exogenous variables which influence the intrahousehold allocation of resources without affecting preferences or the budget constraint. The latter are variables related to the marriage market, gender attitudes, domestic violence, direct access to the household income and participation in household decision making. Indentification of the model relies on the assumption that only some parameters of the utility function are identical for single and married females. We find significant relations between females bargaining power and labor supply decisions. This study's results has important policy implications. |
| Keywords: | Collective model, labour supply, distribution factors, maximum simulated likelihood, Egypt. |
| Date: | 2010–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-00482492_v1&r=cwa |
| By: | Hassan, Gazi; Hisham, Al refai |
| Abstract: | There is a growing literature on how macroeconomic variables can have effects on equity returns in both developed and emerging stock markets. We test for the long run relationship between some key macroeconomic indicators and equity returns in Jordan. Using both GETS methodology and the ARDL approach to cointegration, we find that the trade surplus, foreign exchange reserves, the money supply and oil prices are important macroeconomic variables which have long run effects on the Jordanian stock market. The results are broadly consistent with similar studies carried out for other emerging economies. |
| Keywords: | Macroeconomic Factors; Equity Returns; Cointegration; Emerging Market; Jordan. |
| JEL: | G10 |
| Date: | 2010–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:22713&r=cwa |