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on Development |
| By: | Sukti Dasgupta; Ajit Singh |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a Kaldorian framework to examine the evidence of deindustrialisation in developing countries at low levels of income, the jobless growth in these economies and the fast expansion of the informal sector. The questions are specifically examined for the Indian economy using state level data, but the analysis has a wider application for economic policy in developing countries. |
| Keywords: | De-industrialisation, Manufacturing, Services, Jobless Growth, Developing Countries |
| Date: | 2006–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbr:cbrwps:wp327&r=dev |
| By: | Mauro Bambi |
| Abstract: | In this paper, a continuous time AK model is fully analyzed under the time-to-build assumption. Existence and uniqueness of a balance growth path, as well as oscillatory convergence are proved. Moreover, the role of transversality conditions and capital depreciation are highlighted. Numerical simulations are also provided for different choices of the time-to-build delay. |
| Keywords: | AK Model; Time-to-Build; D-Subdivision method |
| JEL: | E00 E3 O40 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eui:euiwps:eco2006/17&r=dev |
| By: | Ouarda Merrouche |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the economic returns to improved households access to infrastructure, public services and land in the context of a large landmineclearance program in post-war Mozambique. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines production and use estimates that there are more than 80 billion landmines in the ground in more than 80 countries. Despite the scale of the problem and large investments by OECD countries to clear mines in low income countries, the economic consequences of landmine contamination have been so far unexamined by economists working on the economics of wars, perhaps due to the lack of data thus far. The evaluation uses a unique dataset on landmine contamination intensity covering 126 Mozambican districts to evaluate the causal impact of landmine contamination on income and welfare. The method uses a difference-in-difference estimator to correct for selection in landmine placement. I find large and statistically significant effects of landmine contamination on poverty (in level and depth) and consumption per capita. Hence, the cost-benefit analysis indicates that despite the high cost to clear a mine under reasonable assumptions the program generates a positive return. |
| Keywords: | war, poverty, landmines, difference-in-difference estimator, cost-benefit analysis |
| JEL: | O1 O55 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eui:euiwps:eco2006/22&r=dev |
| By: | Lundin, Nannan (European Institute of Japanese Studies); Sjöholm, Fredrik (European Institute of Japanese Studies); Qian , Jinchang (National Bureau of Statistics of China) |
| Abstract: | Science & Technology (S&T) is high on the Chinese policy agenda but there are large uncertainties on the actual S&T development. For instance, previous studies tend to focus only on large and medium-sized enterprises (LMEs). The situation in Chinese small firms is far less explored. This paper aims to examine the role of S&T-based small firms. More precisely, we examine how much S&T that has been accounted for by small firms and how their S&T intensity differs across industries and ownership groups. We also analyze how various firm characteristics differ over size categories and S&T status. This study is based on newly processed micro level data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics with information on a large number of S&T indicators for small-, medium-, and large-sized manufacturing firms in China in 2000 and 2004. Our results suggest that small firms in Chinese S&T resemble their role in many other countries. They account for a comparably small share of total S&T and most small firms are not engaged in any S&T. However, those small firms that do engage in S&T tend to be more S&T intensive and have a higher output in terms of patents than larger Chinese S&T firms. |
| Keywords: | Technology; SMEs; China; S&T; R&D |
| JEL: | O30 O31 O53 |
| Date: | 2006–08–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:eijswp:0227&r=dev |
| By: | Brenton, Paul; Hoppe, Mombert |
| Abstract: | The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is the flagship of U.S. commercial and development policy with Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper looks at the impact of the trade preferences that are the central element of AGOA on African countries ' exports to the U.S. and puts them in the perspective of the development of the region. The paper finds that, while stimulating export diversification in a few countries, AGOA has fallen short of the potential impetus that preferences could otherwise provide African exporters. The impact of AGOA would be enhanced if preferences were extended to all products. This means removing tariff barriers to a range of agricultural products and to textiles and a number of other manufactured goods. There also needs to be a fundamental change in approach to the rules of origin. Given the stage of development and economic size of Sub-Saharan Africa, nonrestrictive rules of origin are crucial. For all countries in Africa, those that have and those that have not benefited from preferences, there are enormous infrastructure weaknesses and often extremely poor policy environments that raise trade costs and push African producers further away from international markets. Effective trade preferences (those with nonrestrictive rules of origin) can provide a limited window of opportunity to exports while these key barriers to trade are addressed. But dealing with the barriers is the priority. |
| Keywords: | Free Trade,Economic Theory & Research,Trade Policy,Agribusiness & Markets,Markets and Market Access |
| Date: | 2006–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3996&r=dev |
| By: | Araujo, M. Caridad; Ferreira, Francisco H.G.; Lanjouw, Peter; Ozler, Berk |
| Abstract: | This paper provides evidence consistent with elite capture of Social Fund investment projects in Ecuador. Exploiting a unique combination of data-sets on village-level income distributions, Social Fund project administration, and province level electoral results, the authors test a simple model of project choice when local political power is unequally distributed. In accordance with the predictions of the model, poorer villages are more likely to receive projects that provide excludable (private) goods to the poor, such as latrines. Controlling for poverty, more unequal communities are less likely to receive such projects. Consistent with the hypothesis of elite capture, these results are sensitive to the specific measure of inequality used in the empirical analysis, and are strongest for expenditure shares at the top of the distribution. |
| Keywords: | Rural Poverty Reduction,Economic Theory & Research,Population Policies,Services & Transfers to Poor,Poverty Monitoring & Analysis |
| Date: | 2006–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3997&r=dev |
| By: | Infrastructure Department, Europe and Central Asia Region |
| Abstract: | The objective of this study is to contribute to a better understanding of the extent and nature of poverty in urban areas in transition countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, providing particular attention to the disparities within urban areas between capital cities and secondary cities, and focusing on dimensions of poverty related to provision of network infrastructure and energy services in cities. Household surveys carried out in 1998-2003 in 20 countries provided the data for the study. The study found substantial differences in urban areas between the capital and secondary cities, with households in secondary cities being worse off. In addition, secondary cities often had poverty indicators equivalent to, or worse than, those of rural areas, including in terms of access and quality (reliability) of infrastructure. The study confirmed that many households, especially in secondary cities, are " infrastructure-poor " because of unreliable and deteriorated services and that these households are hidden in studies that do not examine actual quality. Finally, the study found that income and infrastructure inequality are generally higher in urban areas, although inequality in secondary cities often was greater than that in the capitals. |
| Keywords: | Population Policies,Rural Poverty Reduction,City Development Strategies,Urban Poverty,Transport Economics Policy & Planning |
| Date: | 2006–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3998&r=dev |
| By: | Javorcik, Beata; Keller, Wolfgang; Tybout, James |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a case study approach to explore the effects of NAFTA and GATT membership on innovation and trade in the Mexican soaps, detergents, and surfactants (SDS) industry. Several basic findings emerge. First, the most fundamental effect of the NAFTA and the GATT on the SDS industry was to help induce Wal-Mart to enter Mexico. Once there, Walmex fundamentally changed the retail sector, forcing SDS firms to cut their profit margins and innovate. Those unable to respond to this new environment tended to lose market share and, in some cases, disappear altogether. Second, partly in response to Walmex, many Mexican producers logged impressive efficiency gains during the previous decade. These gains came both from labor-shedding and from innovation, which in turn was fueled by innovative input suppliers and by multinationals bringing new products and processes from their headquarters to Mexico. Finally, although Mexican detergent exports captured an increasing share of the U.S. detergent market over the past decade, Mexican sales in the U.S. were inhibited by a combination of excessive shipping delays at the border and artificially high input prices (due to Mexican protection of domestic caustic soda suppliers). They were also held back by the major re-tooling costs that Mexican producers would have had to incur to establish brand recognition among non-Latin consumers and to comply with zero phosphate laws in many regions of the U.S. |
| Keywords: | Markets and Market Access,Transport Economics Policy & Planning,Access to Markets,Economic Theory & Research,Water and Industry |
| Date: | 2006–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3999&r=dev |
| By: | Chauvin, Nicolas Depetris; Kraay, Aart |
| Abstract: | The authors use preliminary results from an ongoing effort to construct estimates of debt relief to study its allocation across a sample of 62 low-income countries. They find some evidence that debt relief, particularly from multilateral creditors, has been allocated to countries with better policies in recent years. Somewhat surprisingly, conditional on per capita incomes and policy, more indebted countries are not much more likely to receive debt relief. But countries that have large debts especially to multilateral creditors are more likely to receive debt relief. The authors do not find much evidence that debt relief responds to shocks to GDP growth. Finally, most of the persistence in debt relief is driven by slowly changing country characteristics, indicating that it may be difficult for countries to " exit " from cycles of repeated debt relief. |
| Keywords: | External Debt,Banks & Banking Reform,Strategic Debt Management,Foreign Direct Investment,Economic Theory & Research |
| Date: | 2006–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4000&r=dev |
| By: | Do, Quy-Toan; Phung, Tung Duc |
| Abstract: | According to Vietnamese astrology, dates of birth are believed to be determinants of success, luck, character, and good match between individuals. But how far does this go? To document the influence of superstition on individuals ' behavior, the authors examine fertility decisions made in Vietnam between 1976 and 1996. They find that birth cohorts in auspicious years are significantly larger than in other years. Children born in auspicious years moreover do better both in health and education. While parental characteristics seem to affect fertility choices and human development simultaneously, the analysis suggests that family planning is one key mechanism leading to the observed differences in outcomes: in a society in which superstition is widespread, children born in auspicious years are more likely to have been planned by their parents, thus benefiting from more favorable financial, psychological, or affective conditions for better human development. |
| Keywords: | Youth and Governance,Health Monitoring & Evaluation,Adolescent Health,Primary Education,Early Childhood Development |
| Date: | 2006–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4001&r=dev |
| By: | Corrado Di Maria (CentER, Tilburg University); Simone Valente (Center of Economic Research, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH)) |
| Abstract: | We analyze a multi-sector growth model with directed technical change where man-made capital and exhaustible resources are essen- tial for production. The relative profitability of factor-specific inno- vations endogenously determines whether technical progress will be capital- or resource-augmenting. We show that convergence to bal- anced growth implies zero capital-augmenting innovations: in the long run, the economy exhibits purely resource-augmenting technical change. This result provides sound microfoundations for the broad class of models of exogenous/endogenous growth where resource-aug- menting progress is required to sustain consumption in the long run, contradicting the view that these models are conceptually biased in favor of sustainability. |
| Keywords: | Endogenous Growth, Directed Technical Change, Exhaustible Resources, Sustainability |
| JEL: | O31 O33 O41 Q32 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eth:wpswif:06-50&r=dev |