|
on Financial Development and Growth |
| By: | Mattoo, Aaditya; Hoekman, Bernard |
| Abstract: | The competitiveness of firms in open economies is increasingly determined by access to low-cost and high-quality producer services - telecommunications, transport and distribution services, financial intermediation, etc. This paper discusses the role of services in economic growth, focusing in particular on channels through which openness to trade in services may increase productivity at the level of the economy as a whole, industries and the firm. The authors explore what recent empirical work suggests could be done to enhance comparative advantage in the production and export of services and how to design policy reforms to open services markets to greater foreign participation in a way that ensures not just greater efficiency but also greater equity in terms of access to services. |
| Keywords: | Economic Theory & Research,Banks & Banking Reform,Transport Economics Policy & Planning,ICT Policy and Strategies,Emerging Markets |
| Date: | 2008–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4461&r=fdg |
| By: | Stephane Straub |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a survey of recent research on the economics of infrastructure in developing countries. Energy, transport, telecommunications, water and sanitation are considered. The survey covers two main set of issues: the linkages between infrastructure and economic growth (at the economy-wide, regional and sectoral level) and the composition, sequencing and efficiency of alternative infrastructure investments, including the arbitrage between new investments and maintenance expenditures; OPEX and CAPEX, and public versus private investment. Following the introduction, section 2 discusses the theoretical foundations (growth theory and new economic geography). Section 3 assesses the analysis of 140 specifications from 64 recent empirical papers examining type of data used, level of aggregation, econometric techniques and nature of the sample and discusses both the macro-econometric and microeconometric contributions of these papers. Finally section 4 discusses directions for future research and suggests priorities in data development. |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:edn:esedps:179&r=fdg |