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on Financial Development and Growth |
| By: | Arrow, Kenneth J.; Bensoussan, Alain; Feng, Qi; Sethi, Suresh P. |
| Abstract: | We study an economy in which the rate of change of population depends on population policy decisions. This requires population as well as capital as state variables. By showing the algebraic relationship between the shadow price of the population and the shadow price of the per capita capital stock, we are still able to depict the optimal path and its convergence to the long-run equilibrium on a two-dimensional phase diagram. Moreover, we derive explicitly the expression of genuine savings in our model to evaluate the sustainability of the system. |
| Keywords: | Savings; population policy; value of the population; economic growth; optimal control; phase diagram; dynamic programming. |
| JEL: | O41 E2 O16 |
| Date: | 2008–01–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:14622&r=fdg |
| By: | Briones, Roehlano M. |
| Abstract: | Numerous studies have tried to explain the poor growth performance of the Philippines. This paper critically reviews related literature on constraints to long-run growth, as it applies to the Philippines. We evaluate several factors, namely: culture, corruption, and institutions. The last offers the most convincing explanation for mediocre growth. Hence, to raise the country’s growth trajectory, I recommend: sustained policy reform; less hand-wringing over Filipino culture and corruption; and above all, focused and sustained development of functional capitalistic institutions. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, development, institutions, growth constraints |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2009-04&r=fdg |
| By: | Melike Bildirici; Özgür Ömer Ersin; Meltem Kökdener |
| Abstract: | Consanguineous marriages are known with its significant effects on human health. However, the practice of consanguineous marriages has strong impacts not only on human capital but also on political stability through the process that consanguineous marriages alter the sociological structure. Though these types of marriages are not maintained by the developed nations at the beginning of the 19th century, they are prefered today in many Asian and African countries. In these countries, the traditional structure could not be broken; a twosome structure is created within the country, within cities, within different regions as well as between regions and between countries. Political stability fails to be achieved efficiently in these countries - the twosome structure reduces both political stability and economic growth. It is observed that, the countries with high consanguineous marriages experience different sociological and economic factors so that the motives towards individualism considered as an important source of industrial development fail to flourish. An important result of the twosome structure is on human capital investments and on economic development. We followed a different approach in analyzing economic development in accordance with consanguineous marriage and political instability in accordance with human capital investments and economic development. In the study, we analyzed 53 countries, and compiled most recent data of consanguineous marriages, literacy rates and political risk as an indicator of political instability. We calculated GDP per capita growth rates between 1900 and 2003. We grouped countries according to their consanguineous marriage rates. Empirical results show that, the group of developed economies overcome consanguineous marriages before 1900 and achieved political stability, high human capital investments and steady growth rates. On the other hand, the countries practicing high consanguineous marriage rates are less immune to political instability and experience negative growth rates and very low human capital investments. The group of countries that lowered their consanguineous marriage rates below 10 % just before 1980, achieved very rapid economic growth afterwards. Empirical analysis based on factor analysis, correlation and covariance matrices suggest that countries with high consanguineous marriages experience high political instability and fall behind in the process of economic development. Based on panel regression and panel neural network analysis, countries with high consanguineous marriages experience high political instability and low human capital investment and they are more likely to benefit efficiently from economic development. |
| JEL: | O0 O1 O11 O39 O5 R00 R1 R11 R12 Z1 Z13 |
| Date: | 2009–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14905&r=fdg |
| By: | Tausch, Arno |
| Abstract: | The nationwide violent riots by youths and the general strike in December 2008 in Greece happened in a country, which according to the financial expenses paid by Brussels should be a real showcase of the European model. A quick glance at the statistics of the net recipient countries of the EU budget teaches us that not the poor new member states in the east of the continent, but Greece is one of the prime recipients all financial transfers from Brussels over the last decades. From 2003 to 2006 paid Brussels paid net to Greece 16.5 billion Euros (net), and Greece should be a real model of social coherence, and Lisbon-strategy progress towards a dynamic, knowledge-based society, etc. The apocalyptic pictures of the unrests in this key country in the EU are all the more alarming, because Greece is a member of the Union already since 1981. Greece in January 1981 became the tenth State of the European Community. On 6 November 1992, Greece became a member of Schengen, and from 1.1.2001, Greece is also a member of the European Monetary Union. In many respects, Greece was an EU model pupil. Its Eurobarometer consent for the European Constitution was 78% - the highest among all member states. The Accession Treaty with the ten new EU member states on 16 April 2003 was signed in Athens as the birthplace of democracy. The devastating forest fires of 2007 heralded the need for a rethinking of the "Greek model". More than 190 fires were reported and more than 70 fatalities were counted. The far-reaching consequences of this major fire disaster for the climate of the region are still unclear. Large stretches of land in the west and southwest look like volcano - or lunar landscapes. Many of these fires had their origins in negligence or even criminal arson for the benefit of land speculation. With the current collapse of the Greek model also a neo-liberal success story comes to end. The neo-liberal government of Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis has been in office since September 2007. Focus of the Karamanlis government is the restructuring of social security, a balanced budget, combating unemployment, the reform of education, including through licensing of private universities, and health care reform along neo-liberal policy prescriptions. The key points of government activity were • deregulation and cutting red tape • privatization projects • selling shares in the state's largest telephone company on the stock market The current experience of Greece has a disturbing lesson for the further convergence and integration process of the neighbouring states. Even more alarming than the standstill of the convergence process are unmistakable signs that this EU core member state is confronted with corruption out of control. According to Transparency International Greece only holds rank 57 in global corruption control, and the worst EU 27 Country Bulgaria is even ranked 72nd. Numerous international studies, surveyed in the article, show that Greece is far more controlled by the shadow economy and the underground economy (= organized crime) than Italy. Our analysis with aggregate data from Eurostat provides further information about the full extent of the current socio-political disaster confronting Greece. On the one hand youth unemployment is a sad record in Europe: 22.9% of young people in the country were without work even before the onset of the current economic crisis, and this value will explode in 2009. The target group accuracy of the social system is one of the worst in Europe. In a regional perspective, Athens is an island of prosperity in a sea of poverty. In: East Macedonia, Thraki Sterea Ellada Voreio Aigaio Ipeiros Makedonia Dytiki youth unemployment was over 30%. Also our other indicators • age-and gender-specific and regional employment rates • age-and gender-specific and regional employment rates • Proportion of adult population with only lower education • Research and development expenditure at the regional level • Regional Purchasing Power • Regional Productivity • Regional Lisbon indicator • Regional economic growth show that Greece, after receiving all these funds from the Brussels structural convergence programmes is having a very deficient regional development. We also show on the basis of our multivariate re-analysis of the data of 2007 UNICEF child poverty study that the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark had the best performance in Europe in eliminating child poverty. Our closer look at the 40 sub-components of the UNICEF study shows the deep crisis, which Greek youth is facing today. Particularly in the area of the acquisition of cognitive skills, Greece is very poorly placed. Our analysis thus shows that the crisis of the Greek social system unfortunately, has a deeper, even European dimension - the crisis of a heavily subsidized EU member country that has dismally failed. |
| Keywords: | F15 - Economic Integration; O52 - Economywide Country Studies Europe F15 - Economic Integration; O52 - Economywide Country Studies Europe F15 - Economic Integration; O52 - Economywide Country Studies Europe F15 - Economic Integration; O52 - Economywide Country Studies Europe |
| JEL: | F15 O52 |
| Date: | 2009–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:14251&r=fdg |