|
on South East Asia |
| By: | Nguyen, Cuong; Nguyen, Hoa |
| Abstract: | Using data from Vietnam Household and Living Standard Surveys in 2006 and 2008, the paper estimates the effect of the receipt of international remittances and internal remittances on education, labor and healthcare utilization of children in Vietnam. It shows that there are no statistically significant effects of receipt of remittances on school enrolment of children as well as child labor. However, receiving international remittances helps children increase the number of completed grades by around 2 percent of the average completed grade for children. Both international and internal remittances are positively associated with the number of outpatient health care contacts. |
| Keywords: | Remittances, children, education, child labor, healthcare, Vietnam. |
| JEL: | I23 O15 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48672&r=sea |
| By: | Paulina Restrepo-Echavarria (The Ohio State University); Mark Wright (UCLA); Lee Ohanian (University of California Los Angeles) |
| Abstract: | From the end of the SecondWorldWar to the beginning of the Twenty-First Century, per-capita GDP in the economies of East Asia grew almost three times as fast as in the economies of Latin America. Specifically, in 1950, the economies of the Asian Tigers (Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan) had just 17 percent of US per capita GDP, but grew to have 67 percent by 2001. In contrast, Latin America had 28 percent of US per capita GDP in 1950, and only had 23 percent in 2001. Despite this large growth differential, with Latin America falling behind the US, and with Asia catching up, capital predominantly flowed out of Asia and into Latin America. This paper studies this apparent gross misallocation of capital, and how the global development process after World War II would have differed had capital flowed to the region with the highest returns. We present an analytical framework for analyzing the incentives facing investors who allocate capital internationally. Applying the framework to data on the major Asian and Latin American economies, we account for the pattern of observed capital flows by quantifying distortions in the markets for labor, domestic capital, and international capital. We find that inefficiencies in the allocation of resources within countries play a significant role in determining how capital is allocated across them. Specifically we observe that the reallocation of capital from Asia to Latin America is motivated by a quantitatively important labor market distortion that is isomorphic to a very high labor income tax in Asia. We then use the framework to explore the effect of different policy interventions in labor, domestic capital, and international capital markets at different stages in history, and on the sequencing of these interventions, on capital flows and development. |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed012:1195&r=sea |
| By: | Nuva (Department of Resource and Environmental Economics (ESL), Bogor Agricultural University); Yusif (Department of Resource and Environmental Economics (ESL), Bogor Agricultural University); Nia Kurniawati H. (Department of Resource and Environmental Economics (ESL), Bogor Agricultural University); Hanna (Department of Resource and Environmental Economics (ESL), Bogor Agricultural University) |
| Abstract: | In terms of value, coffee which is mostly grown on smallholder farms, ranked fourth in the exports of food and agricultural commodities of Indonesia in 2008. Together with state-owned and private plantations, they add up to 969,082 ha of area harvested – the second largest in the world. Nevertheless, Indonesia ranked only seventh in the world in terms of yield per hectare. In addition, the coffee sector is facing many problems related to environment and its sustainability. Eco-labelling can be a solution to indirectly increase productivity and solve environmental problems brought about by coffee cultivation through better farming techniques imposed by eco-labelling organizations. This research studies the impact of eco-labelling implementation by Indonesia’s smallholder coffee farmers using financial analysis. Financial analysis was used to compare the profitability of eco-labelling and non-eco-labelling smallholder coffee farms. Descriptive statistical analysis was also used to present the stakeholders’ and farmers’ perceptions of eco-labels in the coffee sector. To get the primary data, survey and personal in-depth interviews were conducted. Findings show that eco-labelling in the coffee sector is profitable as evidenced by the results of cash flow analysis for both eco-labelled and non-eco-labelled Arabica and Robusta coffee farms. Nevertheless, problems still exist in the implementation of coffee certification i.e., limited support from government, quite difficult to implement due to low educational level of farmers and lack of awareness of advantages of eco-labels, the differences of certification scheme required by different coffee-importing countries, and financing problem for the certification fee. |
| Keywords: | pollution, Eco-labelling, Indonesia |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eep:report:rr2013032&r=sea |
| By: | Kross, Karmo |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to clarify the kind of capitalist society that is emerging in South Korea. To keep the conceptual analysis focused, the paper addresses the questions of how and why the structural and institutional socio-economic and political arrangements have changed during South Korea's catch-up process and what others could learn from it. Using a historical-comparative approach, the paper shows how the economic policy and welfare protection of the developmental welfare capitalism in East Asia in general and in South Korea in particular have changed during the differ-ent stages of the economic catch-up process. In addition, it points out the major chal-lenges that the model faces in the future. It appears that the socio-economic and po-litical arrangements of the era reflect the level of economic development and starting conditions, on the one hand, and the balance of power between labour, capital and the political establishment, on the other hand. The biggest challenge to the democra-tised and export oriented East Asian developmental welfare capitalism is the urgency to find quick but sustainable solutions to the accumulated social problems in the con-text of worldwide economic recession and intensified globalisation. -- |
| Keywords: | Newly Industrialising Countries,Varieties of Capitalism,Welfare Capitalism,Welfare Developmentalism |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:opodis:201305&r=sea |
| By: | Nguyen Thi Y Ly (Faculty of Economics, University of Agriculture and Forestry (UAF), Vietnam) |
| Abstract: | This study aims to assess the performance and the short-term impacts of the payment for forest environmental services (PFES) policy in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. After a two-year pilot implementation (2009-2010), the Vietnam government plans to establish a national legal PFES framework. The paper describes the PFES pilot policy and how this pilot project is being implemented. The study focuses on the economic and environmental impacts of the pilot PFES. Economic effectiveness is estimated in terms of household annual income contribution, improved access to financial resources, and employment improvement. The environmental impact is assessed by proxy variables such as time spent conducting forest protection and conservation, amount of illegal logging, forest removed or burned, and farmers’ and local authorities’ awareness of environmental improvement. By applying the propensity score matching and difference in difference methods, the research found that PFES has contributed to increasing annual household income by about VND 3.9 million/ household per year. It has also generated positive effects on forest environmental services as well as improved the awareness of local farmers and authorities of the value of forests and the need for their protection. However, some problems remain and are associated with the following: forest environmental services have not been fully defined; participation is not completely voluntary; payment relies on a top-down mechanism; and the sustainability of the system is not assured. |
| Keywords: | forest, Vietnam |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eep:report:rr2013023&r=sea |
| By: | Shigetomi, Shinichi |
| Abstract: | In Thailand, communitarian ideas have been widely accepted and even institutionalized as a principle of national development plans and the Constitution of Thailand. This paper examines how and why the communitarian body of thought, described as "community culture thought," and originally created and shared within a small circle of social activists and academics in the early 1980s, came to be disseminated and authorized in Thai society. Contributors and participants, ways of expression, and avenues for disseminating this paradigm are the main topics in this paper. The paper reveals that these thoughts and concepts have been diversified and used as guiding principles by state elites, anti-state activists, and social reformists since the late 1980s. These people with such different political ideologies were connected through some key individuals. These critical connections networked them onto the same side for promoting communitarian thought in Thailand. When such leading advocates assumed key political positions, it was easy for them to push communitarian ideas into the guidelines and principles of state administration. |
| Keywords: | Thailand, Community, Sociology, Social movements, Communitarianism, Political sociology |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper423&r=sea |
| By: | Daniel, Mont; Nguyen, Cuong |
| Abstract: | Poverty and disability are interrelated, but data that can disentangle to what extent one causes the other and vice versa is not available. However, data from Vietnam allows us to examine this interrelationship in a way not done previously. Using small area estimation techniques, we uncover three findings not yet found in the literature. First, disability prevalence rates vary significantly within a county even at the district level. Second, the correlation between disability and poverty also varies at the district level. And most importantly, the strength of that correlation lessens based on district characteristics that can be affected by policy. Districts with better health care and infrastructure, such as road and health services, show less of a link between disability and poverty, supporting the hypothesis that improvements in infrastructure and rehabilitation service can lessen the impact of disability on families with disabled members. |
| Keywords: | Poverty, disability, small area estimation, household survey, population census, Vietnam. |
| JEL: | I12 I31 O15 |
| Date: | 2013–06–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48659&r=sea |
| By: | Nguyen, Cuong |
| Abstract: | This study measures the effect of minimum wage increases on firm outcomes using fixed-effects regression and panel data from Vietnam Enterprise Censuses during 2008-2010. It is found that minimum wages reduce firms’ labor size, albeit at a small magnitude. A one percent increase in real minimum wages leads to a 0.1 percent reduction in the number of workers of firms. Firms are more likely to reduce male workers and those without social insurance. As a result, the proportion of female workers and workers with social insurance in firms increases due to minimum wages. Interestingly, under pressure of minimum wages, firms tend to increase assets, especially fixed assets, for labor substitution. |
| Keywords: | Minimum wages, firms, impact evaluation, panel data, Vietnam |
| JEL: | J31 L25 |
| Date: | 2012–06–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48656&r=sea |
| By: | Author-Name: Jakob B Madsen; James B. Ang |
| Abstract: | The spectacular growth rates in the Asian miracle economies (AMEs) are often attributed to factor accumulation whilst ignoring the forces that have been responsible for it. Using data for six AMEs over the period from 1953 to 2009, this paper extends the conventional growth accounting exercise by allowing for the population growth drag and endogeneity of capital deepening, savings, labor force participation and schooling. It is shown that growth has been predominantly a result of the demographic transition and productivity growth, where the latter has been driven by R&D, knowledge spillovers through imports and R&D absorptive capacity. |
| Keywords: | Asian growth miracle; endogenous factor accumulation. |
| JEL: | O30 O40 O53 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2013-23&r=sea |
| By: | Kamath, Amit; Jayaraman, R |
| Abstract: | In spite of the proliferation of the activity, construction management is not a much studied or systematized subject. There are still only pockets of excellence in a sea of seat-of-the-pant and ad-hoc working. Most second level construction firms do not have systematic recording, documenting, planning and quality control procedures. While the tier-1 firms have evolved and practice sophisticated systems based on advances in civil engineering and project management, the others are not yet ready to embrace modern practices. The BCA (Buildings Construction Authority) Singapore made efforts to bring some order into the entropy. They codified a simple construction management process which could be easy to adopt by the second and third tier construction companies too. This system is named as CONQUAS, which has been in vogue since the late eighties. Beginning with Singapore, it has spread to the rest of Asia. Larsen and Toubro is an Asian giant corporation. A division of this company, after a lot of study, thought and discussions, decided to adopt the CONQUAS method of construction management. This paper describes how these efforts have borne fruit and the company is planning to adopt the system in more projects. |
| Keywords: | CONQUAS, Project Management, Construction Management, EPC, ISO 9000 |
| JEL: | E2 E23 L74 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48767&r=sea |
| By: | Liyanage Devangi H. Perera; Grace H.Y. Lee |
| Abstract: | While economic growth has been cited as one of the main factors behind the reduction in absolute poverty, the persisting problem of poverty in developing countries has raised doubts about the efficacy of economic growth in its reduction. Recent evidence revealed that growth in Asia has been accompanied by an increase in relative poverty, or income inequality. High income inequality can slow the rate of poverty reduction, and create social unrest and anxiety. The quality of institutions may also influence the extent to which economic growth reduces poverty. This study examines the effects of economic growth and institutional quality on poverty and income inequality in nine developing countries of Asia for the period 1985-2009. The System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation method is employed to estimate the equations. While economic growth does not appear to have an effect on income inequality, the results confirm that such growth leads to poverty reduction. Although improvements in government stability and law and order are found to reduce poverty, improvements in the level of corruption, democratic accountability, and bureaucratic quality appear to increase poverty levels. Similarly, the results also show that improvements in corruption, democratic accountability, and bureaucratic quality are associated with a worsening of the income distribution. This study recommends that measures taken to improve the level of institutional quality in developing countries of East and South Asia should address the problems of poverty and income distribution, while adopting policies to support informal sector workers who may be affected by institutional reform. |
| Keywords: | income inequality, poverty, growth, institution quality |
| JEL: | D3 I3 O1 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2013-37&r=sea |
| By: | Simone Gobien (University of Marburg); Björn Vollan (University of Innsbruck) |
| Abstract: | Mutual aid among villagers in developing countries is often the only means of insuring against economic shocks. We use “lab-in-the-field experiments” in Cambodian villages to study social cohesion in established and newly resettled communities. Both communities are part of a land distribution project. The project participants all signed up voluntarily, and their sociodemographic attributes and pre-existing network ties are similar. We use a version of the “solidarity game” to identify the effect of voluntary resettlement on willingness to help fellow villagers after an income shock. We find a sizeable reduction in willingness to help others. Resettled players transfer on average between 47% and 74% less money than non-resettled players. The effect remains large and significant after controlling for personal network and when controlling for differences in transfer expectations. The costs of voluntary resettlement, not only monetary but also social, seem significantly higher than is commonly assumed by development planners. |
| Keywords: | Voluntary resettlement, Social cohesion, Risk-sharing networks, Monetary transfers, “Lab-inthe- field” experiment, Cambodia |
| JEL: | C93 O15 O22 R23 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201331&r=sea |
| By: | Kunlayanee Pornpinatepong (Department of Economics, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla); Pathomwat Chantarasap (Department of Economics, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla); Jumtip Seneerattanaprayul (Department of Economics, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla); Wittawat Hemtanon (Department of Economics, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla); Papitchaya Saelim (Department of Economics, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla) |
| Abstract: | Game theory was used to analyze the extraction behavior of fishermen around the Southern Sonkhla Lake in Southern Thailand. The field experiments were designed based on the concept of non-cooperative game theory for investigating fishermen’s behavior in response to four management policy options: external regulations with individual transferable quotas (ITQs) and with individual quotas (IQ), and co-management with ITQs and with IQ. The analysis examined fishermen’s responses under high and low fish stocks that arose due to seasonal salinity in the Lake. Higher fish stocks encouraged fishermen to increase their extraction. A co-management policy led to better results than imposed external regulation in terms of reducing extraction and ensuring resource sustainability. There were no significant differences between ‘with ITQ’ and ‘without ITQ’ in terms of reduction of extraction and sustainability of resource use. However, there were significantly less violation behaviors when ITQs were used rather than with IQ. The ITQs provided more flexibility for fishermen who wanted to increase their extraction while still following conservation guidelines. Therefore, implementation of ITQ is recommended but with appropriate penalties. |
| Keywords: | game theory, Thailand |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eep:report:rr2013021&r=sea |
| By: | Ankita Mishra; Ranjan Ray |
| Abstract: | This paper extends the recent literature on spatial price differences within a country to provide evidence on the Australian experience during the past two decades. While much of the existing evidence on spatial price variation within a country relates to large heterogeneous countries such as Brazil, India and Indonesia, Australia has not figured so far in this literature, because it is presumed to be homogeneous in all relevant respects. However, a series of unrelated events that affected the states and territories differently, such as the mining boom and the recent global financial crisis, has made Australia much more heterogeneous than is commonly assumed. The contribution of this study is both methodological and empirical. The paper proposes a method of calculating preference based intra country spatial price indices that measure the extent of price variation between regions in a given time period. It shows how the traditional concept of the ‘true cost of living index’, or the ‘exact price index’ as it is more commonly known, that is used in temporal price comparisons, can also be used in spatial price comparisons. The study also shows how the distributive impact of price changes can be evaluated over time. The Australian experience shows that the price movement has been regressive in all states. The empirical evidence on Australia is based on the extension of the recent EASI demand system that allows a more general form of preferences than has been considered previously. The results show that during the past two decades spatial price variation has increased steadily, with the most recent period (2005-9) witnessing a very large increase. The results also show that the ranking of the states, on both cost of living and inequality, has altered significantly over the past two decades. The results confirm that Australia is no longer the homogeneous country setting that was assumed previously. |
| Keywords: | Spatial Price Indices, True Cost of Living Index, EASI Demand Model, Heterogeneous Country, and Expenditure Inequality. |
| JEL: | C13 D12 D63 E31 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2013-34&r=sea |
| By: | SASAKI Yuri |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates exchange rate pass-through in Japanese automobile exports. Using customs data, we show that the exchange rate pass-through into import goods are lower in developed countries. Interviews with automobile companies were conducted by the members of RIETI's Asian currency project, and the results show that the key element for determining pass-through of exchange rates is market power. This paper also examines whether it is affected by market power. We make several market indexes and compare those with the exchange rate pass-through. |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:13052&r=sea |
| By: | Schnabl, Gunther |
| Abstract: | The paper identifies based on the monetary overinvestment (malinvestment) theories by Wicksell (1898), Mises (1912) and Hayek (1929) monetary policy mistakes in large industrial countries issuing international currencies. It its argued that a benign neglect towards monetary policy reform in a world dominated by financial markets has led to a erosion of the allocation and signaling function of the interest rate, which has triggered an excessive rise of government debt and structural distortions in the world economy. The backlash of high government debt levels on monetary policy making is argued to lead to the hysteresis of low interest rates and high government debt levels. In this context, monetary reform is discussed with respect to the exit from low interest rates and high debt policies and a reform of the prevalent world monetary system. It is concluded that enhanced competition between dollar and euro as international currencies, which is refereed by East Asia, can be a promising approach towards a more stable world monetary system. -- |
| Keywords: | Economic Instability,Credit Cycles,Monetary Policy,Hayek,Mises,Monetary Policy Reform,Currency Competition |
| JEL: | E42 E58 F33 F44 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:leiwps:121&r=sea |
| By: | Rehman Sobhan |
| Abstract: | The issue of introducing innovation in financing came into discussion at Monterrey in response to the recurring failure of most developed countries to live up to their commitment to enhance flows of official development assistance (ODA) to the developing countries in order to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This paper argues that attempts to identify such innovative sources have been neither innovative nor effective in meeting the needs of the developing countries. The paper indicates that in most countries in Asia domestic savings, foreign direct investment (FDI) and migrant remittances have, in recent years, overtaken ODA as the principal source of development finance. Any search for both innovation and additionality in development finance should accordingly focus on making more effective use of Asia’s growing external capital surpluses and inflows of migrant remittances in enhancing the region’s development capacity. |
| Keywords: | Innovative development finance, ODA, Monterrey Consensus, FDI, remittances |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdb:opaper:102&r=sea |
| By: | Kawai, Masahiro (Asian Development Bank Institute); Morgan, Peter (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | Japan’s “two lost decades” perhaps represent an extreme example of a weak recovery from a financial crisis, and are now referred to as “Japanization.” More recently, widespread stagnation in advanced economies in the wake of the global financial crisis led to fears that Japanization might spread to other countries. This study examines the dimensions of Japanization—including low trend growth, debt deleveraging, deflation and massive increases in government debt—and analyzes their possible causes—including inadequate macroeconomic policy responses, delayed banking sector restructuring, inadequate corporate investment, loss of industrial competitiveness, a slowdown in total factor productivity (TFP) growth due to excessive regulation and economic rigidities, and an aging society. |
| Keywords: | economic growth; total factor productivity; inflation; demographics; credit growth; banking crises |
| JEL: | E20 E31 E51 F31 G01 |
| Date: | 2013–07–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0430&r=sea |
| By: | Kannika Thampanishvong (Natural Resources and Environment Program, Thailand Development Research Institute) |
| Abstract: | The Southern part of Thailand, a region with tropical climate and monsoon, has often been affected by torrential rains caused by tropical storms, depressions, and typhoons. Such heavy rain is often accompanied by flash floods – sometimes occuring so suddenly and with an enormous amount of water – that make them particularly dangerous. Hence, flash flood warnings are important to prevent flash flood hazards from becoming disasters.These warnings can give individuals the much needed information that can help them decide whether to evacuate or not, thus reducing casualties and losses. This research examined the factors that affected the individuals’ and households’ decisions to evacuate in case of a flash flood. Results showed that individuals with higher probability of evacuation prior or during a flash flood had received flash flood warning; had information about the meeting places in the villages; had higher income; and were female.At the household level, the probability of both male and female members agreeing not to evacuate decreased with the proportion of young children in the household and if the head of the household was female. Also at the household level, the probability of both male and female members agreeing to evacuate increased with the proportion of young children in the household. These findings give rise to some policy implications. First, because people at risk from flash floods are concerned about their evacuation destination, the government should provide emergency public shelters before, during, and after a flash flood. As women and families with young children are more likely to evacuate, the emergency shelters should cater to their needs. To assist vulnerable groups such as females, young children, the elderly, and disabled, authorized personnel should be stationed along main evacuation routes during evacuations to direct the residents away from the emergency areas. Residents in the flash flood hazard areas in Nakhon Si Thammarat preferred two-way radio, but very of them have access to this channel or type of warning channel. The government could step in to ensure that these areas have access to two-way radio sets as well as conventional warning receivers, such as mobile phone, television, and radio. |
| Keywords: | climate change, Thailand |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eep:report:rr2013034&r=sea |
| By: | Ryan Higgitt (IPC-IG) |
| Abstract: | In her ?How Did We Get Here?: The Pathways of South-South Cooperation?, Morais de Sá e Silva (2010) notes that economic growth and social gains experienced by some developing countries in recent years have made them potential role models for the rest of the developing world. India, which managed an average annual GDP per capita growth rate of 6.3 per cent between 1990 and 2008 (Ortiz and Cummins, 2011: 27), is often cited as the standout example. Many in the development community believe that if Indian economic growth continues on this upward trend the outlook of the entire Asia-Pacific region is likely to see further improvement (see ESCAP, 2011). However, as the United Nations Assistant Secretary General, India?s Ajay Chhibber, cautions, doing so must entail strengthening democratic institutions; promoting inclusive growth and equity, and ensuring access to justice and the rule of law (UNDP, 2011: 1). |
| Keywords: | Colonialism, Casteism and Development, South-South Cooperation |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:wpaper:112&r=sea |
| By: | Aaron Nicholas; Ranjan Ray; Kompal Sinha |
| Abstract: | This paper unites two strands of the literature on subgroup decomposable poverty measurement originating from Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (1984) by incorporating information on both multiple dimensions and multiple periods. This generalises the Alkire and Foster (2011a) measure into a dynamic setting. In doing so, it introduces two variants of the ‘transfer’ axiom: one that gives increasing weight to individuals whose deprivations are concentrated as repeated dimensions in a specific period (what we term ‘breadth’) versus one that gives increasing weight to individuals whose deprivations are concentrated as repeated periods in a specific dimension (‘depth’). The measure is able to differentiate between both aspects of poverty as well as quantify the relative contribution of each aspect towards overall poverty. This makes it well suited to make comparison across subgroups when individual longitudinal data is available as well as allowing policy-makers to quickly identify if the breadth or depth aspect requires more attention since the policy prescriptions for each may differ. We apply the proposed measure to longitudinal data from China and Indonesia where we find that the depth aspect of poverty is a large contributor to individual level poverty. The existing static framework of multidimensional poverty in the literature may therefore be inappropriate for subgroup comparisons when information over time is available. |
| Keywords: | Multidimensional Poverty and Deprivation; Duration and Dynamics of Poverty; Dimensional and Dynamic Transfer Axioms; Subgroup Decomposability. |
| JEL: | I31 I32 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2013-25&r=sea |
| By: | Françoise Nicolas; Stephen Thomsen; Mi-Hyun Bang |
| Abstract: | As more and more countries seek to liberalise their foreign investment regimes to attract global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI), an essential question for policy-makers is no longer just what to reform but also how to reform. How is a reformist government to sell the idea of reform to the general public and to counter any opposition to reform? How are those who lose from reform in the short term to be compensated? Does sequencing of reforms matter?<P> Korea offers a particularly interesting case study because its reforms beginning in the 1990s were both rapid and far-reaching. Based on the OECD FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index, Korea was the biggest reformer of its policies towards FDI between 1997 and 2010 among a sample of 40 developed and emerging countries. The objective of this study is to document the liberalisation of the FDI regime in Korea and to examine how and why it came about. What were the main obstacles and what were the main drivers? How did FDI liberalisation relate to other reforms (trade policy and regulatory reform, policies towards outward investment)? The paper does not ask what more Korea needs to do but rather what lessons can we draw from the Korean experience about how to achieve rapid and sustainable reforms?<P> The insights from Korean liberalisation are useful for other countries, particularly non-OECD members in Asia and elsewhere, which still have high levels of statutory restrictions as measured by the FDI Index. Many of these countries are eager to attract more investment and recognise that they will need to reform their investment regime but are unsure how best to proceed. Each country?s reform path is unique, and this study will not provide a roadmap for other countries to follow, but it will nevertheless serve as a useful model for reformers in other countries and provide evidence that successful reform is accompanied by rising inflows of direct investment. |
| Keywords: | foreign direct investment, South Korea, FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index, segyehwa, investment policy reform |
| JEL: | F21 F23 F53 O24 O53 |
| Date: | 2013–07–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:dafaaa:2013/2-en&r=sea |
| By: | Farha Ghapar; Robert Brooks; Russell Smyth |
| Abstract: | This study analyzes the relationship between patenting activity and financial performance at the Malaysian firm level for firms that have been granted patents in Malaysia and the United States of America. We adopt the patent renewal and profit maximization model as our theoretical underpinning for this study. The patenting activity variables are measured based on the patent renewal system and the financial performance variables are measured based on the profit margin. The sample is divided into manufacturing and non-manufacturing firms. We utilize a panel dataset spanning from 1994 to 2008 and the model is estimated using panel least squares, fixed effects, random effects and generalized method of moments with various types of effects specifications and transformations. The key finding from the empirical study is that there is a significant relationship between patenting activity and financial performance at the Malaysian firm level, but that the impact is rather small and that the signs on the coefficients are mixed. This result may reflect the level of competition that the firms faced over the period of the study, even though patenting is well known for giving firms some monopoly power. |
| Keywords: | Patenting, patent renewal, firm financial performance, panel data model |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2013-22&r=sea |
| By: | Stefano Marta (DISCE, Università Cattolica) |
| Abstract: | The pressing nature of the issue of hunger and food insecurity, the first United Nations Millennium Development Goal, the fact that this MDG is far to be achieved by 2015 and the growing consensus around the inadequacy and ineffectiveness of the traditional approaches to tackle it, suggest that new approaches to food and nutrition security (FNS) policies and strategies should be explored, developed and implemented. In particular, the inadequacy of past policies suggests that there is a need to shift from one-size-fits-all, entirely top-down and sectoral-based approaches to integrated, context-specific and place-based approaches which would allow to capture and include the complexity of development, the importance of territorial endogenous development potential, the key role of both national and sub-national actors and stakeholders through the principle of multi-level governance in the policy-making process. The place-based approach to development policies, which the OECD defines as the new regional development paradigm, is built and developed on the basis of these key principles and concepts. This paper tries to explore and analyze the extent to which a place-based approach, which so far has been applied and implemented mainly in developed countries and in few cases in developing countries (eg. Cambodia) to address more generally the issue of development, could represent an effective and beneficial policy approach to tackle the issue of food insecurity. This research question is addressed both through a comprehensive literature review on food and nutrition security and on the innovative regional development approaches and paradigms, and by interviewing some of the main experts in terms of food security, place-based/territorial approach and its critique, namely the spatially-blind approach. The result of the research is a conceptual and policy framework for the place-based approach to food and nutrition security, which highlights the rationale, potential effectiveness and key concepts characterizing this innovative approach and tries to identify its potential limitations and ways to strengthen it. It is finally suggested that this territorial dimension should be more reflected in food and nutrition security policies and strategies. |
| Keywords: | Food and Nutrition Security; Place-Based Approach; Regional Development Policies |
| JEL: | R10 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie2:dises1392&r=sea |