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on Transition Economics |
| By: | Anders Aslund (Peterson Institute for International Economics) |
| Abstract: | The response of the ten new eastern members of the European Union to the global financial crisis has valuable lessons of crisis resolution for the euro area. These countries were severely hit by the crisis in the fall of 2008 and responded with extensive reforms. Crisis made the unthinkable possible. This paper outlines the main reform measures that the ten Central and East European (CEE) countries carried out. It then quantifies to what extent the CEE countries resolved the macroeconomic crisis and explores the effects of the reforms on future growth prospects. The fourth and major section discusses how the political economy of the crisis resolution actually worked. Finally, the author examines what lessons euro area countries can learn from the crisis resolution of the newest members of the European Union. |
| Keywords: | Financial Crises, Central and Eastern Europe, Policy |
| JEL: | P16 G01 E61 E62 F30 H0 |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iie:wpaper:wp12-7&r=tra |
| By: | Jan Hanousek; Evzen Kocenda; Michal Masika |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyze the evolution of firm efficiency in the Czech Republic. Using a large panel of more than 190,000 Czech firm/years we study whether firms fully utilize their resources, how firm efficiency evolves over time, and how firm efficiency is determined by ownership structure. We employ a panel version of a stochastic production frontier model for the period 1996–2007 with time-varying efficiency. We differentiate among various degrees of ownership concentration and domestic or foreign origin. In a two-stage set-up we estimate the degree of firm inefficiency and then we estimate the effect of ownership structure on the distance from the efficiency frontier. Our results support the hypothesis that concentration and foreign ownership are positively related to efficiency and that FDI has beneficial effects at the microeconomic level. However, we show that a simple majority is not necessarily the best structure to improve efficiency. We further analyze the effects of ownership coalitions, and shed light on many other subtleties of how ownership and the specific industry affect firm efficiency. |
| Keywords: | efficiency; ownership structure; firms, panel data; stochastic frontier; |
| JEL: | C33 D24 G32 L60 L80 M21 |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp456&r=tra |
| By: | Roman Horvath; Dragan Petrovski |
| Abstract: | We examine the international stock market comovements betweenWestern Europe vis-à-vis Central (the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland) and South Eastern Europe (Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia) using multivariate GARCH models in 2006-2011. Comparing these two groups, we find that the degree of comovements is much higher for Central Europe. The correlation of South Eastern European stock markets with developed markets is essentially zero. The exemption to this regularity is Croatia with its stock market displaying a greater degree of integration towards Western Europe recently, but still below the levels typical for Central Europe. All stock markets fall strongly at the beginning of the global fi- nancial crisis and we do not find that the crisis altered the degree of stock market integration between this group of countries. |
| Keywords: | stock market comovements, Central and South Eastern Europe, GARCH |
| JEL: | C22 C32 G15 |
| Date: | 2012–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wdi:papers:2011-1028&r=tra |
| By: | Banik, Nilanjan; Das, Khanindra Ch. |
| Abstract: | The notion about China being factory of the world is changing. Factories in China are shifting their production base to neighboring Asia, primarily because of higher input costs in China, a volatile Chinese exchange rate, Chinese exports being increasingly targeted by its major trading partners, and a fall in price-competitiveness in producing in mainland China. We examine the location substitution effect for China: Chinese firms are exporting primary, intermediate and machinery items, meant for producing final output elsewhere. Results suggest Chinese firms are increasingly substituting their production base outside China. |
| Keywords: | Trade; Foreign Direct Investment; China; GMS |
| JEL: | F14 |
| Date: | 2012–04–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:38659&r=tra |
| By: | Sheremenko, Ganna; Escalante, Cesar L.; Florkowski, Wojciech J. |
| Abstract: | This paper examines delinquency, profitability, and outreach determinants of microfinance institutions’ (MFIs) performance in Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. The estimation is done using the Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) technique. The estimation results suggest that the regions' MFIs are profit-driven but are expected to improve outreach in the long-run. |
| Keywords: | Microfinance institution, SUR, Financial sustainability, Delinquency, Profitability, Social outreach, Agricultural Finance, Financial Economics, International Development, G20, G21, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:123286&r=tra |
| By: | Sylvie Démurger (Université de Lyon, Lyon, F-69007, France ; CNRS, GATE Lyon St Etienne,F-69130 Ecully, France) |
| Abstract: | Internal labour migration has become an important part of the process of China’s industrialization and urbanisation in the 2000s. Using micro data for the year 2007, this chapter attempts to contribute to a better understanding of the motives of and the constraints to labour mobility in China. Drawing on various empirical investigations at the household level, it examines both the decision and the level of migration and provides a mapping of the main factors driving different types of labour mobility across space (by destination) and time (by duration). |
| Keywords: | rural-urban migration, destination, duration, migration networks, China |
| JEL: | O15 R23 D13 O53 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gat:wpaper:1209&r=tra |
| By: | Kemeny, Gabor; Fogarasi, Jozsef; Varga, Tibor; Toth, Orsolya; Toth, Kristof |
| Abstract: | Increasing price volatility of agricultural commodities over the last decade has focused a growing body of literature to identify the influencing factors of price variability. We analyze the effect of increasing wheat export from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) countries to the international wheat market and price volatility. The major wheat producer and exporter FSU countries, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan have experienced increasing share on the international wheat market. An ordinary least square method is applied to estimate the influence of wheat export from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan on the international wheat price volatility. We found evidence of positive relationship between international wheat price and the expanding net wheat export from FSU. |
| Keywords: | wheat price volatility, wheat export, FSU countries, Risk and Uncertainty, Q17, O13, |
| Date: | 2012–02–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa123:122550&r=tra |
| By: | Zuzana Brixiova; Balazs Egert |
| Abstract: | The unemployment rate in Estonia rose sharply in 2010 to one of the highest levels in the EU, after the country entered a severe recession in 2008. While the rate declined relatively rapidly in 2011, it remained high especially for the less educated. In 2009, the Employment Contract Law relaxed employment protection legislation and sought to raise income protection of the unemployed to facilitate transition from less to more productive jobs while mitigating social costs. Utilizing a search model, this paper shows that increasing further labour market flexibility through reducing the tax wedge on labour would facilitate the structural transformation and reduce the long-term unemployment rate. Linking increases in unemployment benefits to participation in job search or training programmes would improve the unemployed workers’ incentives to search for jobs or retrain and the medium term labour market outcomes. Social protection schemes for the unemployed should be also strengthened as initially intended to give the unemployed sufficient time to search for adequate jobs or retrain for new opportunities. |
| Keywords: | Labour market reforms, search model, Estonia, OECD countries |
| JEL: | J08 J64 E24 |
| Date: | 2012–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wdi:papers:2011-1027&r=tra |
| By: | Guglielmo Maria Caporale; Christophe Rault; Robert Sova; Anamaria Sova |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses trade specialisation dynamics in two Eastern European countries (Romania and Bulgaria – EEC-2) vis-à-vis the core EU member states (EU-15) over the period 1990-2006. Specifically, we focus on whether there is a shift towards intra-industry trade leading to economic convergence and technological catch-up. We use recently developed static (FEM, REM and FEVD) and dynamic (GMM) panel data methods which take into account possible heterogeneity. Our empirical results indicate that intra-industry trade has indeed increased, but it is of the vertical rather than the horizontal type, resulting in complementary rather than competitive production patterns. |
| Keywords: | Gravity Models, Panel Data models, Trade Specialisation, Comparative Advantage |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:deg:conpap:c016_071&r=tra |
| By: | Banse, Martin; Salamon, Petra; von Ledebur, Oliver; van Leeuwen, Myrna; Bouma, Foppe; Salputra, Guna; Fellmann, Thomas; Nekhay, Olexandr |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of the future developments of Russian and Ukrainian agricultural sectors and their impact on the world market prices for arable crops. Employed in the study is AGMEMOD, a partial equilibrium economic model of EU agriculture at the Member State level that has been extended by Russia and Ukraine to gain quantitative insights. Vital for the project has also been the integration of an endogenous world market price module including a stylized Rest of the World (ROW) model. In Russia and Ukraine, there is a strong focus on plant production in general and on grain based animal production; Russia and Ukraine are mostly net-exports of those products. Under the baseline, in Russia prices for crops and oilseeds are below the world market price level. In general, the removals of the trade measures in Russia and Ukraine are projected to induce world market prices of cereals and oilseeds to decline. |
| Keywords: | Partial equilibrium model, price formation, Russia, Ukraine, Agricultural and Food Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2012–02–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa123:122536&r=tra |
| By: | Vladimir Otrachshenko; Olga Popova |
| Abstract: | This paper provides the first evidence regarding the impact of life satisfaction on the individual intention to migrate. The impact of individual characteristics and country macroeconomic variables on the decision to migrate is analyzed in one framework.Differently from other studies, we allow for life satisfaction to serve as a mediator between macroeconomic variables and the intention to migrate. Using the Eurobarometer Survey for 27 Central Eastern (CEE) and Western European (non-CEE) countries, we test the predictions of our theoretical model and find that dissatisfied with life, people have a higher intention to migrate. The macroeconomic conditions have an effect on the intention to migrate indirectly through life satisfaction. At all levels of life satisfaction, unemployed, middle-aged individuals with a low or average income from urban areas at all levels of education are found to have higher intentions to migrate from CEE countries than from non-CEE countries. |
| Keywords: | life satisfaction; migration; decision making; |
| JEL: | I31 J61 |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp460&r=tra |
| By: | MENG Jianjun |
| Abstract: | Since adopting its economic reform policies, China has overcome various challenges and has transformed itself into a modern market economy. During this change, China has solved the problem of its five billion people living in poverty and has entered into a new development stage. However, as a result of embracing the development concept of "letting some people get rich first," China has experienced numerous social problems such as economic disparities owing to its growth rate exceeding 10%. A "comprehensive well-off society" based on the "common prosperity theory," which China aims to achieve by 2020, will hold a key for future economic development. In other words, its development should emphasize public welfare and the efficient allocation of economic resources. This paper will first analyze the concept of China's own view of a "well-off society" and how establishing it comprehensively will result in its economic development. Second, it will empirically examine the kind of statistical indicators that measure the value of such society. It will also observe how the economies of each region achieved their respective development stage. Third, it will investigate the crucial problems and solutions in this process. Lastly, this paper will discuss the future prospects of the "well-off society." |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:12009&r=tra |
| By: | Zsolt Darvas |
| Abstract: | We study the transmission of monetary policy to macroeconomic variables with structural time-varying coefficient vector autoregressions in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, in comparison with that in the euro area. These three countries have experienced changes in monetary policy regimes and went through substantial structural changes, which call for the use of a timevarying parameter analysis. Our results indicate that the impact on output of a monetary shock changed over time. At the point of the last observation of our sample, the fourth quarter of 2011, among the three countries, monetary policy was most powerful in Poland and not much less strong than the transmission in the euro area. We discuss various factors that can contribute to differences in monetary transmission, such as financial structure, labour market rigidities, industry composition, exchange rate regime, credibility of monetary policy and trade openness. |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bre:wpaper:722&r=tra |
| By: | Catherine Prettner (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business); Klaus Prettner (Harvard University, Center for Population and Development Studies) |
| Abstract: | This article investigates the interrelations between the initial members of the Euro area and five important Central and Eastern European economies. We set up a theoretical open economy model to derive the Purchasing Power Parity, the Interest Rate Parity, the Fisher Inflation Parity, and an output gap relation. After taking convergence into account, they are used as restrictions on the cointegration space of a structural vector error correction model. We then employ generalized impulse response analysis to assess the dynamic effects of shocks in output and interest rates on the respective other area as well as the implications of shocks in the exchange rate and in relative prices on both areas. The results show a high degree of interconnectedness between the two economies. There are strong positive spillovers in output to the respective other region with the magnitude of the impact being similarly strong in both areas. Furthermore, we find a multiplier effect being present in Eastern Europe and some evidence for the European Central Banks’ desire towards price stability. |
| Keywords: | European Economic Integration, Structural Vector Error Correction Model, Generalized Impulse Response Analysis |
| JEL: | C11 C32 F41 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwwuw:wuwp138&r=tra |
| By: | Ferto, Imre; Fogarasi, Jozsef |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the effect of exchange rate volatility and of the institutional quality on international trade flows of transition economies in Central European Countries by applying a gravity model of balance panel between 1999 and 2008. The results show that nominal exchange rate volatility has had a significant negative effect on trade by applying Psuedo-Maximum-Likelihood (PML) estimator method over this period. The institutional quality need to be improved in case of size of government and the quality of regulation. The negative effect of exchange rate volatility on agricultural exports suggests that joining Central European Countries to the euro zone can reduce the negative effects of exchange rate volatility on trade. |
| Keywords: | international trade, gravity model, exchange rate volatility, institutions., International Relations/Trade, Risk and Uncertainty, G10, F11, O17, Q17, P29, |
| Date: | 2012–02–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa123:122510&r=tra |
| By: | Yuri Yegorov |
| Abstract: | The goal of this article is to discuss the interaction between Russian demographic problems and its specialization on the extraction of natural resources. We have several simultaneous processes since 1990s: specialization in extraction of natural resources and demographic problem caused by low fertility in 1990s. Russia has no labor scarcity at present, but will face it in 10 years. Also, its proven oil resources are only for 20 years, and this calls for a necessity of economic diversification. While resource-extraction technology is less labor intensive, movement to technological development will require more labor, and this labor should be skilled. Thus, Russia faces a problem of optimal transition from resource extraction to technological development with simultaneous labor training in the environment of its growing scarcity. Capital from resource export can be used for both investment in new technologies and demographic recovery. Fertility is also endogenous here, depending on consumption level. The policy implications are very important. While there is little reason for boosting fertility initially (since extraction sector is not labor intensive), demography has high inertia, and it will be too late after, especially when oil resources will be close to depletion. The formal modelling is done is the framework of two sector growth model. A sequence of models of dynamic growth, starting from more simple towards more complex, is suggested. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:deg:conpap:c016_061&r=tra |
| By: | Roman Horváth (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic); Michal Franta (Czech National Bank); Marek Rusnák (Czech National Bank) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the evolution of the monetary policy transmission mechanism in the Czech Republic over the 1996-2010 period by employing a time-varying parameters Bayesian vector autoregression model with stochastic volatility. We evaluate whether the response of GDP and the price level to exchange rate or interest rate shocks changes over time, with a focus on the period of the recent financial crisis. Furthermore, we augment the estimated system with a lending rate and credit growth to shed light on the relative importance of financial shocks for the macroeconomic environment. Our results suggest that output and prices have become increasingly responsive to monetary policy shocks, probably reflecting financial sector deepening, more persistent monetary policy shocks, and overall economic development associated with disinflation. On the other hand, exchange rate pass-through has weakened somewhat over time, suggesting improved credibility of inflation targeting in the Czech Republic with anchored inflation expectations. We find that credit shocks had a more sizeable impact on output and prices during the period of bank restructuring with difficult access to credit. In general, our results show that financial shocks are less important for the aggregate economy in an environment of a stable financial system. |
| Keywords: | Monetary policy transmission; Sign restrictions; Time-varying parameters |
| JEL: | E44 E52 |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2012_11&r=tra |
| By: | Sergey Kolesnikov; Olga Podkorytova |
| Keywords: | WTO, Russia, gravity model, trade flows, non-oil trade |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:deg:conpap:c016_068&r=tra |
| By: | Urakami, Kiyoshi |
| Abstract: | Electronics industry has seen a tremendous industry shift from the developed countries to the emerging regions such as East and South Asia, particularly during the past four decades. And we can now see a huge industrial capability accumulation in Asia. This research note aims at, firstly, describing basic nature and structure of outsourcing business in Asia, and, secondly, we look into Apple Inc.'s supply chain to examine Apple supplier factory operations in Mainland China from, primarily, an environmental protection point of view. Based on the initial observation, it is pertinent to say that it is Apple Inc’s social corporate responsibility to address recently raised environmental issues and to create a socially responsible supply chain in China. |
| Keywords: | outsourcing; supply chain; supplier responsibility; corporate social responsibility |
| JEL: | M14 F23 |
| Date: | 2012–05–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:38614&r=tra |
| By: | Elena Mitsek; Sergey Mitsek |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:deg:conpap:c016_030&r=tra |
| By: | Bachev, Hrabrin |
| Abstract: | This paper presents issues and challenges for farm and enterprise diversification and integration of small scale farmers into value chains in East Europe and Central Asia (EECA). First, it discuses context and approaches to agricultural and rural income diversification. Second, it assesses the extent of agricultural diversification in EECA. Third, it identifies issues, challenges and lessons learnt of the integration of small farmers into agricultural value chains in the region. Forth, it outlines options and areas of intervention to foster diversification and market inclusion of smallholders in EECA. Finally, it concludes with recommendations for improvement of public policies and international assistance. |
| Keywords: | farm and income diversification; smallholders market inclusion; East European and Central Asian farming transformation; agrarian policies |
| JEL: | Q17 Q13 P27 R12 Q12 Q18 |
| Date: | 2012–01–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:38683&r=tra |
| By: | Nathan Porter; Papa N'Diaye; Ashvin Ahuja; Malhar Nabar; Nigel Andrew Chalk |
| Abstract: | Global imbalances have been a central theme of the international economic policy debate for much of the last decade, prompted by large and sustained current account deficits in the U.S. and counterpart surpluses in China, Germany, and among many of the oil producers. This paper focuses on the current state of the external imbalance in China, examining the factors underlying the post-2008 drop in China’s current account surplus and analyzing the prospects for the external surplus going forward. The paper finds that China’s current account surplus should remain modest in the coming years. However, despite the fact that China’s medium-term current account is likely to stay below its pre-crisis range, it is too early to conclude that "rebalancing" has been truly achieved in China. While imbalances do not currently seem to be manifesting themselves as a feature of China’s external accounts, the evidence increasingly points to a rising domestic imbalance as growth becomes increasingly dependent on very high levels of investment. |
| Keywords: | Current account balances , Current account surpluses , Exchange rate appreciation , Terms of trade , |
| Date: | 2012–04–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:12/100&r=tra |
| By: | Pascal Grouiez (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - Université de Nantes : EA4272) |
| Abstract: | This article discusses the fact that as Russian farms have been developing multifunctionalities since 1991 this has to be considered as a twofold strategy: the first goal being expand the activities of some institutionally selected enterprises and the second being to reproduce some "communities of interests". The primary observation highlights a characteristic fact: there are several "non-economic" functions carried out by farms that depend on their nature (type of ownership, size of the farm, etc). This analysis leads to the establishment of a link between the very nature of these functions and the existence of constraints and opportunities offered by the economic and social environment. Then, the concept of "productive configuration" is applied to study organization strategies used by several actors in the Orel oblast' and to identify four strategies organizing the relationship between food production and collective welfare creation, each configuration showing an institutional arrangement to secure the continuity and development of farms in a highly competitive context. |
| Keywords: | Productive Configuration ; Mutlfunctionality ; Agroholding in Russia |
| Date: | 2012–05–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00694352&r=tra |
| By: | Xing, Yuqing (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | Trade statistics portray the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the largest exporter of high-tech products. In this paper the author argues that the PRC’s leading position in high-tech exports is a myth created by outdated trade statistics, which are inconsistent with trade based on global supply chains. Current trade statistics mistakenly credit entire values of assembled high-tech products to the PRC, thus greatly inflating its exports. He suggests that a value-added-based approach should be adopted to accurately measure high-tech exports. Furthermore, if assembly is the only source of the value-added generated by PRC workers, in terms of technological contribution these assembled high-tech exports are no different from labor-intensive products, so they should be excluded from the high-tech classification. |
| Keywords: | prc; high-tech; value added; iphone |
| JEL: | F10 F20 |
| Date: | 2012–05–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0357&r=tra |
| By: | Sauer, Johannes; Davidova, Sophia; Gorton, Matthew |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically measures the prevalence of heterogeneous technologies in a sample of small-scale agricultural producers as an answer to structural conditions and market risks. Such risks are closely linked to the effects of land fragmentation and the degree of market integration. We use the empirical case of Kosovo as a transition country to investigate the efficiency effects of land fragmentation by simultaneously considering the effects of market integration. Different to previous studies, we assume that land fragmentation and market integration lead to the prevalence of heterogeneous technologies allowing farm households to respond more efficiently to exogenous price and policy shocks given their fragmentation and subsistence situation. The empirical work links the latent class frontier method to the estimation of a directional output distance function. We estimate beside primal technology measures also dual Morishima type elasticities of substitution investigating changes in production decisions based on relative shadow price changes. |
| Keywords: | Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2012–02–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa123:122509&r=tra |
| By: | Sauer, Johannes; Davidova, Sophia; Gorton, Matthew |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effect of land fragmentation on farm efficiency in Kosovo utilising agricultural household survey data. To recognise heterogeneity among agricultural production systems in Kosovo, we estimate the technology separately for different groups or “classes” of farms, identified using latent class modelling. This approach separates the data into multiple technological “classes” according to estimated probabilities of class membership based on multiple specified characteristics, relating in this case to land fragmentation and market integration. The latent class frontier method is linked to the estimation of a multi-output multi-input production function, namely a directional output distance function, and to the estimation of Morishima elasticities of substitution, based on shadow price changes indicating allocative efficiency changes. The analytical results confirm that the usual approach of using one homogenous function to estimate fragmentation effects is misleading and can lead to inappropriate policy recommendations. Three distinct classes of farm households are identified, which show different levels of efficiency and the proxies for land fragmentation and market integration show different signs over these classes. |
| Keywords: | Land fragmentation, market integration, farm households, Kosovo, Agricultural and Food Policy, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, O13, Q12, |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea12:123236&r=tra |
| By: | Deakin, S.; Sarkar, P.; Singh, A. |
| Abstract: | Legal origins theory suggests that law reform, strengthening shareholder and creditor rights, should enhance financial development. We use recently created datasets measuring legal change over time in a sample of 25 developing, developed and transition countries to test this claim. We find that increases in shareholder protection contribute to stock market growth in the common law world and in developing countries, but not in the civil law world. We also find evidence of reverse causation, with financial development triggering legal changes in the developing world. We consider a number of reasons for the selective impact of law reform, focusing on the endogeneity of the legal system to its economic context, and on resulting complementarities between legal and financial institutions. |
| Keywords: | legal origins, company law, shareholder rights, creditor rights, financial development |
| JEL: | G33 G34 K22 O16 |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbr:cbrwps:wp423&r=tra |
| By: | Pierre, Gaelle |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an overview of the recent performance of the labor market in Vietnam during the Great Recession. The analysis uses data from the Labor Force Survey and the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey. The author finds that, notwithstanding the global crisis and domestic volatility, job creation has been sustained in Vietnam, especially in the formal sector, but that the overall quality of employment has suffered. Gender differentials are found to affect older women especially, while educated women benefit from a skills wage premium. Reassuringly given the large youth share of the total workforce, the youth labor market is dynamic and outcomes for youths have improved. Meanwhile, participation in poverty alleviation programs and labor market programs has not changed, and few workers use the newly created employment services and unemployment benefits. |
| Keywords: | Labor Markets,Population Policies,Labor Policies,Gender and Development,Work&Working Conditions |
| Date: | 2012–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6056&r=tra |