Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Economic conditions'
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1
Baiardi, Anna. "Essays in development economics and economic history." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2017. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/90133/.
Abstract:
The first chapter provides an overview of the topics covered in this thesis. The second chapter explores the effect of historic gender division of labour during slavery on African American women’s performance in the labour market. Using census data from 1870 to 2010, I show that African American women living in areas with lower levels of gender division of labour were more likely to participate in the labour market and have higher occupation income scores after emancipation. The effects are persistent for at least 70 years after the end of slavery. I analyse the mechanisms driving the results, distinguishing between labour supply and demand channels, and I explore intergenerational transmission of gender roles. The third chapter empirically assesses the importance of ethnic networks in facilitating international trade. In particular, it investigates the impact of ethnic Cantonese networks in the United States on the export performance of firms based in Southern China. The results indicate that exposure to ethnic networks has a positive effect on exports, both at the extensive and the intensive margin. We explore the mechanisms underlying the results, distinguishing between information flows, contract enforcement, foreign investment and technology diffusion. The fourth chapter analyses the effect of ethnic Chinese networks in the United States on knowledge diffusion and innovation in China. I construct a proxy for the ethnic network based on historic Chinese settlements and current industry employment patterns, exploiting the migration restrictions imposed by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The results indicate that when innovation in the U.S. increases, industries that are more exposed to the ethnic network in the U.S. innovate more in China. This suggests that ethnic networks contribute to the diffusion of technology across countries.
2
Yamasaki, Junichi. "Essays on development economics and Japanese economic history." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2017. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3676/.
Abstract:
This thesis consists of three independent chapters on development economics and Japanese economic history. The first chapter analyzes the effect of railroad construction in the Meiji period (1868–1912) on technology adoption and modern economic development. By digitizing a novel data set that measures the use of steam engines at the factory level and determining the cost-minimizing path between destinations as an identification strategy, I find that railroad access led to the increased adoption of steam power by factories, which in turn induced structural change and urbanization. My results support the view that railroad network construction was key to modern economic growth in pre-First World War Japan. The second chapter analyzes the effect of time horizon on local public investment in the Edo period (1615–1868). I use a unique event in Japanese history during this period to identify the effect. In 1651, the sudden death of the executive leader of the Tokyo government reduced the transfer risk of local lords, especially for insiders, who supported the Tokyo government during the war of 1600. Using a newly digitized data set and a difference-in-differences strategy, I find that after 1651, regions owned by insiders increased the number of public projects more than regions owned by the other lords. I discuss other possible channels to interpret the effect of tenure risk, but I find no strong support for these alternative channels and conclude that the results support a longer time horizon effect. The third chapter provides more general background and a complete description of the data availability in Japan in the 17th–20th centuries, to discuss future research directions. It would aid reexamination of the history of Japan and other East Asian countries, which have experienced different economic and political paths.
3
Rudolph, Thomas James. "Institutional responsibility for economic conditions /." Diss., ON-CAMPUS Access For University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Click on "Connect to Digital Dissertations", 2001. http://www.lib.umn.edu/articles/proquest.phtml.
4
Wang, Shengzu 1978. "Economic policies in developing and emerging market economies : three essays in international and development economics." Thesis, McGill University, 2008. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=115647.
Abstract:
This thesis consists of three essays, which focus on different aspects of economic policy issues faced by developing and emerging market economies. The first essay explores the effect of monetary policy credibility on exchange rate volatility in a small open economy, even if the exchange rate is not an explicit target set by the monetary authority. Using an open economy framework modified from Gall and Monacelli (2005) and Walsh (2006), it shows that monetary policy credibility helps to stabilize the exchange rate as supply and demand side shocks hit the domestic economy. The monetary policy credibility can be achieved by the monetary authority's commitment to certain rules aiming for output/price smoothing. In the empirical analysis inflation targeting is used as a proxy variable for monetary credibility. The GARCH model of selected South-East Asian countries indicates that countries with inflation targeting policies have exhibited reduced exchange rate volatility when other factors are controlled.The second essay looks at FDI inflows into developing economies. Two distinctive differences of FDI inflows between developed and developing economies are entry modes and evidence of government regulations. This essay investigates the incentives of FDI flows in terms of cost-saving merger, fixed cost of entry and the role of government policies. In particular it shows that, if the cost-saving effect is large and the government intervenes, the foreign firm will consider the FDI through either Greenfield or Brownfield, which corresponds to the situation for FDI flows into developing economies. Otherwise, the foreign firm will only consider Brownfield or staying outside, which stands for the developed economy case. Since one remarkable feature of the FDI flows into developing countries is the benefit of cost-saving from low labour costs, this essay takes this effect into account and provides insights for economic "outsourcing". The multi-stage sequential game model presented in this chapter provides comparable results for the pattern of the FDI flows affected by regulation and institutional factors, which are not addressed by existing literature. Finally, it reveals some intuition and feature of a developing economy where the government regulations on FDI flows are more often observed.
The third essay deals with the resource/revenue reallocation within powerful groups in the economy and the impact of the rent-seeking behavior of these groups on the economic growth and the social welfare. In particular, it introduces a dynamic model of resource-grabbing by status-conscious agents, i.e., agents value not only their absolute consumption levels, but also the relative status within his/her reference group. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of the "positional externalities" on the urge to seek rent and to connect the "tragedy of the commons" problem with relative consumption. The model shows that the greater is agents' concern about their relative status, the more aggressively they tend to behave. Consequently, the social welfare is lower because the growth rate of the public asset is reduced due to higher extraction rate. After introducing heterogeneity, it shows that the social welfare decreases as the distribution of status-consciousness among agents widens. Finally, it provides some policy suggestions that the government might consider to achieve a second best social outcome.
5
Gilboa, David. "The economic conditions of political liberty." The Ohio State University, 1989. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/42197316.html.
6
Xing, Kai. "Macroeconomic conditions, corporate defaults, and economic recessions." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2017. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39401/.
Abstract:
In this thesis, I investigate effective predictors for corporate defaults and measurement of economic recessions. I use corporate default probabilities in US industrial firms from April 1980 to December 2014 and effective predictors extracted from 92 macroeconomic and financial variables and I propose a framework to determine whether there is a dynamic in effective predictors for US corporate defaults. I apply LASSO, an advanced variable selection technique, and I find that there are no macro factors that can consistently explain default risk over time, suggesting that default risk has been dynamic during the 35-year period. These dynamics persist even during non-recession periods. Interestingly, the strong predictive powers of macro factors over shorter periods are related to monetary policy indicators and tools, which provides empirical support for prior theoretical theories that emphasize the unique role of monetary policies in corporate defaults. Another interesting finding is that institutional market funding, as the liquidity source provided by non-bank groups, has gradually impacted on corporate defaults since the 2001 recession. In the financial crisis occuring in 2007 this money market funds (MMFs) have strongest impact on corproate defaults. This implies that MMFs paly a crucial role of destabilizing credit markets in recent years, which is consistent with current studies of whether MMFs can result in financial stability. I study US economic recessions by introducing a cutting-edged technique from the Natural Sciences in order to capture the critical transitions in the macroeconomic system, using hundreds of macroeconomic and financial variables covering the period January 1980 to December 2014. Based on this method, I construct macro indicators to measure the interactions among these variables in order to capture the critical transitions in the macroeconomic system. Then I employ a standard logit model to study whether these proposed indicators offer a prediction one-month ahead of US economic recessions from September 1980 to December 2014. I find that the interactions among macroeconomic and financial variables measured by covariance among these variables can provide one-month ahead prediction for US economic recessions. In particular, the best predictive macro indicators are constructed by employing procyclical factors and factors from six economic groups based on results from both in-sample and out-of-sample analysis. Regarding the standard ideal indicator defined by Shiskin and Moore (1967), the indicator constructed by procyclical factors is preferable over that constructed by the factors from six economic groups since the former is smoother. I also find that the threshold based on 25% for classifying the recessions can generate better estimation results than using 50%, consistent with prior studies. In forecasting economic recessions in the US, the indicator generated by using broad macro factors is able to provide predictive power. The implication of these results is to provide a new quantitative approach for central bankers and policy makers to predict economic recessions one month ahead.
7
Matkivska. "MOTIVATION OF EMPLOYEES IN MODERN ECONOMIC CONDITIONS." Thesis, Київ 2018, 2018. http://er.nau.edu.ua/handle/NAU/33812.
8
Schneider, Lesley Erin. "Economic Conditions and Punishment Severity in Minnesota." The Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1543348790757449.
9
Ross, Sandy. "Everyday economics : ideas new and old from lay theories of economic life." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2011. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/193/.
Abstract:
This project explores divergences and parallels between lay theories of economic life as experienced and developed in two virtual worlds – Final Fantasy XI (FFXI) and Second Life (SL) – and academic theories from sociology and anthropology as well as economics. My intent is not a critique of economics, but a suggestion that other economic sociologies are possible, and to provide points of departure and ideas for such alternative configurations. Exploration of lay theories is organised around four key conceptual categories – value, exchange, money and markets – which were suggested by participants' accounts and economic organisation within each field site. Respondents' theories offer polyphonic, heteroglossic approaches to economic life that sometimes diverge substantially from academic conceptualisations. Lay theories examined in this research emphasising plurality and multiplicity – especially with respect to monies – going so far as to suggest a radical reorganisation of economies based on monies rather than markets. When lay theories from each category are pieced together, they reveal a social imaginary of boundless abundance, strong reliance upon practices as ways of knowing about and theorising economic life, and strange parellels with studies of “primitive” cultures. This dissertation is based on comparative ethnographies of two disparate virtual worlds, FFXI and SL, which offer different slant-wise views of contemporary capitalist, consumer societies. Final Fantasy XI is a proprietary massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) created, owned and maintained by Square-Enix, while Second Life (SL) is a free-form, nonproprietary, three-dimensional virtual world created and maintained in a laissezfaire fashion by Linden Lab. Fieldwork consisted of participant observation, one-on-one interviews, group interviews with FFXI respondents and analysis of fan-made media and corporate texts.
10
Murphy, Kimberly A. "The impact of regional economic conditions on recruiting." Thesis, Monterey, Calif. : Springfield, Va. : Naval Postgraduate School ; Available from National Technical Information Service, 1999. http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA361449.
11
Carr, Chance. "Social and Economic Conditions of Temporary Urban Living." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1397476659.
12
Loftin, Craig R. "An Examination of Open- and Closed-Economic Corxtitions in Operant Research." DigitalCommons@USU, 1989. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/5997.
Abstract:
The effect of economic condition on the relation between responding and overall rate of reinforcement has been an area of recent interest in operant research. The present research was conducted to determine whether the manipulation of the economic condition, by the systematic manipulation of the provision of substitute food, has an effect on this relation and whether open- and closed-economies represent two opposing alternatives or two parametric extremes along- a continuum. The results of two experiments conducted with pigeons using variable-interval and fixed-ratio schedules of reinforcement suggest that the manipulation of economic condition has a controlling effect on the relation between responding and overall rate of reinforcement, that open- and closed- economies are likely to represent points along- a continuum rather than all-or-none conditions, and that the differences in the response-to- reinforcement relation between open- and closed-economies are likely due to an interaction of incentive and regulatory effects. Additionally, specific methodological considerations for further research in this area are suggested.
13
Шкодкіна, Юлія Михайлівна, Юлия Михайловна Шкодкина, Yuliia Mykhailivna Shkodkina, Юлiя Григорiвна Гуменна, Юлия Григорьевна Гуменная, Yuliia Hryhorivna Humenna, and O. Tverezovska. "Obstacles to start-up implementation in the modern conditions of conditions of economic development." Thesis, Sumy State University, 2020. https://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/81381.
Abstract:
Матеріал присвячений питанням дослідження та аналізу основних перешкод та проблем під час впровадження стартапів в Україні.Материал посвящен вопросам исследования и анализа основных препятствий и проблем при внедрении стартапов в Украине.
The material is devoted to research and analysis of the main obstacles and problems during the implementation of startups in Ukraine.
14
Lee, Ka-yan Vivian, and 李家欣. "Who will be hercules in the 21st century?: economic and social development : a comparative study of Hong Kongand Singapore." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2001. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31953116.
15
Rupesinghe, K. "The social and economic conditions of export oriented industrialization as a strategy of development." Thesis, City University London, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.374283.
16
Arroyo, Borrell Elena. "Health and economic conditions: evidence from individual-level data." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Girona, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/400803.
Abstract:
The main aim of this thesis is to investigate the effects of economic conditions on health using advanced micro-econometric techniques applied to survey data. The dissertation examines the consequences of the current economic crisis on a variety of health outcomes: from self-reported health to arguably more objective measures of health like prescription data; from the health of adults to infant and adolescent health. The research in this dissertation finds mixed evidence on the effects of negative economic conditions. On average, during the crisis it doesn’t seem that most health outcomes have worsened, but certain socioeconomic groups appear to be particularly vulnerable. However, overall the results reported in this dissertation still supportive of the hypothesis that negative economic conditions are associated with the worsening of certain health outcomesL’objectiu principal d’aquesta tesi és investigar els efectes de les condicions econòmiques negatives en la salut utilitzant tècniques micro-economètriques avançades aplicades a dades d’enquestes. La tesi examina les conseqüències de l’actual crisi econòmica en una varietat de mesures de salut: des de mesures de salut reportades fins a mesures més objectives; o des de la salut dels adults a la salut dels nens i adolescents. La recerca de la tesi troba diferents resultats sobre els efectes de les condicions econòmiques negatives. En general, la crisi econòmica no sembla que hagi empitjorat la majoria de les mesures de salut analitzades, però certs grups socioeconòmics són particularment vulnerables. No obstant, en general els resultats de la tesi donen suport a la hipòtesi que les condicions econòmiques negatives estan associades a un empitjorament de certes mesures de salut
17
Du, Plessis Sophia W. F. "Institutions and institutional change as explanation for differences in economic development – a study of the first three decades of the postcolonial experience of Zambia and Botswana." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/1387.
Abstract:
Thesis (PhD (Economics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005.Numerous theories have been constructed to provide reasons for economic growth differences between countries. As data became more readily available, cross-country empirical studies identified a set of variables that contributed to economic growth, including variables such as the investment in human and physical capital.
18
Guo, Huanguang. "Inequality and economic growth in China : an empirical analysis." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2004. http://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_ra/607.
19
Nickel, Carsten. "Rhineland revisited : subsidiarity and the historical origins of coordination : comparing Germany with the Netherlands and France (800-1914)." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9b3f50c9-cddf-43a2-bf5b-c6ab5689a4a3.
Abstract:
What explains the historical emergence of coordinated economic institutions for human capital formation and welfare provision? Surveying roughly one millennium of political and economic development in Germany, the Netherlands and France up until 1914, this thesis argues that da-ting back to the Middle Ages, the earliest forerunners of modern economic coordination could develop only in institutional complementarity with a specific form of political decentralisation, connected via their jointly enabling effect on collective action. This mutually re-enforcing com-plementarity gave rise to societies organised around the principle of subsidiarity, in which an often structurally unclear distribution of decision-making powers prompts political and eco-nomic actors to coordinate across different hierarchical levels. The comparison of eventually federal Germany with the ultimately unitary Netherlands - both of which developed significant patterns of economic coordination - demonstrates that political decentralisation under subsidi-arity does not simply equal the modern (American) reference model of clear-cut, rights-based federalism. Meanwhile the experience of strongly centralised France highlights that without this decentralisation, institutions of economic coordination hardly develop. Collective action is diffi-cult to harness if subsidiarity is absent because on the central state level, and unlike in economically more homogenous local contexts, economic interests often remain too diverse to coordi-nate. The historical result has been the emergence of decentralised-coordinated political econo-mies under subsidiarity in Germany and the Netherlands, and of a centralised, non-coordinated system in France. A better understanding of these institutional complementarities can help us historically inform recent scholarly debates on the emergence of modern political-economic organisation in the 19th century and on current governance problems in the Eurozone. The thesis seeks to contribute to the historical study of comparative political economy by highlighting how particular complementary institutions of political and economic governance have co-developed over time. It is argued that this understudied aspect of institutional development is crucial for understanding processes of continuity and change in advanced capitalism.
20
Salci, Sener. "Three essays on the economics of renewable energy in small island economies." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2015. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/6021/.
Abstract:
In chapter 1, we introduce mechanism and present results of an integrated investment appraisal of an onshore wind farm for electricity generation in Cape-Verde that is owned and operated by a private investor. From the perspective of the electric utility and the economy, the results of such an ex-ante financial and economic appraisal of wind electricity generation depends critically on one’s view of the expected long-term level of future fossil fuel prices, negotiations of the power purchase agreement (PPA) price and wind capacity factor. In Chapter 2, we investigate the impacts of wind and solar renewable power sources on both electricity generation and planning by employing and applying a cost minimization model in Cyprus. The cost minimization model demonstrates that the use of wind alone and mix of wind and solar power in an electricity generation mix reduces the overall cost of the system. Due to high cost of electricity generation from fuel oil in Cyprus, we conclude that shift toward wind and solar mix of energy sources in Cyprus will have significant impact by means of cost reduction. Therefore, integrating these renewables will essentially contribute to the welfare of Cypriot consumers alongside its environmental and health benefits associated in them. In Chapter 3, we study the impacts of implementing real-time electricity pricing (RTP) in the Cypriot electricity market with and without wind/solar capacities. We use a merit order stack approach to generation investment and operation decisions. Empirical results show that dynamic pricing will increase generation capacity utilization by means of reduction in equilibrium installed capacity reduction and increase in load factors of off-peak plants. These savings are larger at higher demand elasticities. The emissions from electricity generation will potentially increase resulting from increased energy consumption, however. Because wind (solar) availability comes mostly during low (high) demand hours when relatively cleaner (dirtier) plants operate in the system, we find that there is considerable potential for capital cost savings and emission savings from smart metering even with only a small consumer response and at moderate participation in the programme. At the current costs of solar, investing in wind alone will however yield higher bill savings.
21
Fraser, Patricia. "Essays on international parity conditions." Thesis, City, University of London, 1989. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/17968/.
Abstract:
This thesis brings together a collection of essays on parity conditions in international economics: covered interest parity: covered interest parity: purchasing power parity and real interest parity. While each essay is an independent study of a particular problem area, there exists a common theme in that the set of parity conditions chosen for analysis is thought to be important in determining the short and long-nm behaviour of exchange rates. The justification for the study arises from two related issues. Firstly, as it is often assumed that exchange rates are determined in efficient markets, an analysis of international parity conditions may help us comment on the efficient markets hypothesis. We define efficiency according to Fama (1970), Where the market is said to be efficient if prices 'fully reflect' all currently available information. Secondly, models of exchange rate determination, within which the above parity conditions play a fundamental role, have exhibited a poor empirical performance in the recent past. An examination of the foundations of such models may therefore be helpful in allocating 'blame'. Of the four problem areas analysed ally covered interest parity was unconditionally accepted as a plausible assumption. Fran a possible 6330 potential arbitrage opportunities observed during the months of August and September 1987, only eight would have been profitable. Agents were efficient in terms of ensuring the forward exchange premium equalled the relevant interest rate differentials, subject to transaction costs. Some evidence however was found for the existence of a risk premium in the forward exchange rate during the 1920s, but attempts to model the premium as both a function of past forecast errors and as a latent variable, had limited success. We were therefore unable to verify the existence of risk averse speculative agents in foreign exchange markets. Purchasing power parity, analysed in terms of a theory of arbitrage for the period 1975 to 1980, using a recently developed econometric technique - cointegration - was rejected. This would imply that commodity arbitrage may be inefficient. A direct test of real interest parity using the bivariate vector autoregression approach, was also decisively rejected for the period 1979 to 1986. The observation that real interest rates do not fully reflect all currently held information suggests that the long term credibility of the European Monetary System may be suspect and that governments can influence national investment/saving decisions by intervention in domestic financial markets.
22
Weatherman, Lynda. "The changing Hong Kong economy : economics, issues and findings /." Thesis, Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 1990. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B42574183.
23
Chung, Chang-kun. "Income distribution and economic growth : the case of Korea." Thesis, Kansas State University, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/9905.
24
Riser, Jerome L. "A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of the Redistribution of Regional Economic Growth." Thesis, North Texas State University, 1986. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc500829/.
Abstract:
Utilizing shift/share and economic base analysis, data covering employment, income, and population are analyzed for each of the nine regions of the United States as defined by the Census Bureau. The study covers 1970 through 1984 because widespread redistribution of employment and a shift toward more service-oriented, white collar jobs occurred during this period. This study presents currents trends and recommends ways in which people may better prepare for the future.
25
Blouin, Arthur. "Essays on culture and economic relationships." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2013. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/66436/.
Abstract:
Chapter two investigates whether insular cultures are less likely to adopt new technologies. Combining GIS crop production data with unique language data, I show that societies that are isolated on the language tree produce less of the crops that required adoption, but not of the crops not requiring adoption. Endogeneity of cultural isolation is addressed by exploiting ancestral migration route direction. Cultural isolation persists due to the endogeneity of land settlement. Land selection caused increased polarization and decreased fractionalization, a pattern that is argued to limit the incentives for cross-societal communication. Chapter three uses contract level data on a portfolio of 197 coffee washing stations in 18 countries to identify the sources and consequences of credit imperfections. Due to moral hazard, default increases following increases in world coffee prices just before the maturity date of the contract. Strategic default is deterred by relationships with the lender and foreign buyers: the value of informal enforcement amounts to 50% of the value of the sale contract for repaying borrowers. A RDD shows that firms are credit constrained. Prices paid to farmers increase implying the existence of contractual externalities along the supply chain. Chapter four analyzes the effect of interethnic trust on economic relationships in Rwanda/Burundi. The endogeneity of defaults impact on trust is dealt with by exploiting the eligibility of respondents’ grandparents to coffee corvée in the colonial era. Corvée contributed to Hutu-Tutsi tensions. Corvée eligibility is used as an exogenous instrument for interethnic trust, measured using a unique dataset collected in the field. Grandparent eligibility for corvée reduces interethnic trust, and that low trust increases the likelihood of being defaulted on. The evidence suggests that default becomes more likely among less trusting individuals due to adverse selection, not moral hazard.
26
Conference, Southern African Catholic Bishops'. "Economic justice in South Africa: a pastoral statement." Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68823.
Abstract:
The Introduction to the statement explains that its aim is to contribute to the search for a more just, equitable and sustainable economic dispensation. It reminds people that, as a nation, we have overcome the horrors of apartheid and made significant progress towards peace and stability. However, we are sitting on an economic time-bomb; if we do not strive for economic justice we must expect a deepening of our social problems such as crime, lawlessness, poverty and unemployment. The second section considers the Church's Prophetic Duty to speak out and to bring Gospel values to bear on political, economic and social matters. A second transformation is needed: massive, and overwhelmingly positive, political change has occurred, but the same has not yet happened in the economy, with the result that the majority of our people still have little chance of fulfilling their reasonable hopes for a better life. Section three turns to the question of Discerning Economic Justice. It is asserted that every economy has a moral quality which makes it possible for us to pass judgements as to whether or not it is a just economy. In order to make such judgements the presence or absence of various factors must be assessed, including poverty, unemployment, discrimination, materialism and environmental degradation. Next, the statement deals briefly with Economic Structure. The fact that economies are complex, and that most people are unfamiliar with economic terminology, results in many people feeling powerless. They believe that, as individuals, they have no influence over, or responsibility for, the way an economy operates. Some of the negative consequences of such a belief are mentioned, and it is pointed out that we have a moral duty to make the correct choices, even in complex matters. Section four, Christian Economic Values, offers some guidelines for those striving to make these choices. The section summarises some of the main concepts and principles developed by the Church as ways of making concrete the commandment to 'love your neighbour as yourself'. These include the common good, solidarity, the option for the poor, the common destiny of goods, and the integrity of creation. The South African Economy is analysed in section six, according to the criteria mentioned in section three. Poverty, unemployment, materialism, greed, the lack of women's economic empowerment, debt and corruption are among the features identified as contributing to economic injustice in our country. But the gap between rich and poor is singled out as the defining characteristic of our economy, with millions of South Africans surviving, like Lazarus, on crumbs from the rich man's table. No country's economy exists in isolation, free from outside influences. Therefore, in section seven, some attention is given to The World Economy, especially to aspects which affect South Africa. The point is made that international factors can act as powerful constraints on moves towards economic justice at home, without their being, however, an excuse for a lack of effort in this direction. When statements such as the present one are published, people have a right to expect the authors to make specific and practical recommendations. This is attempted in section eight, What Can Be Done? The major role-players in the economy are identified and various steps are suggested for each of them; these range from fiscal initiatives to encourage job-creation, through changes to personal taxation and measures to improve productivity and training, to the promotion of the interests of the unemployed. However, it is conceded that even the most enlightened economic measures will not be able to withstand selfish and destructive attitudes. The question of people's attitudes to each other and to economic choices is therefore addressed, with particular emphasis being placed on the role of the religious community in this regard. By way of Conclusion the statement points out that economic justice is demanded not just by the poor and by forthcoming generations, but by God. In striving for a just economy we are carrying forward Jesus' great task of bringing fullness of life to all people.2nd ed
27
Sugiyarto, Guntur. "The economic effects and distributional implications of economic reform policies on the Indonesian economy : a CGE approach." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2000. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11054/.
Abstract:
Having discussed issues of economic reform and its applications on the Indonesian economy followed by Indonesian SAMs and CGE applications, three CGE models representative to the economy were developed by using SAMs of 1985, 1990 and 1993 for analysing the effects of economic reform. Production is specified as a two-level nesting of CES functions and total production is allocated to domestic demand and exports. Producers are assumed to be indifferent between selling domestically and exporting, while for imports the `small country' assumption is adopted. Total demands are derived from composite commodities of domestically produced and imported commodities. Fixed and planned consumption patterns are assumed for households and government, which makes government saving a residual. Aggregate investment is accordingly fixed, reflecting the 'investment driven' nature of the economy. Three policy changes (i.e. stabilisation, trade liberalisation and tax reform) are then simulated as well as sequencing simulations, in which the three policy changes are simulated in different orders. Stabilisation simulation results suggest that government spending cut will make contractions, leading to worsening welfare status. This policy, however, has favourable impacts on income distribution, since government consumption has increasingly been favouring higher income households. Trade liberalisation increases trades and availability of products. This in turn improves macroeconomic performance and welfare condition. Trade balance and government deficit, however, worsen. This policy also has favourable impacts on income distribution of rural households since urban households seem to be the ones benefiting from the existing tariff protection. Indirect tax reductions improve macroeconomic performances, welfare condition and income distribution, especially among agriculture households. Government bears the adverse effects due to its consumption behaviour and initial budget deficits. The sequencing simulations show that initial condition is crucial which affects choices of favourable policies. A sensible choice for sequencing of economic reform in Indonesia is to start with tax reform, which can then be followed by, trade liberalisation and stabilisation. By having less distorted domestic market, the benefits from trade and other reform policies can be more realised. If a deficit reduction is a matter of urgency, stabilisation should include other policies that reduce existing distortions. The same is also applied for trade liberalisation. There seems an urgent need to further dismantling the existing distortions in the domestic market, indicating that the actual government policies adopted during, the period concerned were 'not the best ones.
28
Samimi, Saeed. "Oil and economic development in Iran." Thesis, McGill University, 1985. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=63384.
29
Schabbel, Christian. "The value chain of foreign aid : development, poverty reduction, and regional conditions /." Heidelberg : Physica-Verl, 2007. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-1932-8.
30
Sundelin, Svendsen Hans Christian, and Oscar Sundqvist. "The Need for Children : How economic conditions affects birth rate." Thesis, Södertörn University College, School of Social Sciences, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-2523.
Abstract:
Den åldrande befolkningen sägs föra med sig problemet att allt färre får ta hand om allt fler, diskussionen handlar ofta om pensionsfrågor. Samtidigt har man glömt bort den andra dimensionen i form av barnafödande och fertilitet. En del faktorer kan inverka på hushållen mer än andra när de väljer att skaffa barn, förstår vi hushållens val på aggregerad nivå så förstår vi även samhällets val när det kommer till barnafödandet.
Genom en regressionsanalys, innehållande tre modeller, undersöks hur och om de makroekonomiska variablerna disponibel inkomst, arbetslöshet, sparkvot, utbildningskostnader och om inkomstskillnader mellan män och kvinnor samt föräldraförsäkringen påverkar barnafödandet i Sverige. Variablerna är valda med utgångspunkt i Gary Beckers teori om efterfrågan på barn. Sekundärdata är hämtad från Statistiska Centralbyrån.
Resultatet visar att disponibel inkomst har ett positivt samband med barnafödandet. Utbildningskostnader och föräldraförsäkringen visar dock ett negativt samband med barnafödandet. Variabeln arbetslöshet visar varierande signifikans beroende på om vi inkluderar en föräldraförsäkring eller inte. Variablerna sparkvot och könsrelaterade inkomstskillnader visar ingen signifikans.
31
Gren, Philip. "The effect of economic conditions on voting for extreme parties." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Nationalekonomiska institutionen, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-303969.
Abstract:
This thesis studies how local economic conditions affect the decision to vote for an extreme party. I collect Swedish municipal data and construct a panel data set for the years 1998 to 2014. Economic conditions are measured using municipal unemployment data whereas the vote share of the Sweden Democrats is the main dependent variable of interest. The empirical challenge in this study lies in that economic conditions are not randomly distributed between municipalities and it is therefore hard to provide causal evidence. This thesis uses a fixed-effects model to mitigate this issue and identification, thus, comes from variation in unemployment within municipalities over time. Results show that if unemployment increases by one percentage point the vote share increases between 0.16-0.49 percentage points on average for the municipality elections. For the general national elections, the results are smaller and an increase of unemployment with one percentage point increases the vote share with 0.096-0.20 percentage points on average.
32
Cox, Christopher R. "Synthesizing the Vertical and the Horizontal: A World-Ecological Analysis of 'the Industrial Revolution', Part I." PDXScholar, 2014. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1944.
Abstract:
'The Industrial Revolution' is simultaneously one of the most under-examined and overly-simplified concepts in all of social science. One of the ways it is highly under-examined is in the arena of the ecological, particularly through the lens of critical world-history. This paper attempts to analyze the phenomenon through the lens of the world-ecology synthesis, in three distinct phases: First, the history of the conceptualization of the Industrial Revolution is examined at length, paying special attention to the knowledge foundations that determine these conceptualizations. Secondly, I sift out what I believe is the dominant model throughout most of modern and now postmodern history, which I identify as the techno-economic narrative. I then present the main critical world-historical challenge to that argument (that the Industrial Revolution was a unified, linear, two-century phenomenon) by outlining the critical interpretations of Fernand Braudel, Immanuel Wallerstein, Giovanni Arrighi, among others, leading a view of industrialization that is over the very long term, or what Braudel referred to as the longue durée. This long-view form of critical historical analysis is unabashedly Marxist, so there is some foray into various pieces of the Marxian canon, pieces that are often left untouched or at the least under-utilized in many politico-economic analyses of environmental history and politico-ecological narratives as well. Thirdly, I attempt to bring this new long-form view of industrialization more firmly into the ecological, but filtering the basic presuppositions of the 'techno-economic' narratives and the Marxist 'critical world-historical' narratives through the presuppositions of Jason W. Moore's world-ecology synthesis. What we arrive at through this filtering process is a very different view of the Industrial Revolution than we are used to hearing about. This is Part I of a much larger research process, one that I intend to bring into the present and future by looking at the development process of the BRICS as the next extension of the Industrial Revolution. What this paper is most concerned with is re-igniting what I think is a valuable debate among theorists, economic historians, and Marxist ecological thinkers, the debate about what exactly this phenomenon was, is, and will be. My small contribution is to re-define it in relationship to its really-existing history, including its antecedents and possible future expansions.
33
Chang, Ju-kuang. "Economic Development and Income Inequality: The Taiwan Case." PDXScholar, 1995. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4875.
Abstract:
This thesis examines income inequality in Taiwan from three perspectives: economic development, political democracy, and world-system/dependence. Education, population growth, population structure, unemployment, savings, and export growth are treated as variables. Below are the important conclusions. Economic development has an effect on income inequality. The level of development is crucial. In the 1950s and 1960s, the relationship was significant, but in the next two decades economic development did not further decrease income inequality. Sector dualism was not a good predictor. Democratization did not have an obvious relation with income inequality. But the stable political environment and the endeavors of government to keep the society stable were crucial to economic development and improvement in income inequality. Foreign capital and export dependence did not retard economic development and worsen income inequality. But the influence of foreign capital did not contradict the world-system/dependence argument. Expansion of education had a negative relation with income inequality. The most important thing was the expansion of primary school education and junior high school education. The predicted relation between population growth and population structure and income inequality was not totally supported. Export expansion and savings expansion had an important influence on economic development and, like the relation between the economic development and income inequality, the relation between the expansion of exports and savings and income inequality was stronger in the 1960s than in the 1950s. Unemployment had almost the same change pattern as income inequality. This implies that employment had a negative relation with income inequality and, after 1970, the low unemployment helped keep inequality at a low level in the 1970s and 1980s. In the late 1980s and early 1990s income inequality increased slightly as radical changes in economic structure, political environment, and other social factors transformed Taiwan. Other developed countries also show an increase in income inequality associated with similar changes. Thus income inequality in Taiwan is predicted to increase further.
34
Siketina, Natalya Hennadievna, and A. S. Shakyn. "Modern condition of economic education in Ukraine analysis." Thesis, Харківський національний університет будівництва та архітектури, 2018. http://repository.kpi.kharkov.ua/handle/KhPI-Press/36609.
Abstract:
On the potential of overcoming through economic education and the education of the gap between consciously desirable reality and the existing objective reality lays many hopes on, because it depends on this on the ability of future generations to actively creative, creative and innovative self-realization in the economic, entrepreneurial and managerial fields.
35
Daniels, Sinclair Lonwabo. "The impact of economic downturn on black economic empowerment and banks." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1505.
Abstract:
The purpose of this treatise is to ascertain the impact of economic downturn on Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Banks. This has been sparked by the huge speculations in the market as to what will happen to BEE and how will the banks cope in general with the impact of this scourge. It is imperative to understand the influence of the 2008+ economic downturn on socio-economic reconstruction and development in South Africa and the black economic empowerment and its funding mechanisms. The treatise has two phases the, namely the theoretical phase and a bit of narrative phase. In the theoretical phase the research study interrogates what the literature review reveals about the economic downturn, BEE as well as performances of different banks across the world. This shows the economic impact that the banks have had to endure during the economic downturn. This resulted in stock markets losing their value. The dividend earners were significantly affected including a sizeable number of BEE companies. The BEE companies are perceived to be too reliant on debt on to finance their deals and this treatise will look at various options of financing a BEE deal and what is deem to the most suited financing structure. The narrative phase involves semi-structured interviews that were conducted in order to ascertain the real impact that South African were faced with and how they have managed to steer clear of the turbulent waters. This also looked at how the BEE consultant views the current occurrences in the market.
36
Martin, Marina. "An economic history of Hundi, 1858-1978." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2012. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/315/.
Abstract:
A centuries-old artery of credit for Indian merchant networks, the indigenous credit system hundi has received no systematic attention in histories of the Indian subcontinent. Poorly understood and ill-defined, hundi was a highly negotiable instrument, and source of liquid capital. Hundi knitted together the properties of goods, capital, credit, information and agency, all of which served as the backbone of the Indian merchant network. Drawing on government proceedings, reports, and legal cases, this study provides an insight into the legal encounter between Indian indigenous institutions and the British colonial government. It simultaneously reveals the customs, contracts and individual functions of hundi determining its usage. In particular, this study addresses the important issue of how legal change in colonies affected the so-called ‘informal’ institutions which made trade possible. Between 1858-1947, hundi caught the eye of the British Indian government initially as an important taxable revenue stream. This resulted in hundi being integrated with statutes and regulations during the colonial period. However, this process of formalization was not without its own share of classificatory and interpretive problems, nor did hundi remain unchanged. Material from the 1930s reveals an appreciable change in how the government perceived hundi. The instrument distinguishes itself as a source of liquidity capable of promoting trade and modern banking developments. Moreover, hundi’s importance to the indigenous banking community underscores hundi’s function within the wider Indian economy. Nevertheless, the system’s integration with modern banking continued to present problems. The penultimate chapter explores why problems persisted, examining how a legal solution was proposed in 1978. Finally, the conclusion ties all the threads together and discusses the implications for hundi’s survival.
37
Faber, Benjamin. "Three essays on globalization and economic development." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2013. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/602/.
Abstract:
How do falling barriers to flows of trade and information both within and across countries affect economic livelihoods in developing countries? The three chapters presented in this PhD thesis aim to contribute to our understanding of this question.
38
Gorlach, Vsevolod Igorevich. "The impact of economic freedom on economic growth in the SADC." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020786.
Abstract:
The role of institutions – economic freedom – is a critical determinant of economic growth, yet the global distribution of economic freedom is skewed. Economic freedom focuses on personal choice, the ability to make voluntary transactions, the freedom to compete and the security of property rights. The SADC is attempting to alleviate poverty and achieve sustainable development and economic growth. This thesis illustrates that economic freedom, in aggregate, and on an individual component basis, drives economic growth. The annual data for the 12 SADC counties from 2000 to 2009 are used to construct a panel data model to conduct the empirical analyses. Cross-sectional effects, as well as time (period) effects, are valid; and thus, a two-way error-component model is estimated. The Hausman test showed the regressors to be endogenous and correlated with the error term. The Pesaran CD test, suitable for dynamic panels, determined that cross-sections are interdependent; and the cross-correlation coefficient indicated a relatively weak, yet substantial, correlation. The LSDV two-way error-component model is re-estimated using the Driscoll and Kraay standard errors and time-demeaned data to correct for cross-sectional dependence. Given the endogeneity between the idiosyncratic disturbance term and the regressors, the presence of heteroskedasticity and serial correlation, as well as the interdependence amongst the cross-sections, the econometric model is then estimated using the two-step system general method of moments with forward orthogonal deviations – instead of differencing. The results meet all the post-estimation diagnostic requirements: the Arellano and Bond test for second-order serial correlation fails to reject the null hypothesis of no autocorrelation; theSargan test for over-identification fails to reject the null hypothesis that the over-identification restrictions are valid, and the difference-in-Hansen test fails to reject the null hypothesis that the instrument subsets are strictly exogenous. The empirical results confirm the a priori expectations. Economic freedom is a positive and significant driver of economic growth. Investment and economic openness are positively related to growth, whereas government debt decreases growth. Government consumption is an insignificant driver of a country’s growth. The Granger causality test confirmed the direction of causality; economic freedom precedes economic growth; and it is possible for the SADC to improve their growth rates by becoming economically freer. The coefficient of adjustment derived from the error-correction model indicates that the dynamic system takes approximately two years to adjust to the long-run structural level. The Koyck Transformation indicates that the relationship between economic freedom and growth is intertemporal, requiring a lag structure. An impulse-response function shows that a permanent, positive ‘shock’ to economic freedom results in an increase in economic growth, although the extent differs for each country, as well as for the different freedom components. The five individual economic freedom components are all highly significant and positive drivers of growth; however, the magnitude of the elasticity parameters varies. The causality amongst the components indicates that bidirectional causality is present. Therefore, improving economic freedom in one area improves economic freedom in another, creating a multiplier effect.
39
Musahara, Herman. "Poverty and government expenditure: an assessment of the impact of government expenditure and interventions on poor groups with a focus on Rwanda." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2004. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&.
Abstract:
In this thesis the author undertook a poverty and policy analysis. It is argued that it is important to understand the nature, magnitude and context of poverty before one can undertake an informed policy prescription. Existing theories of poverty, welfare regimes and social policies offer a lot of useful lessons for policy, but have limitations in offering a single model for Rwanda. The thesis demonstrated that, not only is Rwandan poverty multifaceted and deep, but it is characterized by a poverty conflict trap that can be traced back to the entire post colonial period. The author argued however that the current policy is not only inefficient in targeting poverty, but it may be unable to meet the challenges of growth, redistribution and conflict mitigation. The thesis, after further analyzing policy options, puts forward a package that is needed to reduce poverty in Rwanda in the long term and to break the poverty conflict trap. The prescribed package is put forward as a comprehensive and institutionalized social policy, which Rwanda so far does not have.
40
Zhao, Long. "The competitiveness of provinces in China." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2013. https://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_oa/13.
Abstract:
Provincial competitiveness is strategically and imperatively important for China to achieve and sustain its economic leadership in the global economy. Albeit recent attention of scholars and government officials, the studies to date have produced limited empirical evidence that could aid policy makers to understand the contributing factors and development strategies for provincial competitiveness. Hence, this thesis develops a production approach to decompose Chinese provincial competitiveness index into two productive-efficiency-based components, so as to uncover development strategies hidden in the index. The resulting model fully retains the information embodied in the original index and implements a mechanism to generate development strategies. Applying the proposed model to China’s provincial data of competitiveness for the period 2005-2008, the thesis finds that coastal provinces can adopt an unbalanced development strategy by expanding their relatively uncompetitive sectors. For western provinces, however, what is better for them is to take the balanced development strategy through simultaneous enhancement of every aspect of the competitiveness index. Moreover, a combination of the two strategies would better match the specific circumstances of some particular provinces. Besides that, the results show that reducing provincial disparity in terms of competitiveness would firstly require focusing on narrowing the regional gap. In addition, this thesis attempts to seek a set of benchmark weights for dimensions of provincial competitiveness.
41
Jamal, Manal. "After the 'peace processes' : foreign donor assistance and the political economy of marginalization in Palestine and El Salvador." Thesis, McGill University, 2006. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=100629.
Abstract:
Under what circumstances does foreign donor assistance during war-to-peace transitions contribute to the strengthening of civil society and the deepening of democracy? I answer this question through a comparative study of civil society development in the Palestinian territories and El Salvador, where I conducted 130 interviews with directors of donor agencies, grassroots activists, and directors of NGOs. Divergent civil society developments in the Palestinian territories and El Salvador after the signing of peace accords in the early 1990s present a real puzzle given the pre-accord similarities in civil society organization between the two cases. Both the Palestinian territories and El Salvador had a legacy of rich, vibrant grassroots organization and civil society activity during their protracted conflicts. In both settings, grassroots organizations have played central roles in non-violent resistance, consciousness-raising, and the provision of community services. Moreover, after the initiation of the peace processes in both the Palestinian territories and El Salvador, foreign donors provided substantial assistance to civil society groups. However, their civil society developmental paths diverged sharply during the war-to-peace transition. In the Palestinian territories, existing civil society organizations have engaged less actively with their previous grassroots constituencies since the start of the war-to-peace transition, and the number of grassroots-based civil society organizations has decreased. Moreover, many of these organizations have been limited in their access to institutions that engage the state. In El Salvador, the re-constitution of civil society has led to its broad access to institutions that engage the state and to higher levels of grassroots inclusion in the political transformation process.I argue that these divergent outcomes in the Palestinian territories and El Salvador reflect the differential effects that foreign assistance has on civil society after more or less inclusive political settlements. I find that in cases like the Palestinian territories, where the political settlement excludes important socio-political groups, foreign donor assistance is less likely to contribute to the strengthening of civil society or the deepening of democracy. Rather, foreign donor assistance to civil society is more likely to exacerbate political polarization and weaken civil society by further privileging those select groups already favored by the terms of the non-inclusive settlement. Conversely, after more inclusive political settlements like in El Salvador, foreign donor assistance can play a more constructive role in developing civil society and contributing to the deepening of democracy by encouraging grassroots organization, and expanding access to political institutions that engage the state.
42
Simpson, Ralph Arthur. "Government intervention in the Malaysian economy, 1970-1990: lessons for South Africa." University of the Western Cape, 2005. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&.
Abstract:
This study examined the role the Malaysian government played in developing the Malaysian economy as a means to eliminating poverty and inequality and explored the lessons South Africa can learn from Malaysia's development experience. Under British colonial rule Malaysia developed a divided multi-ethnic society characterised by gross inequality and high levels of poverty. Jolted by the 1969 race riots and in a major departure from the laissez-faire economic policy, the government embarked on the New Economic Policy in 1970. This ambitious twenty-year social engineering plan ushered in greater state intervention in the economy. It greatly reduced poverty among indigenous Malays and made substantial progress towards achieving inter-ethnic economic parity.
43
De, Wet C. J., C. W. Manona, and Robin Palmer. "Local responses to political policies and socio-economic change in the Keiskammahoek district, Ciskei: anthropological perspectives." Rhodes University, Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1810.
Abstract:
This report relates to research done in the Keiskammahoek district of the Ciskei (see Map No. l) during 1989 and early 1990, with the financial support of the Programme for Development Research (PRODDER) of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa. The project was designed and conducted against the background of previous research, and has served as a pilot project for a larger project, entitled "Socio- Economic Change and Development Planning in the Keiskammahoek District of the Ciskei". This larger project which is currently in progress, (and which has been funded by the Institute for Research Development of the HSRC, by the Chairman's Fund of Anglo-American and De Beers, and by Johannesburg Consolidated Investments Co Ltd), is intended to give rise to a process of consultation and planning, leading to various local-level development initiatives in the District.Digitised by Rhodes University Library on behalf of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER)
44
Lebero, Karugarama Richard. "Safeguard dilemmas: The need for practical special and differential treatment for developing countries." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2006. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_5740_1210747552.
Abstract:
Safeguards are among the most controversial of all trade remedies, due to the fact that they are contrary to the general principles of international fair trade as articulated in the various ageements governing the relationship between Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Thus, deeloping countries, least developed countries (LDC), South Africa, and other Sub-Saharan African countries, are hard-pressed to deploy and consider safeguards as an option. This thesis rests upon two central interlinked propositions, in essence a two-pronged argument and overarching statement of policy. First, the legal constraints on safeguards, many of which evolve out of the strict Appellate Body decicions, are reasonable on legal and policy grounds even though such controlling measures are applied likewise to fairly-traded and not just to unfairly-traded merchandise. Secondly, developing countries like South Africa should properly be accorded special and differential treatment to apply safeguards.
45
Wilkie, J. Callum. "Promoting innovation and economic growth in less developed territories." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2018. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3750/.
Abstract:
This thesis is about innovation and economic growth in less developed territories. It is motivated by the inadequacy of our understanding of innovation in lagging contexts. It is situated in the body of literature that examines and stresses the contextually contingent nature of innovation. It does, however, branch out to probe the link between innovation and economic performance and contemplate the design of strategic approaches to promote the latter. It is composed of an introduction, four related chapters and a short conclusion. Chapter 1 relies on an investigation of a large sample of North American and European regions to assess whether all less developed regions are, from an innovation perspective, functionally the same. In particular, it addresses the issue of what makes the less developed regions of North America more innovative than their European counterparts. Chapter 2 expands the scope of the thesis to include the emerging world. It unpacks the processes of innovation hosted by China’s more and less developed cities, respectively, with a view to identify and understand the differences between the sets of factors that drive and shape processes of innovation in them. Chapter 3 examines the relationship between innovation and economic performance in less developed regions. A comparison of two types of lagging regions in Europe is undertaken to explore the extent to which different types of economically disadvantaged regions are capable of transforming knowledge and innovation into economic dynamism, given their unique socioeconomic and institutional characteristics. Chapter 4 reflects on the strategic approaches that have been relied on to promote innovation and economic growth more generally. It reviews a handful of ‘strategies of waste’ and ‘of gain’ to ascertain insights into the steps policy-makers can take to maximise the likelihood that territorial development policies fulfil their potential and contribute to the reduction of territorial disparities.
46
Kibbey, Richard. "Central America: An Attempt at Modern Economic Growth." PDXScholar, 1993. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1233.
Abstract:
Since World War II the five historic Central American nations, Costa Rica, EI Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, underwent a period of aggregate economic growth which was followed by a collapse of dramatic proportions. All five countries experienced an economic downturn in the latter 1970s which led to several years of declining GDP and GDP per capita, together with an economic and social disarray which is typically referred to as "la crisis" in Central American literature. The intent of this study is to present an argument for the position that the economic collapse of the five Central American nations was due in considerable part to their failure to pursue economic development in a manner which would generate sustainable increase. Based on a conception of modern economic growth and the statistical studies of Simon Kuznets and others since the 1940s, a set of indicators was selected for the purpose of clarifying the structural transformation referred to as economic development. This formulation of economic development was then used to distinguish the process from the simple aggregate expansion known as economic growth. The economic development indicators were also applied to the statistical records of two east Asian economies which were comparable in many respects to the Central American nations shortly after World War II. Both Taiwan and South Korea, like the nations of Central America, emerged from the 1940s as dominantly agricultural, dualistic, importers of manufactured consumer goods. The study begins with an examination of the growth versus development issue in economic theory, proceeds to discussion of the historical record of the two sets of nations, consideration of the indicators, evaluation of the data, and conclusions based on the data. The development indicators clearly distinguish the records of the Central American nations from those of the east Asians. Whereas both Taiwan and South Korea illustrate the expectations of structural transformation in economic development as defined by Simon Kuznets, the Central American nations obviously do not. Conclusions are drawn that the policies which were followed by the two east Asian nations generated the complex structural transformation which characterizes an industrialized economy. The strictly market driven policies of Central America, on the other hand, generated simple aggregate growth for a number of years without a change in the structure of the economy. The study presents evidence that the Central American nations avoided structural change during the post-World War II period in anticipation of receiving the benefits of growth without undergoing the costs of a change in structure. Such a change in structure would have required reorganization of long-standing historic patterns of national social, economic and political interaction.
47
Vanden, Eynde Oliver. "Three essays on political economy and economic development." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2012. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/523/.
Abstract:
This thesis consists of three independent chapters. The first chapter examines the strategic choices of the targets and the intensity of violence by rebel groups. The chapter presents a theoretical framework that links a rebel group’s targeting decisions to income shocks. It highlights that this relationship depends on the structure of the rebels’ tax base. The hypotheses from the model are tested in the context of India’s Naxalite conflict. The second chapter estimates the impact of military recruitment on human capital accumulation in colonial Punjab. In this context, I find that higher military recruitment was associated with increased literacy at the district-religion level. The final chapter presents a model that describes the optimal design of civil-military institutions in a setting where some control of the military over domestic politics is deemed desirable.
48
Muruko, Veundjua. "Foreign direct investments and economic growth in Namibia." Thesis, Swansea University, 2013. https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa42797.
Abstract:
In capital-scarce low income economies, FDI is seen as a stable and important source of financing for developing economies. FDI is therefore expected to generate effects on the country's economic growth potential. However, despite the long history of FDI, it was only after 1990 that Sub-Saharan African countries experienced vast increase in FDI inflows into the region. Evidence of effectiveness of such flows has remained debateable, particularly with the dominance of cross-country studies in such enquiry. With yet no existing country study for Namibia, this research investigates the relationship between FDI and economic growth in the country and the determinants of FDI flows to Namibia. The methodologies adopted in this study are mainly based on co-integration analysis. In order to investigate the impact of FDI on economic growth we employ co-integration tests and estimate both long-run effects and short-run dynamics using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The study also extends co-integration testing by applying the asymmetric (ARDL) model to test for asymmetry. The standard co-integration tests are also appropriately used to investigate the macroeconomic determinants of FDI flows to Namibia. Appropriate econometric procedure has also been employed to examine the sector level FDI and economic growth using a dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) model and mean-group (MG) estimation, to consider for the assumptions of both a homogeneity and heterogeneity case across units. Arising from a pluralistic analytical framework involving a triangulation of econometric estimation approaches, the study finds that FDI in Namibia is significant in promoting economic growth in the country. In terms of the impact on growth, the results show a positive relationship between FDI and economic growth. They also indicate that FDI consistently exerts a positive impact on growth when we incorporate trade openness, inflation and gross fixed capital formation in the analysis. This proves that these variables are indeed important in explaining economic growth in the long-run in the country and its development. With respect to the analysis, the study extended upon the linear framework to allow for the detection of asymmetric effects both in the short and long-run, as not to limit the study to the assumption of a linear paradigm only. The results show no evidence of asymmetric pattern in the relationship between FDI and economic growth. Meaning, the responsiveness of economic growth to FDI flow variations is linear. In terms of the macroeconomic determinant of FDI in Namibia the study finds that the potential market size, interest rates, initial level of income, labour force, the provision of infrastructural facilities and inflation are important determinants of FDI into the country. Although openness is found to be positive it is insignificant in determining FDI to Namibia. This could possibly act as a deterrent and as such the institutional set up's for the export and investment promotion services need a criterion for a successful export and investment support function in order to increase FDI inflows into the country and remove such factors that could inhibit such flows. In terms of sector specific FDI and economic growth the results show a co-integrating relationship. Therefore, there is long run relationship in conformity with the study hypothesis. Accounting for causality the study finds feedback effects between FDI and economic growth both in the short and long-run. Furthermore, the study also finds that FDI to Namibia is not only resource seeking but that Namibia has seen an increase in market-seeking and efficiency seeking foreign investors. As such, differentiated efforts towards attracting different forms of FDI flows to varied sectors are crucial if the economic significance of FDI is to be improved in Namibia.
49
Katrakis, Nikos. "Some aspects of the dependency of lapse rates on economic conditions." Thesis, Heriot-Watt University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10399/548.
50
Guadalupe, Maria. "The intervention between explicit contracting and economic conditions in labour markets." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.418069.