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The fifth‐generation (5G) technology is seen to be a solution for developing countries to improve their quality of services in terms of transportation, education, health, agriculture, and other fields, thereby holding the promises of economic transformation by improving productivity and the quality of life. The paper considers some of the challenges that face operators, investors, and providers when planning to introduce 5G technology to developing countries. The main focus of this paper is the 5G transport network, in particular, the backhaul network. The 5G transport network architectural options and scenarios are discussed based on several standards and previous studies, the problems of existing infrastructures of developing countries are investigated, and new proposed technologies that may help to address those challenges are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding what stimulates agribusiness firms to lobby the government and what makes the government responsive to lobbying are the two issues that have been discussed extensively in the debates concerning determinants of biotechnology policy. This paper examines the factors influencing agribusiness firms' lobbying and government response using econometric modeling on a new data set of 160 leading agribusiness firms in the food, feed, chemical, and seed industries in China. The results show that approximately 10% of agribusiness firms lobbied the government about biotechnology policy and regulations and over half of those that lobbied received a verbal or written acknowledgment from government agencies. Seed and feed companies are more likely to engage in lobbying than chemical companies. Owning GM patents not only has a positive impact on firms' lobbying activities, but firms with these patents are more likely to receive a government response to their lobbying efforts. The experience of selling GM products does not significantly influence lobbying activities or response from the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global agenda of sustainable development (SD) will get a major boost from the successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries. This requires effective planning and understanding of the SDGs at the national level and developing sound SDG indicators that account for country priorities. Currently, there is no formal SDG indicator set in India, but the process for it is underway. This paper has attempted to propose a unique technique for identifying the most representative indicator set for SD measurement in India based on the SDGs. Considering the needs and preferences of the country, a three‐stage process is proposed to develop the priority indicator set. The application of the approach has been presented for SDG 7, which relates to energy. This is supported with a background on India's SD progress. The proposed technique is simple yet effective, and can be easily replicated by other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undernutrition among women and children contributes to almost half the global burden of child mortality in developing countries. The impact of nutrition on economic development has highlighted the need for evidence-based solutions and yielded substantial global momentum. However, it is now recognized that the impact of evidence-based interventions is limited by the lack of evidence on the best operational strategies for scaling up nutrition interventions. With the goal of encouraging greater engagement in implementation research in nutrition and generating evidence on implementation and utilization of nutrition interventions, this paper brings together a framework and a broad analysis of literature to frame and highlight the crucial importance of research on the delivery and utilization of nutrition interventions. The paper draws on the deliberations of a high-level working group, an e-consultation, a conference, and the published literature. It proposes a framework and areas of research that have been quite neglected, and yet are critical to better understanding through careful research to enable better translation of global and national political momentum for nutrition into public health impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent spikes in commodity prices, the growing appetite for primary commodities among emerging economies, growing interest in biofuels and speculations over future returns to land and its products have led to a renewed interest in farmland in the global South. With highly publicized risks and polarized 'win-lose' narratives, so-called 'land grabbing' has become an important focus of transnational governance activity. In juxtaposition to those seeing large-scale land acquisitions as inherently risky or undesirable, some argue for the potential opportunities they engender-provided risks can be mitigated through improved governance. This paper explores this argument through a systematic analysis of the formal features of the multi-sited governance mechanisms in place to guide agricultural investment and govern its social and environmental effects. The intent is not to discount the importance of informal norms and practices or the so-called 'lived experience of governance,' nor the argument that such land acquisitions are inherently flawed irrespective of the 'discipline imposed on them.' Rather, the paper aims to explore the merits of the arguments advanced by the pro-investment camp, and to explore the extent to which the emerging global governance architecture is set up to deliver on the purported benefits of large-scale agricultural investment. Results suggest that serious weaknesses in the substantive scope, reach and/or implementation mechanisms in all of the reviewed governance mechanisms pose a serious risk to the likely effectiveness of the emerging governance architecture in minimizing risks and leveraging benefits. Addressing these weaknesses is an obvious first step for bolstering the credibility of those advocating that governance is the solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, interest has soared in the development potential of well-designed cash transfer programs. One particular application is the use of transfers by resource-rich countries (as recently initiated by Iran) to distribute rents across their populations. An emerging body of research suggests that the development impact of such programs tends to be positive and that, especially when received by poor individuals or households, they can unlock constraints on economic activities, allowing a further increase in income. This paper considers the use of biometric technology to underpin transfer programs and how new technology is opening up possibilities for effective transfer programs that, up to now, have only been a theoretical option in the institutional conditions that prevail in many developing countries. Once implemented, biometric identification systems can be used to support a wide range of other development initiatives including banking, voting, health care, and general identification systems. The paper reviews some of the programs using these technologies and how it is enabling poor countries to leapfrog rich ones in the area of identity, much as the cellphone revolution did in the area of communications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Africa's least developed countries (LDCs), escape from poverty and convergence to living standards of more advanced economies depends critically on structural transformation and the emergence of productive entrepreneurship that would accelerate growth and job creation. So far, however, subsistence agriculture has been the main source of employment in these countries, while a dynamic private sector in industry or high value-added services has remained elusive. Utilizing the flow approach to labor markets, this paper complements the empirical literature and numerous surveys on small and medium enterprise (SME) constraints and develops a theoretical framework that examines the main obstacles to entrepreneurship in Africa's LDCs. The paper posits that given the persistent frictions in product and labor markets as well as skill shortages that characterize these economies, development of productive entrepreneurship cannot be left to markets alone. The policy analysis suggests that the state has an important role to play. Well-targeted government interventions including training of potential entrepreneurs and workers can help to establish more modern and highly productive SME clusters that Africa's LDCs need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews available data sources for the study of migration and development through both retrospective and continuous data collection systems. It is argued that much basic data already exists for the study of international migration but that the addition of a relatively small number of simple, although not necessarily cheap measures can be taken to improve existing data. The priority is to generate flow data between countries for recent time periods and the paper makes suggestions how this can be best achieved. The paper goes on to an assessment of the types and availability of data needed to understand better the relationships between migration and development more broadly. Data at several scales, macro and micro, and for a variety of types of migration will be required in order to achieve this objective, particularly if less visible flows, such as those internal to developing countries, or those involving women, are to be better understood. The paper concludes by moving beyond the traditional state-led data-gathering systems to examine the potential for civil society organizations to help in strengthening data and research on migration and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today rapidly growing economies depend more on the creation, acquisition, distribution, and use of knowledge. As such, strategies for enhancing research and innovation capabilities have come to occupy a more important position in many developing nations, including China. Already the leading production center, and often seen as China's economic locomotive, Shanghai is striving aggressively to retain its national preeminence and has launched concerted efforts to increase local innovative output. The primary purpose of this paper is to understand how state-led efforts have fared in promoting technology innovation. By situating the city in the national and global context, the paper shows that Shanghai has gained a substantial lead in developing an innovation environment with extensive global linkages and leading research institutions. Recent efforts in building up the research and innovation capacity of the enterprise sector have begun to show progress. Although firms are enthusiastic about its future as an innovation center, Shanghai continues to face challenges of inadequate protection of intellectual property, lack of venture capital investment, and the tightening supply of highly qualified knowledge workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author elaborates the development and refinement of a more human centered approach that she has considered to root out global inequality. Critically analyzing the dominant economic-growth approach taken by many developing countries, the author defends her model of ten central capabilities of a person and analyzes them in terms of political goals. The author also responds individually to several papers including a papers by Des Gasper, Jan Nederveen Pieterse, and others.

This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion about amenity-driven rural development strategies by examining the relationship between quality of life amenities and rural economic development in the Southeast USA. The premise is that what is true at a national level may provide a partial or misleading picture when we look at particular areas. Additionally, data available at the county level can often provide richer and more precise information than what is found at the national level. The paper estimates spatial regression models using county-level data. For the most part, the results suggest that the differences in quality of life and amenities factors can explain a large portion of the trend in per capita income, employment and population change across counties in the Southeast USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After brief discussion of the general losses refugees incur in connection with displacement, the paper examines empirically the structural and institutional factors that discourage refugees from taking initiatives to recoup their losses and to construct sustainable livelihoods in countries of asylum, as well as the conditions that perpetuate poverty, vulnerability, and marginalisation. The paper argues that in developing countries refugee status, regardless of duration, leads to the acquisition of neither nationality nor denizenship. Basic rights and sources of livelihoods are apportioned on the basis of nationality and not residence. Lack of belonging to a spatially bounded community or geo-political state entity is therefore the single most important factor that prevents formulation and implementation of long-term development programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue aims at advancing the debate about the interpretative power of evolutionary perspectives on economic development and institutional change. In the introduction, we argue that the interpretative power of the current evolutionary approach can be improved by elaborating an 'augmented' perspective to economic development, which explicitly integrates the role of institutions and the dynamics of natural resource sectors (e.g. agro-food) into the analysis. We maintain that such a theoretical and empirical advancement can help to define a conceptual framework that is more suitable to analyse innovation-driven change, differentiated development patterns, opportunities and constraints for developing countries in the globalised knowledge economy. A collection of papers that adopt this perspective are discussed in order to prove the interpretative power of this approach in a variety of development contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the debate on the role of agriculture in promoting economic growth in a selection of nine developing countries. We investigated the causal linkages between agriculture and gross domestic product growth with the aid of directed acyclic graphs, a recently developed algorithm of inductive causation. The results suggest that while agriculture could be an engine of economic growth, the impact varies across countries. In some cases, we found strong evidence in support of the agriculture-led growth hypothesis. In contrast, the results for some other countries indicate that having a vibrant aggregate economy is a prerequisite for agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new economic geography ( NEG) has been tested to explain the spatial concentration of wages in developed countries, but it has not been evaluated for developing countries where the excessive spatial concentration seems to be related with negative consequences on the economic development. This paper covers this gap in the literature estimating by first time a NEG model for a developing country such as Chile, pursuing two research question: (1) Can the NEG explain the spatial distribution of wages in a developing country as Chile?; and (2) How can the NEG be used to infer information about the future level of spatial concentration of wages in Chile? The results suggest that the case of Chile is poorly explained by the NEG and even higher level of spatial concentration should be expected in the future. These results indicate that the empirical application of NEG is not trivial for developing countries, and some considerations such as inclusion of the first nature or analysis at micro data level must be incorporated by future researches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographers first identified aquaculture as an important field of study during the 1990s, pointing to a 'net deficit' in geographical knowledge about the activity. This paper examines how far geographers have come in bridging this knowledge deficit in the last 20 years. While increasing attention has focused on the political economy of export products consumed in the global North, 'everyday' geographies of aquaculture production and consumption in the global South have been neglected. We argue that paying greater attention to everyday aquaculture in the global South provides opportunities for geographers to engage with wider questions around development and change that extend far beyond aquaculture. By focusing on changing patterns of aquaculture production for Southern domestic markets, geographers can provide a counterpoint to Northern dominated agro-food studies by re-emphasising the importance of consumption, urbanisation and agrarian transitions from a more place-based perspective and, in doing so, support the development of theory that reflects Southern realties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is widespread literature investigating the relationship between increasing trade openness and economic development; however the relationship between trade (openness) and regional development remains limited. This paper empirically examines the relationship between trade openness and regional development in Turkey. For this purpose, we initially define the regional development index for 81 provinces in Turkey. The definition is based on the concept and the calculation method of the human development index. We then add a few control variables within panel data estimation frameworks to contribute to the explanations of the relationship. The empirical findings show that the increases in trade openness are positively associated with future increases in regional development. In addition, the levels of government investments positively contribute to regional development. However, a negative relationship exists between the size of a province and its development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows evidence of strong heterogeneity in the relationship between government size and growth, depending on the quality of public sector institutions. Focusing on a wide sample of developed and developing countries over the period 1981-2005, we find that government size reduces growth when bureaucracy quality is low, whereas no significant effect is observed for sufficiently high levels of bureaucracy quality. The results hold both in cross-section and panel data analyses and are robust to a large number of robustness checks. These findings have important implications for assessing the role of government size in economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the economic literature, high-skilled emigration may either harm or benefit developing economies. Recent research highlighted several positive and negative channels through which the brain drain operates. This paper aims at evaluating the relative magnitudes of various brain drain channels and quantifying their global impact on migrants' sending countries. For this purpose, we develop a 10-region general equilibrium model of the world economy characterized by overlapping-generations dynamics. Our findings suggest that the short-run impact of brain drain on resident human capital is extremely crucial, as it affects not only the number of high-skilled workers available to domestic production, but also the sending economy's capacity to innovate/adopt modern technologies. This latter effect is particularly important in globalization, where capital investments are made in places with high production efficiencies. Hence, despite positive feedback effects, those countries facing prevalent high-skilled emigration are the most candid victims to brain drain. ( JEL F22, J24, O57) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional quality has been increasingly identified as crucial for economic development. In line with previous work which has explored the determinants of good institutions, this paper examines the impact of economic and social inequalities between ethnic groups on government quality. I hypothesize that greater inequalities between groups will tend to undermine institutions both because they tend to legitimize corruption in the eyes of disadvantaged groups and because of the efforts of better-off groups to maintain their privileges. Based on a panel of 29 developing countries, I find that socio-economic ethnic group inequalities reduce government quality, something which suggests the convenience of policies that can level the playing field in ethnically heterogeneous societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the emergence of developing countries from a development trap. It shows that countries whose dynamics exhibits several growth peaks can be considered as cases of equilibrium jump. Applying this criterion to a sample of 65 countries that were initially very poor in 1950, it identifies 13 such countries, called 'emerging economies'. Comparing emerging and non-emerging economies in the 1950s and early 1960s, it shows that economic take-offs starting in the 1960s can be related to health and education in the early 1950s, while other possible factors, such as savings, openness and democracy are not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the global financial and economic crisis, China has continued to experience strong export-driven growth and, indeed, became the world's largest exporting country in 2009. This rise of China in international markets presents African countries with growing competition in their home and export markets, but also with new opportunities. This paper focuses on the impacts of these developments on countries in North Africa, which are directly affected by the prominence of Chinese manufacturing. In particular, the analysis addresses two policy questions: First, is competition from China leading to substantial displacement of resources that incur significant adjustment costs while moving to new activities, or are there opportunities to exploit finer patterns of specialization that entail less disruption? And second, will policies that mitigate the impact of competition from China limit the longer-term capacity to exploit new opportunities in the global market? The findings from the empirical analysis suggest that policy makers can support North African producers in the increasingly fierce competition with China by reviewing the regulatory and incentives environment, reducing trade logistics costs, and broadening trade promotion efforts to non-traditional markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worker remittances constitute an increasingly important channel for the transfer of resources to developing countries. Behind foreign direct investment, remittances are the second-largest source of external funding for developing countries. Yet, literature on worker remittances has traditionally focused on the impact of remittances on income distribution within countries, on the determinants of remittances at a micro-level, or on the effects of migration and remittances for specific countries or regions. Macroeconomic determinants and effects of remittances have received more attention only recently. Hence, the focus of this paper is on the macroeconomic determinants of remittances and on differences in these determinants between remittances and other capital flows. We find that remittances respond more to demographic variables while private capital flows respond more to macroeconomic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In academic studies of the interface between developing countries and large multinational oil corporations, scholars have noted that over time and through repeated interaction, the developing countries tend to negotiate better outcomes for themselves: they progress along a learning curve by incrementally improving their outcomes through bargaining and strategic interaction. This phenomenon can be demonstrated in a number of oil-rich developing countries. Nigeria's case, however, is more complex. During the two decades following its independence, the state successfully negotiated for more control over—made strides in the developing of the skills necessary to manage—its petroleum industry, as our model would predict. Then, in a puzzling late-1970s-to-mid-1980s change of course, the government abruptly gave back concessions, undermined local entrepreneurial endeavors, and repealed indigenization laws. This paper combines, in the analytic narrative tradition, the case study method with an extensive form game; it applies a dynamic bargaining model to Nigeria's historical experience, demonstrating that Nigeria improved its outcomes and ascended along the “bargaining learning curve,” only to reverse policy and “unlearn,” with serious consequences for the Nigerian population. Even so, the demonstration of both successful and improved outcomes in past negotiations give evidence that Nigeria could once again ascend its bargaining learning curve if the government were to re-commit to such a policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how the optimal mode of public finance depends on the level of economic development. The theoretical analysis suggests that in the presence of capital market imperfection and liquidity shocks, the detrimental effect of inflation on growth is stronger (weaker) at lower (higher) levels of economic development. Consequently, income taxation (seigniorage) is a relatively less distortionary way of financing public expenditure for low-income (high-income) countries. We provide empirical support for our model’s predictions using a panel of 21 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries and 40 developing countries observed over the period 1972–1999. ( JEL E44, E6, H6, O42) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If the objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is to be achieved, Parties must commit themselves to meeting meaningful long-term targets that, based on current knowledge, would minimize the possibility of irreversible climate change. Current indications are that a global mean temperature rise in excess of 2–3 °C would enhance the risk of destabilizing the climate system as we know it, and possibly lead to catastrophic change such as a shutdown of the deep ocean circulation, and the disintegration of the West Arctic Ice Sheet. Observations have shown that for many small island developing States (SIDS), life-sustaining ecosystems such as coral reefs, already living near the limit of thermal tolerance, are highly climate-sensitive, and can suffer severe damage from exposure to sea temperatures as low as 1 °C above the seasonal maximum. Other natural systems (e.g., mangroves) are similarly susceptible to relatively low temperature increases, coupled with small increments of sea level rise. Economic and social sectors, including agriculture and human health, face similar challenges from the likely impacts of projected climate change. In light of known thresholds, this paper presents the view that SIDS should seek support for a temperature cap not exceeding 1.5–2.0 °C above the pre-industrial mean. It is argued that a less stringent post-Kyoto target would frustrate achievement of the UNFCCC objective. The view is expressed that all countries which emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases should commit to binding reduction targets in the second commitment period, but that targets for developing countries should be less stringent than those agreed for developed countries. Such an arrangement would be faithful to the principles of equity and would ensure that the right of Parties to attain developed country status would not be abrogated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa's economies have diverged from other developing regions: over the past three decades growth has been much slower. In this paper I relate this to the region's distinctive physical and political geography. These features not only make Africa different from other regions, they make some parts of Africa radically different from others. Understanding these differences is critical because they imply equally substantial differences in opportunities and hence in the strategies likely to be effective for growth. No pan-African growth strategy offers a realistic prospect of success, nor can Africa simply copy the strategies of successful regions that have fundamentally different physical or political geography. I propose three strategies each of which is likely to be appropriate for a part of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the possible effects of the US reform of the international settlement rate system on telecommunications investment in Africa. We estimate a telecommunications investment equation using a panel data of 51 African countries during the 1991–2003 period and find that settlement payments have significantly positive effects on telecommunications investment in African countries. A 10 percent increase in settlement payment, on average, increases the telecommunications investment expenditure to GDP ratio by 3.4 percent over a three-year period. Using previously calculated revenue loss from the US reform, our estimates suggest that African countries stand to lose between 4.4 to 11 percentage points of their telecommunications investment in the medium run and with it, possible decreases in income growth rate. However, we argue that African countries can counter the effects of this revenue loss by increasing the efficiency of telecommunications investment through appropriate market restructuring, including the promotion of competition and privatization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the determinants of technical and allocative efficiency of micro-enterprises in the Nigerian economy, using cross-sectional data collected on 180 micro-enterprises selected from block-making, metal fabricating and sawmilling enterprises. The Nigerian government has put in efforts at promoting productivity and efficiency in both the public and private sector of the economy. As a developing country, Nigeria has immense potential for better economic growth, both in the short and long run. It then becomes important to know the current level of efficiency within the sector. Quantitative estimates obtained from the stochastic frontier production function indicated a wide variation, in technical and allocative efficiencies within and across occupational groups and across operational scale. The wide variation in the level of efficiency is an indication that there is ample opportunity for these enterprises to raise their level of efficiency. While the level of education of enterprise owners was found to be highly significant in affecting the level of efficiency of the micro-enterprises, the age of enterprise owners was round to be negatively related to their level of efficiency. These variables are important factors that government policy should address so as to improve the current level of efficiency in the sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to reconcile social and environmental goals for sustainable development still poses problems for policy makers in the richer parts of the world. Using the examples of domestic water and energy, this paper argues that the problems are reflected, and often magnified, in developing countries. They arise largely from conflicts between the short-term need to alleviate poverty and longer-term objectives for environmental sustainability. The dual nature of water and energy as both social and economic goods raises questions about the most appropriate forms of provision and allocation of the utilities. It is in no one's long-term interest for developing countries to repeat the environmentally damaging mistakes of the industrialized world. But an equitable distribution of the short-term costs attached to a more environmentally responsible use of resources demands new ways of thinking about global social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes some advances in caries research in the last century. A tremendous body of knowledge about the disease as well as several possibilities for caries prevention and treatment have been obtained. This knowledge is not used by people in developing countries and certain obstacles for implementation of the procedures under such conditions are identified. Research aimed at finding practical means and methods that can help prevent caries and other oral diseases for the majority of the world's population must be intensified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to study the structure of production in some underdeveloped economies. Recent literature on the problem of economic development has greatly emphasized the role of linkages in the planning of economic development. ALBERT HIRSCHMAN, for example, has advocated a policy of investing in the strategic sectors (those with strong backward and forward linkages) of an economy, which in interacting with the other sectors can help to initiate economic development. An autonomous investment can induce further investments through pressures of excess demand. This is the backward linkage effect -- output of the induced industries are the inputs of the autonomous industry. An autonomous investment can also induce further investment by providing an excess supply of its produce. This is the forward linkage -- the output of the autonomous industry is the input of the induced industries[1]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disappointment over the contributions of Third World state apparatuses to industrial transformation and the increasing intellectual dominance of "neoutiliarian" paradigms in the social science has made if fashionable to castigate the Third World state as "predatory "and "rent seeking." This paper argues for a more differentiated view, one that connects differences in performance to differences in state structure. The "incoherent absolutist dominationt' of the "klepto-patrimonial" Zairian state are contrasted to the "embedded autonomy" of the East Asian developmental state, Then the internal structure and external ties of an intermediate state - Brazil - are analyzed in relation to both polar types. The comparative evidence suggests that the efficacy of the developmental state depends on a meritocratic bureaucracy with a strong sense of corporate identity and a dense set of Institutionalized links to private elites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply chain internationalization is promoting a new cascade of agglomeration and dispersion. Headquarter tasks agglomerate in major cities in developed countries, whereas labour-intensive tasks are shed to developing countries where off-shored tasks are geographical concentrated. The entire international supply chain is productivity and welfare-enhancing, raising the efficiency of human resource use. An international supply chain can also be a route for inclusive globalization. Such benefits are offset by potential risk of volatility deriving from idiosyncratic supply shocks triggered by powerful natural disasters and other reasons and from final demand shocks. This case study of East Asia illustrates these points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]