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This paper explores the impact of the political hierarchies of cities in China from different perspectives. First, we examine the economic disparities between prefectural cities and municipalities. Furthermore, this paper draws upon a quasi‐ experiment to analyze the impact of upgrading Chongqing to a municipality in 1997 using the synthetic control method. The city‐upgrading policy significantly increased Chongqing's gross domestic product (GDP) in the following 4 years. Finally, we find that the policy increased GDP in treated cities within 1200 km of Chongqing by about 10%–13% relative to the control cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores whether happiness-led growth policies implemented in some countries are viable for achieving better economic well-being proxied by GDP per capita using a panel dataset covering 104 countries from 2006 to 2018. While past studies showed that economic growth promotes happiness, this paper applied the panel Granger causality test to show that GDP per capita is also determined by happiness. Accordingly, the pooled ordinary least squares, random-effects model, fixed-effects model, and two-step generalized method of moments were employed to estimate the effect of changes in happiness on economic growth. The empirical results suggest that economic growth of 1% to 3% can be obtained by increasing happiness. The positive effect of happiness is about four times greater in developed countries than in developing countries. This paper reveals that happiness should be included in conventional economic growth models to achieve a holistic approach in designing development policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The defense-growth nexus is investigated empirically using time series data for the US and allowing the effect of defense spending on growth to be non-linear. Using recently developed econometric methods involving threshold regressions, evidence of a level-dependent effect of military expenditure on GDP growth is found: the positive externality effect of defense spending prevails for relatively lower levels of defense spending (with respect to the history of defense spending in the US) and reverts its influence for higher levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the economic policies adopted by the Indian government under different policy regimes, provides a political economy perspective of economic growth in the country during 1950–2020 and examines the inclusiveness of the rapid economic growth in recent decades. The growth performance of the economy improved as the economy moved from inward-looking policy regime to the regimes of pro-business and pro-market policies. India's political economy was supportive of the changes in policy regime. After growing at a sluggish rate during the first three decades after 1950–1951, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth accelerated significantly after the pro-business reforms in the 1980s, and there was further acceleration after the pro-market reforms since 1991–1992. It has, however, slowed down in recent years. Nevertheless, it has not been inclusive, as the benefits of growth have not reached all sections of the population and all regions of the country equally. On the contrary, disparities in income across regions and inequalities in income, wealth and consumption among individuals have exacerbated, and the problems of unemployment and poverty have been persisting in the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years there has been much debate about the need to supplement existing economic indicators, most notably gross domestic product (GDP), with a more rounded and balanced set of indicators that better reflect the complexity of today's economic, societal and environmental needs. To address this need, the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) developed a first prototype composite index measuring inclusive growth tailored to that region. This paper summarises the conceptual objectives and some of key methodological challenges and considerations faced in compiling such an index. Many of the challenges and methodological considerations are universal and not specific to EEC. A brief outline of results and future work is also detailed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an assessment of the determinants of economic development based on the developmental theory of state proposed by Peter Evans (1995). The paper uses a longitudinal data methodology for 174 countries from 2013 to 2018 and implements different estimation techniques to identify whether variations in per capita GDP can be explained by the countries' level of autonomy and partnership. As a result, it was identified that the ability of the state to be autonomous and partner - reflected in greater property rights, freedom of investment and financial freedom - indeed positively influences the level of economic development of countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry in many developing countries is considered the main engine for economic growth. Quantification of the resilience of the construction industry in developing economies is essential for stakeholders and decision makers. Many researchers have attempted to quantify the construction industry's resilience in the context of developed economies; however, there is lack of established measures of such quantification in developing countries. This paper proposes a framework for the composition of an index that quantifies the resilience of the construction industry in developing countries. The proposed framework is demonstrated in the context of three developing countries: Rwanda, Egypt, and Turkey. The index is composed of measures such as the construction value added to a country's gross domestic product (GDP) and employment in construction. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is utilized for weighting and aggregation of the individual variables. Studying the causal relationship between construction growth and economic development from 1971 to 2022, results show that construction growth leads to economic development in each of the three countries. Results of the proposed index values indicate that the construction industry in each of the three countries demonstrated increased resilience by sustaining both its outputs and its employment generation aspect in the two years following the coronavirus pandemic in 2019. Quantification of the construction industry's resilience in countries where the construction growth leads to the economic growth would provide a crucial insight for stakeholders and decision makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on multivariate, spatial agglomeration, cluster analysis, and the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, this paper aims to reveal the spatial inequalities in the digital development of households and individuals at 460 districts/cities in Indonesia and its association with socioeconomic characteristics. The results show a significant district digital divide characterized by a decline of regional digital development index (RDDI) values from the west to the east and from core cities to more peripheral ones. Cities with high RDDI values are mainly concentrated in large metropolitan areas in western Indonesia, whereas districts with low values tend to concentrate in rural-mountainous regions, remote areas, and archipelagos in eastern Indonesia. However, the digital divide declined from 2015 to 2019, indicating that Indonesian regions are becoming more digitally convergent. Education, gross regional domestic product (GRDP) per capita, population, and the number of formal workers have a positive and significant impact on RDDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the contribution of the consumption share to GDP from 1970 to 2019 to assess how income groups contributed to the share's stability, as well as the factors influencing its path and policy implications. Because the dependent variable is expressed in percentages and is not normally distributed, the Beta regression finite mixed model is the best tool for detecting latent income groups. We used Robust standard error to ensure the stability of the consumption share (i.e. the average propensity to consume APC). The analytical tool predicts the discovery of three previously unknown income groups. The following three latent groups were identified by the group means following the analysis: 0.82, 0.87, and 0.90 represent low-, medium-, and high-income groups, respectively, with probabilities of 0.27, 0.47, and 0.26 for their share contribution. The explanatory variables include employment, human capital (hc), total factor productivity at constant national prices (rtfpna), and the share of labor compensation in GDP. Each estimated parameter has a high significance and the expected sign. The policy implication is that the consumption share should be reduced in favor of the saving share by increasing employment opportunities and total factor productivity because it is relatively high. Furthermore, fighting inflation increases consumption while increasing spending on health care, education, and training stimulates economic growth by increasing the percentage saving ratio but at different levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, emerging industries are emerging, and the sports industry has become a remarkable new economic growth point. Vigorously tapping the potential of residents' sports consumption has important theoretical and practical significance for promoting the development of the sports industry, improving people's living standards, and stimulating economic growth. In this paper, a deep learning model is constructed, and the random forest and random network models in the deep learning network are used to analyze the pulling effect of urban residents' sports consumption on economic growth. Since the consumption level of urban residents is much higher than that of rural residents, urban residents are in a dominant position in sports consumption, so this paper takes urban residents' sports consumption as the core to explore the pulling effect of urban residents' sports consumption on economic growth. The research theme of this paper is the pulling effect of urban residents' sports consumption on economic growth, so this paper sets the explanatory variable as the added value of GDP, expressed by GDP. Sports consumption has the characteristics of inevitability, gradualness, and diversity. With the continuous change of people's living standards, sports consumption also presents several stages of relative consumption pattern changes. Research shows that sports consumption has a positive role in promoting economic growth and the transformation and upgrading of economic development mode. Every one percentage point change in sports consumption leads to an economic growth of 0.186 percentage points, and with the increase of the lag period, urban residents' sports consumption will gradually increase the driving effect of economic growth. This effect can be analyzed at the micro- and macrolevels and enhanced by a causal cumulative cycle mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an emerging economy, market distortions exist in China's institutional adjustment during its economy transformation. However, the price distortion of capital and labor factors will lead to factor misallocation among provinces. This will eventually reduce the total factor productivity (TFP) at the national level. Based on Hsieh and Klenow's [1] model framework, this paper aims to measure the degree of misallocation of capital and labor factors among provinces, and estimates the growth potential of China's TFP by using input-output data from 1993 to 2017. The findings show that: First, the degree of inter-provincial labor misallocation is greater than that of capital. For example, in 2017, the degree of capital (labor) misallocation was 5.77% (10.25%), resulting in China's TFP loss of 17.23%. Second, due to the factor marketization reforms, the degree of labor misallocation has declined while the degree of capital misallocation has intensified in recent years. Lastly, this paper introduces the time-varying elasticity production function model, finding that using the Cobb-Douglas production function will cause the factor misallocation to be underestimated by 5.91% due to the assumption of constant output elasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although countries in South-East Europe (SEE) traditionally use less pesticide in agricultural production than more developed countries in Europe, primarily due to the extensive character of their agriculture production, it is important to find the level of pesticide use because their usage can have a significant negative impact on the environment, health and social costs. The main objective of this paper is to find the correlation between pesticide use and economic development in SEE countries. In that context, the model for determining economic factors that can influence pesticide use is constructed and estimated. The results show that gross domestic product and precipitation had a positive impact on pesticide use, while farm size, trade openness, and membership in the European Union (EU) had a negative impact. This paper makes a significant contribution to the literature of pesticide use in SEE countries and answers questions which are significant for determining economic factors. This is important for policymakers, especially in countries that are candidates for EU membership, countries that should adopt EU legislation of pesticide use and establish new agri-ecological measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The short-term GDP growth-based economic success of the BRICS has spawned a trend of grouping large emerging market economies under shared monikers. The proliferation of a wide array of labels – from MINTs to VISTAs – within political and financial circles has been accompanied by a growing scholarly interest in the study of these 'emerging markets' and future 'rising powers'. This paper discusses the literature on Turkey's 'rising power' status to problematise the conceptual and analytical parameters that shape these wider debates. Accordingly, I argue that the established parameters are wholly based in, and in turn reproduce, a neoliberal conception of development which prioritises a narrowly construed metric of economic progress based on GDP growth, while simultaneously ignoring the associated socio-economic and environmental costs. The paper interrogates the ways in which select macroeconomic indicators have been deployed to legitimise neoliberal reform in Turkey and utilises this case study to mount a methodological challenge to the relevant IR/IPE literatures that conceptualise 'emerging markets' and 'rising powers' from growth-oriented perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the authors revealed the concepts of development and economic growth, economic sustainability and quality of life. The authors determined and analyzed in dynamics the period 2010-2018, the trend of changing indicators, development and economic growth at the macroeconomic level such as: the value of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), GDP per capita, and the dynamics of the average monthly nominal salary of an employee per economy, disposable incomes per person, their structure and socio-economic indicators that characterize the quality level of the age of the population in the Republic of Moldova. Although there are modest increases in the number of nominated indicators, the authors consider that there are still a number of issues that need to be addressed, solved and complied with EU and other international standards. The research contains data that will surely be of interest to those concerned with the quality of life of the population. In essence, research in the field of quality of life aims at creating a complex image of quality of life, by analyzing different components of population's life. The following research procedures and methods have been applied in the research process: observation method, comparison, graphical method, table method, chronological series method, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A city's economic structure and energy mix would change when the city is developed to accommodate more residents, visitors, and activities. This paper reviews Macao's economic growth, energy use, and greenhouse gases (GHG) emission from 1985 to 2020. Specifically, Macao's gross domestic product (GDP), energy use, and GHG emission have surged after the gaming industry was liberalized in 2002. The official data show that Macao's GDP was MOP 11 billion in 1985, increased by four-fold to MOP 54 billion in 2000, and then surged rapidly to MOP 445 billion in 2019. Additionally, Macao's total energy use increased from 8,840 TJ in 1985 to 48,330 TJ in 2019 while Macao's GHG emission increased from 0.70 Mt of CO2-equivalent in 1985 to 6.13 Mt of CO2-equivalent in 2019. Macao's GHG emission from all local sources per capita and GDP per capita exhibit an inverted U-shaped relationship, showing an environmental Kuznets curve. Due to the negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic, Macao's GDP dropped by 56% to MOP 194 billion while its total energy use and GHG emission dropped by 33% and 17% to 32,198 TJ and 5.06 Mt of CO2-equivalent, respectively, in 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper builds an evaluation index system, uses the entropy weight method (EWM) to decide the weights and, based on the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM), it systematically studies the coupling relationship between Chinese cold chain logistics and the Chinese economy from 2010 to 2019. It performs a grey relational analysis (GRE) to explore the main factors influencing the coordinated development of the two. The results show that the coupling coordination degree between the two presents a steady upward trend, and their coupling relationship has been upgraded from 'coordination' to 'good coordination'. They also indicate that the added value in the tertiary industry, the per capita gross domestic product (GDP), and household consumption levels are the main factors affecting the development of cold chain logistics, while the per capita cold storage capacity, the turnover of road cold chain freight, and the volume of human-power employed in cold chain logistics are the main factors affecting economic development. This study makes suggestions to support the coordinated development of cold chain logistics and economy, and provides a scientific basis for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the long‐term relationship between regional inequality and economic development. Our data set includes information on national and regional per capita GDP for four countries: France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, compiled on a decadal basis for the period 1860–2010. Using parametric and semiparametric regressions, our results confirm the rise and fall of regional inequalities over time although in recent decades they are on the rise again. Finally, we identify structural change as being a significant transmission mechanism of the inverted‐U relationship. The arrival of technological shocks, beginning during the onset of industrialization, and the transition from agrarian to industrial economies, would explain this result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the role of education on the economic growth of Mexico. The Uzawa-Lucas Model is used to study the contribution of human capital on growth, while the specific role of education is accounted with a Vector Error Correction (VEC) Model. The main finding of this paper is that an increase of one percent in human capital implies an increase of 1.59 percent on Mexican Gross Domestic Product (GDP). And given the role of education on human capital, an increase of one percent in years of schooling causes an increase in the long run GDP growth rate of 2.19 percent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After setting the goal of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060, it has become an irresistible trend for China to decouple carbon emissions from its economic growth. Since cities play a central role in reducing carbon emissions, the issues such as whether and when their carbon dioxide emissions can be decoupled from economic growth have become the focus of attention. Based on the carbon dioxide emissions of 264 prefecture-level cities in China from 2000 to 2017, this paper uses the Tapio decoupling index to measure the decoupling relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth of cities, analyzes the space–time evolution characteristics of carbon emissions and decoupling indexes by stages, and explores the relationship between carbon emissions and socio-economic development characteristics such as per capita GDP and industrial structure. The main conclusions drawn therefrom are as follows: (i) From 2000 to 2017, the city-wide carbon emissions rose from 2.484 billion tons in 2000 to 7.462 billion tons in 2017, registering a total increase of 200.40%. But the growth rate of carbon emissions within cities has been significantly reduced. (ii) As years passed by, the number of cities that achieved strong decoupling saw a significant increase, from zero in the 10th–11th Five-Year Plan period to 14 in the 12th Five-Year Plan period and the first two years of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, accounting for 5.3% of the total number of cities. (iii) There is an inverted U-shaped curve relationship between per capita carbon emissions and per capita GDP, which is consistent with the EKC curve hypothesis, but Chinese cities are still in the growth stage of the quadratic curve currently. The correlation between per capita CO2 emission and the proportion of the secondary industry was positive. The results of this study are expected to provide experience for the low-carbon development of cities in China and other developing countries, and provide references for the formulation and evaluation of policies and measures related to low-carbon economic development based on the decoupling model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy plays an important role in economic development. This paper deals with the long-run relationship between energy consumption and real GDP for V4 countries from 2005 to 2019. The analysis was based on the unit root tests, co-integration tests, and causality tests. There are two questions. The first question is if energy consumption the stimulus to GDP, resp. energy consumption causes GDP. And the second question is if GDP the stimulus for energy consumption, resp. GDP causes consumption of energy. Energy consumption has an essential role in the economy on both the demand and the supply. It means that there should be a causal relationship from energy consumption to GDP as well as vice versa. Given that in the long run the energy consumption Granger causes the GDP in Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, it means that energy consumption could cause economic growth in these countries. The only country where no significant relationship between energy consumption and the GDP has been demonstrated in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper Jacobs examines the connection between attitudes on migration, perceived threats linked to migration and the (lack of) willingness to help refugees using a data set of twelve countries from a survey project called the Aurora Humanitarian Index. The higher the perceived ethnic threat (economic, cultural or religious), the less willing individuals are to mobilize for refugees. In addition to patterns on the individual level, we examine the impact of country characteristics (gross domestic product (GDP), number of migrants and so on) through correlational and multilevel analysis. While neither the proportion of migrants nor the proportion of refugees impacts on the willingness to mobilize in favour of refugees, the economic situation does have an effect. In richer countries there is less willingness to help. Furthermore, we can observe that the effect of both opposition to migration and the perception of refugees as posing an economic threat is exacerbated in richer countries (countries with a higher GDP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The localization process seeks to ensure that the production of particular components occurs from local companies, thus restricting manufacturing to local firms. Solar Photovoltaic (PV) panels localization can stimulate regional economic development in coal phase-out regions. This paper uses the Jobs and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) model to assess the economic impact of enhanced solar PV localization and further analyses enhanced solar PV Local Content Requirements (LCRs) scenarios. The study determined that the optimization of LCRs has a positive influence on employment and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) under the considered timeframes (2020−2030). Specifically, the study found that a total of Full-Time-Equivalent (FTE) jobs that would be created by a 100% LCRs will be 249 315 over 10 years. An 80% LCRs scenario projected that a total of 219 513 jobs will be created while the overall economic impact is estimated to be USD 74 975, 248.43 over 10 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper sought to examine economic growth and governance in South Africa using GDP and selected governance indicators. The estimation techniques employed to achieve the research aim are; Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and granger-causality approaches. The Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) unit root tests reveal that all variables are co-integrated at I(1), except for CC at I(2). The ARDL results ascertain the existence of a long run relationship among the variables, hence, the F-statistic is greater than the lower and upper critical bounds. The Granger-causality tests show a causal link between government effectiveness (GE) and gross domestic product (GDP). Corruption control (CC) was found to have a causal link with GE. In addition, the diagnostic tests confirm that the findings are reliable and valid. Accordingly, these findings are consistence with the widely shared notion that good governance is an impetus for economic growth and development. In essence, where poor governance thrives, it becomes difficult to practice good governance and to achieve prospects of economic growth. Therefore, appropriate governance mechanisms must be implemented in order to enhance sustainable good governance and economic growth. This calls for what this paper terms as a 'growth-enhancing' governance model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the differential impact of several territorial determinants of the economic performance of Italian provinces (NUTS 3 level). as measured by per capita GDP, export and employment growth from 1999 to 2014. It covers both the pre‐crisis and the crisis period and stresses the role of geographical proximity in shaping local performance over a wide set of explanatory variables. In order to do so, we employ, firstly, a spatial Durbin model which enables us to discriminate between direct and indirect effects and to highlight the possible contagion or crowding‐out spatial effects for each territorial dimension affecting growth. Then, we extend the analysis by allowing for the possibility of two regimes (pre‐crisis and post‐crisis). The performance of the provinces before and during the crisis relates to specific territorial components and geographic proximity appears to influence differently the results and their interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) has been proposed as an alternative to GDP as an indicator of national progress. GPI includes 26 components that adjust GDP for inequality, include household and volunteer work, and subtract a number of social and environmental costs best seen as negatives. The GPI has been estimated for over 20 countries and many states and territories. This paper updates Australia's GPI to determine whether Australia as a nation has progressed overall since the 1960s and compares two alternative approaches that differ in some important details. We find that despite these differing approaches, we find that GPI remained largely stagnant from the 1960s through to the 1990s, and only at the turn of the century has GPI started to increase, despite increasing negative environmental costs. While GPI is well placed to serve as an improved Australian and global measure of national progress, further work is needed to measure national well-being and support its integration into political decision-making and to include the full range of subjective and objective indicators. Ultimately, this paper argues that while GPI is well placed to serve as a new Australian and global measure of well-being, we stress the need for an alternative indicator, like GPI, to supplement GDP and to better inform policy decisions. Highlights • GPI remained stagnant from the 1960's well into the 1990's, and has only recently seen an increase in its growth rate. • The gap between GPI and GDP remains considerably large, the result of negative environmental and social costs that GDP does not include. • Alternative indicators can inform political decision-making as government resources become more constrained • Consistent standardization of GPI can integrate well-being into political decision-making and provide a supplement to GDP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper contributes to the economic analysis of illicit activities and money laundering. First, it presents a theoretical model of long-run growth that explicitly considers illicit workers, activities, and income, alongside a licit private sector and a functioning government. Second, it generates estimates of the size of illicit income and provides simulated and econometric estimates of the volume of laundered assets in the Colombian economy. In the model, the licit sector operates in a perfectly competitive environment and produces a good through a standard neoclassical production function. The illicit sector operates in an imperfectly competitive environment and is composed of two different activities: The first activity produces an illicit good that nonetheless is valuable in the market (for example illegal drugs); the second does not add value to the economy but only redistributes wealth (for example robbery, kidnapping, and fraud). The paper provides a series of comparative statics exercises to assess the effects of changes in government efficiency, licit sector productivity, and the demand for illegal drugs. From the model, the analysis derives a set of estimable macroeconometric equations to measure the size of laundered assets in the Colombian economy in the period 1985–2013. The paper assembles a dataset whose key components are estimates of illicit income from drug trafficking and common crime. Illicit incomes increased drastically until 2001, reaching a peak of nearly 12% of gross domestic product and then decreasing to less than 2% by 2013. The decline not only overlaps with a period of high economic growth but also occurs after the implementation of Plan Colombia. The dataset is used to estimate the volume of laundered assets in the economy by applying the Kalman filter for the estimation of unobserved dynamic variables onto the derived macroeconometric equations from the model. The findings show that the volume of laundered assets increased from about 8% of gross domestic product in the mid-1980s to a peak of 14% by 2002, and declined to 8% in 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the importance of good institutions in harnessing the growth effects of the bulging economically active population in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). The paper utilizes a panel dataset comprising 39 countries over the period 2002–13. Based on the system generalized method of moments estimator, this paper finds that an increase in the relative size of the working‐age population has no direct significant impact on growth, except through the presence of strong and high‐quality institutions. The paper also finds that control of corruption, rule of law and political stability are the specific aspects of institutions that matter the most in reaping the dividend. These results do not only highlight the primacy of strong institutions but also shed light on the key institutional pillars that need to be strengthened to rake in the positive effects of an increasing working age population on economic growth in SSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance and the relationship between competitiveness, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth and human development in 20 countries of the Latin America and Caribbean region during the 2006-2015 period. The main argument to uphold here is that – from the perspective of virtuous circle – countries with better conditions of competitiveness are those with better economic performance and with better conditions for human development.Design/methodology/approach Time series data were organized at three levels: individual countries, groups of nations and Latin America and Caribbean as a whole. Indicators used were: index of competitiveness, rates of change in real GDP and Human Development Index. Cluster analysis tests were performed: data ranges were determined and quintiles were established. Countries were ranked in five categories and comparative position matrices were determined for each variable. Linear correlations between indexes were calculated. Linear correlation coefficients were determined in terms of groups of countries and considering Latin America and Caribbean as a whole.Findings Findings revealed that decreasing conditions in competitiveness and economic growth indicators are the representative situation since 2009. The most competitive country in the region is Chile, and the weakest is Venezuela. Nevertheless, all Latin American and Caribbean countries analyzed seem to have made progress in terms of human, economic and social development. Regarding correlations, Dominican Republic showed an inverse relationship between competitiveness and economic growth, while Jamaica and Venezuela showed inverse relationships between competitiveness and human development. At the individual country level, no statistically significant relationship between economic growth and human development was detected.Research limitations/implications Findings highlight the necessity of future research that result in a deeper understanding of the transmission mechanisms between economic and social performance in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Particular reasons at the micro level that explain improvements or deteriorations in competitiveness and human development must also be analyzed. Based on the degrees of freedom, time series could have included more years, but a lack of information was found for some countries. It would also be necessary to observe each particular case considering the type of economy, production characteristics and export/import composition.Practical implications Results complement the existing literature by exploring competitiveness and its relationship with economic and social variables in developing countries. The authors also believe that this paper is relevant for macroeconomic and social policy debates involving competitiveness and human well-being in this region of the world.Originality/value This paper supports an important argument: human well-being and national development must be the ultimate goal of competitiveness. Traditional literature focuses on levels and determinants of competitiveness in developed countries, but it usually does not take into account social and human aspects of the process in developing countries. Little attention has been paid to analyze the relationship between competitiveness and socioeconomic variables in developing countries. Methods and findings of this paper complement the existing literature by studying the relationships among competitiveness, real GDP growth and human development in Latin American and Caribbean countries, using correlation analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Rostow's Growth Theory identifies five stages of growth a nation must go through in the process of structural transformation. Nigeria has maintained a remarkable growth rate of an average of about 7 per cent with a high potential for further growth. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth was estimated at 6.23 per cent in 2014 compared to 5.49 per cent in 2013. However, the rebasing of the nation's GDP in April 2014 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) made the nation to be the largest economy in Africa with a rebased GDP estimate of USD 454 billion in 2012 and USD 510 billion in 2013. This rebasing revealed that the Nigerian economy is transforming from an agrarian economy to a tertiary service economy without going through the immediate stages of industrialization. Renowned researchers have proved that "economic development is economic growth plus structural transformation". This means that GDP growth accompanied by reduction in the share of primary production (mainly agriculture) and increase in share of secondary production (mainly manufacturing) and subsequently tertiary (modern technology and knowledge intensive services) activities in total GDP is indicative of economic development. Adopting descriptive statistical analytical tools applied to time series data spanning 1991 to 2017, this paper examines the extent of applicability of the Rostow's growth theory to structural transformation and attainment of economic development in Nigeria. The paper confirms the Nigerian economy is transforming from an agrarian economy to a tertiary service economy without going through the immediate stages of industrialization. It proceeds to recommend the introduction of a well-endowed human capital base which would enhance the output performance of the manufacturing sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a model in which greater inequality reduces growth in economies with low levels of financial development but that this effect is attenuated in economies with more developed systems. The model also predicts that individuals in economies with developed financial markets have a higher tolerance to inequality. Using a panel dataset that covers a large number of countries, this paper shows empirical evidence that is consistent with the main predictions of the model. Overall, this paper's major findings highlight that some of the pernicious effects of inequality can be attenuated by improving access to credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, endogenous and exogenous factors that affect the credit growth rate of some Western Balkan countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia) and the credit policy in Turkey will be investigated through a multiple regression analysis. The credit growth rate will be used as the dependent variable while the rate of the nonperforming loans along with the growth rate of the deposit, the return of equity and the real growth rate of the gross domestic product will be used as independent variables. In this paper the STATA 13.0 software package will be used. This data analysis will include a quarterly basis data for the period: 2007q1 - 2017q2 due to its higher significance. The result of the regression analysis showed that there is a reverse relationship between the rate of the non-performing loans and the credit growth rate for all the observed countries. The high share of problematic loans in total loans relatively reflects in a negative way the overall tendency of the banks towards taking risks and credit growth. It reduces the profitability of the banking sector and increases the systemic risk as well. The basic results of the regression analysis also showed a positive relationship between economic growth and the credit growth of banks. On the one hand, the economic growth of the region insufficiently follows the credit growth due to the stagnation of the real sector, and the recovery of the economy on the other hand. Similarly, there is a positive relationship between the growth rate of the deposits and credit growth, since the deposits sources are the basis for performing credit nomination. Except for Croatia where a negative correlation was recorded, there is a positive relationship in terms of the return on equity and credit growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzed the contribution of the domestic trade to the economic development of Romania in the period 2008-2017 in terms of contribution to GDP, investments, jobs, labor productivity, number of companies in operation and turnover. The data taken from the National Institute of Statistics were processed using fixed basis indices, growth rates, structural changes, comparisons to emphasize the main aspects which characterize the evolution of home trade and of its subsectors. The results proved the important role that home trade has in the economy. In 2016, it contributed by Lei 160 Billion 918.7%) to GDP, by Lei 20.06 Billion (20%) to the investments in the economy, by 1,884 thousand persons (22.5%) to the occupied population, but in a lower measure to the increase of labour productivity. Home trade is attractive for small business investors as proved by the increased number of new companies in 2016. At present, 45.4% of the enterprises operating in the economy are profiled on trade transactions. Also, home trade has contributed by Lei 565.1 Billion to the turnover in the economy. The increased sales are justified by the consumption high growth rate for goods and services. The wholesale and retail trade contributes by about 81% to the national turnover. Therefore, trade is a very important sector of activity which supports Romania's economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Using panel data on 47 African countries from 1980–2013, this paper investigates the effects of aid on Africa's economic growth from the perspective of political stability. We find that international aid can promote economic growth in Africa, but the effectiveness of aid depends on countries’ political stability. Further, the intensity of aid affects its effectiveness. When the aid–GDP ratio is between 0 and 69 per cent, aid can promote economic growth in recipient countries, and when this ratio is 27 per cent, the marginal impact of aid on economic growth is maximized. The findings of this paper suggest that providers of aid should avoid providing a substantial amount of aid to countries at risk of political unrest, and they must determine the optimal scale of aid based on the economic development of recipient countries in order to enable aid to generate better results. Recipient countries should maintain social and political stability and ensure that they do not develop an excessive dependence on aid so that they can achieve the self‐sustainable development of their own economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the dissipative structure theory is used to describe the regional economic development system, and its dissipative structure characteristics are systematically expounded, pointing out that the economic system structure belongs to the dissipative structure category, and this paper introduces the gray correlation entropy theory, analyzes the gray correlation entropy with the annual GDP as the order parameter, establishes the evolutionary discriminant model based on the correlation entropy theory, analyzes the development model of the regional economy, the economic development situation of the current year can be judged, so the economic development of the past decade can be judged in this way, the applicability and reliability of the regional economic dissipative structure system entropy model are verified through this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this study is to describe the spatial patterns of local income inequalities by employing techniques of spatial exploratory data analysis. Global and local measures of spatial autocorrelation were computed in order to obtain estimates for the existing spatial autocorrelation at the local income level. Using this information, we determined the spatial clusters of significantly auto-correlated local income distribution. The first major result of the paper consists in the measurement of the local income levels, an innovative contribution to the advancement in this field since there are no official statistics on local level economic data in Romania. The second major result of the paper consists in the identification and delineation of specific spatial structures at high spatial resolution. It enables the precise designation of peripheral regions for spatial planning interventions. The third major outcome of the paper brings empirical evidence for the existence of highly significant spatial interactions and for the strong spatial interconnections between areas of similar local income levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to uncover the national intellectual capital (NIC) of South Africa by making comparisons with Poland and Romania.Design/methodology/approach Based on a database of an NIC measurement model spanning 2001-2015, this study plotted the development trend of the NIC and its component capitals – human, market, process and renewal capitals. Their correlations with GDP per capita (ppp) (GDP hereinafter) were also presented.Findings The NIC of South Africa is lower than that of both Poland and Romania. Except for the increase of its human capital together with its GDP, the other capitals have lower relevance. Poland experienced highly correlated growth for its NIC and GDP, shedding light for South Africa. The qualitative findings are also reported.Research limitations/implications The IMD database carries South African data only for the African continent. Therefore, this paper cannot cover other countries from the continent.Practical implications There are three implications from both the quantitative and qualitative analyses: initiate national transformation from the two core issues of education and health; invite and provide attractive incentives for South African returnees from abroad and members of local private sectors to take part in the national transformation efforts; and learn from the NIC development pattern of Poland and Romania by investing in market capital and process capital as soon as possible for faster results.Social implications The research findings of this paper unveil the root of the social problems in South Africa, including education, health, high unemployment and so on. Suggestions are provided for mid-term and long-term potential solutions.Originality/value This paper demonstrates the value of an NIC in the economically successful Poland whose growth and GDP growth occurred at a similar pace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the long-term relationship between the performance of the manufacturing sector and economic growth in Saudi Arabia. It does so by testing Kaldor–Verdoorn and Thirlwall’s laws.Design/methodology/approach The authors used data for the period 1980–2014 from databases of the World Bank, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the Penn World Table (PWT8) and the five-year plan of the Ministry of Planning and National Economy of Saudi Arabia. The authors used the bound test for the cointegration approach, which allowed them to test the two hypotheses in the long run, after examining the stability of the time series and ensuring the rank of its stability.Findings The results that emerged from the analysis show that Kaldor’s law is applicable to the data on the KSA, but with decreasing returns to scale, with coefficient equal 0.83. Verdoorn’s law is also applicable at both macro and sectoral levels with elasticity coefficient equal to 0.81 and 0.616, respectively, also with decreasing returns to scale. For Thirlwall’s model, the results show that the relationship was reverse, contrary to what expected, with a significant elasticity coefficient of 0.599.Social implications This study recommends that policy makers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia focus on the industrial sector because of its impact on productivity, social returns and other sectors of the economy.Originality/value One of the important aspects of this paper is that it tests both Kaldor–Verdoorn’s and Thirlwall’s laws in the case of countries that depend on oil exports for growth and where the contribution of industrial output to GDP, in Saudi Arabia, is relatively low, at about 13 percent, across the period 1970–2013, and about 16.8 percent between 2000 and 2013 (see Figure 1). Since there have been few studies on this subject, the authors used data from Saudi Arabia to provide evidence of the importance of diversifying the economy by increasing the contribution of manufacturing to GDP to ensure increased productivity and to promote economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of foreign direct investment on domestic investment and the role of local conditions. Local conditions determine the extent to which host countries can absorb and hence benefit from FDI. We assess conditions under which FDI is likely to be beneficial or inimical to development in Africa. We apply the fixed effects and the two-step system GMM estimation techniques for 48 African economies from 1980 to 2016. We use gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) as a percentage of GDP as a proxy for domestic investment (DI) as our dependent variable. We use the following control variables: growth rate in real GDP (RGDP); savings as a percentage of GDP; and inflation. We also control for openness, financial sector development and institutional quality. We use annual data from the World Bank's World Development Indicators (WDI), the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) International Financial Statistics, the UNCTAD database and the Freedom House database. We find that there is a negative relationship between FDI and domestic investment, suggesting that FDI has a crowding-out effect. The negative association may also imply that countries with lower domestic investment attract more FDI because there are more domestically unsatisfied opportunities for foreign investors. However, the negative relationship between FDI and domestic investment does not necessarily imply that FDI has no benefits. It could as well be that the positive benefits from FDI in Africa may be as a result of an increase in total factor productivity (TFP) which more than compensates for the decline in domestic investment. The study also finds that improved institutions and trade openness mitigate the negative effect of FDI on domestic investment while financial market development exacerbates the negative effect. Policy efforts aimed at attracting FDI should be balanced with the imperative of strengthening institutions and domestic firms. A number of scholars have shown that that even in those countries where FDI has been more productive, domestic investment is more effective than FDI in promoting growth. Investment incentives should therefore not discriminate against domestic investors. Market regulations to dismantle the monopolistic tendencies of some foreign investors must be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the super-efficiency DEA model to study the super-efficiency energy efficiency values of 30 provinces in China from 2006 to 2018, compares the differences between different regions, and verifies the impact of different environmental regulatory tools on energy efficiency. The results show that the regions with the highest energy efficiency in China's provinces are, in order, the eastern region, the central region, and the western region. At the same time, the impact of different environmental regulatory tools on energy efficiency is quite different. The number of environmental administrative penalties has a negative impact on China's energy efficiency, that is, increased number of environmental administrative penalties will reduce China's energy efficiency; market-encouraging environmental regulations tools impact on China's energy efficiency show a positive correlation, which means that market-encouraging environmental regulation tools are conducive to achieving a win-win goal of environmental regulation and energy efficiency in China. The voluntary environmental regulation tool has a negative correlation with energy efficiency, but it is not statistically significant, indicating that it is not the main factor affecting energy efficiency. In terms of other influencing variables, the level of economic development and technological progress are positively related to energy efficiency. The proportion of the secondary industry in regional GDP is positively related to energy efficiency, the relationship between energy consumption structure and energy efficiency is negative correlation, the degree of opening to the outside world has a negative correlation to China's energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia’s several major mining booms since the 1840s have impacted positively on national economic growth and non-trivially on the competitiveness of other sectors of its economy. This paper shows the latter to be consistent with economic theory only when sectoral policy developments are taken into consideration. It reveals several features that make the sectoral composition of Australia’s economy unusual. One is that the manufacturing share of GDP was unusually high until protectionism was phased out from the 1970s. Another is that the farm sector continued to enjoy a strong comparative advantage despite mining booms and high rates of assistance to import-competing manufacturers. Also, the agricultural and services sectors’ shares of GDP remained fairly constant rather than diverging during 1860-1960. The paper concludes by drawing out implications for future policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the correlation balance of transport as a dynamic system and the economic growth of specific regions and countries expressed in gross domestic product (GDP). The contemporary transformation processes of the input resources to the desired outcomes need new intelligent approaches based on new information system techniques. These research determinations are specifically focused on achieving the objective of providing with the analyses concerned with giving a more estimated answer to some of the complex questions related to the economic dynamics, new information technologies, sustainable development, and transport. The assumption is that transport can be considered as one of the most influential and vibrant systems of the economy. Taking into consideration that transport system is a dynamic system which is continually changing in time and space, to maintain functioning and competing level, it should be enabled and followed by the high communication and operation technology. From this assumption, a research an interesting question has arisen: do transport contribution to the GDP increases, of the same is decreasing over time? To answer this answer, a research encompassed the mix research methodology combined with qualitative and quantitative research features. The qualitative research conclusions represent the identified and defined factors which determine the relationship between transport and the economy. The quantitative research is oriented in generating information and knowledge based on statistical data which provide with the evidence about the more realistic relationship between transport and the economy. The main goal of this research paper is to provide decision makers, planners, and academic spectrum with a demanding clarification of the applied relationship between the transport system and the economic development of a country or a region in terms of economic growth expressed in GDP, and to make them aware with regard to the implementation of new technology, new information systems, and smart or intelligence approaches within the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of this paper is determining role of the fixed exchange rate regime in developing countries, through the analysis of the Chinese exchange rate, and its repercussions on the balance of goods and services and the economic growth in the period from 1983 to 2014. The aim of the paper is to identify the economic growth environment of China by analysing three types of relationships: the relationship between exchange rate and exports of goods and services, relationship between exports of goods and services and gross domestic product, and relationship between exchange rate and growth rate of gross domestic product. The research conducted in this work confirms great importance of the fixed exchange rate regime in developing countries for reducing the economic development gap in relation to developed countries. Based on the research results, the work recommends coordinated action of monetary and fiscal policies, as a measure through which exchange rate policy could stimulate economic growth, while discouraging inflationary tendencies in the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential determinants of FDI, in developed and developing countries.Design/methodology/approach This paper investigates FDI determinants based on panel data analysis using static and dynamic modeling for 20 countries (11 developed and 9 developing), over the period 2004-2013. For static model estimations, Hausman (1978) test indicates the applicability of fixed effect/random effect, while generalized moments of methods (GMM) (dynamic model) is used to capture endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity.Findings The outcome across different countries depicts diverse results. In developed countries, FDI seeks policy-related determinants (GDP growth, trade openness, and freedom index), and in developing country FDI showed positive association for economic determinants (gross fixed capital formulation (GFCF), trade openness, and efficiency variables).Research limitations/implications The destination of FDI is limited to 20 countries in the present paper. The indicator of the institutional environment, namely economic freedom index, used in this paper has received some criticism in calculations.Practical implications The paper enlists recommendations for future FDI policies and may assist government in providing a tactical framework for skill development, thereby increasing manufacturing growth rate. The paper also throws light on vertical and horizontal capital inflows considering resource, strategy, and market-seeking FDI.Social implications FDI may bring significant benefits by creating high-quality jobs, introducing modern production and management practices. It highlights how multinational corporations and government contribute to better working conditions in host countries.Originality/value The paper uncovers important features like macroeconomic variables, especially country-wise efficiency scores, policy variables, GFCF, and freedom index, for determining FDI inflows in 20 countries using panel data methods and provides a roadmap for developed and developing countries. The study highlights endogeneity and unobserved heteroscedasticity by applying GMM one- and two-step procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic growth and poverty reduction now take the centre stage in most global policy discourse. This is coming at a time that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are fast gaining global relevance. Africa has witnessed the highest but non-inclusive level of growth in the last decade because the continent still grapples with high unemployment rate especially among the youths. This paper therefore examines some drivers of and constraints to growth and poverty reduction in Africa. The paper focused on Africa by using secondary data sourced from different such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Transparency International (TI), Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports and Annual Abstract of Statistics. Analytical methods employed were mainly descriptive statistics and comparative statistics. Findings showed that economic growth recorded in the continent is a 'jobless' one advancing inequality and poverty. More so, 75 percent of countries with low human development are in Africa with the continent's consistent economic growth imparting insignificantly on the livelihoods of the people. In fact, 27 out of 54 African countries were reported to have GDP of less than $USD 2000 per capita. GDP growth in sub-Saharan Africa was estimated at 4.9 percent in 2013 and this increased to 5.3 percent in 2014 and further estimated to rise to 5.5 percent in 2015. The fight against inequality, poverty and unemployment is tantamount to aiming a moving target. Youth unemployment remains a component of Africa's growth owing to persistent low productivity and underemployment in the informal sector. The resultant implication of this is manifested through persistent inequality, poverty, armed conflict and unchecked migration of young people to industrialised nations in search of the non-existing livelihood opportunities. This paper therefore recommends increased and monitored investments in critical infrastructural facilities. There is a need for multilevel and multinational partnership in the fight against corruption and social conflict to attract foreign direct investment. Investment in social security programmes will also assist the poor and vulnerable people in the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore, for the first time, the relationship between the prices of rare earth materials and economic growth. Renewable technologies and many high-demanded technologies need significant supplies of such materials.Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a panel of the six most significant rare earth producers around the globe, as well as certain panel methodologies.Findings The empirical analysis indicates the presence of a positive impact of such minerals prices on economic growth. Causality methodologies also indicate unidirectional causality between GDP and the prices of rare earth materials, with the causality running from these prices to economic growth. The findings survive a number of robustness checks.Originality/value The claim that natural resources are a curse that makes the countries worse off is not supported for the case of rare earth materials. The results are expected to be of high importance, because these particular rare earth materials are extensively used in a huge list of technological products with high demand and low costs, while they are hard to be replaced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how firm age, size and ownership are related with job creation and destruction, and how these patterns differ across transition and non-transition economies. The analysis finds that age is inversely related with gross job creation and net job creation in the two samples. This finding is consistent with the theory of the learning effect. The relationship between age and job destruction is indifferent in non-transition economies. On the contrary, old firms in transition economies destroy more jobs than young ones. The paper further establishes an inverse relationship between size and gross job creation in the two groups. However, there is divergence between the two samples; small firms in non-transition economies also exhibit a higher gross job destruction rate. Consequently large firms have a higher net job creation rate. In transition economies, small and large firms exhibit similar rates of job destruction. But small firms retain a higher net job creation rate. A more intriguing finding is that state owned firms do not underperform domestic private ones. This means these countries may be using soft budget constraint which allows state owned firms to overstaff. Finally, crowding out of SMEs by foreign owned firms is not evident in transition economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate long-run relationship between economic growth and disaggregated energy consumption in Malaysia. Toda-Yamamoto (T-Y), the modified Granger causality test, along with annual disaggregated energy and real GDP growth data from 1971 to 2014 was used in the investigation process. This paper presents several outcomes; firstly, this paper argues that the Malaysian economy is energy dependent and sensitive to energy supply shocks. Secondly, the usage of energy inputs in Malaysian economy is found to be consumed inefficiently meaning that usage of higher energy resources does not contribute the economic growth significantly, rather causes environmental pollution badly. Thirdly, the finding indicates that economic growth and environmental pollution through spreading carbon emissions are responsive to each other. In this circumstance, the Malaysian economy has to find a way to consume the energy inputs efficiently so that economic growth is improved, while negative externality in the environment is reduced. Therefore, the study presents significant policy implications in order to improve the energy efficiency and reduce environmental pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional equation of economic well-being with the gross domestic product (GDP) has dominated policy thinking for at least 50 years. However, a variety of authors have pointed to the social and environmental costs of economic development and called for more comprehensive and more representative measures of progress to be developed. Therefore, a variety of 'adjusted' indicators have been developed. The robustness and reliability of these indicators is still a contentious issue. But these attempts raise important questions about sustainable development and pose an important challenge to conventional thinking about the relationship between economic progress, well-being and sustainability. The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) is one of the indicators of measuring sustainable development. Apply it to Liaoning Province, this paper evaluates Liaoning's GPI from 1978 to 2011. GPI, Per Capita GPI and GDP of Liaoning are compared with each other. It is concluded that GDP and Per Capita GDP of Liaoning grow much faster than GPI and Per Capita GPI. Grouped all components of GPI into three categories (economy, environment and Social), it shows that social and environmental development lags behind economic growth in Liaoning. This paper is till now a unique application of GPI indicator in Liaoning and China's provincial level and also contribution to the continuing development of the methods and results for the Index of Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). Policy implications are given finally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]