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Objective: The objective of this paper was to analyze the bidirectional relationship between financial development and economic growth for a dataset of Latin American and Asian developing countries between 2001 and 2019. Method: This research employed an empirical approach to analyze the statistical relationship between financial development and economic growth, by presenting an estimation of a system of simultaneous equations for a panel of Asian and Latin American countries using 3SLS. Main Results: The results presented in this research provided evidence that financial development does not appear to have a significant impact on economic growth, although growth appears to have a significant and positive influence on financial development. Moreover, the results also suggested that regulatory quality and domestic credit directed to the private sector have a positive effect on economic growth, while urbanization and education showed a negative influence on growth. The estimated model also indicated that urbanization has a positive influence on financial development while foreign direct investment presented a negative effect on the development of the financial sector. Relevance / Originality: Most of the research agenda on the topic of finance and growth has focused on identifying correlation or causality between these variables, with little attention given to the simultaneous relationship between them. This is still a clear gap in economic literature. Following this premise, the objective of this paper was to analyze the bidirectional relationship between financial development and growth by estimating a system of simultaneous equations using the Zellner and Theil’s (1962) 3SLS methodology. In this sense, the main contribution will be given empirically, based on data and analysis from emerging countries in Latin America and Asia. The fact that financial development has an influence on growth and growth plays a role on the development of the financial sector indicates a simultaneous relationship between these variables. Another relevant contribution is to update the debate on financial systems and economic development for emerging countries, highlighting institutional aspects and financial cycles. Theoretical / Methodological Contributions: The main contribution of this study is in the empirical strategy, whose results dialogue with part of the literature on the financial system and development presented along the text. That is, this research explored the statistical relationship between economic development and financial development for a sample composed by twenty-two Asian and Latin American emerging countries, using a simultaneous equations model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quest for the development of financial system has been the major concern of the Asian economies over the years. Using a System Generalized Methods of Moments technique for 44 Asian countries over the period 1980–2017, we evaluate the effect of financial development on economic growth for the entire Asia, sub-regions and groups of the countries by their levels of income. Additionally, we considered the subcomponents of the financial system. The contribution of this study hinges on the use of a comprehensive measure of financial development, and consideration of the heterogeneity of the Asian countries concerning the finance-growth nexus. The findings revealed that financial development spurs economic growth in Asia. Specifically, the development of financial institutions have a greater impact than development of financial markets on growth of upper-middle and high-income countries while the reverse is the case for low and low-middle income countries in the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrialisation is a significant part of any country's economic development. This study discusses the relationship between industrialisation and carbon dioxide emissions for Asian economies. The industrialisation has a major impact on carbon emissions, but its relationship with the environment differs in various regions of Asia. The empirical results are obtained by models of panel regression, which divide a balanced panel dataset of 46 countries into five groups depending on their subregions over the period 1991–2017. The tests of panel cointegration estimation found a majority of the cointegrated variables and verified the long‐run relationship between the variables. The long‐run coefficients are estimated using a fully modified ordinary least‐squares (FMOLS) method, and results conclude that industrialisation has a positive impact on the carbon dioxide emissions in the long run. These findings reveal that various industrialisation development strategies should be pursued in a bid to reduce emissions, depending on the levels of economic growth. Based on the findings, some policy suggestions are proposed for Asian economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southeast Asia is a development success story. By 2025, it is forecast that extreme poverty in the region will have been ‘eradicated’. Does this mean that the challenges so evident in the 1960s when the countries of the region began to pursue development have been met, and the objectives achieved? The paper makes a case for thinking afresh about development and the poverty project, recognising that development is never neatly achieved but, rather, re‐worked, re‐engineered and re‐imagined over time. This is done through identifying different categories of ‘poor’, each produced through different poverty‐making processes, measured and viewed in different ways, and their poverty addressed using different approaches and policies. With specific reference to the cases of Laos and Thailand, and drawing on longitudinal research in the latter country, it is argued that while economic growth does trickle down, it trickles down in quite discrete and often contingent ways. Furthermore, there is always development work to be done, because development creates its own work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past two decades, the fast-developing Asia has emerged as one of the most important economic regions. However, its economic growth is accompanied with severe software piracy. This paper analyzes productivity changes of 11 Asian economies and 4 non-Asian industrialized economies by taking into account software piracy using the Malmquist productivity index and its two components, efficiency change and technical change over the period 1994–2002. The results indicate that when software piracy is included, productivity growth in Asian developing economies regresses, while productivity growth in the four non-Asian industrialized economies improves. Interpretation and implications are provided. ( JEL L86, O34) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights the challenges that Russia is facing to integrate with the world economy in relation to globalization and rise of business activity centers. It mentions about the Russia's international relations linked with the Commonwealth of Independent States. The authors mention that Russia can expand its economic cooperation with the countries of the Asia-Pacific Region so that it can exploit its economic advantages to its full potential. Asia-Pacific Region is appropriate for Russia's economic expansion due to its principle of open regionalism and differences in social and economic development.

The rising trend in environmental pollution in current years has elevated the demand for clean energy to reduce environmental stress, and the newly developed biomass energy source is contributing well in this regard. This paper quantifies, if biomass energy consumption is performing as the main driver for economic development and clean energy source to decrease the pollution levels. Associations among carbon emission, economic development, and biomass energy have been estimated by using the Common correlated effects mean group, and Panel vector autoregressive techniques for 38 countries of Asia from 1990 to 2017. Granger causality and Impulse-response functions are also measured. A closer look at the results shows that 1% increase in biomass consumption will increase CO 2 emission by 1.698%. The study also found support for the presence of an N-shaped relationship between per capita income and emission and found trade openness and urbanization as the contributors to environmental pollution. Outcomes provide empirical evidence that there is bidirectional causality between real economic growth to inflation and financial development to inflation in the first model. The second model also showed bidirectional causality between real economic growth to financial development and inflation, and inflation to trade openness. The findings show that biomass energy consumption is acting as the key driver for economic development and performing as a non-clean energy source in decreasing pollution. • Study examines association among emission, economic development and biomass energy. • Nations are solicitous for economic development but inattentive toward environment. • Study does not find biomass energy consumption as an environment-friendly indicator. • There is a positive association between renewable energy consumption and emission. • Economic development cannot be a guarantee to achieve a clean environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]