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In the context of globalization, China has been widely regarded as the most successful country in the world in utilizing inward foreign direct investment (FDI) for economic development. The mainstream of the literature has produced a wide range of studies that are largely within the theoretical framework of neoclassical economics, and they tend to conclude that FDI has contributed significantly to Chinese economic development—through capital formation, export expansion, technology transfer, and the transformation of the economic structures and institutions. The objective of this paper is to assess the role of FDI in Chinese economic development with reference to the broader theoretical literature on FDI and late development, which encompasses structuralism and radical political economy along with neoclassical economics. From the perspectives of the broader literature, the analyses of the paper find that FDI in China has indeed promoted economic development in one respect (improving allocative efficiency), but has also had unfavourable effect in another respect (worsening productive efficiency), resulting in an overall impact that tends to be on the negative side. The mainstream story of China is thus judged to be partial, and the lessons to be drawn from the experience are arguably far more complex than have been hitherto perceived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between hydroelectricity consumption and economic growth in seven Latin America countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. The analysis is conducted within a neoclassical model involving capital and labour force, for the period of 1970–2012. We utilize a recently developed cointegration test to investigate the long run relationship in the variables. Having established that the variables are cointegrated, the results indicate long run bidirectional causality between hydroelectricity consumption and economic growth in Argentina and Venezuela. There is evidence for long run unidirectional causality from hydroelectricity consumption to economic growth in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The long run coefficients from the regression analyses suggest that hydroelectricity consumption positively affect the economies of these Latin American countries. However, limited evidence of causality between the two variables is found in the short run. The ensuing policy implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce the concept of product complexity in an endogenous growth model with renewable energy and expanding product variety à la Grossman and Helpman (1991). We describe the complexity of a product as an increasing function of the variety of inputs it consists of. Considering that energy is necessary to all human activities (including research), we highlight what type of long run growth path is possible according to (a) the potential of energy efficiency gains in the various human activities and (b) the effect of the product complexity on the energy intensiveness of its production process. In a finite world, a neoclassical growth path where economic growth can be both quantitative and non-quantitative (i.e. takes the form of an increase in the quantity of produced goods and in the product variety) is only possible if the potential of energy efficiency gains is unbounded in all human activities. If the energy intensiveness of the final production is bounded from below by a strictly positive constant, quantitative growth is not possible in the long run but non-quantitative growth may persist if (i) the impact of product complexity on the energy intensiveness of production is null or weak enough and (ii) the energy intensiveness of research activities tends to zero. If these conditions are not met, no form of long run growth is possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article develops an ecological economic interpretation of the Jevons effect. Moreover, it is argued that under the neoclassical paradigm there are no elements with which to foresee the long-term existence of this phenomenon. The objective of these arguments is to demonstrate that the Jevons effect can be used to compare the ability of neoclassical and ecological economics describing the social appropriation of nature. This is elaborated in two steps. First, we show the importance of the thesis that the economy cannot be cut off from the biophysical materiality of what is produced to give consistency to the so-called Khazzoom–Brookes postulate. It is made clear that this supposition is exogenous to the neoclassical paradigm. Second, the supposition of the biophysical materiality of what is produced is utilized to make an ecological economic interpretation of the Jevons effect. Afterwards, a comparison is made between the neoclassical and the ecological economic perspectives. This comparison leads to the following conclusions: (i) the persistent presence of the Jevons effect in the long run is an anomaly in the neoclassical paradigm; (ii) the observation of the non-existence of the Jevons effect is a refutation of the supposition that economic growth and biophysical materiality are not separable, a central thesis defended by ecological economists. This situation makes possible to use the Jevons effect as a ‘laboratory test’ to compare the ability of neoclassical and ecological economic paradigms to describe the social appropriation of nature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Challenges results of the empirical literature in support of the neoclassical theory of export-led growth and provides a theoretical and empirical alternative. Neoclassical hypothesis that exports lead to superior economic performance; Sectoral distribution of employment and output toward the manufacturing sector; Export growth as it relates to growth in output.