Search

Using changes in the possession of household assets over the past 20 years, several recent papers have argued that economic growth and poverty reduction in Africa was substantially better than suggested by national income data and income poverty statistics, which suffer from well-known weaknesses. We scrutinize these claims and first argue that trends in assets provide biased proxies for trends in incomes or consumption. In particular we show that the relationship between growth in assets and growth in incomes or consumption is extremely weak; instead, we find evidence of asset drift using macro and micro data, which is consistent with the claims we make about possible biases in the use of asset indices. As a result, we find no evidence supporting the claim of an African growth miracle that extends beyond what has been reported in official GDP/capita and consumption figures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses OECD data to examine changes in labor productivity, real gross domestic product (GDP) and real gross domestic income (GDI), economic aggregates, and relative economic growth over time. Real GDI combines changes in production (real GDP) with a trading gain derived from relative price changes. The paper considers two sources of trading gains: the terms of trade, and the real exchange rate. For OECD countries, the terms of trade is the more important price ratio, making a contribution to real income growth that is, on average, an order of magnitude larger than the real exchange rate. Over long time periods, the most important source of real income growth is changes in production. Over shorter time horizons, however, the trading gain can make noteworthy contributions. Changes in aggregates like real private consumption, or the relative economic performance of nations, are shown to be particularly dependent on the trading gain during the large swings in resource prices that occurred post-2002. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's current account surplus widened from the late 1990s, and its private consumption fell to one third of gross domestic product ( GDP). We examine these domestic and external imbalances from two perspectives: the saving-investment balance and the effective renminbi exchange rate. China's large external surplus has arisen neither from anaemic consumption nor from weak investment but rather from the saved windfalls from favorable demographics, market liberalization, robust restructuring and World Trade Organization ( WTO) accession. Looking ahead, as these windfalls fade, saving will subside. The exchange rate is already playing a supporting role in rebalancing the Chinese economy, and the real effective exchange rate based on unit labor costs has appreciated very sharply. Prospective savings-investment and exchange-rate developments point to a higher consumption share and a narrowing of China's current account surplus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the effects of minimum wages on both the long-run per worker GDP and welfare in the textbook Diamond style overlapping generations economy. In addition, we assume the existence of unemployment benefits financed at a balanced budget with consumption taxes. Under suitable conditions, it is shown that a regulated-wage economy with unemployment performs better than a competitive-wage economy with full employment in the long run. Moreover, a welfare-maximizing minimum wage exists. Our findings may have interesting policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a simple theory governing the relationship between useful energy consumption and national output that explains why the adjusted elasticities found by two economists turned out to be greater than one. The theory is quantified by reference to a wide range of countries covering the whole spectrum of economic development and is tested against the actual experience over 20 to 25 years of individual countries. Conformity to the theory was very close and the efficiency-in-use coefficients computed by economists were found to hold good for periods of 20 to 25 years. Briefly, the hypothesis states that as a country moves through the various stages of its economic development from primitive subsistence agriculture to the ultimate state of fully energy-dependent production, its useful energy elasticity steadily falls from a high value tending asymptotically to one. By itself this proposition is of little use to energy forecasters, because it simply substitutes the requirement to predict energy intensiveness of output for the requirement to predict energy consumption. If we can satisfy ourselves that real GDP per capita is a good measure of energy intensiveness, however, then the relationship derived above can be used as the basis for a mathematical model linking useful energy consumption per capita with GDP per capita.

The article discusses trends, updates, and outlook for the Australian economy. Topics explored include the gross domestic product (GDP), consumption, and unemployment rates recorded from 2017 to 2018, international economic developments in the U.S., Europe, and China which could impact Australia, and the contribution of non-mining business investments to Australian economic growth.

The following key points are drawn from the body of this response: • CIWEM broadly supports the need for an overarching UK strategy for sustainable development. It should embrace a vision that includes equity, social justice, citizenship and biodiversity and should apply to all living things -- not just people. It must look long-term with a sense of vision and set long-term targets. • The leadership record of Government is sometimes compromised by its own conflicting actions, for example on aviation fuel and sustainable housing. Consistency and firm leadership by Government, and joined-up policy and thinking across Government departments (including the Treasury), its agencies and the regulators are essential. • The Government, including the Treasury, must recognise that not all economic growth is desirable. Growth should not just be measured against Gross Domestic Product (GDP): instead it should include whole-life assessments of economic costs and benefits of prosperity and quality of life, and should be linked to indicators of sustainable consumption and production. • The key to achieving the sustainable use of natural resources is behavioural change. A multi-faceted strategy is required to achieve this need, including education, regulation, economic incentives and green taxes. There are many different ways in which the Government can deliver inspirational messages to the public. • The environment and social justice must be a priority for the new strategy, and equity should be explicitly acknowledged as a principle of sustainable development. Unless social inequalities are addressed, environmental issues will not be a priority for the poor or socially excluded. • The contribution of business to sustainable development is vital. Government initiatives should promote the real benefits to all businesses, including SMEs, that can come from reviewing their environmental impacts. All 'large' companies should be legally required to provide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers an outlook for the world economy. It is expected that the impact on global growth would be modest, given the limited decline in equity markets. The U.S. housing sector has worsened and set to remain a drag on the overall growth. Based on data on employment and consumption, resilience is seen in the wake of the crisis. The cost of borrowing for firms and consumers have been driven by the repricing of risk and the liquidity squeeze in money markets. Meanwhile, gross domestic product growth in the Eurozone was disappointing at 0.3%.

The article offers an outlook for the world economy. It is expected that the impact on global growth would be modest, given the limited decline in equity markets. The U.S. housing sector has worsened and set to remain a drag on the overall growth. Based on data on employment and consumption, resilience is seen in the wake of the crisis. The cost of borrowing for firms and consumers have been driven by the repricing of risk and the liquidity squeeze in money markets. Meanwhile, gross domestic product growth in the Eurozone was disappointing at 0.3%.