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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]

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationships between financial development (FD), economic complexity and country stability. To achieve this objective, this paper applies a finite mixture model to a sample of 92 developing countries over the period 1995–2018. The study posits that the effect of FD on economic complexity differs across groups of countries with similar but unobserved characteristics. The study finds that the effect of FD on economic complexity varies across four classes of countries, which differ according to their level of economic, political and financial stability. Furthermore, the study argues that stable countries are more likely to be in class 1, including more performing countries – that is, the group of countries where FD spurs economic complexity. This finding remains consistent even when alternative measures of FD and economic complexity are considered. Hence, efforts by developing countries to undertake sound reforms to reduce economic, political and financial risks could help leverage the benefits of FD in fostering the development of sophisticated and complex economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UN General Assembly is the central forum of world politics. While it formally allows the member states to delegate up to five representatives, the size of the national delegations is generally larger and significantly increases over time. In this paper, I explore the size of the national delegations to the General Assembly from 1993 to 2016. Generally, the major powers (USA, Russia) send the biggest delegations. Surprisingly, China sends significantly smaller delegations than it used to before 2008. Big delegations are also sent by some small (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Switzerland) or developing countries (Nigeria, Bangladesh). My analysis shows that national capacities and issue‐specific motivations drive up the delegation size. Although the issue‐specific explanations are relatively rare in UN‐related research (due to the general‐purpose nature of the organisation), I argue that human rights, international security, economic development, and UN governance are the agendas for which states care about the General Assembly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is pivotal for sustainable economic growth. Undoubtedly, the role of the composition of the export basket (measured as economic complexity) is one of the crucial variables influencing energy consumption. Despite its importance, the existing body of literature does not intensively study the relationship between economic complexity and total energy consumption. Therefore, this study's primary aim was to examine the effect of economic complexity on energy consumption in a case study of 21 developed and 44 developing countries for the period 1971–2014. In this context, economic complexity expresses the level of sophistication of a country's export basket. This paper considers energy prices and income as explanatory variables in Durbin‐H panel cointegration analysis and applies a cointegration test with structural breaks to check for the long‐run relationships. For the long‐run estimations, we employ the augmented mean group method and dynamic seemingly unrelated regression. The findings reveal that economic complexity increases energy consumption in developing countries while it decreases energy consumption in developed countries. This is an important insight for countries concerned about their energy dependence. The diversification of their production and export baskets can reduce energy needs. The paper finally presents policy recommendations based on the empirical estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a paper by Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg and Tristan Reed that explores the role of market size in economic development and poverty reduction. The paper argues that market size is a significant constraint on development and that conventional development policies may not be fully effective. The authors present evidence that supports their perspective and propose measures of market size. However, the article also highlights the potential negative effects of international integration on domestic producers and raises questions about the strong version of the argument. It suggests that other factors, such as macro policies and commodity prices, may have contributed to the recent economic growth and poverty reduction in developing countries. The article concludes by discussing the changing global context and the need to focus on domestic demand for sustained economic development. [Extracted from the article]

The low‐carbon transition involves achieving the coordinated development between economic development and carbon reduction. This paper utilises an integrated decomposition and econometric framework to reveal the influence mechanism and convergence evolution of carbon emission intensity (CEI) across 29 OECD countries in the period 1992–2018. The country‐level low‐carbon transition efforts are then investigated. The results imply that: (1) The reduction in CEI is primarily attributed to the changes in economic development and energy intensity. The carbon emission coefficient effect also negatively influences CEI. The impact of energy consumption per capita, however, is negligible. (2) According to econometric analysis, energy intensity, energy mix, carbon emissions per capita and energy use per capita have positive impacts on CEI. Specially, GDP per capita shows an inverted U‐shaped curve relationship with CEI. (3) There is evidence of convergence in CEI across developed countries. Energy intensity plays a crucial role in accelerating the CEI convergence process, implying a half‐life of 3 years. (4) Fifteen European countries have made strong low‐carbon transition efforts among all countries. Denmark has made the largest efforts, South Korea the least. This study provides important implications for low‐carbon economy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperatives play important role in economic development via multiple channels, particularly, in developing countries' cases. Considering this fact, Nepal's constitution 2017 has incorporated the cooperative as one of the three pillars of her economy. This paper aims to analyze the role of cooperatives in the economic development of Nepal. For this, first, this paper documents the trend and pattern of Nepalese cooperatives' evolving structure, then moves to the econometric estimation to analyze the role of cooperatives in economic growth employing an advanced methodology. Looking at the properties of time series data for the period of 49 years from 1970 to 2018, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach of cointegration is employed. The major finding is that the development of the cooperatives has a long‐run relationship with economic growth. However, the focus should be seen as on the involvement of many people in the cooperatives' activities rather than just on amassing the cooperatives' capital. The results also suggest that there is a need for the attention of policymakers so ensure that share capital contributes to economic growth. Therefore, the areas of priorities and scope of work of cooperatives need to be reconsidered when formulating new policies related to cooperatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this paper is to examine the threshold impact of financial development and trade liberalization on income inequality as a measure of sustainable development in a sample of developed and developing countries using panel threshold analysis. Two major dimensions of financial development are considered: liquid liabilities and stock market capitalization. The empirical results revealed that financial development reduces income inequality only in countries where their GDP per capita is above ~US$11,000. It has no significant impact in reducing inequality in developing countries. This implies that institutional reforms in less developed and developing countries are necessary in order to reap the gains from financial development. Trade liberalization is found to have a positive impact on income inequality for both country groups—that is, trade benefits have worsened the income distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at corporate income taxes in developing countries from both an empirical and a theoretical perspective. Many economic principles about corporate income taxes apply equally in advanced and developing economies, but some characteristics of developing economies lead to different trade-offs. These include fewer locational rents and generally lower administrative capacity. Empirically, corporate income tax developments broadly resemble those in advanced economies, but there are important differences too, such as a greater reliance on tax incentives, reflected in a gradual narrowing - rather than broadening - of tax bases in combination with tax cuts. Detailed analysis using effective tax rates reveals various distortions including a preference for certain assets, and strong tax advantages of debt finance over equity finance, particularly in high-inflation environments. An empirical analysis of correlations between country-specific features and the likelihood of using tax incentives shows that countries offering low tax rates also tend to offer tax incentives, but that they cut their standard rates by substantially less than other countries between 1996 and 2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration is key to economic development, with varying implications and uneven impacts on origin and destination regions. This paper examines the variation in the major drivers of migration within and across continental blocs and the OECD in a gravity framework. The empirical model uses bilateral migration flow data for 182 countries over a 25 year period (1990–2015) while controlling for push and pull drivers of migration. The novelty of the study rests in the added dimension of the variation in the impact of migration drivers that is based on the direction of migration flow. The results suggest that migration drivers vary significantly across several economic blocs based in different regions and OECD countries. We find that the weight and significance of the impact of migration drivers vary significantly based on the direction of flow across continental blocs and the OECD, although some similarities exist in some regions regardless of the direction of migration flow. The results specifically show that economic and socio‐cultural drivers of migration are strongest when migration originates in continents dominated by developing countries and terminates in other continents, compared to migration that originates and terminates within the continents. This raises some anomalies and several issues of potential policy intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the challenges of measuring the labor income share of developing countries. The poor availability and reliability of national account data as well as the fact that self‐employed—whose labor income is hard to capture—account for a major share of the workforce and often work in the informal sector render its computation difficult. Consequently, measuring the labor share requires assumptions. I consult social accounting matrices in addition to national account data to gain information on the production structure and self‐employed incomes in developing countries. The final data set covers about 90 developing countries from 1990 to 2011. The data suggest that the finding of declining labor shares of previous studies also applies to the sample of low and middle‐income countries. Furthermore, I find the labor share in developing countries to be about one‐half in size and hence less than the standard "two‐thirds" in economic literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the determinants of economic growth in developing countries within the standard growth regression framework, with special attention being paid to the experience of landlocked developing countries ( LLDCs). The results confirm that the landlockedness hampers economic growth, but the magnitude of negative impact is sensitive to alternative estimation methods. However, the analysis suggests that good governance, trade openness and coordinating infrastructure development with neighbours explain the significant aspect of the inter-country differences in growth rates among LLDCs. The results also suggest that African landlocked countries are not different from the other LLDCs. Contrary to the 'resource curse' hypothesis, natural resources seem to contribute to economic growth of LLDCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a unique hand‐collected dataset of 1,251 European Union banks and 20,850 foreign affiliates hosted in 154 countries, this paper investigates how both host country and home country regulations affect the decision on where and how to go abroad in developing countries as opposed to developed countries. We find that banks prefer high‐income countries with numerous activity restrictions and weaker supervision but less developed countries with less restrictions and stronger supervision. In all cases, they avoid locations with stronger capital regulation than at home. Regarding the choice of foreign organizational form (branches versus subsidiaries), banks rather operate subsidiaries in both high and middle‐income countries with stringent entry requirements but prefer branches in developing countries with stringent capital requirements and greater supervisory power. Our findings contribute to the literature examining bank internationalization and have several policy implications for regulatory reforms in developing and developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate change arena comprises a diverse set of interacting actors from international, national and local levels. The multilevel architecture has implications for low-carbon technology deployment in developing countries, an issue salient to both development and climate objectives. The paper examines this theme through two inter-related questions: how do (or don't) low-carbon technologies get deployed in India's built environment, and what implications can be drawn from the Indian case for effective low-carbon technology development and transfer for developing countries? By examining the multilevel linkages in India's buildings sector, the paper shows how the interactions between governance levels can both support and hinder technology deployment, ultimately leading to inadequate outcomes. The potential of these linkages is hobbled by aspects of the national context (federated energy governance and developing-country capacity limitations), yet can also be enabled by other features (the climate policy context, which may motivate international actors to fill domestic capacity lacunae). Reflecting on the India case, the paper makes recommendations for improved low-carbon technology deployment in developing countries: (1) technology development and transfer collaboration on a 'need-driven' approach, (2) development of the specific types of capacity required across the entire innovation chain and (3) domestic strengthening of the coordination and agendas across and between governance levels. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a general equilibrium model of a developing economy with a capital intensive formal sector and a large informal sector with sector-specific capital to analyse the effects of investments on the sectoral returns to capital, sectoral wage rates, and composition of output and employment. Beginning with capital market disequilibrium (unequal sectoral rates of return) and labour market distortion (formal-informal wage gap), the model traces the evolution of the economy till capital market equilibrium is attained. The investments in the formal sector equalise the wages (a 'turning point' in growth à la Lewis) and reduces the size of the informal sector. The sectoral rates of returns equalise only if there is no factor intensity reversal, otherwise the economy specialises in the production of formal goods. The investments in the informal sector equalise the rates of return, do not affect the size of the formal sector and finally, a formal-informal wage gap persists provided factor intensities are not reversed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests the effects of the impact of financial globalization on economic growth, examining its interaction with financial instability for a sample of 72 developing countries over the period 1972–2011, using dynamic panel estimator 'two‐step Generalized Method of Moments' (two‐step system GMM). The main results of the paper are the following: (i) financial instability and indebtedness‐globalization decrease growth; (ii) financial globalization and investment‐globalization increase growth; (iii) indebtedness‐globalization increases the effect of financial instability on growth; (iv) investment‐globalization decreases the effect of financial instability on growth; and (vi) financial globalization decreases the effect of financial instability on growth. These results are robust in a set of tests consisting of the insertion of alternative variables of financial instability, the inclusion of new control variables, inter alia an indicator of banking crises, using different time periods, and changing of the composition of the sample. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets up a vertically related market model in which imitation and innovation are endogenously determined to study the impact of intellectual property rights ( IPR) protection on less-developed countries. It shows how a less-developed country switches from imitation to innovation as it develops. It is also found that the relationship between IPR protection and economic development is U-shaped. The IPR protection tends to go down and then go up as income rises. This finding also conforms with that in the empirical literature on IPR protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional quality is often emphasised as an engine of economic development in developing countries. However, most of the literature assumes that institutions are exogenous. In this paper, we adopt the opposite view, and study the way the design of the monetary regime, and specifically the adoption of an inflation targeting regime, can impact the quality of institutions. Using the propensity scores matching method, which allows controlling for self‐selection in policy adoption, along with a wide set of robustness checks, including GMM‐based estimations and controlling for unobserved heterogeneity, we find that the adoption of inflation targeting significantly improves the quality of institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of new firms is an important determinant of regional economic development and agglomeration is a key factor affecting the formation and scale of operations of new firms. The present paper is among the first to explore the relationship between agglomeration economies (using localization and urbanization economies) and new firms' formation and scale of operations in a developing country. We make use of rich firm‐level data and find that agglomeration has a significant impact on the formation of new firms and their scale of operation in Punjab, Pakistan. Our findings also reveal that localization at all scales (small, medium and large) has a positive correlation with the arrival of new firms, while medium‐scale and large‐scale localization is positively correlated with the scale of operation of new firms. [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]

The aim of this article is to contribute to the discussion on designing alternative economic development indices by measuring economic progress in the face of the discontinuity of globalisation. To this end, we use different evaluation criteria for the 'old' (1960–1990) and the 'new' (1990–2019) globalisation. First, the historical context that has shaped the contemporary globalisation processes is outlined, which makes it possible to identify the 1990s and the subsequent change in the structure of the world industrial production and the world GDP as the most important tipping point. Based on the observation that none of the existing indices sufficiently cover all the issues, a new pilot measure of economic progress is proposed, which takes into account two time periods: the old (1960–1990) and the new (1990–2019) globalisation. The analysis of the data sample of 18 countries (G6, I6 and selected LDCs) using this measure makes it possible to assign their economies to four categories, depending on the results they have achieved; the 'winners', the 'losers', the 'late‐bloomers' and the 'inmates of industry'. Furthermore, possible directions for the future research on the subject are indicated. The data set supporting this study has been made publicly available to help in its continuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to provide empirical evidence to determine whether microfinance, measured through a country's gross loan portfolio per capita, has a heterogeneous effect on poverty reduction among countries with different levels of poverty. We have used a panel‐data quantile regression with a data set for 57 countries for the years 2005, 2008, and 2011 to estimate the distributional impacts of microcredits on two poverty indices. Results reveal not only that microfinance significantly reduces the incidence and depth of poverty, but also that this effect differs across the different poverty levels (quantiles). The effect of microcredit on poverty reduction is slightly larger among countries where the incidence and depth of poverty are the highest, suggesting that microcredit reaches and benefits even the poorest individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The developing world has experienced unprecedented effects of the Covid‐19 pandemic. The devastating effects of this major crisis are felt in all possible spheres of the developing world and with a serious impact on social and economic development in developing countries. The spread of Covid‐19, which has brought the world to a near standstill, has given rise to the question on the socioeconomic effects of the pandemic. The special issue on Covid‐19 at JID aims to bring together contemporary research on several aspects of how the devastating effects of the pandemic have panned out in different spheres of life, particularly, in the developing world. This special issue has 10 papers with a particular emphasis on evidence of the impact of the Covid‐19 pandemic in Sub‐Saharan Africa and South America. The volume documents studies on the effects of the pandemic at the macro‐level, for economy wide effects, the impact of the pandemic on firms and on its effects on households. [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]

This study investigates the role of human capital and political development in determining the magnitude of the effects of foreign direct investment ( FDI) on growth for a panel of 61 transition and developing countries for the period 1989 to 2013. A baseline growth model incorporating these variables is tested and then extended to include FDI interaction effects with human capital (measured using secondary school enrollment data) and political development (based on Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index scores). These growth interaction effects between FDI and human capital vary according to regime type. Political development in conjunction with FDI appears to suppress the effects of FDI on growth in authoritarian countries while enhancing them in hybrid democracies. For more democratic countries, domestic investment is a more important driver of growth. The effects of FDI on growth in the ten transition economies included in the sample data set are found to be insignificant. Although this result might seem to differ from a priori expectations, it is in line with the findings of most earlier studies that cover the period up to 2004. The paper also provides no strong evidence that a critical threshold of human capital is required to generate beneficial spillover growth effects from inflows of FDI. The paper provides new and more detailed insights into the effects of FDI on growth with particular respect to human capital and political regime covering a large number of transition and developing countries based on an up-to-date data set covering a 25-year period to 2013. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Review of Policy Research is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper investigates the factors driving manufacturing growth accelerations in a sample of 134 developing countries over the period 1970 to 2014. We first identify growth acceleration episodes of manufacturing value added (MVA) by their year of initiation and according to a country's income classification. We then estimate a probit model to explain what factors predict these MVA growth accelerations. Our results show that human capital and institutions represent contextual factors that favor the growth of manufacturing, together with macroeconomic policies related to investment, and openness to foreign trade and capital. We also find that most of these factors not only foster episodic accelerations of industry, but they contribute as well to a sustained process of industrialization that characterized the process of economic growth of a few successful countries over the period 1970 to 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing countries benefit from the registration of geographical indications (GIs) in the agricultural and artisan sectors. The extension of GIs to the artisan sector serves as a best practice to Nigeria. Nigeria has many indigenous forms of cultural artworks that are influenced by the environment. Artworks from places like Benin and other regions in Nigeria are location specific. This paper explores generally the utilization of GIs to protect cultural artworks and the monetary and nonmonetary benefits of such works. The trend of registering GIs to protect culture, arts, and traditional knowledge is crucial to the economic growth of Nigeria otherwise it deprives those dependent on the creation of cultural artworks of a means to benefit from their hard work by a process known to them for decades. [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]

Using a dynamic spatial framework, this paper investigates how foreign direct investment ( FDI), foreign aid and remittances impact the economic growth of 53 African and 34 Latin American and Caribbean countries. Previous growth studies examine how one factor or two of these factors impacts economic growth, which results in biased estimation because of the omitted variable(s). Separate estimation shows foreign aid and FDI affects economic growth in Africa, but when we control for all three factors, only FDI affects African economic growth. For Latin America and the Caribbean, foreign aid and remittances affect growth when estimated separately, while remittances affect growth when they are estimated simultaneously. Finally, both regions' results confirm spatial interdependence is important in explaining economic growth, as growth in one country depends on the growth of its neighboring countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using annual data, the paper studies the time-series evidence regarding the allocation of fluctuations in the exchange rate between demand components, real growth and price inflation in a sample of developing and advanced countries. Subsequently, cross-country correlations establish the relevance of fluctuations in imports to the pass-through channel of exchange rate fluctuations to economic activity. Further, the evidence evaluates the direct effects of fluctuations in the nominal values of imports on price inflation and real growth. Cross-country regressions evaluate the effects of variation in the average and variability of exchange rate fluctuations on import growth. Subsequently, variation in indicators of macroeconomic performance (real growth, price inflation and the growth of private consumption and investment) is evaluated with respect to variation in the exchange rate and/or import growth. In developing countries, the evidence indicates the relevance of fluctuations in import growth to the transmission mechanism of exchange rate fluctuations to the macroeconomy. Where this relationship dominates, fluctuations in the exchange rate are no longer significant to the difference in macroeconomic indicators, having controlled for variation in import growth across countries. In advanced countries, import fluctuations may be transmitted to economic activity, further to fluctuations in the exchange rate, in line with variations in terms of trade. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the notion of a 'developmental state' and shows that China possesses the relevant characteristics. It explains the political economy which generated such a state in China. It analyses the institutions and methods that were introduced to create a developmental state, in particular the incentive structures that the leadership used to solve the principal-agent problem implicit in having centralised political control but decentralised economic management. These include personnel policies, fiscal decentralisation and patronage relationships. That leads to a review of its successes, limitations and adverse consequences and to the question: can China's developmental state be sustained? Among these issues are the great socioeconomic changes that rapid economic growth has entailed - which have strengthened the case for broadening government policy objectives beyond the previous narrow focus on growth. Conclusions are drawn for both China and other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to assess the relationship between credit market development and economic growth for a heterogeneous panel of 20 developing and developed countries with varied growth experiences. The empirical study is based on estimations of generalized method of moments (GMM) and pooled mean group (PMG) on heterogeneous panel data model. Difference GMM estimation indicates that credit market development has a negative effect on economic growth. This result is robust for our full sample and for the subsample of non-OECD countries, but not for the subsample of OECD countries. However, using a PMG model, we provide evidence of a positive impact in the long run between credit market development and economic growth. When considering heterogeneity in the short-run relationship across countries, our findings suggest that the credit-growth relationship is specific across countries, depending on each country-specific legal and macroeconomic environment. [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]

Summary: This paper argues that recent developments in practice and theory provide a more promising basis for public service reform in developing countries than we have had since at least the turn of the century. There have been significant instances of large‐scale reform success, such as Nepal's Public Service Commission and Malaysia's delivery unit, Pemandu, and also “pockets of effectiveness” in individual agencies in many countries. They contribute to a more fruitful and diverse repertoire of reform approaches than generally realized. Policymakers can draw on all those instances and types of reform, together with relevant rich country experiences, as they improvise and tailor responses to their always unique reform problems. Proceeding in this way helps reformers to expand the “reform space” available within the political economy. Donors can help reformers if they facilitate reform in the spirit of the Busan Partnership rather than impose their preferred models. In short, the new direction which this paper identifies can be stated as creative problem solving by local actors facilitated by sympathetic donors, building on examples of reform success and drawing on a repertoire of poor and rich country reform approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Over the past two decades, there has been unprecedented attention to the promotion of human development via government spending in the social sectors as a conditio sine qua non for economic growth and improved aggregate welfare. Yet the existing evidence on the subject remains limited and contested. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the causal effect of government spending on the social sectors (health, education and social protection) on three measures of aggregate welfare: the Human Development Index, the Inequality‐adjusted Human Development Index and child mortality rates, using longitudinal data from 55 low‐income and middle‐income countries from 1990 to 2009. We find strong evidence to support the proposition that government social spending has played a significant role in improving aggregate welfare in the developing world. Our results are fairly robust to, inter alia, the method of estimation, the set of control variables and the use of alternative samples and instruments. © 2017 UNU‐WIDER. Journal of International Development published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many low- and middle-income countries are achieving good rates of economic growth, while high inequality remains a priority concern. Some countries meanwhile have low growth, high inequality, and pervasive poverty-often linked to their fragility. There is now active debate on how countries should set themselves goals for achieving both absolute poverty reduction and lower inequality. But policy action needs to be better served by analysis and data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term 'green tourism' is often used in conjunction with the desire for a balanced approach to tourism planning. 'Green tourism' is defined as tourism that enhances the local cultural elements, operating under the control of local communities, providing employment and maintaining the economic benefits within the local communities. In fact, the above definition is often poorly attested, since there are times when the economic benefits escape from local communities. For its part the tourist industry uses the term 'green tourism' as a message to tourists on energy saving, avoiding coastal pollution etc. Sometimes the same tourist businesses are accused of using the label 'green' primarily for marketing purposes. This paper shows that governments have a crucial role regarding encouragement to use cleaner technologies in the tourism sector and presenting different approaches for sustainability to be achieved in developing countries. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the channels through which the middle class may matter for consumption growth. Using several different middle-class measures and a panel of 105 developing countries spanning the period 1985-2013, we find that a larger middle class influences consumption growth primarily through higher levels of human capital accumulation. There is also a significant direct effect of middle-class size on consumption growth, which is more pronounced in the latter half of the sample, the 2000-2013 period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth conditional on the institutional quality of host countries. We first develop several theoretical arguments to show that institutional heterogeneity may be an explanation for the mixed results of previous empirical studies. Second, using a panel smooth regression model on a large sample of developing countries, we show that FDI has a positive effect on growth only beyond a certain threshold of institutional quality. To benefit from FDI-led growth, institutional reforms should thus precede FDI attraction policies. Additionally, some reforms seem to promote faster marginal effects of FDI, while institutional complementarities may lead to an incremental effect on growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the developer's dilemma—a seeming quandary emerging from the fact that developing countries simultaneously pursue two different developmental goals: (a) seeking economic development through structural transformation and (b) reducing income inequality. However, the proclivity of increasing income inequality while pursuing structural transformation is often referred to as the developer's dilemma. This study investigates for the presence of this dilemma in Africa using sample splitting and threshold estimation technique. While we find support for the existence of a developer's dilemma, suggesting that structural transformation induces income inequality, the income inequality‐widening effect is disproportionate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the association between gender gap and economic progress. Using a panel VAR study as well as a comprehensive gender gap index and its sub‐indices from the World Economic Forum, the study confirms the existence of bidirectional Granger causality between gender gap and economic progress, for OECD countries and developing countries. On the one hand, economic progress encourages equity for both sexes. On the other hand, gender equity helps developing nations prosper and significantly improve their human capital, which, in turn, drives long‐run economic progress. By contrast, closing the gender gap negatively affects OECD output. For the sample of developing countries, the aforementioned results are robust to sub‐indices measured by gender gap in economic participation as well as opportunity, educational attainment, and political empowerment. We recommend that gender policies specifically aim at eliminating gaps in female education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negotiations around Sustainable Development Goals and the post-2015 development agenda should go beyond just re-writing goals and targets that adhere to 'sustaining' the same old economic and social models. Instead, societies and governments should take this as an opportunity to advance more radical conceptual and practical approaches that challenge this reductive understanding of 'sustainability'. The paper argues that we should turn our attention to prosperity rather than to development per se, recognising the critical role political and social innovation should have in unleashing individuals' potential to flourishing in a context of finite resources. The interwoven, interdependent and ever-evolving nature of socio-ecological systems, together with the uncertainties and 'unknowns' that characterise contemporary reality, questions the relevance of one-size-fits-all goals. There is no single route to prosperity; diversity of objectives is essential and fundamental. Learning from initiatives in the Global South, such as the case of agroecology, might pave the way towards this paradigm shift. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a substantial theoretical literature now on the factors determining the incidence of corruption, suggesting some policies to fight it, but we do not have a great deal of empirical evidence on the effectiveness of these policies. This paper is a brief overview, drawing upon some of the salient features of the literature and with several examples from the Indian case where corruption has become a major issue of public debate, to make remarks that may be more generally relevant for policies in developing countries. [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]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper studies the impact of remittances on cross-country poverty using a panel data set from 65 developing counties over a long period 1970-2008. This study differs from the existing literature on poverty impact of remittances by explicitly noting the importance of financial development in shaping the link. This analysis shows that the effect of remittances on poverty depends on the level of financial development of a remittances receiving economy. Those economies that have a low level of financial development seem to acquire an unfavourable effect of remittances while economies with comparatively developed financial systems do not suffer from the adverse effects of remittances. In sum, remittances accentuate not ameliorate poverty in countries with the low level of financial development. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Economics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)