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Keywords Cash; Currency suppression; Monetary policy; Demonetization Abstract We quantify the welfare effects of cash suppression policies within a general equilibrium model where cash reduces transactions costs and aids tax evasion in underground markets. In the model, currency suppression increases transactions costs and raises effective tax rates, but shifts resources out of costly underground markets and relaxes the government budget. When coupled with a reduction in distortionary taxes on consumption or factor inputs to ensure budget neutrality, cash suppression policies increase welfare in our baseline representative agent model. In a model with individual heterogeneity in cash use, suppression increases welfare for all, but by less for cash-intensive users. Author Affiliation: (a) Claremont McKenna College, United States of America (b) University of Georgia, United States of America (c) Colby College, United States of America * Corresponding author. Article History: Received 10 July 2020; Revised 25 May 2021; Accepted 25 May 2021 (footnote)[white star] We are grateful to Eric Sims and Julie Smith for helpful comments and seminar participants at the Banco Central del Uruguay, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colgate University, dECON-Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, UDELAR, University of Kentucky, Xavier University and participants at the 2018 Jornadas Anuales de Economía del Banco Central del Uruguay and the 2019 Midwest Macroeconomics Conference. Lastrapes acknowledges financial support from the University of Georgia's Bonbright Center for the Study of Regulation while working on this paper. The usual disclaimer applies. Byline: Julio Garín [jgarin@cmc.edu] (a), William D. Lastrapes [last@uga.edu] (b,*), Robert Lester [rblester@colby.edu] (c)

Several studies have used various datasets and methodologies to analyze the relationship between bilateral trade and income convergence among trading partners. However, most studies have not paid attention to the effect that income levels and nature of bilateral trade have on the speed of income convergence. In this paper, we argue that the income levels of trading partners and the nature of bilateral trade play important role in the relationship between bilateral trade and international income convergence. To account for the effect of income levels of trading partners, this paper presents an approach that explicitly accounts for bilateral trade among high-income (OECD) countries, bilateral trade between high-income and low-income (SSA) countries, and bilateral trade among low-income (SSA) countries. We also used total trade data for 25 OECD countries and 30 Sub-Saharan African countries over the period 1980-2018 to avoid the potential bias for selecting certain countries based on arbitrary percentage of trade relationship. We used the 2SLS estimations technique to avoid endogeneity problems due to the nature of the dataset. The paper finds that the bilateral trade-income convergence relationship for OECD to SSA is the strongest. This result throws light on the claim that the nature of bilateral trade between high-income and low-income countries promotes one directional knowledge spillover from high-income to low-income countries which enables low-income countries to adopt new technologies and grow faster than their high-income counterparts. Also, bilateral trade among OECD countries, which mostly comprises of differentiated products, promotes descent income convergence among them. However, bilateral trade among SSA countries has the least effect on income convergence. Findings of the study have important implications for bilateral trade among low-income countries and between low income and high income countries. First, if SSA countries want to develop and catch up with their rich counterparts, they should continue to promote free trade with high income countries by dismantling remaining protection policies. Second, the African Continental Free Trade Area's (AfCFTA) efforts to boost the manufacturing sector through industrialization is in the right direction to promote the production of more differentiated products in Africa which will create growth in income for member countries as they trade more. Finally, there is the need for SSA countries to increase investment rates and improve human capital accumulation to enable them to accelerate the adoption of new technologies and grow faster than their high-income counterparts, while bridging the income gap between them through trade. JEL Classifications: F11; F14; O33; O47 Keywords: Economic Openness; Income Convergence; Bilateral Trade; Economic Growth; 2SLS Estimator, INTRODUCTION The implications of international trade on income differential among trading nations have been professionally researched since the works of neoclassical growth theorists (Solow, 1956; Swan 1956) which generated the [...]

As an important part of corporate value, risk-taking has always been the focus of scholars. The existing research mainly focuses on the impact of corporate shareholders and managers' personal characteristics on corporate risk-taking, and few scholars study it from the perspective of regional environment. Based on the sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2006 to 2020, this paper empirically tests the impact of regional investment preferences on corporate risk-taking by using multiple regression methods; Then, the instrumental variables and propensity matching methods are used to test whether the main regression results have changed; Furthermore, this paper explores the mechanism of regional investment preference to reduce the level of corporate risk-taking; Finally, the impact of industry intensity and policy uncertainty on the main regression results will be tested in an expanded way. The research results show that the stronger the investment preference of the region where the company is located, the lower the company's risk-taking. After a series of robustness tests such as instrumental variable method and propensity score matching method, the main regression results of this paper remain unchanged. The mechanism test shows that regional investment preference can reduce managers' overconfidence and improve the quality of internal control, thereby reducing the level of corporate risk-taking. Further research shows that fierce industry competition and policy uncertainty can enhance the impact of regional investment preferences on corporate risk-taking. The research results not only enrich the research on the factors affecting enterprise risk-taking, but also deepen the theoretical understanding of the impact of the regional environment on corporate governance, which has certain reference significance for further improving corporate governance, optimizing corporate risk-taking and enhancing corporate value. JEL Classifications: G34, M14, O16 Keywords: Investment preference, Risk-taking, Overconfidence, Internal control, Corresponding Author's Email Address: Email: 810353126@qq.com, INTRODUCTION Risk-taking is an important link in the company's investment decision-making. It refers to the behavior tendency of the company to choose high-risk investment projects on the basis of weighing [...]

It is widely held that smart contracts on a blockchain possess several unique properties, including immutability, disintermediation, and enhanced security, that can be advantageous to organizations. In particular, having these properties can enable smart contracts to benefit human resources departments in a number of ways, including applicant verification, tracking employee skills and tasks, and facilitating compensation. However, it is also reported that effectively implementing smart contracts involves a number of challenges to HR managers. To address these challenges, it would be valuable to establish criteria to help HR managers employ smart contracts successfully. The purpose of this paper is to develop a set of such criteria. The paper first provides an overview of the nature of blockchain and smart contracts and then, based on a review of relevant literature, describes how implementation of blockchain-enabled smart contracts in an HR department may benefit an organization by producing transaction cost savings through expediting processes, enhancing security, and reducing intermediaries. The paper then focuses on various challenges that have been identified in the literature to the successful use of smart contracts. These include issues regarding smart contract integrity, immutability, and security, as well as potential problems associated with a variety of legal issues. Synthesizing this information, the paper develops a set of best practice guidelines to help HR managers determine whether and how to employ smart contracts successfully for HR-related processes. The guidelines emphasize the importance of initial understanding and testing of planned smart contracts, protecting security by ensuring that only permissioned people can access smart contract data, and guaranteeing the integrity of smart contracts by paying very close attention to the translation of natural to programming language and establishing robust reviews of programmed contracts. Policy implications of the guidelines include the importance of HR departments ensuring that all employees who are involved in implementing the technology have a good understanding of the nature and capabilities of smart contracts, that robust methods be implemented to guarantee that the contracts are correctly programmed, and that HR managers keep abreast of legislative environment related to legal issues that may affect their department's use of smart contracts. JEL classifications: M12, M5, O33, L20 Keywords: Smart Contract, HRM, Blockchain technology, INTRODUCTION Utilizing smart contracts on a blockchain can improve processes common to human resource management (HRM), including refining applicant verification; accurately and securely tracking individual employees' skills, talents, and tasks; [...]

This paper describes the growth of local-currency bond markets in Emerging Asia and the institutional and policy challenges facing the region's economies for their further development. It presents an empirical analysis of the relationship between local-currency government bond (LCGB) market development and the components of financial development, using panel data for selected Emerging Asian economies. The analysis seeks to identify the key determinants for the development of LCGB markets. The results show that the depth of and access to both financial markets and financial institutions have a significantly positive impact on LCGB market development. Critical factors associated with local-currency bond market depth include macroeconomic variables, the exchange-rate regime, capital account openness and creditor rights. Based on these results, the paper offers policy directions for fostering the development of local-currency bond markets in the region. Keywords: Local-currency government bond, bond market development, financial deepening, financial development, Southeast Asia, Asia, 1. Introduction Emerging Asia's bond markets have grown substantially over the last two decades. For instance, in the six ASEAN countries for which data are available (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, [...]

The impact of agricultural productivity growth on the process of structural change, an increase in the share of labor employed in manufacturing, is a much debated topic. One perspective argues that agricultural productivity promotes structural change via its contribution of various resources to the manufacturing sector. Another hypothesis proposed is that agricultural productivity growth will draw resources away from agriculture. This paper hypothesizes that agricultural productivity growth plays a key role in the structural change process, but not necessarily through the mechanisms usually proposed. It is hypothesized here that agricultural productivity growth improves the quality of human labor (measured by the human development index, human capital accumulation, and reductions in infant mortality). In turn, improvements in the quality of human labor make it more profitable to employ labor in manufacturing and thus structural change, measured by the share of manufacturing employment in total employment, increases. These hypotheses are tested using dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) techniques utilizing data from seventeen countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings indicate that agricultural productivity growth has a significant positive impact human labor quality as measured by the human development index, human capital accumulation, and reductions in infant mortality. In addition, improvements in the quality of human labor in turn have a significant positive impact on the extent of structural change as measured by the share of manufacturing employment as a share of total employment. In addition, trade, as measured by exports plus imports divided by GDP, also has a significant positive impact on the extent of structural change. Finally, inflation appears to slow the structural change process. The policy implications are straightforward. Agricultural productivity does indeed seem to be important in the process of structural change. Thus development programs involving Sub-Saharan Africa should focus on investment in the development of agricultural technologies that will raise agricultural productivity. In a broader sense, governments should focus investment on improving the overall quality of labor. JEL Classifications: O1, O13, O14, O15 Keywords: agricultural productivity, structural change, human development, Africa, INTRODUCTION The primary objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of agricultural productivity on structural change (the shift of resources, in particular labor, out of agriculture and into [...]

Unemployment remains a global challenge that requires additional ways of dealing with it. Therefore, the role of Reserve or Central Banks in reducing unemployment is of recent seeking more attention. This paper examines monetary policy shocks and unemployment nexus in the emerging market economies in Africa. The models of this study are designed within the panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) framework. The models majorly rely on the New Keynesian model. Given the nominal rigidities of the New Keynesian model, the monetary policy can therefore, serve as an important tool which can have a reasonable leverage on real variables. As claimed by Bernanke (2007) that the stance of monetary policy was appropriate to prevent deflation and high unemployment and as it has been empirically tested for developed economies, this paper provides a quantitative evaluation of an aspect of such statement in the context of emerging economies of Africa. We used annual data series on five emerging economies in Africa over the period 1991 to 2020, making 150 balanced panel data observations. The countries include, Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa. The selection was based on those African countries identified as emerging markets by various international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), James O'Neill, Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE), S&P Global Ratings, EM Bond Index, Dow Jones, Russell, Columbia University and Cornell University. The findings of the study revealed that unemployment falls for at most four periods in response to contractionary monetary policy shocks while the response dissipates afterwards. Individually, unemployment rate in Mauritius and Nigeria rose in response to contractionary monetary policy shocks while in South Africa, Egypt and Morocco, it falls in response to contractionary monetary policy shocks. By and large, the results seem to show credence to the effectiveness of monetary policy in each country to achieve desired macroeconomic targets. The main implication of the results is that, expansionary monetary and fiscal policy undertaken by policymakers of emerging economies in Africa can enhance the labor market to recover from the downturns recently experienced in these economies. JEL Classifications: C33, E24, E52, O55 Keywords: Monetary policy shocks; Unemployment; Vector Autoregressions; Emerging Market Economies in Africa, INTRODUCTION Some economies of the world have recently been characterized by a transition from traditional economies, which heavily relied on agriculture and export of raw materials, to a more industrialized [...]

Agriculture plays a vital role in driving economic output and employment in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Despite some progress, agricultural productivity in SSA still lags behind other regions. Limited access to finance remains a significant impediment to improving agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper investigates the effect of financial proximity on agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan African countries. The study primarily employs the system GMM estimator, chosen to address the endogeneity issue typical in macro panel data. This method is also well-suited to our study because it accommodates a high number of cross-sections relative to the number of periods within each cross-section. Additionally, the IV-2SLS method is employed to check the robustness of the findings. The study uses an unbalanced panel for the 36 African countries with data for the period 2004-2019. Our findings show that increasing the financial proximity favors agricultural productivity in SSA countries. Specifically, the number of commercial bank branches (CBB) and the number of automated teller machines (ATM) per 100 000 adults, as indicators of financial proximity, have positive and significant effects on agricultural value added per worker in SSA. Additionally, our findings show that rainfall, arable land, and institutional quality are robust determinants of agricultural productivity. The positive effects of the number of CBB and the number of ATM are even more pronounced on agricultural productivity when coupled with strong institutional quality. Our findings suggest that improving financial services' accessibility in rural areas, coupled with enhanced institutional quality, regular rainfall, ample arable land, and increased access to water and land, are pivotal steps for achieving sustainable enhancements in labor productivity. This, in turn, leads to increased returns through value-added growth and expanded employment in the agricultural sector. JEL Classifications: G21, Q14, Q18 Keywords: Financial inclusion, Financial proximity, Agricultural productivity, Sub-Saharan Africa, INTRODUCTION Agriculture is a key contributor to economic output and the leading source of employment among Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, contributing 4 times more to regional gross domestic product (GDP) [...]

Existing literature on health inequalities often overlooks the nuanced dynamics, particularly among vulnerable children with chronic diseases and disabilities and fails to consider regional disparities within countries like South Africa. This paper asserts the necessity for a more granular analysis in South Africa, recognizing the varied health outcomes for children across different economic segments and geographical settings. Specifically, the health trajectories for children differ markedly between rural formal areas, regions under traditional authorities, formal urban areas, and informal urban settlements. Addressing the generalizations common in prior research, this study takes a precise, regionally focused approach to socio-economic-driven disparities in chronic illness or disability. It distinguishes between rural formal areas, traditional authority areas, formal urban areas, and informal urban areas, unveiling the intricate layers of health disparities. Using data from the National Income Dynamics Study, concentration indices, and the Oaxaca-Blinder Decomposition method, the paper analyzed health inequality trends from 2008 to 2017. The results uncover significant inequalities, with alarming trends, particularly among children with chronic illnesses and disabilities in traditional authority regions and informal urban environments. The paper's evidence shows that rural formal areas have experienced a decline in health disparities as opposed to the deepening divide in traditional authority-led regions. The urban analysis reveals a split: while formal urban settings often favour the wealthier, informal urban areas indicate a shift towards lower socioeconomic brackets. The decomposition analysis highlights the evolving socioeconomic elements influencing each region over time. These insights emphasize the urgent necessity for geographically tailored policy interventions. By understanding the distinct socioeconomic landscapes across various regions, we can formulate policies that resonate with each area's specific realities and challenges. Such targeted strategies are essential in reducing health inequalities and enhancing the life quality of children with chronic health conditions and disabilities, playing a critical role in South Africa's journey toward comprehensive health equity. JEL Classification: I14 Keywords: Socioeconomic disparities, Chronic illness, Disability, South African children, Urban and rural variations, Health inequality, INTRODUCTION Globally, persistent health concerns and disabilities, including HIV and AIDS, respiratory ailments, undernourishment, and mental health issues, present considerable public health obstacles for children. A striking United Nations Children's [...]

As an important part of corporate value, risk-taking has always been the focus of scholars. The existing research mainly focuses on the impact of corporate shareholders and managers' personal characteristics on corporate risk-taking, and few scholars study it from the perspective of regional environment. Based on the sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2006 to 2020, this paper empirically tests the impact of regional investment preferences on corporate risk-taking by using multiple regression methods; Then, the instrumental variables and propensity matching methods are used to test whether the main regression results have changed; Furthermore, this paper explores the mechanism of regional investment preference to reduce the level of corporate risk-taking; Finally, the impact of industry intensity and policy uncertainty on the main regression results will be tested in an expanded way. The research results show that the stronger the investment preference of the region where the company is located, the lower the company's risk-taking. After a series of robustness tests such as instrumental variable method and propensity score matching method, the main regression results of this paper remain unchanged. The mechanism test shows that regional investment preference can reduce managers' overconfidence and improve the quality of internal control, thereby reducing the level of corporate risk-taking. Further research shows that fierce industry competition and policy uncertainty can enhance the impact of regional investment preferences on corporate risk-taking. The research results not only enrich the research on the factors affecting enterprise risk-taking, but also deepen the theoretical understanding of the impact of the regional environment on corporate governance, which has certain reference significance for further improving corporate governance, optimizing corporate risk-taking and enhancing corporate value. JEL Classifications: G34, M14, O16 Keywords: Investment preference, Risk-taking, Overconfidence, Internal control, INTRODUCTION Risk-taking is an important link in the company's investment decision-making. It refers to the behavior tendency of the company to choose high-risk investment projects on the basis of weighing [...]

Amid ever-growing global value chains (GVCs), a major controversial topic relates to the extent to which developing economies benefit from participating in such value chains. To measure these gains, this paper examines data pertaining to value-added in exports from three Southeast Asian economies--Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The study estimates the sectoral income elasticities of the export demand of each country over the period 19802017, revealing that the highest income elasticities are observed in low value-adding sectors such as primary products, resource-based goods and low-tech industries. This implies that the three countries have been involved in simple and not high-skill tasks within GVCs. The paper also examines the sectoral domestic share of value-added (DVA) and foreign share of value-added (FVA) of exports of the three economies using the OECD Trade in Value-added (TiVA) database over the period 2005-15. We find that DVA in the medium- and high-tech industries that add greater value is smaller than FVA in all three countries. Overall, these results suggest that developing nations need to step up their participation in GVCs through process and/or function upgrading. Keywords: Global value chains, production capability, value-added, income elasticity of export demand, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam., 1. Introduction Over the last two decades, the importance of global value chains (GVCs) in international trade and production has grown significantly. Today, a large number of economies and firms [...]

Using the mobility restrictions implemented by Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study, this paper relies on detailed data on employment patterns and on the possibility to work from home and without physical proximity to estimate the extent and distribution of jobs most vulnerable to mobility restrictions. It finds that about 64.5 per cent of jobs in Malaysia cannot be performed from home, after adjusting for Internet access, while about 50.9 per cent of jobs require high levels of physical proximity. These are the jobs that are most vulnerable to strict mobility restrictions, such as those imposed during the pandemic. Workers most at risk are primarily those with relatively low education, low level of income and advanced or very young age. Jobs in less developed regions of Malaysia are also particularly vulnerable. Against this backdrop, the paper argues that Malaysia's experience during the COVID-19 pandemic provides some vital lessons in supporting those who are most vulnerable to job losses during mobility restrictions. These lessons include improving the targeting of cash transfers, scaling up wage subsidies in supporting worker retention and hiring and leveraging upskilling/reskilling initiatives with a focus on non-routine cognitive analytical and interpersonal skills. Keywords: Employment, skills, social protection, COVID-19, mobility restrictions, Malaysia., 1. Introduction Malaysia has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent mobility restrictions implemented to flatten the curve of the pandemic. The health and human toll of [...]