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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]

Since the 1980s, inequality has been rising in Europe, North America and parts of Asia. How does our understanding of global inequality dynamics change if coverage is extended to the rest of the developing world? To rebalance the perspective on global inequality trends, this paper surveys data and literature on recent inequality trends in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It finds that in these regions there are more countries with falling than rising inequality over the past 20 years, as measured by Ginis of income or consumption inequality. At the global level, therefore, there are signs of inequality convergence, as inequality has been falling in countries with high inequality in the 1990s (particularly Latin America), and rising in historically low-inequality countries. We discuss the political and economic drivers of inequality decline in countries with a steady fall in the Gini. This suggests some common trends across the globe, including the role of democratisation, the rise of new social movements, and the expansion of education and social safety nets and favourable commodity prices, in reducing income disparities. This paper calls for more country-level comparisons of inequality trends, to highlight the multiplicity of paths in this latest phase of globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asia has constantly been in the spotlight regarding economic development as it has been the fastest-growing global region over recent decades. This study investigated the effect of financial development on economic growth in selected Asian countries at various stages of economic development. A recently introduced approach, the Dynamic Common Correlated Effects (DCCE) method, was applied to 12 Asian countries/areas covering 26 years (1995–2020). The 12 countries/areas were divided into three groups based on their current economic development status: underdeveloped, moderately, and highly developed. The study results indicated that the effect of financial development on economic growth varied for countries at different economic levels. The association between financial development and economic growth was strongly negative for underdeveloped countries. However, a positive relationship existed between the sampled moderately and highly developed countries/areas. This situation implied that financial development should not be considered a viable way to boost economic growth for countries with underdeveloped economies. Instead, countries with a higher economic status should priorities financial development to promote economic prosperity effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the financial inclusion index and development variables in the least developed countries in Asia and Africa by using annual data of 42 countries for the period 2000–2019. The pooled panel regression and panel data analysis technique are used to explore this relationship. The empirical finding indicates that economic growth leads to financial inclusion. Unemployment and literacy rates are among the factors contributing to financial inclusion, and it is observed that women are more vulnerable than men are to lack financial inclusion. In less developed countries, the economy relies heavily on agriculture, and people are less financially inclusive when they live in rural areas of these countries. Also, pay inequality reduces financial inclusion rates and has a negative impact on development. The low financial inclusion rate reduces the levels of development in these countries. The results of this study can lead to the development and empowerment of vulnerable groups in the studied countries. In order to improve the conditions for development, policymakers should consider policies that enhance literacy, eliminate gender inequality and increase pay equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues for the importance of using the regional innovation systems (RIS) approach as both an analytical framework and a policy tool for generating economic development in developing countries. The paper reconceptualizes the RIS-model to the context of developing countries. RIS is normally based on endogenous growth models; however, in this paper we extend it to rely on external capital, transnational knowledge sources and transnational corporations (TNCs). In particular we stress - the importance of developing firm and regional absorptive capacity; the importance of embedding TNCs in the region; and regional policies for attaining these goals. These factors, we argue, are important for achieving sustainable economic development, building on exogenous sources of capital and knowledge. Finally, we illustrate the relevance of RIS for analyzing as well as formulating regional development policies by referring to two of Asia's most significant cases: Shanghai's (China) and Bangalore's (India) regional innovation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the relationship between regional trade agreements, trade integration and economic growth in 21 South and South-East Asian countries over the period from 1980 to 2004. We aim to answer the following questions. First, how does the trade policy of a given country (and countries within the same region) affect a nation's domestic growth? Second, should developing economies in South and South-East Asia engage in regional trade agreements (RTA) or move towards broad liberalization? Our results show that openness of either a single country or of its neighbors does not affect a nation's growth and that the impacts of RTA are unclear (if not detrimental to growth in some cases, once endogeneity is accounted for). Panel Granger-causality tests running from openness to growth yield mixed results and some conclusions depend on the particular subsample under scrutiny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural transformation is a key feature of economic development. Developed countries all followed the same process of structural transformation. This paper asks whether developing countries also follow a similar process. Three key findings emerge from the detailed analysis. First, developing countries are following different paths of structural transformation that deviate from those of developed countries in different ways. Second, the paths of the subcontinents of Africa, Asia, and Latin America are distinct, and there is great heterogeneity within each region. Third, many countries experience substantial structural transformation during periods of economic stagnation or even decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Over the past decade telecommunications media and technology (TMT) has driven a new era that has evolved into the digital age. There is a growing consensus in developed countries that TMT is the most important driver of economic and social development for a society. Its genesis began in the USA and its cultural preference for market-based development set the framework for national policy and development. Recently the formation of convergence regulators amongst many of the leading nations has begun another episode. This article aims to explore and build upon a research study of the senior executives of six of the leading convergence regulators in Asia and Europe. The article aims to analyse by way of a numeric comparison expert views of the key convergence issues three and five years out. Design/methodology/approach - A generic conceptual model was constructed of the foundation, social and economic dividend issues. By examining the relative progress of nations developments of these issues and their different approaches, new insights are developed into different regulatory approaches. Findings - The concept of proactive regulation with competition (PRC) would appear to have benefits for a number of these nations. It is hoped that these research outcomes and hypotheses will generate further research and analysis amongst the world's leading regulators in order to work through the best regulatory approaches for the current challenges. Originality/value - The paper presents original research regarding regulatory challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of mineral extraction in South East Asia, the rural poor are generally portrayed as victims of large, invading corporatized mining enterprises. However, this paper argues that local villagers have also shown considerable agency in taking advantage of the mineral resource boom by diversifying their livelihoods to include informal mining. In South East Asia, the growth of informal mining has occurred within the overall process of agrarian transition. This paper focuses on a mineral-rich valley in southern Laos to highlight the location-specific nature of such transitions. The valley's environmental transformation has both caused and accompanied a modification in the peasant ways of life, and the recent entry of transnational mining companies and the growing market price of tin have fundamentally altered the relationships of the peasants with place, while at the same time encouraging them to claim mineral resource rights in ways that are not accommodated in conventional mining legislation. To conclude, the paper notes the multiple interpretations and contradictions of the increasing mineral dependence among Lao peasants in a rapidly changing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adopts a geographical perspective to understand the conceptual and theoretical issues of resort morphology. Resort morphology refers to “the forms and associated functions of a destination area and their development”. Resort towns are differentiated from other urban areas in terms of morphology because of their functional emphasis on tourism. The literature reflects the significant interest of European geographers in the morphological study of coastal resort towns. However, limited attention has been given to resort morphology in developing countries, including those in Asia. It is argued that the complex of contextual factors that influence the morphological character of resorts needs to be considered and, furthermore, there is a great need to develop a systematic approach for investigating resort morphology. Although the morphological approach to the study of resorts is transferable, it is likely that Asian morphologies will differ from their western counterparts because of their time, scale and pace of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on purchasing power parity (PPP), using unit root tests, have tested either the null hypothesis of a unit root or the null of stationary real exchange rate. It has been argued that using either approach is insufficient to confirm the existence or non-existence of PPP. To strengthen inferences made about a series, the two approaches should be applied within the same study. In contrast to previous studies undertaken to test PPP in developing countries, this paper tests PPP for a sample of developing countries in the Asian financial crisis countries during the current float. The paper applies the ADF and PP tests to test the null of a unit root and the newly developed KPSS test to test the null of stationarity. The null of a unit root can be rejected for Indonesia, Korea and Thailand. We cannot reject the null of stationarity for all countries except for Singapore. Joint testing of both nulls confirms stationarity for Indonesia and Korea. The impact of the Asian financial crisis on the behavior of the real exchange rates in the crisis countries is examined using Perron's unit root test that accounts for potential structural breaks. The results indicate evidence of stationarity for Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper offers a critical outline of the social and economical development pattern of Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs) in East-Asia. Of such a pattern are here presented the trade off between the market and the State role in the economic development along with the cultural values of human resources, functional to it. Then it offers some critical comments on NICs' delays about social and cultural promotion of human rights, as for instance the acquiescence towards the lack of democracy or the plague of child labour. In the end the paper questions about the future perspectives of Asian NTCs and their trade relations, charged of social dumping, with Western countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the Chinese government’s ‘belt and road’ initiative – the Silk Roads vision of land and maritime logistics and communications networks connecting Asia, Europe and Africa – has its roots in sub-national ideas and practices, and that it reflects their elevation to the national level more than the creation of substantially new policy content. Further, the spatial paradigms inherent in the Silk Roads vision reveal the reproduction of capitalist developmental ideas expressed particularly in the form of networks, which themselves have become a feature of contemporary global political economy. In other words, the Silk Roads vision is more of a ‘spatial fix’ than a geopolitical manoeuvre. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The biggest developing countries in the world in terms of territory size, population and GDP are located in the continents of Asia and Latin America. In these regions, there are also the most emerging-market economies with great potential for sustaining high growth rates in the coming decades (so called the BRICs) like China, India and Brazil. Since the last quarter of the nineteenth century to the present, the major developing countries in Asia and in Latin America, such as China, India, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Mexico, etc have gone through various stages of development. paper makes an analysis of globalization's influences, the strengths and weaknesses of the system of WTO, participation of Asian and Latin American developing countries in the negotiations of Doha Round, development strategies to be adopted by these economies and also some important implications for building new balance in international agenda of 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of evidence suggests that China's emergence is having differential effects on Asia's advanced and developing countries. The region's advanced countries are benefiting from the existence of a large and rapidly growing Chinese market for their capital goods, components and technology, whereas its developing countries compete head to head with China in third markets. These facts create additional challenges for late-industrializing Asian countries seeking to catch up with the region's industrial leaders. In turn, the emergence of an Asian core and periphery will not encourage the development of a cohesive Asian economic and political bloc. Asian regionalism will be open regionalism in order to prevent regional initiatives from giving rise to costly trade diversion. Efforts to promote Asian financial development and integration are unlikely to come at the expense of the region's financial links with the rest of the world. An early move toward a common exchange rate regime with the associated common monetary stance will be problematic. And, in the absence of these common policies, pressure for the development of powerful regional institutions to formulate the common monetary stance will be at best modest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the impact of investment in information technology (IT) on the recent resurgence of world economic growth. We describe the growth of the world economy, seven regions and 14 major economies during the period 1989–2003. We allocate the growth of world output between input growth and productivity and find, surprisingly, that input growth greatly predominates! The contributions of IT investment have increased in all regions, but especially in industrialized economies and Developing Asia. Differences in per capita output are explained by differences in per capita input, rather than by variations in productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an attempt to resolve the existing controversy about the cause and effect relation- ship between external debt and economic slowdown, Granger causality tests are conducted with data on indebted developing countries of Asia and Pacific. The results of these tests indicate that the Bulow--Rogoff proposition that the external debts of developing countries are a symptom rather than a cause of economic slowdown is rejected. They also indicate that the Dornbusch--Krugman proposition that external debt leads to economic slowdown is also rejected. Moreover, a feedback-type relationship is not rejected for two countries. In view of the mixed results, this paper also estimates the nexus of inter-relationships between public and private external debt accumulation, capital accumulation and production within a simultaneous equation system. The estimation results indicate that the full effects of the public and private external debts on GNP are small and of an opposite sign, whereas an increase in the GNP level raises substantially the public and private external debts. These findings support Bulow--Rogoff's proposition that the external debts of developing countries are not a primary cause of economic slowdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is the intent of this paper to re-examine the export-led hypothesis using a causality technique recently proposed by White (1980). The test is applied on time-series data over the period 1955-82 in the case of the 'growth miracle' countries of Asia (Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan) which are commonly referred to as the newly industrializing countries (NICs) in Asia. These countries, in particular, were selected here because they provide a good case study with which to assess the role of exports in the economic development process.[1] Several authors, for example, Lin (1973) and Findlay (1984), have stated that the success of these Asian countries gave birth to the export-led growth hypothesis in the first place. It is thus interesting to subject this hypothesis to empirical testing against time-series data from the NICs' economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current unprecedented expansion of infrastructure promises to enhance human wellbeing but risks causing substantial harm to natural ecosystems and the benefits they provide for people. A framework for systematically and proactively identifying the likely benefits and costs of such developments is badly needed. Here, we develop and test at the subregional scale a recently proposed global scheme for comparing the potential gains from new roads for food production with their likely impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Working in the Greater Mekong—an exceptionally biodiverse subregion undergoing rapid development—we combined maps of isolation from urban centres, yield gaps, and the current area under 17 crops to estimate where and how far road development could in principle help to increase food production without the need for cropland expansion. We overlaid this information with maps summarising the importance of remaining habitats to terrestrial vertebrates and (as examples of major ecosystem services) to global and local climate regulation. This intersection revealed several largely converted yet relatively low-yielding areas (such as central, eastern, and northeastern Thailand and the Ayeyarwady Delta), where narrowing yield gaps by improving transport links has the potential to substantially increase food production at relatively limited environmental cost. Concentrating new roads and road improvements here while taking strong measures to prevent their spread into areas which are still extensively forested (such as northern Laos, western Yunnan, and southwestern Cambodia) could thus enhance rural livelihoods and regional food production while helping safeguard vital ecosystem services and globally significant biological diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing country debt has been a major preoccupation for development policy makers and practitioners since the debt crisis of 1982. It is a major obstacle to economic and social progress in developing countries. After the resolution of the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s and the debt relief initiatives for low-income countries of 1997–2006 concerns about developing country debt seem to have receded. However, there are a growing number of problems that warrant concern, including the accumulation of domestic debt, short-term debt and private non-guaranteed debt, and increasing recourse by low-income countries to international capital markets. At the same time developing countries have strengthened their capacity to oversee and analyse their debt portfolios. Nonetheless, significant weaknesses remain in debt management capacity at the national level. Moreover, the activities of ‘vulture funds’ and the lack of a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism reveal major shortcomings in the international institutional architecture that need to be addressed urgently. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Revue Tiers Monde is the property of Librairie Armand Colin 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.)

The spillover effects of carbon footprint (CFP) labelling are particularly significant in the East Asia Summit (EAS) region which has closely integrated production networks, wide development gaps and predominantly small and medium-sized enterprises. Poor management of the effects would undermine not only the effectiveness of CFP labelling, but also EAS efforts towards economic integration and the narrowing of development gaps. Well-designed labelling schemes, accessible and affordable data and transparent certification processes are essential, as well as capacity-building and engagement of non-labelling countries, in particular LDCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY While many developing countries experience a short period of economic boom and then spiral quickly into periods of deficit, currency fluctuation, and indebtedness, China has been able to sustain rapid economic growth and maintain solid fiscal capacity for the past 30 years, even during the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s and the global recession in the beginning of the 21st century. This article examines three key strategies behind China's fiscal success - its flexibility in adapting tax policies to the changing economic and social conditions, its success in realigning the intergovernmental fiscal relationship in 1994 and forcing subnational governments to become more entrepreneurial in revenue generation, and its pursuit of institutional reforms since the mid-1990s to improve the government's capacity in budgeting and financial management. The article evaluates the implications of the Chinese experience for other developing countries and discusses the future challenges of fiscal reforms in China. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Economía Institucional is the property of Universidad Externado de Colombia 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.)

Aquaculture is equated with the reduction of poverty by intergovernmental agencies such as the FAO, which advocate the promotion of small-scale aquaculture through project-based interventions. There is a lack of convincing empirical evidence to support the efficacy of this type of intervention, however. Meanwhile, commercial cultured freshwater fish production has increased hugely throughout Asia, despite limited direct donor or government support. Its impact with respect to poverty also remains ambiguous, however. This article critically evaluates the developmental impacts of both immanent and interventionist forms of aquaculture and advances finely nuanced interpretations of both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years the world has moved to a new path of rapid global growth, largely driven by the developing countries, which is energy intensive and heavily reliant on the use of coal—global coal use will rise by nearly 60% over the decade to 2010. It is likely that, without changes to the policies in place in 2006, global CO2 emissions from fuel combustion would nearly double their 2000 level by 2020 and would continue to rise beyond 2030. Neither the SRES marker scenarios nor the reference cases assembled in recent studies using integrated assessment models capture this abrupt shift to rapid growth based on fossil fuels, centred in key Asian countries. While policy changes must and will occur, the realism of the reference case is critical for analysis and policy formulation. Using such a reference path will have significant effects on impact and damage estimates, on the analysis of achievable stabilisation paths and on estimates of the costs of achieving stabilisation at a given GHG concentration level. Use of a realistic reference path is also essential for the international negotiations, arising out of the COP13 meeting in Bali, to achieve widely desired stabilisation goals: both the level of emission reductions to be achieved, and the preferred distribution of those reductions over countries and regions, will be heavily influenced by the reference case assumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of planning and development paradigms during World War II is discussed. Special attention is paid to views on the so-called "development potential" of areas in Africa and Asia. It is noted that thinkers during the period around World War II believed that developing countries' economies could improve with good planning. The teachings of Saint Lucian economist Arthur Lewis regarding developing countries' potential for economic progress are discussed. Additionally, a description is given of the planning history for colonial administrations in Africa from World War II to the 1960s.

Twenty years ago, Lenski and Nolan published a seminal article in which they established empirical links between modern development and traditional technology in developing countries. This analysis is expanded in two ways: by improving the indicators of traditional technologies, and by introducing a second dimension of structural complexity, the sociopolitical differentiation of traditional societies. Though two indices measure functionally related aspects, they have distinct impacts on the socio-economic development of the 65 non-western countries analyzed in this article. Since traditional socio-political differentiation explains modern development better than traditional technology, we suggest significant revisions, and a new interpretation of Lenski and Nolan's results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author attempts to outline the opportunities that developing countries in Asia might have in liberalizing the environmental goods and services market in the context of case studies. The author suggests a number of ways in order for countries in the region to reap the benefits of the liberalization, including the overhaul of their positions in the market. She also states other factors that compounded the challenges facing developing countries.