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This paper analyses the characteristics of the recent African economic growth. The data reveal that during the period 1995-2005, Africa caught up with East Asia in terms of economic growth and investment. However, East Asia has improved its advantage on Africa in terms of GDP per capita and growth fundamentals. African economic growth rate was 2.2 percentage points higher during the period 1995-2005 compared to the period 1975-94. However, between the two periods, only primary education, exports and urbanization have significantly increased in Africa. The other growth determinants have either slightly deteriorated or remained stagnant. The results of growth regressions over the period 1995-2005 indicate that investment, private sector access to credit, government effectiveness, exports and the share of agriculture value added in GDP are significantly linked with economic growth. Thus, compared to the statistical analysis, growth regressions suggest that most of the variables which have significantly contributed to growth recovery are not those variables which have positively evolved in Africa. The good news is that African economies have grown recently without changing many growth fundamentals. The bad news is that the recent African growth recovery may not be sustainable if efforts are not focused on right growth fundamentals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theoretical literature has discussed different channels through which foreign direct investments (FDI) promote host country's economic growth, but empirical analyses have so far been rather inconclusive. In this paper, exploiting the information of a disaggregated data set on a panel of 14 manufacturing sectors for (a sample of) developed and developing countries over the period 1992-2004, we are able to provide robust evidence on the positive and statistically significant growth effect of FDI in recipient countries. Moreover, we find that this effect is stronger in capital-intensive and technologically advanced sectors. The growth enhancing effect comes primarily from an increase in total factor productivity (TFP) and from factors accumulation. Our results are robust to the inclusion of other determinants of economic growth and to controlling for potential endogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper re-examines the relationship between stock market development and economic growth. It provides a theoretical basis for establishing the channel through which stock markets affect economic growth in the long run. It examines the hypothesis of endogenous growth models that financial development causes higher growth through its influence on the level of investment and its productivity. The empirical part of this study exploits techniques recently developed to test for causality in VARs. The evidence obtained from a sample of four countries suggests that investment productivity is the channel through which stock market development enhances the growth rate in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rarely does one come across critical analysis which looks at islands as the strategic and candid promoters of a role as political and economic usufructuaries over external resources. This paper is premised on the proposition that a small territory is especially obliged to use extra-territorial resources as its hinterland for economic success. Such resources extend over a whole range of goods and services and include access to investment, welfare, security, stable currency, international relations, specialised labour power, transfers, markets and higher education. The MIRAB syndrome is one way of articulating this condition. This paper proposes a second cluster of features that are, or can be, deployed by small territories in a manner somewhat different from MIRAB; this second cluster has a more proactive policy orientation and a disposition towards carving out procedural and jurisdictional powers. It is thus proposed to consider a small territory's engagement with the external hinterland as a position on a sliding scale, a strategic mix of options located between two distinct development trajectories, of which MIRAB is one and the PROFIT model the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large body of literature has been published showing that the social returns to investment in equipment are low and insignificant in the OECD countries in the post-war period. The work reported in this paper re-examines the nexus between economic growth and investment in equipment and structures using data for 11 OECD countries over 130 years and for 22 OECD countries over 40 years. The empirical results suggest that the social returns to investment in equipment substantially exceed their private returns in the OECD countries in both the pre-war and the post-war periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the interregional input–output model, the present paper analyzes the impact of Olympic-related investments on the economic development of Beijing and its surrounding areas, as well as the rest of China. The interregional input–output model provides a satisfactory simulation and analysis of Olympic-related investments that are implemented in Beijing and other areas and their spillover effects on other regions. We estimate that from 2002 to 2007, Olympic-related investments will add 2.02, 0.23 and 0.09 percent annually to gross regional products of Beijing, its surrounding areas and the rest of China, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past three decades, those advocating for arts funding have shifted their arguments. When the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) was created in 1965, its supporters praised arts and culture for their uplifting qualities, and for their ability to counterbalance trends toward materialism and militarism. By the 1990s, arts advocates were far more likely to use instrumentalist arguments, showing that investment in arts and culture produce other desirable benefits, most notably economic development advances. This article reviews the changing discourse of arts advocacy in several ways: (1) by reviewing and coding Congressional debates on arts funding from 1965–2000, (2) reviewing arts coverage in the New York Times and selected arts periodicals during this same time period. Comparing this case to others in the literature on policy redefinition, the paper argues that cultural advocates have consciously reframed their arguments to broaden their appeal in the face new and more threatening opposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a simple and straightforward method of finding a consistent and efficient set of sectoral capacity growth rates and output and investment levels in a dynamic input-output (10) model with given production capacities at a certain "base period" of time and given consumption targets for a later "terminal period." The basic problem is that terminal capacities have to be consistent with terminal production requirements as given by the consumption targets, intermediate input requirements, and investment, where both the tatter are treated endogenously. The basis for endogenous investment is (a) the assumption that the planning period as a whole is characterized by a set of constant sectoral growth rates and (b) the assumption that investment does not create any excess capacity. These two assumptions form the core of the notions of consistency and efficiency respectively. The method proposed is an integrated iterative procedure with endogenous revision of the division of sectors between those operating at full capacity (bottleneck) and the rest, output and investment levels, and rates of growth. The method is, in fact, a straightforward adaptation of the standard method of solving an 10 model by power series expansion. The paper also discusses the method of target revision taken in conjunction with prior bounds on growth rates and certain aspects of the relation between investment and technology in the frame of the model proposed. It ends with a brief review of the literature, criticizing, in particular, the methods and approaches followed in a large number of applied planning models to tackle the set of issues discussed. This paper proposes a simple and straightforward method of finding a consistent and efficient set of sectoral capacity growth rates and output and investment levels in a dynamic input-output (10) model with given production capacities at a certain "base period" of time and given consumption targets for a later "terminal period." The basic problem is that terminal capacities have to be consistent with terminal production requirements as given by the consumption targets, intermediate input requirements, and investment, where both the tatter are treated endogenously. The basis for endogenous investment is (a) the assumption that the planning period as a whole is characterized by a set of constant sectoral growth rates and (b) the assumption that investment does not create any excess capacity. These two assumptions form the core of the notions of consistency and efficiency respectively. The method proposed is an integrated iterative procedure with endogenous revision of the division of sectors between those operating at full capacity (bottleneck) and the rest, output and investment levels, and rates of growth. The method is, in fact, a straightforward adaptation of the standard method of solving an 10 model by power series expansion. The paper also discusses the method of target revision taken in conjunction with prior bounds on growth rates and certain aspects of the relation between investment and technology in the frame of the model proposed. It ends with a brief review of the literature, criticizing, in particular, the methods and approaches followed in a large number of applied planning models to tackle the set of issues discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY The fact that high expenditure on armaments impedes economic growth by diverting ressources from investment has been repeatedly stressed. The present paper indicates an additional route by which military expenditure may slow down economic growth. The clue is taken from the 'export-led growth' models (B eckerman, L amfalussy) which claim a correlation between growth of exports and total economic growth. It is then argued that high military expenditure reduces export availabilities in the machinery and transport equipment sector where chances for export expansion have been above average. This brake on the most expansive sector dampens export growth in general. A slow-down in GNP-growth follows from this. A preliminary glance at the statistical picture shows that the above hypothesis should not be completely ruled out. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Die wachstumshemmende Wirkung hoher Rüstungsausgaben, die durch die Ver-minderung von Resourcen für Investitionszwecke hervorgerufen wird, ist schon oft betont worden. Die vorliegende Arbeit weist auf einen möglichen weiteren Zusammenhang zwischen Höhe der Militärausgaben und Rate des Wirtschafts-wachstums hin. Ausgangspunkt sind die Theorien eines «export-led growth» (B eckerman, L amfalussy), die eine positive Korrelation zwischen Export- und allgemeinem Wirtschaftswachstum postulieren. Es wird dann darauf hingewiesen, dass hohe Militärausgaben das Exportangebot im Sektor der Maschinen und Ver-kehrsmittel beschneiden, der im Welthandel weit rascher expandiert als andere Sektoren. Diese Bremswirkung im expansivsten Sektor zieht eine Verlangsamung des Exportwachstums im allgemeinen nach sich und führt schliesslich zu einer relativ niedrigeren Wachstumsrate des Bruttosozialprodukts. Ein enter Blick ad das vorhandene statistische Material zeigt, dass die obige Hypothese nicht ohne weiteres von der Hand zu weisen ist. RÉSUMÉ Des dépenses importantes pour l'armement empêchent la croissance économique parce qu'elles détournent les ressources nécessaires à l'investissement. Ce fait est largement connu. L'article se tourne vers une autre relation possible entre la hauteur des dépenses militaires et le ralentissement de la croissance économique. Les théories du «export-led growth» (B eckerman, L amfalussy) servent de point de repère: elles stipulent une corrélation positive entre la croissance économique en général et celle des exportations. L'auteur démontre par la suite que les dépenses militaires élevées réduisent les possibilités d'exportations dans la secteurs des machines et des moyens de transport. On sait que partout l'expansion de ces deux secteurs at bien au-dessus de la moyenne. Pour cette raison un freinage touchant ces deux secteun particulièrement expands ralentira la croissance des exporta-tions en général et aboutira par la suite à un tau d'accroissement moins élevé du produit national brut. Un regard préliminaire Bur le matériel statistique affirme que l'hypothèse developpée par l'auteur ne devrait être exclue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within a theoretical framework, the author analyzes the effects that both workers' remittances and financial intermediation have on economic growth. It is found, among other things, that remittances can have significant positive long-run effects on growth. The author confronts the implications of the theoretical model proposed with panel data for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. After considering the effect of long-run investment and demographic variables, and controlling for fixed time and country effects, the empirical analysis indicates that financial intermediation tends to increase the responsiveness of growth to remittances. The overall conclusion is that making financial services more generally available should lead to even better use of remittances, thus boosting growth in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent empirical studies reveal that effectiveness of aid on growth is ambiguous. The authors consider aid proliferation—excess aid investment relative to recurrent cost—as a potential cause that undermines aid effectiveness, because aid projects can only produce sustainable benefits when sufficient recurrent costs are disbursed. They consider the donor's budget support as a device to supplement the shortage of the recipient's recurrent cost and to alleviate the misallocation of inputs. However, when donors have self-interested preferences for the success of their own projects over those conducted by others, they provide insufficient budget support relative to aid, which results in aid proliferation. Moreover, aid proliferation is shown to be worsened by the presence of more donors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1960s economic growth rates have been far lower in sub-Saharan Africa than in other developing regions. This poor performance has resulted primarily from endemic rent-seeking and the over-regulation of markets. To achieve high growth rates, African countries must improve the investment climate by reforming institutions, enhancing infrastructure and protecting property rights. [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]

This paper discusses the asymptotic behavior of the neoclassical two-sector growth model when the steady-state conditions are not fulfilled, and derives the asymptotic growth rates for cases in which Hicks neutral technical progress occurs in the investment sector, or Harrod neutral technical progress occurs at different rates in the two sectors. The last section compares the asymptotic properties of this model with the standard steady-state properties of the two-sector growth model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We provide a Bayesian spatial Markov Chain Monte Carlo model composition ( MC3) analysis of growth rates in European regional patenting activity. Based on theoretical models on innovation and growth, we identify a large set of candidate explanatory variables that characterize regional stocks of knowledge, including: human resources devoted to innovative activity, scientific and technical capabilities, public and private investments, government policies, as well as regional industry structure, and indicators of regional technology gaps that reflect distance from the technological frontier. Our analysis shows that accommodating spatial dependence and heterogeneity leads to different conclusions regarding factors important for technological transfer and knowledge spillovers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The MDGs are being misappropriated to gain support for a specific development strategy, agenda or argument, mostly being used as a call for more aid or as a Trojan horse for a particular policy framework. As relative benchmarks, they are extremely difficult to meet in countries with low human development. Their misinterpretation as one-size-fits-all targets is leading to excessive Afro-pessimism, begging the question whether Africa is missing the targets or whether the world is missing the point. The global MDG canon is dominated by a money-metric and donor-centric view of development, and is not ready to accept that growing disparities within countries are the main reason why the 2015 targets will be missed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the arguments for promoting private investment in infrastructure as a basis for poverty reduction in developing countries. It describes the experience leading to the development of international ‘facilities’ intended to address impediments to private investment. It then explores three ‘levels’ of literature: that of the facilities themselves, of donor organisations, and of academic authors. At each, it investigates the rationale and causal pathways leading from support for private investment to pro-poor outcomes. It finds there is a possible but not necessary association between private investment, economic growth and poverty reduction, but the causal chain is poorly understood. It proposes the development of such a causal framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been surmised that firms controlled by different countries may have unequal effects on the host economies in which they locate. By looking at the seven major source countries of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States, we provide empirical evidence that the state growth effects of FDI differ by source country. We attribute these differential growth effects to the relative differences in factor endowments between the source country and the state. The implication of this result is that technology transfer, believed to be the engine of economic growth, becomes more costly the more dissimilar the endowments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does openness affect economic development? This question is answered in the context of a dynamic general equilibrium model of the world economy, where countries have technological differences that are both sector neutral and specific to the investment goods sector. Relative to a benchmark case of trade in credit markets only, consider (i) a complete restriction of trade and (ii) a full liberalization of trade. The first change decreases the cross-sectional dispersion of incomes only slightly, and produces a relatively small welfare loss. The second change, instead, decreases dispersion by a significant amount, and produces a very large welfare gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many underdeveloped countries, the main problem of economic development is not so much the acceleration of investment in material capital for the ‘take-off’ as the building of the runway for a future take-off. But discussions of ‘pre-investment’ in human capital for this purpose are vague and unsatisfactory. In particular, it is not clear whether investment in education is to supply the ‘missing components’ of skills within a given framework or to supply a dynamic catalyst which will radically change the framework itself. These two different concepts of education illustrate the conflicting requirements of social discipline and social flexibility as a prerequisite of economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While it is frequently asserted that British industry has earned an inadequate return on investment, there has been little agreement among economists as to what exactly this rate has been in recent years. This note provides striking new evidence that the profitability of British industry is currently much lower than anyone had previously supposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the increase of revenue from oil profits by Angola. Production of Angola on crude per day; Loans and investment offered by China; Adoption of informal identification procedures by South African banks that tightens financial regulation.