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The Habitats Directive is a key document for the protection of critical natural capital in the European Union. In a manner consistent with the understanding of sustainability in the European Commission, even critical natural capital is subject to trade-offs in favour of economic and social development. This is reflected in Articles 6(3) and 6(4) of the directive. This paper analyses the planning process leading to the approval of the expansion of the port of Rotterdam project – which will significantly affect Natura 2000 – against sustainability criteria. Although it shows that the directive is powerful to promote sustainable planning, the success of the case study was due mainly to elements specific to the particular planning process, namely the use of deliberative public participation mechanisms as well as specific assessment tools. Lessons are drawn and recommendations made to strengthen the Habitats Directive and the national planning processes in relation to projects potentially affecting Natura 2000 sites. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a widespread perception among academic researchers and aid practitioners alike that empirical cross-country analysis fails to find any significant link between aid flows and growth, and that aid is successful only when associated with good policies in the recipient countries. These positions do not stand up to careful scrutiny of existing studies. In this paper, we offer a re-examination of the literature on the aid–savings, aid–investment, and aid–growth relationships, and a comparative appraisal of more recent research contributions. Using an analytic framework for evaluating the empirical work, a coherent and positive picture of the aid–growth link emerges. There is a robust aid–growth link even in countries hampered by an unfavourable policy environment. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the adoption of neoliberal economic models by Latin American countries as they emerged from military dictatorships into democracies. South American countries' exploitation of natural resources and its relation to their economy; Occurrence in the shift in economic policies of most South American governments in parallel with the forces of political change.

This paper describes the socio‐economic dynamics that, in the Colombian case, underlie the relationship between mining and the territory where it takes place. The description includes the key features of public policy regarding mining, under which mineral resource extraction may have produced unintended effects that raise doubts regarding mining's contribution to Colombian economic development. Under a qualitative approach, I carried out a documentary analysis from which I identified several aspects of the economic and mining policy. The analysis confirms several of the explanations for the so‐called resource curse hypothesis, the connection between these aspects, and of them with specific policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, it is shown that it matters a lot for empirical research whether policy is taken to be exogenously set or to be endogenous. In the model investment depends on policy that depends on economically important fundamentals and is, thus, endogenous. The paper analyzes what might be concluded when treating policies as randomly assigned, when in fact they are not. When policy is endogenous, the measured effects of policy on growth will generally be biased. Based on the model and OECD data, the signs of the biases for tax variables and for redistribution are derived. Based on these signed biases, the paper discusses some empirical results that seem puzzling from a theoretical viewpoint. The paper argues that regressing growth on policy can still yield important information if policy endogeneity is taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Having reviewed 1259 papers on cluster theory, we find that current cluster studies primarily discussed cluster phenomena from either a microlevel or mesolevel. We argue that studying relations among clusters would increase our understanding of clusters, and such a research topic is worth becoming a new research orientation for cluster theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A stochastic framework for coordination of macroeconomic policies is introduced in this paper. It is suggested that: (i) measures of policy accountability should allow for the climate of uncertainty that surrounds policy decisions, and (ii) most models of aggregate economic activity impose arbitrary specifications of uncertainty that do not appear to be empirically justifiable. Ambiguities in interpreting the Humphrey-Hawkins reports of policy authorities are sketched in section II; a proposal for maximizing the ex ante prospects of policy objectives is illustrated in section III; finally, nonstationary allocations of uncertainty are discussed in sections IV and V. This paper provides a brief survey of ongoing work by members of the Federal Reserve Board staff on the role of uncertainty in policy forecasts. It suggests that policy discussion could be improved by more explicit consideration of the allocation of uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper empirically examines the growth effects of stabilisation funds and fiscal rules in oil‐rich African countries, using Nigeria as a case study. The analysis captures the ‘international standard’ of the two fiscal instruments by empirically comparing the effects of Nigerian instruments with those of non‐African oil‐exporting countries (i.e. Norway and Mexico). The results show that the fiscal instruments are effective in Nigeria and that the effectiveness is comparable to that of non‐African economies, implying that the Nigerian instruments meet ‘international standard’. The paper also discusses the development policy implications of the results, one of which is that the fiscal instruments can be used to control risky behaviours of economic agents in oil‐rich African economies. For example, since the instruments are effective in increasing growth (i.e. real GDP growth) and limiting its volatility, they can be employed to control increases in demand for and supply of risky sex caused by increases in real per capita income during oil booms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts of economic development research. They include "Recent trends and prospects for major Asian economies," "Unintended consequences: social policy, state institutions and the 'stalling' of the Malaysian industrialization project" and "Vanuatu's economy: is the glass half empty or half full?"

This paper studies how catch‐up industrial policies in China affect economic development in a two‐sector neoclassical growth model. To fulfil their aspirations of catching up with the output of the capital‐intensive sector of developed countries, Chinese political leaders adopted industrial policies that subsidise this target sector at the expense of other sectors from 1952 until the economic reform in 1978. The static effect of this industrial policy distorts the allocation of resources across sectors and lowers the aggregate TFP. The dynamic effect discourages the accumulation of capital. We show that although the output of the capital‐intensive sector boosts initially, it will be lower than its first‐best counterpart in the long run if catch‐up aspirations are too strong. Our theoretical predictions are consistent with the experience of the Chinese economy from 1952 to 1978. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on Harrod, Kalecki and Kaldor, this paper seeks to revive the view that ceteris paribus firms reduce investment if they have already built up high capacities relative to their assessment of the normal potential of their markets. This reaction introduces a fundamental stabilizing mechanism into the economy. The paper adapts the idea to a growth context and applies it to the neo‐Kaleckian baseline model with its Harrodian instability. It demonstrates that, in principle, a sufficiently strong feedback could stabilize the steady state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The paper discusses the economic analysis of modern rich economies. It argues that standard economic theory acknowledges that it does not apply if there is own‐consumption and/or joint production and suggests that successful economic reforms of the 1980s have used markets to drive down costs in sectors where standard economic theory applies. This process has resulted in a situation where rich country economies are increasingly oriented to sectors – predominantly services – where markets work less well, namely those with extensive own‐consumption and joint production, where theory says that factor rewards and other prices cannot be determined by production and consumption conditions. Arguing that this can explain the “wages squeeze,” the paper concludes that other economic mechanisms should and have arisen to secure better welfare gains, thus explaining the recent shift in policy priorities of the ACTU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on three papers within the issue: "Long-Term Effects of Government Deficits on the U.S. Output Potential," by George von Furstenburg, "Capital Formation and the Recent Productivity Slowdown," by Peter Clark, and "U.S. Productivity Growth Recession: History and Prospects for the Future," by Michael McCarthy. The author discusses each article and criticizes their shortcomings. He looks at von Furstenburg's use of the Phelps-Shell model of dynamic economic growth and notes the usefulness of neoclassical growth theory. The author feels that his discussion on the effects of government deficits on output growth or productivity represent a fruitful economic analysis innovation.

The relationship between foreign aid and economic growth has been the subject of much controversy. A recent theme suggesting that aid promotes growth, but only in a good policy environment has ratchet up that debate. In this paper, we assess the importance of policy and aid in generating growth when the aid, policy, and growth relationship is nonlinear. This allows us to examine the varying effects of aid and policy in different data segments, which we do without imposing any particular structure on the underlying relationship. We find that policy is an important determinant of growth. We also find partial corroboration of the view that aid is growth enhancing in a good policy environment, and some evidence of diminishing returns to aid. These findings suggest that nonlinearities if not appropriately addressed fail to capture the detailed underlying dynamics and thereby mask some key features of the aid-policy-growth relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the factors which promote entrepreneurial activity across a number of transition, developing and developed countries. It produces results which highlight the importance of institutions in promoting entrepreneurial activity. This work is part of an on-going research project on the relationship between the legal system and factors which influence economic development. In particular, it has been shown that legal rules protecting creditors and investors influence the size of financial markets which in turn influence economic development. Our paper thus extends the analysis of the impact of institutions beyond that previously established to demonstrate its influence on another driver of economic development. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The slow growth of the permanently settled migrants in host cities poses new challenges for the sustainability of China's future urbanization. Given the growing importance of homeownership, this paper clarifies migrants' settlement intentions into three mutually exclusive patterns, including de facto permanent settlement intention through homeownership, long‐term temporary settlement intention and short‐term temporary settlement intention. Based on matched micro‐ and macro‐level data, this paper examines the influence of city economic development and housing prices on these three patterns. The results suggest that economic development exhibits an attractive effect on migrants' settlement intentions for both earning money and for making a life while housing price weakens rural migrants' de facto permanent settlement intention. We also highlight the effect of the Housing Provident Fund (HPF), the most important housing financial policy in China, on settlement intention, and the results suggest that the HPF serves as an option to help migrants achieve permanent settlement through housing availability. The findings can explain the mixed results of previous research and provide policy references for sustainable urbanization in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reviews the recent (post‐2000) literature that assesses the importance of institutions as a factor determining cross‐country differences in growth rates or in the contemporary level of “prosperity.” It first sketches how institutional economics has evolved. It then examines critically the methods of analysis employed in the recent literature. The paper finds that this literature has made a major contribution to the analysis of the causes of economic growth but the relative importance of institutions as a determinant of long‐run growth and prosperity is still a wide open question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]