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New firm creation resembles an engine of economic growth. Yet policymakers or macroeconomic administrators are often left guessing when it comes to deciding what best they can do to promote new firms or extension of existing firms while utilizing their resources in the best possible way. Even investors and entrepreneurs find great deal of difficulty in choosing where to invest or where to start their business. A lack of comparable data creates problem for the policymakers in deciding on the ways to improve the business environment that will boost the business environment of the country or the state. Similarly investors find difficulty in choosing their right investment destination, since these data were not available and have not been well understood. In the past this has resulted in a poor understanding of how to boost business environment in the states or the country as a whole. India is a big country with a number of states and union territories. All the states and UTs are significantly different from each other in terms of culture, history, socioeconomic status, and more importantly have different business opportunities. Therefore, there is a need to analyze the business environment of each state and UT separately rather than analyzing the business environment of the country as a whole. This will give a better and clearer image of the current business environment across different states and UTs. This paper analyses the business environment of Madhya Pradesh, which is one of the largest states of the country and is also centrally located. This paper shows the various opportunities available in the state that can definitely boost and act as a catalyst for industrial development. It Intends to add value in the decision process of the new investors in the state and present Madhya Pradesh as one of the most preferred business destination in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a new method to analyse the causes of growth and stagnation in Pakistan between 1950-51 and 2011-12. It provides support for the argument that pro-business reforms have been an important driver of Pakistan's economic growth. This result holds across two episodes of growth and one episode of stagnation. These findings lead to a clear policy implication: if Pakistan is to return to fast growth, policy needs to move away from pro-market reforms, learn these lessons of history, and promote the profitability of business to incentivise private investment and so boost economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a theoretical model of product innovation where research and development (R&D) effort by a monopolist firm is endogenous and its outcome uncertain. The government attempts to aid such efforts with a matching grant. We consider different scenarios depending on whether two parties act simultaneously, act sequentially, or take part in a dynamic cooperative game with a trigger strategy. We also consider cases (i) when the products are exported, (ii) when the firm lobbies for R&D subsidy, and (iii) when the firm is foreign owned. We characterize situations when government intervention increases the chances of product innovation and when it does not. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper we study an endogenous growth model where investments are (generically) distributed over multi-period flexible projects leading to new capital once completed. Recently developed techniques in dynamic programming are adapted and used to unveil the global dynamics of this model. Based on this analytical ground, several numerical exercises are performed to show the quantitative relevance of the analytical findings with an emphasis on the relation between project features and economic growth and speed of convergence toward the balanced growth path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, industrialization has been associated with falling relative returns to skills. This fact is at odds with most unified theories of industrialization, which tend to imply rising skill premia as natural concomitants of economic growth. This paper develops a very simple model of historical growth to help solve this puzzle. Assuming that human capital is both a consumption good and an investment good, the model demonstrates how gradually rising investments in human capital, nonmonotonic fertility rates, and falling skill premia can all be explained within one theory. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the effect of exporting on 'product portfolio upgrading' in a plant, using plant-product matched datasets for Korea, Japan and Indonesia. First, we find that a substantial part of aggregate shipments growth is explained by net adding of products for all three countries. Second, export starters are more likely to add products and to change product shares in plants than never exporters. Third, added products tend to have higher product quality than dropped products. Therefore, our results imply that the entry to export markets plays an important role in product portfolio upgrading: the process of reallocation from lower-attribute to higher-attribute products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the contemporary business context, the significance of employee skills and competences is widely acknowledged. Investments in formal and continuous training have become inevitable need both for employees and businesses. In challenging times, however investments in employee skill development are hindered by cost-cutting measures imposed by companies as a response to the rising impediments. Therefore, the primary aim of the paper is to assess recent developments in employee training policies in Macedonian businesses and the potential impact of the economic downturn on training investments. A research was conducted in 24 medium-sized companies in different industries in R. Macedonia covering employee training issues. The overall findings point to a reduction in training investments and companies' focus on in-house, job-specific employee training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates a multi-country demand-led growth model for the EU15. A decrease in the share of wages in national income in isolation leads to lower growth in Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, whereas it stimulates growth in Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Ireland. However, a simultaneous decline in the wage share leads to an overall decline in EU15 GDP; hence, the EU15 as a whole is a wage-led economy. Furthermore, Austria and Ireland also experience a decline in growth when they decrease their wage share along with their trading partners. The results indicate that the decline in the wage share had significant negative effects on growth in the EU15 and supports the case for wage coordination. We present different wage-led recovery scenarios and the effects on prices, investment and net exports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban rail transit is the basic urban infrastructure investment project, which plays leading role in the development of other industries. Based on the analysis of domestic and international research status, the paper establishes input-output tables for China's urban rail transit respectively according to China's input-output tables of 2002, 2007 and 2012. Based on input-output analysis of urban rail transit, we study the influence and sensitivity of China's urban rail transit industry and explore factors influencing urban rail transit industry from the perspective of external system. According to the comparison between the influence and sensitivity of urban rail transit industry, sensitivity of this industry is relatively low, showing that its driving effect on China's economic development is greater than the promoting function of economic development on it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

This paper offers an integrated framework of one- and two-sector optimal .growth models for the dynamic analysis of the joint effects of distorting taxes and production externalities. We investigate how capital and labor income tax rates influence local dynamics near a steady state depending on the sizes of externalities. Our results clarify how tax rates on factor income affect the range of the sizes of externalities that induce indeterminacy. We find that the possibility of indeterminacy is significantly higher for given values of externalities, the labor supply elasticity and the elasticity of intertemporal substitution in consumption if capital income tax rates are increased from zero to values similar to those in many countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

In the name of development, governments in Africa are reformulating land policies to facilitate privatisation of customary land rights. The main rationale for this is to stimulate private investment through tradable land titles, which will enhance local economic activity and ultimately contribute to increased incomes and poverty alleviation. However, these land reform proposals have often produced unintended results leading to exclusion of the poor and servicing the interests of the elite. Zambia is not an exception in the land reform rhetoric. In 1995, the government enacted a pro-investment law to attract investment from abroad. Consequently, large tracts of customary land were converted to private tenure as increasing foreign investments were made in the country. One example of such investments is mining; for example, Lumwana and Kansanshi mines were opened up in Solwezi. These mines have attracted more people and fringe investments in search of economic opportunities. This has further led to increased pressure on land as more people and organisations seek to acquire customary land from chiefs and convert it to private leaseholds. This paper uses personal experience and research to present the achievements, potential and limitations of private investments in local communities and their economy. The paper argues that, despite the huge potential of private investment, attaining poverty alleviation through land reform strategies in Zambia still remains overshadowed by conflicting agendas, i.e. serving the interests of poor citizens versus pursuing the collective global market agenda in order to gain international recognition and acceptance. This is particularly crucial given that these agendas are often at odds with each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reaction of the London Stock Exchange to the announcement of the city hosting 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The expectations of the Olympic Games are the anticipation of massive economic boosts to the host cities. These expectations are presumed to be translated into positive stock price returns. This research examines the London Stock Exchange industrial indices reactions to this announcement in July 2005. Design/methodology/approach – In order to evaluate the returns the paper employs simple conventional OLS methodology technique, event study methodology and GARCH models with appropriate dummy variables. Findings – The empirical results indicate a very limited number of significant indices impacted by such an announcement. A consistent finding to all the alternative estimations is that the oil and gas industry seem to be negatively affected by the Olympic Games announcement. Practical implications – Findings are strongly recommended to practitioners, financial investors and portfolio managers dealing with British Stocks. Originality/value – The contribution of this paper is that findings are in contrast to relevant studies, like Athens' Olympic Games, since enthusiasm is diminished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of Green Infrastructure as an approach to planning has enabled landscape practitioners to implement a range of projects utilising its principles. Discussions though exist examining what Green Infrastructure is, how it should be planned, and whether it can be identified as only those elements of the landscape that aregreen. A further element of this argument examines the use of water within this process. Therefore, as planners, we can ask: can we tell a green field from a cold steel rail? Both may have a green or sustainable function with only the visual appearance differing. Debates, however, focus on practitioner selectivity of the interpretation of “green” infrastructure planning exploring whether physical landscape characteristics or the function of an investment is the main focus of discussion. Using the grey–green continuum developed by Davieset al.[2006.Green infrastructure planning guide project: Final report. Annfield Plain: NECF], this paper examines whether geographical differences exist in the application of the Green Infrastructure and examine how practitioners use the ambiguity ofGreenInfrastructure planning to guide investment. Drawing on academic and practitioner literature provides this paper with a balance of conceptual and process-based assessments evaluations of global Green Infrastructure focusing on the design and implementation of terrestrial and marine resources. This paper also examines whether the dominant landscape planning framework in each region could be considered contradictory to the wider application of Green Infrastructure principles. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper presents the evolution of two of the most important indicators for economic development. The indicators took into consideration in this research refers to Gross Domestic Product(GDP) and the investment by institutional sector in percent of Gross Domestic Product. The analyze was made also for Romania and for the European Union 27 countries during a period of five years, meaning from 2007 to 2011, information available on Eurostat. There were used statistical methods to analyze those two major indicators and the data were taken from the european site of statistics Eurostat. At the end of the paper it was presentedsome conclusions and also a point of view for the last period of 2012 from eurostat newsreales, euro indicators, published in march 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of intangible assets is the distinguishing feature of the new economy. In knowledge based economies the intangible elements of firms are becoming fundamental determinants of firm current and future competitiveness as well as of firm value and growth. Despite their evident capacity to create value a big part of intangible assets are not reflected in the firm` s balance sheets. The elements that are responsible for this situation are the economic properties of intangible assets that are different by the economic properties of tangible assets. In this working paper are presented these properties that make intangible assets investments more risky than tangible assets investments. [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 analyzes the role of structural change on economic growth in post-socialist South Caucasia. I employ the Shift Share Analysis (SSA) to evaluate the direct effect and the Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS) and Dynamic OLS (DOLS) to measure the overall effect of structural change on economic growth. The result of the SSA shows that within sector is the dominant source of productivity growth, and the reallocation effect is remarkable in Georgia. The manufacturing sector did not experience an expansion; therefore, its reallocation effect is negligible. On the other hand, the expansion of the business services sector and contraction of low-value agricultural employment produced a positive reallocation effect. The results of the FMOLS and DOLS demonstrate that advanced sectors - manufacturing and business services - have a positive effect on economic growth. Expanding high-value-added activities is necessary for further growth in these countries and requires investment in human capital and the development of domestic capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrastructure is a key area since it provides the main thrust and impetus area in the growth of a developing nation like India. A major area of concern for sustaining the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in India has been lack of adequate infrastructure, which can support the growth process. The deplorably low levels of public investment have rendered India's physical infrastructure incompatible with large increases in the national product. Clearly, without improving the rate of infrastructure investment, the expected growth rate of 9% and above at best would remain modest. The Planning Commission of India has estimated that investment in infrastructure sector defined broadly to include road, rail, air and water transport, electric power, telecommunications, water supply and irrigation will need to be of the order of about Rs.45 lakh crore or US$1.4 trillion during the 12th Five Year Plan period. India has one of the largest road networks in the world, aggregating around 33 lakh km. Historically, the budgetary resources from the governments have been the major source of financing for infrastructure such as road projects in India. This paper focuses on the VGF (Viability Gap Funding) that have been used for financing of infrastructure projects and specially for road projects in India. The purpose of this paper is to examine and analyse viability of VGF scheme for Indian Road projects by studying projects being covered under VGF option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper examines the differences in growth performances of Asia and Latin America, in particular, the roles of trade and institutions in explaining the differential growth experiences of the two regions. In examining trade policy instruments as a plausible explanation of growth divergence, we have focused on the emerging pattern and composition of export baskets in the two regions and regional integration and accession to WTO. In a GMM dynamic panel estimation for the period 1975-2005, though it is found that diversification and composition of exports have significant impacts on economic growth in both the regions, diversification within the manufacturing sector is important for Asia only. The common determinants of growth in the two regions are exports, investment, public debt and human capital. On the other hand, the differentiating factors on the diverging growth experiences of Asia and Latin America are infrastructure, regional integration and institutional aspects like patent protection, and WTO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pension funds control relatively large amounts of capital and represent the largest institutional investors in many nations. The economic role of pension funds is considerable and well acknowledged. They cover half of the labor force and represent majority of the financial assets of the entire household sector. Pension funds may enhance economic growth by increasing the aggregate level of savings available for investment. The economic impact of pension funds is most noticeable in the channeling of funds to capital markets and the re-distribution of income. Considering the importance of saving on capital formation and economic stability the impact on saving becomes particularly significant. A saving level change resulting from pension contributions could have far reaching implications in terms of national stability. Pension reforms in India have generated widespread interest internationally. In the past few years there have been tremendous changes in pension funds in India. The paper highlights the major concerns of pension sector and their overall impact on Indian economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order for governments to implement important policies for better health and enhanced economic growth, it is vital to first consider both the processes and connections that trigger the complicated relationship between health and income. For many years the causality running from income to health has been recognized as a principal and instinctual proposition. However, recent literature presents empirical evidence of a reversed causation - from health to income. This paper focuses on the reversed causation by analyzing three recent case studies that use panel data, providing a multi-dimensional perspective, and thus enabling the findings to form general solutions to policy problems that governments face worldwide. Bloom and Canning (2001) argue that both directions of causality can work together at the same time. This leads to a virtuous circle where health enhancements stimulate economic growth, which then stimulates health. Taking into account a scenario where both variables stimulate one another leads to significant policy implications. Drawing on evidence provided in this paper, policymakers should look at health expenses as an investment rather than a cost, taking a balanced approach, and implementing a long run viewpoint. Governments must take health seriously if they want sustain and improve on economic and social outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a method for reducing the economic risks associated with predictable natural hazards by enhancing the resilience of national infrastructure systems. The three-step generalised framework is described along with examples. Step one establishes economic baseline growth without the disaster impact. Step two characterises economic growth constrained by a disaster. Step three assesses the economy's resilience to the disaster event when it is buffered by alternative resiliency investments. The successful outcome of step three is a disaster-resistant core of infrastructure systems and social capacity more able to maintain the national economy and development post disaster. In addition, the paper considers ways to achieve this goal in data-limited environments. The method provides a methodology to address this challenge via the integration of physical and social data of different spatial scales into macroeconomic models. This supports the disaster risk reduction objectives of governments, donor agencies, and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the drivers of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and portfolio investment using simultaneous equations, which control for the correlation between the two components of private capital flows. The results show that in addition to infrastructure and financial development, capital control and economic growth significantly explain private capital flows in developing countries. The paper also highlights that the impact of financial development on portfolio investment is nonlinear. Indeed, lax monetary policy and excessive credit provision could weaken the financial system and significantly reduce portfolio investment flows in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the domestic political economy of so-called ‘land-grabbing’ in Ethiopia, assessing the motivations of the Ethiopian government, which has strongly promoted foreign agricultural investment. The paper draws on a unique set of federal and regional databases detailing foreign and domestic investments in Ethiopia to analyse the likely role investment will play in the Ethiopian economy and the areas which have been targeted for investment. The analysis identifies increased foreign exchange earnings as the main likely contribution of investment but in doing so highlights concerns for food security in Ethiopia, as the goal of national self-sufficiency has given way to a risky trade-based food security strategy. The paper also argues that the federal government's attempts to direct investment to sparsely-populated lowlands have important implications for the ethnic self-determination that is a key tenet of Ethiopia's federal system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to identify the importance of property sector investment in regional economic growth in Greece. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses regional accounts data, including investment and employment for all Greek industries. The standard Cobb-Douglas specification is used. The authors apply random effects and GMM estimators for dynamic panel data and employ two model specifications (aggregate and disaggregate). Findings - The results indicate a positive relationship between investment in real estate services and hotels and restaurants and regional growth. Also, investment in the energy sector, which is closely linked to construction and consequently to housing activity, appears to have a positive and significant growth effect. Practical implications - The authors believe that these results are useful, make a contribution to the existing knowledge, and provide firm justification that the property sector has a considerable effect on regional economic growth in Greece. Originality/value - One of the distinctive features of the paper is that it discusses critically the extent to which the Greek property sector, as part of a broader nexus of domestic and global dynamics, affects regional economic growth - either directly or indirectly. To the best of the authors' knowledge, none of the existing studies in this area provides a systematic treatment of the property sector as a contributory factor in explaining the growth performance of Greek regions. The authors believe that this is an important empirical issue, especially given the spatial disparities that characterise Greek economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's relationship with Africa has grown exponentially over the last decade with US$95 billion in bilateral trade in 2008 and US$5.4 billion of Chinese investment in Africa for the same year. The growth of Sino-African relations also has an impact on the role of traditional development partners in Africa in particular in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, which has already led some traditional development partners to reduce their aid budgets and subsequently their Official Development Assistance (ODA) flows to Africa. The objective of this paper is to analyse different development cooperation modalities in Africa of traditional development partners and China. This requires identifying trends in aid, debt relief, general budget support, trade, preferential trade access, and investment flows of both traditional development partners and China. The paper advocates that complementarities can be built between these development modalities on a national, regional and global level. This would enhance development effectiveness, increase efficiency and create win-win situations which would be beneficial to African countries, China and traditional development partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between growth, investment and military expenditure in the case of the European Union-15. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses fixed panel models, random coefficient models and a trivariate VAR model to examine empirically the relationship between these three macroeconomic variables. Findings - The results obtained and reported herein show a significant positive effect of the growth rate on the share of military expenditure and on the share of investment. However, on the whole, the findings do not seem to point to any consistent quantitative relation between defence spending and either growth or investment. Thus, they appear to be in line with the findings of other studies. Originality/value - The economic effects of military spending have drawn considerable attention. Demand side effects on capacity utilisation are one possible channel through which the economy can be positively affected by such expenditure. On the other hand however, reduced investment and capital stock have been reported as a possible negative economic impact of defence outlays that can more than offset any growth inducing effective demand stimulation. The paper attempts a simultaneous assessment of the impact of defence expenditure on both growth and investment for the EU-15, something that has not been tried before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research and development (R&D) is important for economic growth. Many countries therefore attempt to raise the investments in R&D. Increasingly important in this context are foreign direct investments in R&D, which on average constitute 24% of total business R&D investments in the EU15 (between 1995 and 2004). This paper focuses on the question: 'Which location factors are decisive for the attractiveness of foreign R&D investments?' The answer to this question is crucial in order to attract new foreign investments in R&D and to keep home-base R&D activities in a country or to expand them. Based on econometric analysis, we show in this paper that, besides the impact of human capital and value added of foreign affiliates, a country's stock of private R&D capital is an important location factor for international R&D activities. The interpretation of this result is twofold. First of all, it indicates that firms locate their R&D abroad to reap the benefits of knowledge-spillover effects. Secondly, we argue that the stock of private R&D capital embodies a so-called 'place-to-be effect'. This effect can be regarded as a signalling effect to firms: if the private R&D capital stock in a country is relatively large, framework conditions for research are in place and the innovative climate is likely to be excellent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper seeks to assess the extent to which China has both encouraged and achieved growth through foreign investment. Design/methodology/approach -- This paper provides an examination of the incentives developed and deployed and seeks to assess evidence of their performance. Findings -- "Market Economic" development of legislation of foreign investment in China has significant meanings toward promotion of Chinese economy. Since the basic policies of reform and opening coming into force in China in 1970s, China has adopted the opening, welcoming and incentive attitudes for foreign investment, making the positive activities acclimating to economic development rules to achieve the win-win results all around the world. Investment in China by foreign investors has been initially carried out by "enterprises with foreign investment", which always turned out to be the cooperative or independent direct investment basing on the funds. During the recent years, China has become the second country (only behind of USA) which absorbs the most direct foreign investment in the world. FDI has played an important role in the Chinese economic development. Correspondingly, the legislation for foreign investment in China has gradually been improved and perfected and has protected and enhanced the foreign investment and economic development. Viewing the alternation of legislation of foreign investment in China, it has fully embodied the corresponding to the global and regional international investment legislation cooperation. Originality/value -- This study will be of interest to those seeking an "insider's" view on the success or otherwise of foreign direct investment strategies in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which financial privacy is present and necessary in dealings between banks and clients in China. Design/methodology/approach -- This paper provides a comparative study drawing, in particular, on developments in the USA. Findings -- It is a trend in legislation in the western developed countries that the right to privacy is taken seriously and private information in the financial activities is protected by law. The legislation in the USA is typically systematic and complete. The fact that financial privacy protection is sparsely stipulated in finance or administrative laws but the protection of privacy has yet not been systematically written into law in China so far, which is inconsistent with the current situations of the financial industry. China should deal with the relationship between banks and clients, administrative power and personal rights, judicial interpretation and legislation from the aspect of financial practice, so as to set up the legal system to protect financial privacy by learning from the legislation in the USA based on the national conditions. Originality/value -- The paper provides a systematic view of the value of financial privacy in the modern world, with recommendations for reform in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agglomeration economies explain why productivity increases as the size of agglomeration increases, and thereby partly explain the importance of location and space in economic development. Agglomeration economies are based on the distance between firms, labour and the market. Infrastructure investment can be a tool used by governments to affect this distance, where, in doing so, they induce agglomeration economies and increase economic growth. In this paper, we will discuss the importance of considering types of networks when analysing agglomeration economies using multiregional new economic geography (NEG)-based spatial general equilibrium models. These models typically use abstract bi-regional origin-destination networks to describe the cost of transporting or commuting between regions. These abstract networks are like tunnels between regions and do not take into account the actual roads in real infrastructure networks used for transport and traffic between destinations. In other words, in real infrastructure networks, which we label full networks, people and goods move from one region to another via actual roads and possibly via third regions. In the empirical economic literature, there is a significant difference between the economic effect of changes in a bi-regional origin-destination network and the economic effect of changes in a full network. To date, no systematic explanation has been given for this difference in the size of the effects. Lack of an explanation for this difference may lead to confusion among policy-makers who have to decide on infrastructure investment. In this methodological paper, we discuss the reason for this difference. We do not discuss the absolute size of the agglomeration effects, only the relative difference that exists when using different types of networks. In order to explain the difference, we introduce a methodology that translates the effects in a bi-regional origin-destination network into similar effects in a full network, making it possible to systematically compare the economic importance of all links (roads) in such a network. This is highly relevant to policy-makers, who can now interpret the model results on a real full infrastructure network. We will also show the mathematical relationship between the importance of agglomeration economies on a link in a full network and the importance of agglomeration economies on a link in a bi-regional origin-destination network. Finally, the methodology is illustrated with a case study from the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Civil aviation in India has developed rapidly in recent years. By expanding in line with economic development and tapping into latent demand, it has attained an average annual growth rate of 20 per cent. This rapid rate of expansion has only been possible due to its relatively modest starting point, however, and further growth will require massive investment in infrastructure, redesigning airspace and improving the overall air traffic management system, together with changes in procedures, while maintaining strict adherence to the international standards of safety and security. This paper reviews the country's civil aviation with a special emphasis on the present status of its communications, navigation and surveillance systems. Furthermore, it examines the country's human resources and institutional framework to provide some insights into the challenges that the country may face in the near term. The research underlying the paper was completed while the author was at the MITRE Corporation's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a consequence of wartime events and years of political turmoil, the Western Balkans is riddled with complex and often undefined international relations, in which it is almost impossible to isolate the economic and political context. Although the European Union has long supported its partners in the Western Balkans by fostering economic growth and improving the quality of life of the region, many and most of the same issues which are present continue to burden the region, due to the unequal progress of the countries. Therefore, despite the influence of external factors, the economic development of the region, and in this context the Republic of Kosovo, is progressing very slowly. EU is planning more investment in the region, with a view to better citizens' perspectives, but also to curb the Chinese presence that has taken on the role of investor in the region, excluding Kosovo, which it does not recognize. Due to this, it appears that regional cooperation is in the interest not only of the Western Balkan countries but also of the Union. Given that the European Union is the largest trading partner of the Western Balkan countries, the paper analyzes the Union's investment in this region, with an emphasis on the Republic of Kosovo. Our aim is to support the reforms and support the preparations for the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union. The EBRD's ambitious plans to help achieve the sustainable development goals set by the international community as a strategic plan by 2030 were also highlighted. The following section analyzes the Union's investment in the economic, and thus cultural and political resurgence of Kosovo, stemming from the country's tendencies and motives for joining the European Union. Although Kosovo does not yet have membership status (besides B&H), it tends to point out the potential for investment in this country by supporting its regional and European integration. Facing the unfavorable economic and social situation, the Western Balkan countries have identified the achievement of full EU membership as the most important strategic goal. With full EU membership, this group o f countries would be given the opportunity to do business in the Union's internal market and to use EU financial instruments, which is the basis for improving their economic performance and enhancing international competitiveness. However, whether the future of the Western Balkan countries is in the European Union or not, they could become a center of growth and investment if they accepted the importance of structural reform as well as regional cooperation, which significantly results in the inflow of foreign direct investment. Kosovo, as part of the wider region of the Western Balkans, should undertake a comprehensive reform of its foreign investment policy and implement measures that would further stimulate the flow of foreign investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American economy changed rapidly since the World Wars as producers expanded new products and services in communication, computers and transportation. We kept track of this transformation through the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA), a set of statistical constructs designed before these changes started. The national accounts stretched to accommodate these new and growing activities, but efforts to fit them into our measurement of national product and of economic growth have not yet borne fruit. I argue in this paper that our current economic data fail to describe accurately the path of growth in our new economy. They fail to reveal that the United States is consuming its capital stock now and will suffer later, rather like killing the family cow to have a steak dinner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key artery of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has attracted the attention of researchers and policymakers within and outside Pakistan. A blend of investment-loan-grant model of over US$ 46 billion, CPEC contains projects aimed at building energy and communication infrastructure and industrial zones. Based on the analysis of primary and secondary data, this study aims to answer two questions: first, what are the main socio-economic or geostrategic prospects of CPEC for Pakistan and China? Second, are there any constraints and challenges in the implementation of CPEC projects and how are these going to be addressed? The paper examines CPEC's potential in bringing about socio-economic development in Pakistan and its financial and geostrategic significance for China. It also explores key constraints related to the fragile security situation and the potential of CPEC to further exacerbate the geopolitical situation in the region, particularly in South Asia, where it could intensify tension between Pakistan and India as the latter perceives CPEC as a Chinese geopolitical and security project. In addition, the long-term financial implications of CPEC are assessed, with particular focus on its potential to become a debt trap for Pakistan in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Economic development initiatives following large-scale industrial closures often seek to regenerate the local economy through investment in technology and knowledge-intensive activities. The resulting changes in the make-up of the local workforce are in turn likely to generate new forms of demand for housing; demand that will not necessarily be met by the residential offer of the neighbourhoods worst affected by the initial closure. This paper explores these processes through a study of the proposals for a science park as a component of the programme to redevelop the Longbridge site in Birmingham in the UK, following the closure of the Rover automotive plant in 2005. The paper examines the capacity of local workers to take up the anticipated high-technology jobs; the likely configuration of an incoming workforce; and the fit between the housing requirements of these new workers and the residential offer of neighbourhoods in the Longbridge area. It concludes that there is likely to be a poor match between the housing and residential characteristics of neighbourhoods most closely associated with the plant closure and the requirements of an incoming high-tech workforce. This in turn raises a policy dilemma. On the one hand there is a necessity to secure economic diversification for the local economy as a whole, whilst on the other is the requirement to address the specific needs of the discrete neighbourhoods most affected by the closure and whose quality of place offer is often furthest from the requirements of the incoming workforce. A number of policy implications are discussed, drawing on the experience of recent housing and regeneration policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents panel estimates for 18 Western Europe countries to ascertain the separate impacts of domestic and transnational terrorism on income per capita growth for 1971–2004. The paper merges domestic and transnational terrorist events in order to attribute growth impacts to the two broad categories of terrorism. Each additional transnational terrorist incident per million persons reduces economic growth by about 0.4 percentage points. Domestic terrorism has a much smaller effect on growth that is about half this size. Terrorism's negative impact on growth is related to the scale of terrorism in the sample countries in order to give a better idea of what is the average consequence in most sample countries. These negative impacts are shown to stem from domestic and transnational terrorism's adverse influence on investment shares. Counterterrorism efforts also augment government spending, which crowds out growth-promoting investment. We show that the pathway by which domestic and transnational terrorism influences growth differs. For example, transnational terrorism works more through the crowding out of investment, while domestic terrorism works more through the increase in government expenditure increases. A host of sensitivity tests are performed to support our empirical model. Policy recommendations conclude the paper – e.g., measures to curb transnational terrorist attacks have a higher economic payoff than similar measures to reduce domestic terrorist events. Since transnational terrorism has a larger impact on income per capita growth than does domestic terrorism, West European efforts to curb transnational terrorism will have a greater economic dividend than efforts to limit domestic terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS patients has become a standard in developed countries and a generally accepted objective in developing countries. Major funding agencies, such as USAID and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, are supporting ART programmes in developing countries as a non-negotiable element of a basic health care package. Recently a few papers have challenged whether this investment is rational as ART is expensive and the long-term consequences of resistance cannot be neglected. This paper intends to contribute to this discussion from a health economic perspective. It analyses the opportunity costs, the sustainability and the ethics of ART as well as the absorption capacity of existing health care services in developing countries. There is no justification for the so-called “exceptionality” of HIV/AIDS. ART might be an essential element of a basic health care package, but it should pass the same procedure as any other intervention to be included into the basic package. Financing a comprehensive health care package would require more international input—an important vision of a “Global Fund to Promote Health” as the offspring of the existing Global Fund. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to analyze the impact of agricultural investments on economic growth in rural communities in Romania. It answers the question: are the investments in agriculture a determinant of economic growth in rural communities, and if yes, what is their impact on economic growth? The objectives are to identify, through linear regression models, the intensity and meaning of the relationships between the value of investments and the main indicators that can express economic growth in rural areas. In this purpose, the level of relationships between the value of investments in agriculture and the value of GDP in predominantly rural areas, the value of GDP in agriculture and the value of the agricultural production are analyzed. The main results show that the variables chosen are influenced by the value of the investments in different proportions, so the hypothesis that investment in agriculture has a positive and medium impact on rural economic growth is true. The most significant relationship is obtained between the value of agricultural investments and the value of agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of foreign capital inflows on economic growth in Nigeria for 1980–2015 period. It employs Autoregressive Distributed Lagged (ARDL)-bounds test, and finds a cointegration relationship between foreign capital inflows and growth. Specifically, foreign portfolio investment has positive impact on growth, while the impact of foreign loans is negative. Nevertheless, foreign direct investment and foreign aid have insignificant impact on growth, suggesting that Nigeria cannot rely on foreign direct investment and foreign aid as vehicles to stimulate growth. Rather, an increase in foreign portfolio investment or reduction in foreign loans has beneficial effects on the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport is frequently seen as the key to regeneration, for it provides businesses and employers with access to resources that they need to operate, and indeed where transport is a constraint on such access, investment may be crucial. Even where existing transport is not evidently a constraint on activity, it may still be outperformed by transport in competing localities. Some of the resources employers need -- such as a good workforce -- may be in limited supply and, if employers in one area have good access to them, this may imply that employers elsewhere do not. A consequence of this can be that some forms of well-intentioned investment can have unexpected distributional effects, even if their contribution to the national economy is positive. This paper discusses how and why this might happen, illustrating the argument with a model developed to explore how the balance of advantage and disadvantage can play out among competing locations over time. This model -- the Urban Dynamic Model -- has been used to support work being done for the Northern Way regeneration initiative, where it has shown how strategic approaches to transport can shape patterns of employment activity, sometimes to the gain of one area and the loss of another, depending on the patterns of connectivity provided. Following a brief discussion of the key issues, the paper provides an outline description of the model and how it was used to test two contrasting transport strategies in northern England. The summary indicates lessons that can apply in the case study and more widely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent issue of this journal, Beil et al. (2005, hereafter, BFJ) examined the relationship between telecommunications investment and economic growth in the United States over the period 1947-1996. Based on results from Granger-Sims test, BFJ conclude that '... investment by telecommunications firms is caused by, but does not cause, economic activity, and the findings are robust across lag lengths'. However, using another version of the Granger causality test due to Toda & Yamamoto (1995) and the same data set transformed into natural logarithms, the evidence in this paper indicates a feedback where there was a bi-directional causality between telecommunications investment and economic growth. This seems to suggest that policies aimed at stimulating the US economy by accelerating investment in the telecommunications sector may be successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we contribute to the literature on the determinants of foreign direct investment in developing countries and re-evaluate the role of the quality of institutions on FDI independently of the general level of development. We implement cross-section estimations based on a newly available database with unprecedented detail on institutions for a set of 52 countries, as well as panel data estimations based on Fraser Institute's data. Furthermore, we control for the correlation between institutions and GDP per capita and for endogeneity of institutions. Finally, we evaluate whether the similarity of institutions between the host and the origin country raises bilateral FDI. We find that a wide range of institutions, including bureaucracy, corruption, but also information, banking sector and legal institutions, do matter for inward FDI independently of GDP per capita. Interestingly, weak capital concentration and strong employment protection tend to reduce inward FDI. Institutional proximity between the origin and the host country also matters, but we find little impact of institutions in the origin country. These results are encouraging in the sense that efforts towards raising the quality of institutions and making them converge towards those of source countries may help developing countries to receive more FDI, independently of the indirect impact of higher GDP per capita. The orders of magnitude found in the paper are large, meaning that moving from a low level to a high level of institutional quality could have as much impact as suddenly becoming a neighbour of a source country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The financial intermediation-growth nexus is a widely studied topic in the literature of development economics. Deepening financial intermediation may promote economic growth by mobilizing more investments, and lifting returns to financial resources, which raises productivity. Relying on provincial panel data from China, this paper attempts to examine if regional productivity growth is accounted for by the deepening process of financial development. Towards this end, an appropriate measurement of financial depth is constructed and then included as a determinant of productivity growth. It finds that a significant and positive nexus exists between financial deepening and productivity growth. Given the divergent pattern of financial deepening between coastal and inland provinces, this finding also helps explain the rising regional disparity in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates breaks in the variability and comovement of output, consumption, and investment in the G-7 economies. In contrast with most other papers on comovement, we test for changes in comovement, allowing for breaks in mean and variance. Despite claims that rising integration among these economies has increased output correlations among them, we find no clear evidence of an increase in correlation of growth rates of output, consumption, or investment. This finding is true even for the United States and Canada, which have seen a tremendous increase in bilateral trade shares, and for the euro-area members of the G-7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore whether broadband investment by municipalities has an effect on economic growth. To do so, we employ an econometric model to compare economic growth between counties in the State of Florida. Our econometric model shows that Lake County – a small county in central Florida – has experienced significantly greater growth in economic activity relative to comparable Florida counties since making its municipal fiber-optic network generally available to businesses and municipal institutions in the county. Our findings are consistent with other analyses that postulate that broadband infrastructure can be a significant contributor to economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]