Are MENA Countries Reaping the Benefits of Inflows?
A comparative analysis of migrants’ remittances and FDI flows
Magda Kandil & Ida Aghdas Mirzaie
Volume 10, Number 3, 2009, pages 159 - 192
Using data for a sample of developing countries, we analyse the effects of external flows, namely migrants’ remittances and FDI flows, on real output growth, price inflation and components of aggregate demand. The historical evidence indicates unstable patterns of FDI inflows to a sample of nine MEN ... Read more
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Reasons for Remitting
Oded Stark
Volume 10, Number 3, 2009, pages 147 - 158
This article presents a set of reflections on what gives rise to remittances, which constitute a major part of the impact of migration on economic development in the migrants’ own countries. The collage of reasons presented serves to illustrate that remittance behaviour is the outcome of an intricat ... Read more
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The New Economic Powers (NEPs)
Leadership opportunities post-crisis
Danny Leipziger & William O’Boyle
Volume 10, Number 3, 2009, pages 43 - 80
In the wake of the global financial and economic crises, much attention has been focused on large developing economies, particularly the BRICs, and their role in the new economic landscape. Focusing on trends in demographics and output, the emergence of the BRICs crystallised the notion that there w ... Read more
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The Great Moderation and the New Business Cycle
Ann Spehar
Volume 10, Number 1, 2009
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The Banking Crisis and Inequality
Tim Lankester
Volume 10, Number 1, 2009
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An Expanded Concept of Capital in Development Economics
Luc Noiset
Volume 9, Number 4, 2008, pages 201 - 208
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Perspectives on Inclusive Development
Concepts, approaches and current issues
Michael Chibba
Volume 9, Number 4, 2008, pages 145 - 158
The pursuit of inclusive development raises numerous questions and challenges
for academics, practitioners and policymakers. To demystify the subject and
move towards addressing the challenges, this paper first highlights the concept
of inclusive development. Next, the key approaches as advanced ... Read more
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How can Korea Raise its Future Potential Growth Rate?
Elena Ianchovichina & Danny Leipziger
Volume 9, Number 4, 2008, pages 129 - 144
Korea has achieved tremendous economic progress over the last three and a half
decades, but in recent years growth has slowed down, and looking forward, most
forecasters expect potential growth to decline substantially. The authors’ analysis
of the key factors determining potential growth in Kore ... Read more
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Missing Out on Industrial Revolution
Eric Jones
Volume 9, Number 4, 2008, pages 101 - 128
Explanations of industrialisation stress England’s nineteenth-century abrupt
departure from a common Eurasian pattern. This paper examines the preceding
de-industrialisation of Southern England and limited development of Tokugawa
Japan (the shogunate that ruled Japan from 1600–1868), which throw ... Read more
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The West and the Rest in the World Economy: 1000–2030
Maddisonian and Malthusian interpretations
Angus Maddison
Volume 9, Number 4, 2008, pages 75 - 100
This paper analyses the forces determining per capita income levels of nations
over the past millennium and the prospects to 2030. In the year 1000 AD,
Asian countries were in the lead. By 1820, per capita GDP in Western Europe
and the US was twice the Asian average. The divergence had grown much ... Read more
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International Comparisons of GDP
Is there an alternative to PPPs to obtain real GDP estimates?
Elio Lancieri
Volume 9, Number 3, 2008, pages 177 - 210
The recent publication by the World Bank of PPP-GDP estimates for 2005, referred to 146 countries, seems a good occasion to reopen the long-standing debate on the use of Purchasing Power Parities. While theoretical speculations on the subject have continued, no estimates were supplied for more than ... Read more
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The Wealth and Poverty of Nations
François Bourguignon on fifty years of economic development and the elusive quest for sustained growth
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 9, Number 3, 2008, pages 123 - 176
François Bourguignon was Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, Development Economics, at the World Bank before taking up his current position as Director of the Paris School of Economics. He is one of the world’s leading economists in the field of economic growth and development, in particular ... Read more
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Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries
No consensus but plenty of solutions
Michael Chibba
Volume 9, Number 1, 2008, pages 197 - 200
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Three Cheers for the 'Progressive State'
Ben Friedman on the moral consequences of economic growth
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 9, Number 1, 2008, pages 97 - 146
Ben Friedman is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading macroeconomists. His research and publications have focused on monetary and fiscal policy, and the key role that financial markets play in influencing how macroeconomic policies impact on aggregate economic activity. Professor Friedman’ ... Read more
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Growth Strategies and Dynamics
Insights from country experiences
Mohamed A. El-Erian & A. Michael Spence
Volume 9, Number 1, 2008, pages 57 - 96
The paper examines the challenges that developing countries face in accelerating and sustaining growth. The cases of China and India are examined to illustrate a more general phenomenon which might be called model uncertainty. As a developing economy grows, its market and regulatory institutions cha ... Read more
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Leonardo Martinez-Diaz on Carol Lancaster, Foreign Aid: Diplomacy, Development, Domestic Politics
Volume 8, Number 4, 2007, pages 197 - 201
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Tim Lankester on Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It
Volume 8, Number 3, 2007, pages 195 - 199
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Monetary Policy, Governance and Economic Development
The Botswana experience
Michael Chibba
Volume 8, Number 3, 2007, pages 111 - 129
Botswana is at a crossroads, as economic growth has slowed significantly in recent years while social problems remain largely unresolved. Exacerbating this situation is a monetary policy in crisis as over a decade of generally high interest rates have failed to address inflationary pressures. Thus, ... Read more
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The Power of Ideas
Joel Mokyr on the intellectual origins of the Industrial Revolution and modern economic growth
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 8, Number 3, 2007, pages 53 - 110
Joel Mokyr is one of the world’s leading economic historians, known internationally for his numerous publications on the history of technology and the Industrial Revolution. He has also written extensively on demographic issues and Irish economic history. In this interview, Professor Mokyr discusses ... Read more
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The Future of North Korea is South Korea
(Or hope springs eternal)
Marcus Noland
Volume 8, Number 3, 2007, pages 27 - 52
North Korea's famine was in significant part a product of state failure, and unleashed an unintended grassroots process of marketization. Reforms undertaken in 2002 are more usefully interpreted as a response to this development than as a pro-active attempt to improve efficiency, and the government’ ... Read more
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How to Tackle Poverty
Economists are closing in on the answers
Diane Coyle
Volume 8, Number 3, 2007, pages 1 - 5
There has been an unprecedented political focus on economic development and poverty reductions since the Gleneagles Summit of 2005, yet it seems economists have been unable to agree on how to capitalise on the opportunity. Is more aid the solution? Or the problem? This article argues that, beyond th ... Read more
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Fabian Eser on Joseph Stiglitz et al., Stability with Growth: Macroeconomics, Liberalization and Development FREE ARTICLE
Volume 8, Number 2, 2007, pages 281 - 284
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Losses and Gains to Developing Countries from the Migration of Educated Workers
An overview of recent research, and new reflections
Oded Stark & C. Simon Fan
Volume 8, Number 2, 2007, pages 259 - 269
This paper synthesizes and extends recent research on “The New Economics of the Brain Drain”. In a unified framework, the paper shows that while recently identified adverse repercussions of the brain drain exacerbate the long-recognized negative impact of the brain drain, longer-term consequences tu ... Read more
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Prospects for Commodity Exporters
Hunky Dory or Humpty Dumpty?
Paul Collier & Benedikt Goderis
Volume 8, Number 2, 2007, pages 1 - 15
Those low-income countries that export non-agricultural commodities are in the midst of a resource transfer. It is undoubtedly the biggest opportunity for transformative development that these societies have experienced, dwarfing both aid and previous commodity booms. To get it in proportion, in 200 ... Read more
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Shalendra D. Sharma on the Sachs–Easterly debate.
Can Massive Foreign Aid Eliminate Extreme Poverty?
Volume 8, Number 1, 2007, pages 245 - 253
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Book Review
Carol Graham on William Easterly, The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good
Volume 7, Number 4, 2006, pages 251 - 253
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Education in a Globalized World
David E. Bloom
Volume 7, Number 4, 2006, pages 87 - 109
The arguments in favor of education rest on various premises: legal and humanitarian—that children are entitled to an education as a basic human right; economic—that countries will advance faster when people are educated; social and political-that education is essential for building cohesive, equita ... Read more
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Making Fiscal Space Happen!
Managing fiscal policy in a world of scaled-up aid
Peter S. Heller, Menachem Katz, Xavier Debrun, Theo Thomas, Taline Koranchelian & Isabell Adenauer
Volume 7, Number 3, 2006, pages 89 - 132
Debt relief and the scaling up of aid to low-income countries should allow for increased fiscal space for expenditure programs to spur long-term growth and reduce poverty. But as discussed in Peter Heller’s article “Pity the Finance Minister” (World Economics, Vol. 6, No. 4), designing a suit ... Read more
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What Could Brake China’s Rapid Ascent in the World Economy?
Friedrich Wu
Volume 7, Number 3, 2006, pages 63 - 87
There has been much hype about China’s rapid ascent in the world economy. For instance, economists from Goldman Sachs and the OECD have predicted that the Chinese economy will overtake the Japanese and the US economies well before the mid–21st century. However, these optimistic, straight-line projec ... Read more
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The Economic Growth of East Asia and Latin America in Comparative Perspective
Lessons for development policy
Anthony Elson
Volume 7, Number 2, 2006, pages 97 - 114
This paper attempts to identify key factors that can account for the divergent economic performance of East Asia and Latin America during the second half of the 20th century. Within the triad of so-called “deep determinants” of economic growth (geography, policy and institutions), the paper argues t ... Read more
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Understanding China’s Economic Transformation
Are there lessons here for the developing world?
Daniel W. Bromley & Yang Yao
Volume 7, Number 2, 2006, pages 73 - 95
Economic change is a process of continual adjustment to new circumstances. Economies are always in the process of becoming. Good economic policy entails pragmatic adjustment so that economic dystrophy is avoided. The experience of economic (institutional) reform in China since 1978 is drawn on—and e ... Read more
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Russia at the Crossroads
Padma Desai on transition, reform, and the legacy of Yeltsin’s ‘kamikaze crew’
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 7, Number 2, 2006, pages 11 - 71
To set the interview in context, Brian Snowdon first traces out some important landmarks in twentieth-century Russian/Soviet Union history. In the conversation that follows, Professor Desai gives her views on a number of key issues relating to the decline of the Soviet system and problems of Russia’ ... Read more
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Comment
Phillip Crowson on the ‘death of distance’ and natural resource-based economic development in history.
Volume 7, Number 1, 2006, pages 185 - 187
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The Enduring Elixir of Economic Growth
Xavier Sala-i-Martin on the wealth and poverty of nations
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 7, Number 1, 2006, pages 73 - 130
“I think that the most important question that an economist can ask is, What is it that makes a country grow? More than anything else it is economic growth that affects human welfare…this is why it must remain a major research interest for economists.” In this interview Xavier Sala-i-Martin—w ... Read more
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Can Iraq Overcome the Oil Curse?
Robert E. Looney
Volume 7, Number 1, 2006, pages 21 - 44
A growing literature suggests that the oil sector and the allocation of its revenues is the critical variable in shaping both the economic structure and political systems of countries like Iraq. For the most part this literature focuses on the so-called “oil curse” or the “paradox of plenty.” ... Read more
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Making Capitalism Work for Everyone
Raghuram Rajan & Luigi Zingales
Volume 7, Number 1, 2006, pages 1 - 10
There is a widespread belief that free markets do not benefit the common person, let alone the poor: they are only an instrument for the rich to get richer. Not only is this belief false, but in fact the opposite is true. Free markets are the single most important tools to eliminate poverty and spre ... Read more
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Brazil’s Economy Under Lula
The dawn of a new era?
Edmund Amann
Volume 6, Number 4, 2005, pages 149 - 169
In this article Edmund Amann analyses the recent performance of the Brazilian economy, the largest in South America. For a number of years it has been clear that Brazil, despite substantial natural resource endowments and a talented and entrepreneurial population, has failed to match the growth perf ... Read more
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Monetary Policy, Macro-stability and Growth
South Africa’s recent experience and lessons
Janine Aron & John Muellbauer
Volume 6, Number 4, 2005, pages 123 - 147
There is greater appreciation now amongst economists of the negative effect of uncertainty on investment, growth and equality, especially when credit constraints are widespread. This implies an important linkage between the transparency and predictability of the policy environment, and growth and eq ... Read more
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Measuring Global Poverty Right
Mission impossible?
M. G. Quibria
Volume 6, Number 4, 2005, pages 111 - 121
The international community is committed to millennium development goals which postulate a vision of global development that makes eliminating poverty and sustaining development the overriding objective of global development efforts. In the hierarchy of the MDGs, the first and foremost goal is to re ... Read more
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“Pity the Finance Minister”
Issues in managing a substantial scaling up of aid flows
Peter S. Heller
Volume 6, Number 4, 2005, pages 69 - 110
Substantial scaling up of aid flows will require development partners to address many issues, including the impact of higher aid flows on the competitiveness of aid recipients, the management of fiscal and monetary policy, the delivery of public services, behavioral incentives, and the rate of growt ... Read more
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A Global Compact to End Poverty
Jeffrey Sachs on stabilisation, transition and weapons of mass salvation
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 6, Number 4, 2005, pages 11 - 68
Brian Snowdon presents the text of a two-hour interview conducted with Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University—a wide-ranging discussion relating to Professor Sachs’s work over the past thirty years on macroeconomic stabilisation, the economics of transition, and several important issues in the fiel ... Read more
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To What Extent Should Less-Developed Countries Enforce Intellectual Property Rights?
Gilles Saint-Paul
Volume 6, Number 3, 2005, pages 175 - 196
This paper discusses a number of issues in the context of the debate on intellectual property in less developed countries (LDCs). It starts by discussing the consequences of IP enforcement in LDCs for global innovation and welfare in poorer countries. It then considers the costs and benefits of IP e ... Read more
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Natural Resource-Based Economic Development in History
Edward B. Barbier
Volume 6, Number 3, 2005, pages 103 - 152
The role of natural resources in fostering economic development is examined for key historical epochs, from the agricultural revolution in 8,000 BC to the present. Natural resource exploitation has been important to development for most of global history. Depending on which epoch is examined, resour ... Read more
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The Economics of Happiness
Insights on globalization from a novel approach
Carol Graham
Volume 6, Number 3, 2005, pages 41 - 55
The economics of happiness is an approach to assessing welfare that combines economists’ techniques with those of psychologists, and relies on more expansive notions of utility than does conventional economics. Research based on this approach highlights the factors—in addition to income—that affect ... Read more
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The ‘Death of Distance’
What does it mean for economic development?
Nicholas Crafts
Volume 6, Number 3, 2005, pages 1 - 14
This paper considers the implications of falling transport and communications costs for the spread of economic activity around the world. The evidence suggests that location has been and continues to be an important determinant of income levels. The Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) ... Read more
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Migration and Development
A new research and policy agenda
Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah
Volume 6, Number 2, 2005, pages 141 - 146
There is growing interest in the impacts of international migration on economic development. Yet, despite a burgeoning literature, some of the most fundamental questions in this area remain unanswered. This article suggests five priorities for devising better methodologies for understanding the impa ... Read more
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The New Economics of the Brain Drain
Oded Stark
Volume 6, Number 2, 2005, pages 137 - 140
For nearly four decades now, the conventional wisdom has been that the migration of human capital (skilled workers) from a developing country to a developed country is detrimental to the developing country. However, this perception need not hold. A well-designed migration policy can result in a “bra ... Read more
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Rethinking Development Effectiveness
Facts, issues and policies
M. G. Quibria
Volume 6, Number 1, 2005, pages 101 - 117
This article reviews some recent research on aid effectiveness. An important
finding of this research is that foreign aid has been much more effective than is
generally presumed. It also suggests that the current aid allocation policy of
development agencies, based on selectivity, has a fragile e ... Read more
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International Comparisons of GDP
Issues of theory and practice
Ian Castles & David Henderson
Volume 6, Number 1, 2005, pages 55 - 84
When it comes to making international comparisons of real GDP, different views,
conventions and practices are still in evidence. The authors set out the case for
using purchasing power parity (PPP) converters for this purpose, rather than
conversions based on exchange rates, and give reasons for ... Read more
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Keynes, Globalisation and the Bretton Woods Institutions in the Light of Changing Ideas about Markets
Robert Skidelsky
Volume 6, Number 1, 2005, pages 15 - 30
For most of the twentieth century, pessimism about, and hostility to, markets was
prevalent and this pulled in an anti-globalist direction. Indeed, the global
institutions set up in 1944 were constructed by two market pessimists, John
Maynard Keynes, on whom this article concentrates, and Harry D ... Read more
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The Influence of Political Distortions on Economic Performance
The contributions of Alberto Alesina
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 5, Number 4, 2004, pages 91 - 136
Alberto Alesina is the Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economy and
Chairman of the Department of Economics at Harvard University. In this
interview he discusses with Brian Snowdon his views on several important
contemporary issues, including politics and the business cycle, budget deficits ... Read more
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Governance Matters
The role of governance in Asian economic development
David E. Bloom, David Steven & Mark Weston
Volume 5, Number 4, 2004, pages 53 - 78
In recent years there has been a surge of interest in governance: good governance
increasingly is seen as a vital adjunct to successful development efforts. This paper
attempts to explain what governance is and why it is important, and assess which
forms of governance are likely to best support a ... Read more
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Responsible Growth to 2050
Kirk Hamilton & Ian Johnson
Volume 5, Number 4, 2004, pages 33 - 51
At plausible rates of growth in population and income per capita, world GDP in
2050 could be four times what it is today. This paper considers the benefits this
growth can provide, the risks that it presents, and the building blocks required to
achieve it. The authors argue that “business as usua ... Read more
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Asian Drama
The pursuit of modernisation in India and Indonesia
Tim Lankester
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 75 - 93
The now largely forgotten book Asian Drama: An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations
by Swedish social scientist Gunnar Myrdal was published in 1968. Myrdal called
his book “Asian Drama” because of the tensions he saw being played out in Asia
between modern ideals and the traditional. But th ... Read more
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Globalisation, Economic Progress and New Millennium Collectivism
A review article
David Henderson
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 43 - 73
Three major studies of globalisation and its effects have recently been published.
One of these is the report of an international commission of eminent persons.
The other two are books by leading economists, one by Jagdish Bhagwati and the
other by Martin Wolf. David Henderson comments on all the ... Read more
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The G-20 and the World Economy
C Fred Bergsten
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 27 - 36
‘Globalisation’ is under attack throughout the world. However, no country has
ever developed successfully without participating actively in the global economy.
Countries and even whole regions that have failed to globalise, or which have
‘de-globalised’, have lagged. What is needed is more openne ... Read more
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The Bourgeois Virtues
Deirdre McCloskey
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 1 - 16
‘Bourgeois virtue’ is not a contradiction in terms. The age of capitalism has
enormously enriched the world. But the enrichment is by no means only
material. The virtues enabled capitalist development; but a bourgeois life also
encouraged new versions of old virtues; and gave scope for varied liv ... Read more
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Fifty Years of Economic Growth in Western Europe
No longer catching up but falling behind?
Nicholas Crafts
Volume 5, Number 2, 2004, pages 131 - 145
Productivity growth in virtually all west European countries exceeded that of the
United States throughout the period 1950 to 1995. Since then American
productivity performance has strengthened and that of the EU has weakened.
The most important reason is contrasting experiences with Information ... Read more
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Explaining the ‘Great Divergence’
Daron Acemoglu on how growth theorists rediscovered history and the importance of institutions
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 5, Number 2, 2004, pages 83 - 130
Daron Acemoglu is Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. In this interview he discusses with Brian Snowdon some of his
recent research findings that confirm the key role played by ‘good’ and ‘bad’
institutions in determining the economic performance of countries. He ... Read more
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The Health and Wealth of Africa
David E. Bloom & David Canning
Volume 5, Number 2, 2004, pages 57 - 81
Among Africa’s problems, chronic poverty and poor health stand out. Traditional
development thinking has maintained that health improvements are a
consequence of income growth. But new evidence shows that investing in health,
with the aid of the international community, could make a big differenc ... Read more
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Globalisation and the Asia–Pacific Revival
Arne Bigsten
Volume 5, Number 2, 2004, pages 33 - 55
This paper reviews evidence on the evolution of international economic
integration of Asia–Pacific countries, and discusses the extent to which this
explains their recent growth success. It starts with a review of some theoretical
arguments in the growth and globalisation debate, which is followe ... Read more
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The Quest for Development
What role does history play?
Areendam Chanda & Louis Putterman
Volume 5, Number 2, 2004, pages 1 - 31
It may be no coincidence that those countries that grew most rapidly in the late
twentieth century—including South Korea, China, and, of late, India—were
relatively developed civilizations when Western Europe began its overseas
expansion five centuries ago. In this article the authors explore the ... Read more
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Beyond the Ivory Tower
Stanley Fischer on the economics of contemporary global issues
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 5, Number 1, 2004, pages 67 - 114
Stanley Fischer had a long and distinguished career as an academic economist at
MIT, and was Vice President, Development Economics and Chief Economist at
the World Bank, before becoming First Deputy Managing Director of the
International Monetary Fund in 1994. He is now President of Citigroup
In ... Read more
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Escaping Regulation, Escaping Convention
Development strategies in small economies
Naren Prasad
Volume 5, Number 1, 2004, pages 41 - 65
Contrary to widely held belief, small island countries have many lessons to offer
to other countries and the world community in terms of their development
strategies. This article provides evidence that small island countries are experts at
breaking and distorting global trade rules without being ... Read more
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International Aid
Experience, prospects and the moral case
Tim Lankester
Volume 5, Number 1, 2004, pages 17 - 39
This article describes the main reasons why aid has not been as effective at
addressing the world’s poverty problem as it could have been: lack of will on the
part of donors, inadequate policies and governance on the part of recipients, and
a lack of understanding of development and of how aid wo ... Read more
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Information Technology and the G7 Economies
Dale W. Jorgenson
Volume 4, Number 4, 2003, pages 139 - 169
A powerful surge in investment in information technology and equipment after
1995 characterizes all of the G7 economies. This accounts for a large portion of
the resurgence in US economic growth, but contributes substantially to economic
growth in the remaining G7 economies as well. Another signi ... Read more
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Back to the Future
Jeffrey Williamson on globalisation in history
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 4, Number 4, 2003, pages 95 - 138
Jeffrey Williamson is a leading authority on the economic history of the
international economy. His interests cover a wide area within the field of
economic history and include research on international economic development,
the industrial revolution, industrialisation and de-industrialisation, t ... Read more
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How Demographic Change can Bolster Economic Performance in Developing Countries
David E. Bloom & David Canning
Volume 4, Number 4, 2003, pages 1 - 14
Falling mortality rates spurred by medical, nutritional and lifestyle changes have
spurred a ‘demographic transition’ in a majority of the world’s countries. As couples
realize their children are more likely to survive, they need, and eventually have,
fewer of them to attain their desired family ... Read more
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Hydropower in Bhutan and Nepal
Why the difference?
Jeremy Berkoff
Volume 4, Number 3, 2003, pages 121 - 142
Bhutan and Nepal have followed differing hydropower development strategies.
Bhutan has co-operated with India and power export earnings have helped fund a
broadly successful economic, environmental and social programme. In contrast,
Nepal turned to the World Bank and other donors to fund its powe ... Read more
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In Search of the Holy Grail
William Easterly on the Elusive Quest for Growth and Development
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 4, Number 3, 2003, pages 51 - 92
Having conducted extensive research in the field of economic growth and
development, William Easterly has broad knowledge and expertise on the
problems facing developing countries. While working for the World Bank, he
travelled extensively in Africa, Latin America and Asia, and is well placed to
... Read more
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Is Economic Growth Good For Us?
Nicholas Crafts
Volume 4, Number 3, 2003, pages 35 - 49
This article reviews Britain’s experience of economic growth in the twentieth
century. It argues that average living standards have risen much more rapidly than
is generally appreciated. The main reasons for this include increased life
expectancy which is highly valued by the public and downward ... Read more
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Leadership and Progress
Allan Meltzer
Volume 4, Number 3, 2003, pages 15 - 26
When World War II ended, the United States took the lead in providing political
stability, rules for freer trade, and international financial stability. The ‘Pax
Americana’ worked extremely well. During the postwar years, more people in
more countries increased their living standards by larger am ... Read more
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The Undivided City
James D. Wolfensohn
Volume 4, Number 3, 2003, pages 1 - 13
Two billion people are set to flood into the already crowded cities of the
developing world over the next twenty-five years, mainly to live in the squalid
surroundings of a slum or a shanty town and to endure the consequent effects of
social injustice and division. James Wolfensohn, President of ... Read more
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Global Challenges of Providing Water and Wastewater Services
Paul Seidenstat
Volume 4, Number 1, 2003, pages 133 - 152
A key problem of water is the provision of a safe water supply for domestic use.
Given the characteristics of water as a commodity, the general misuse of the
pricing mechanism, and the economics of developing and operating water and
wastewater systems, governments are faced with the challenge of ... Read more
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Should We Be Globaphobic About Globalisation?
Dani Rodrik on the economic and political implications of increasing international economic integration
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 3, Number 4, 2002, pages 147 - 192
Dani Rodrik is best known for his work on international economics, trade policy,
the institutional foundations of economic development, and the political
economy of economic policy reform. Much of his recent research has been
concerned with the limits and consequences of international economic
i ... Read more
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More Aid—Making It Work for the Poor
Peter S. Heller & Sanjeev Gupta
Volume 3, Number 4, 2002, pages 131 - 146
This paper highlights the economic challenges that would be associated with a
successful effort by industrial countries to meet the goal of devoting 0.7 percent
of their GNP to official development assistance (ODA) to help poor countries. To
help achieve the Millennium Development Goals, enhanced ... Read more
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Continuities and Discontinuities in Global Development
Lessons from new East/West comparisons
Kenneth Pomeranz
Volume 3, Number 4, 2002, pages 73 - 86
Much literature normalises a ‘North Atlantic’ pattern of development, and sees a
regionally specific ‘East Asian’ path emerging relatively recently. However,
development patterns in core regions of Europe and East Asia were surprisingly
similar until almost 1800; Europe’s subsequent divergence wa ... Read more
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Transport, Access and Economic Growth
Karl W. Steininger
Volume 3, Number 2, 2002, pages 75 - 91
Transport and gross domestic product have grown at roughly a one-to-one
relationship in the past. Many decision-makers consider the supply of transport
infrastructure an important ingredient in fostering productivity and economic
growth; some even consider it a prerequisite. This article analyses ... Read more
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Can Africa Catch Up?
Arne Bigsten
Volume 3, Number 2, 2002, pages 17 - 33
The trend towards globalization of the last few decades has been manifested in
the sustained growth of world trade and flows of investment and technology. For
most regions this growing integration has led to rapidly growing per capita
incomes, while Africa has stagnated at the income level achiev ... Read more
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Where Do We Stand On Choosing Exchange Rate Regimes in Developing and Emerging Economies?
Graham Bird
Volume 3, Number 1, 2002, pages 145 - 167
In the midst of a lively debate about international monetary reform at the
beginning of the twenty-first century, there seemed to be a broad consensus
about exchange rate policy in developing and emerging economies; that they
should opt for one of the extremes in the form of either firm fixity or ... Read more
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In Praise of Historical Economics
Bradford DeLong on growth, development and instability
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 3, Number 1, 2002, pages 59 - 100
Professor Bradford DeLong is a leading macroeconomist and economic historian,
and is best known for his work on economic growth, business cycles, finance and
issues relating to international economic history and globalisation. However, his interests and publications cover a vast range of issues an ... Read more
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Measuring Information Technology and Productivity in the New Economy
Kevin J. Stiroh
Volume 3, Number 1, 2002, pages 43 - 58
The growing importance of information technology raises significant challenges
for statisticians and economists. The US national accounts now incorporate
sophisticated measurement tools to capture the rapid rates of technological
change and dramatic improvements in the performance/price ratio of ... Read more
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Championing Free Trade in the Second Age of Globalisation
Jagdish Bhagwati on trade, democracy and growth
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 2, Number 4, 2001, pages 53 - 104
Professor Jagdish Bhagwati is without question one of the world’s leading
economists and an authority on the principles and practice of foreign trade. In his extensive research over the past forty years he has made seminal contributions to trade theory and policy, public finance, the new political ... Read more
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What Happened to the Washington Consensus?
Graham Bird
Volume 2, Number 4, 2001, pages 33 - 51
At the beginning of the 1990s it appeared that there was considerable agreement
about the kind of economic policies that countries turning to the IMF and the
World Bank should pursue. These included macroeconomic stabilisation,
microeconomic liberalisation and openness, and were summarised by the ... Read more
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Policy-Making in Resource-Rich Countries
Lessons from Zambia
Arne Bigsten
Volume 2, Number 3, 2001, pages 139 - 153
Economic development depends upon resource availability, resource allocation,
and the efficiency of resource use. One would presume that countries with an
abundance of natural resources would stand a better chance of developing than
resource-poor countries. Recent experiences in less developed co ... Read more
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NGOs and International Economic Policy-Making
Rights and responsibilities in the global arena
Michael Edwards
Volume 2, Number 3, 2001, pages 127 - 137
NGOs and other citizens’ groups are enjoying an unprecedented upsurge in their
profile and influence in global debates over international economic policy. Public
opinion polls show this to be a popular trend, but the outcome of greater civil
society involvement depends on whose voices are actuall ... Read more
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The Debt-Relief Initiative for Poor Countries
Good news for the poor?
Gustav Ranis & Frances Stewart
Volume 2, Number 3, 2001, pages 111 - 124
This paper reviews the new debt-relief initiative for Highly-Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPCs) designed to reduce the debt burden of potentially 36 poor
countries. It finds that the HIPC initiative is not likely to make a major
contribution to the problems of the world’s poor. It offers limited and ... Read more
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Global Income Inequality
Beliefs, facts and unresolved issues
Arne Melchior
Volume 2, Number 3, 2001, pages 87 - 108
While several international organisations have argued that income gaps between
countries have increased during the last decades, the opposite conclusion is
obtained if countries are weighted according to their population size, and if price-level-adjusted income data are applied. Inequality measure ... Read more
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Wealth as a Criterion for Sustainable Development
Partha Dasgupta & Karl-Göran Mäler
Volume 2, Number 3, 2001, pages 19 - 44
In this article the authors define sustainable development as an economic
programme along which social well-being does not decline over time. It can be
shown that the requirement is equivalent to the maintenance of a comprehensive
measure of wealth, where an economy’s wealth is defined to be the ... Read more
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Economic Globalisation
How far and how much further?
Ramkishen Rajan & Graham Bird
Volume 2, Number 3, 2001, pages 1 - 18
The concept of globalisation has received a great deal of popular attention in
recent years. However, the term is often used quite loosely. When defined to
mean closer international economic integration, the evidence shows that the
extent of globalisation may easily be exaggerated. This article e ... Read more
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Wanted: Measures of Economic Change
Ralph Turvey
Volume 2, Number 2, 2001, pages 191 - 196
Economic growth may involve change, but there can be change without
economic growth insofar as outputs of some products or employment in some
regions or industries grows while there are equal decreases elsewhere. National
accounts data do not reveal such shifts, yet they may involve investment an ... Read more
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Latin America: The Long and Winding Road to Growth
Federico Foders
Volume 2, Number 2, 2001, pages 143 - 162
This paper reviews recent economic reforms carried out in Latin America and
relates them to the long-run economic trends in the region. After a brief overview
of growth and income distribution patterns of Latin American countries in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the paper addresses some ... Read more
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Is the Internet Better than Electricity?
Martin Brookes & Zaki Wahhaj
Volume 2, Number 2, 2001, pages 53 - 72
This article looks at the economic impact of electrification in the United States to
gain insights about the possible consequences of today’s information
technologies. A close study reveals that electrification significantly raised
productivity growth by spurring a redesign of the optimal factory ... Read more
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IMF Programmes: Is there a conditionality Laffer Curve?
Graham Bird
Volume 2, Number 2, 2001, pages 29 - 49
The long-standing debate over IMF conditionality has received a new lease of
life in the context of the debate over a new international financial architecture.
Conditionality has increased in recent years and some proposals for reform envisage a continuation of this trend. However, by emphasising ... Read more
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The Emerging Northeast–Southeast Asia Divide and Policy Implications
Friedrich Wu
Volume 2, Number 1, 2001, pages 169 - 180
Since the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis in mid-1997, the gulf between the Northeast Asian economies and Southeast Asian economies has widened as measured by GDP growth rates and size, direct and portfolio investment flows,
stock market capitalisation and trading turnover, as well as foreig ... Read more
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Russia’s Post-Communist Economy
Peter Oppenheimer & Brigitte Granville
Volume 2, Number 1, 2001, pages 149 - 168
Ten years after the break-up of the Soviet Union, Russia’s measured output was still showing a net decline of around 40 per cent – but with no comparable
decline in average living standards, both because the output drop affected mainly the defence sectors and because Russia’s participation in inter ... Read more
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How Clear is the Crystal Ball?
Reflections on the accuracy of growth forecasts
Prakash Loungani
Volume 2, Number 1, 2001, pages 1 - 8
Two salie nt features of growth forecasts are discussed. First, recessions generally arrive before the forecast. Slowdowns are predicted but forecasters are unable or unwilling to call recessions. Second, private sector forecasts tend to be similar to those of official agencies. Some tips for foreca ... Read more
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From Rags to Riches
Ireland’s economic boom
Brendan Walsh
Volume 1, Number 4, 2000, pages 113 - 133
This article explores the factors behind the Irish
economic renaissance of the 1990s. These include the fiscal correction of the 1980s, the availability of an ample supply of well-educated labour, a
competitive exchange rate, and the inflow of EU aid. The reintroduction of ‘social
partnership’ is ... Read more
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Hardship and Happiness
Mobility and public perceptions during market reforms
Carol Graham & Stefano Pettinato
Volume 1, Number 4, 2000, pages 73 - 112
This paper focuses on an age-old puzzle: why some societies peacefully tolerate high levels of inequality and others do not. The authors posit that opportunity and mobility over time are as important as current distributions are to the explanation. Assessments of past mobility and future expectatio ... Read more
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Goods and Bads
Ralph Turvey
Volume 1, Number 4, 2000, pages 1 - 13
There is a high degree of symmetry between economic goods
and economic bads. Snow, litter and street mud are cited as examples. Economic growth obviously results in an increase in the supply of bads as well as goods.
In addition, however, because it raises the value of time it can turn goods into ... Read more
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The International Economic System in the Twentieth Century
An interview with Barry Eichengreen
Brian Snowdon
Volume 1, Number 3, 2000, pages 39 - 60
This wide-ranging discussion takes in globalisation, the causes of the Great Depression (and the likelihood of future recurrences), the Marshall Plan and post-war European recovery, growth in the 1950s and 60s followed by the problems of the 70s, and the strengths and weaknesses of the current inter ... Read more
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Response to Professor Bird
Allan Meltzer
Volume 1, Number 3, 2000, pages 31 - 37
Allan Meltzer responds to Graham Bird’s article "Sins Of The Commission: The Meltzer Report On International Financial Institutions" [World Economics, Vol.1, No.3, July-September 2000]. In that article, Bird argued that the International Financial Institutions Advisory Commission’s conclusion ... Read more
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Sins of the Commission
The Meltzer Report on international financial institutions
Graham Bird
Volume 1, Number 3, 2000, pages 17 - 29
In the aftermath of the East Asian financial crisis there has been much discussion of a new international financial architecture. A significant contribution to this debate is the Report of the International Financial Institution Advisory Commission, sponsored by the US Congress, which was chaired b ... Read more
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False Attack
Misrepresenting the Human Development Report and misunderstanding the need for rethinking global governance
Richard Jolly
Volume 1, Number 3, 2000, pages 1 - 15
In this rejoinder to David Henderson’s article "False Perspective: the UNDP view of the world" (World Economics Vol 1 No 1 January-March 2000), Richard Jolly, former special adviser to the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, argues that Henderson’s criticisms of the UND ... Read more
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Is there a Case for an Asian Monetary Fund?
Graham Bird & Ramkishen Rajan
Volume 1, Number 2, 2000, pages 135 - 143
The East Asian financial crisis has spawned a number of proposals for institutional reform. Some envisage reforming existing institutions, particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while others suggest that new institutions are needed. Amongst them is the idea of establishing an Asian Mone ... Read more
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Proposals for a better International Financial System
Stephany Griffith-Jones
Volume 1, Number 2, 2000, pages 111 - 133
This paper analyses three essential functions of global financial market management that currently are not properly met, and could best be met by new institutional developments: 1. prudential regulation; 2. provision of official liquidity to countries or markets in crises; and 3. emergency orderly w ... Read more
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Prophesies of Doom at the Turn of the Millennium
A critical review of the fallacies about the end of work
Mauricio Rojas
Volume 1, Number 1, 2000, pages 21 - 38
Predictions about the "end of work" are widespread. A growing body of literature argues that growth is destroying more jobs than it created. New technology and globalisation are syndicated as the causes of this development that in the long run will condemn the majority of mankind to exclusion and po ... Read more
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False Perspective: The UNDP View of the World
David Henderson
Volume 1, Number 1, 2000, pages 1 - 19
Despite some searching and unanswered criticisms of its treatment of statistical evidence, the UNDP Human Development Report has become established as a widely-quoted and influential survey of the world scene. The 1999 Report, reviewed here, focuses on ‘globalization’. This is described as a dominan ... Read more
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