Tunisia after the 2011’s revolution: Economic deterioration should,and could have been avoided

The political instability and social unrest in Tunisia since 2011, generated a short-term foresight of the macroeconomic management which contributed to the deterioration of the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals. The objective of this paper is to provide the policy makers with quantitative arguments showing the importance to undertake the macroeconomic stabilization and the structural reforms that improve the total factor productivity, one of the main engines of a sustained economic growth. To that end, the paper employs a financial dynamic general equilibrium model calibrated using six flow-of-funds accounts representing the Tunisian economy in 2010. In a first stage, I reproduce the main macroeconomic variables observed for the Tunisian economy over 2011–2018. In a second stage, the model is used to compare the impacts of counterfactual policy scenarios on the Tunisian macroeconomic performance. The results show that the economy could perform much better, in relation to a battery of macroeconomic indicators (economic growth, unemployment, public external and domestic debts, current account, fiscal balance) under alternative economic policies. The most insightful results are obtained under the scenario of a total factor productivity’s growth progressing at its average level of 2001–2010. Indeed, this could generate an average yearly gain in terms of GDP growth of 3.45 percentage points and a reduction of the average unemployment rate by 7 percentage points over the same time horizon.     

广西区域经济增长趋同与分异研究——基于广西14个城市的实证分析

以新古典经济增长的α趋同和β趋同理论为基础,依据1995～2010年广西14个城市的人均GDP,采用回归分析方法,对广西区域经济增长过程中存在的趋同和分异现象进行实证研究。研究发现,在检验期内广西区域整体上存在α趋同和绝对β趋同,在加入人口增长率、工业化水平、外贸依存度和固定资产投资率等控制变量后存在条件β趋同,但在某些时间阶段却存在经济增长的分异。根据广西经济增长的趋同与分异变化规律,提出了促进广西区域经济发展一体化的对策与建议。     

Regime-specific impact of financial reforms on economic growth in Pakistan

This study uses and proposes a new methodological approach to construct a financial liberalization index on the basis of the dynamic factor model technique. The resulting index is used to investigate the impact of the financial sector reforms in Pakistan on economic growth. Using the Markov regime-switching model over the period 1972–2015, the empirical results showed that the examined relationship is nonlinear, nonmonotonic, state-dependent, and better described by the two-state Markov switching model characterized by the high growth regime and low growth regime. Despite the positive impact of financial liberalization on economic growth in both the high and low growth regimes, financial liberalization relatively strongly affects real GDP growth in the high growth regime. The results further demonstrate that transition probabilities establish an inordinate episode of the low growth regime. Furthermore, the high growth regime is relatively short-lived than the low growth regime. Among the other variables, trade openness and physical capital stock have a positive impact on economic growth, while labor force and government expenditure exert a negative effect on economic growth. Several economic policies are proposed and discussed for better functioning of financial sector development in Pakistan.     

North-South relations: Alternative policy simulations for the world economy in the 1980s

This article makes projections of the world economy in the North-South context for the period 1981–1990 using a latest global version of a macroeconomic model named FUGI-GNEM type IV 011–62. The model classifies the world into 62 countries/regions, where the North-South interdependence is incorporated into an integral part of the world economy through international economic linkages. Based on alternative simulations, the author presents future images of the North-South interdependent world economy through changes in economic growth rates, employment, wages, prices, money supply, interest rates, public finance, trade, capital movement, international balance of payments, foreign exchange rates, etc., in each country or region. The model forecasts that the real economic growth of the developing countries as a whole in the 1980s will likely be around 4%–7% annual rate according to alternative policy scenarios.     

公共投资、经济增长与腐败的相关问题研究

投资是社会经济发展的动力 ,但腐败的存在 ,极大地影响了投资的绩效和经济发展的质量 ,在公共投资领域的表现尤为明显。为了提高公共投资推动经济增长的绩效 ,必须剔除或弱化腐败对公共投资的消极影响 ,要求在公共投资项目决策与实施过程中 ,设置有效的腐败预防制度     

Effect of financial development on economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines the overall economic growth effect when the growth in finance and real sector is disproportionate relying on panel data for 29 sub-Saharan African countries over the period 1980–2014. Results from the system generalized methods of moments (GMM) reveal that, while financial development supports economic growth, the extent to which finance helps growth depends crucially on the simultaneous growth of real and financial sectors. The elasticity of growth to changes in either size of the real or financial sector is higher under balanced sectoral growth. We also show that rapid and unbridled credit growth comes at a huge cost to economic growth with consequences stemming from financing of risky and unsustainable investments coupled with superfluous consumption fueling inflation. However, the pass-through excess finance–economic growth effect via the investment channel is stronger.     

黑龙江省经济增长的绩效与协整分析:总需求研究

文章在宏观经济理论基础上通过对黑龙江省总需求的理论、逻辑描述和计量经济学的实证分析,表明当黑龙江省的消费每增加1%,则黑龙江省的GDP相应增加0.88%;当黑龙江省的固定资产投资每增加1%,则黑龙江省的GDP相应增加1.8%,固定资产投资对黑龙江省经济增长的贡献是消费对黑龙江省经济增长贡献的两倍还多。在影响黑龙江省经济增长的三个因素中,出口暂时对黑龙江省的经济增长影响不大,固定资产投资对黑龙江省的经济增长影响最大,其次是消费。     

The retrenchment of second‐tier pensions in Hungary and Poland: A precautionary tale

In 1997, Hungary and Poland led Central Europe in partially privatizing their national pension systems, diverting a portion of public pension contributions to privately‐managed individual investment accounts. In the aftermath of the global economic crisis, both governments retrenched these second‐tier schemes: Hungary (December 2010), by ceasing to fund the accounts and recouping most workers' existing balances; and Poland (April 2011), by reducing the diversion of contributions to the second tier. The factors that drove these retrenchments are traced to the original 1997 second‐tier designs, which omitted key specifications related to financing the accounts, private benefit design, and the regulation of private management fees. While both governments tried to compensate for the missing design specifications during implementation, the results were limited. By reducing investment returns and raising borrowing costs, the global economic crisis brought the problems to a head. The conclusion highlights some outstanding issues whose resolution will shape the retrenchments' long‐term impacts.     

Weaving nets: Housing and leadership in two Italian cities

As part of local welfare in Italy, housing policies underwent reforms that emphasized the role of local governments—and cities in particular—in the definition of the problem and in the elaboration of possible solutions. Housing is quite neglected in the political debate, but it is increasingly important for responding to citizens' demands in times of economic crisis. This paper reconstructs the policy process in two Italian cities, Turin (1997–2011) and Florence (1995–2011). The paper argues that policy change in housing can be fostered by a local political leadership that invests ideational, relational, and positional resources in policy making to spread new ideas, build networks of public and private actors at the local level, and attract fiscal resources while taking advantage of windows of opportunity at different institutional levels. Moreover, collaboration with local bureaucratic leadership proves fundamental to promoting innovative policies.     

Poverty reduction effectiveness of public income transfers in South Korea in the wake of the global financial crises: a panel-data analysis

By using a longitudinal data-set from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study, the present study examines the poverty reduction effectiveness of public income transfers in South Korea from 1998 to 2011. Findings indicate that the average poverty rate fell from over 20% between 1998 and 2000, to 14% from 2001 to 2006, rose to 17% by 2008, and declined to 15% in 2011. However, the poverty-rate reduction effectiveness continuously increased from 5.5% in 1998 to 32.8% in 2011. The poverty-gap reduction effectiveness also improved sixfold from 6.8 to 39.6% over the same period.     

Channels of monetary policy transmission in Vietnam

Since the economic reforms launched in 1986, the Vietnamese economy has registered impressive economic growth. While foreign investment is providing much needed capital, through the conduct of monetary policy, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), which is an integral part of the government of Vietnam, is also playing an important role in nurturing the economic growth. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the success of the SBV policies. Monetary policy actions affect all sectors of real economies with a significant lag. Without a good understanding of the transmission mechanism, monetary policy actions may not achieve the desired outcomes. Using quarterly data from 1995 to 2010, this paper focuses on monetary policy transmission mechanisms in Vietnam. Specifically, we consider the dynamic response of the Vietnamese economy to interest rate, exchange rate and foreign shocks. The estimated results based on structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) methodology suggest that monetary shocks tend to have a strong influence on Vietnam’s output. We find that Vietnam’s monetary policy is relatively more susceptible to foreign shocks.     

经济增长:内生增长理论与中国人力资本投资

内生增长理论是现代经济增长理论中的一个核心内容.从长期经济增长率所依赖的路径来看,人力资本和技术进步作为经济增长的内生因素,可以弥补因其他要素收益递减而带来经济增长停滞这一局面.技术进步是由人力资本投资所形成的有效机制而演化成增长动力的一种必然结果.中国技术进步贡献度低下的最主要原因,是由于人力资本投入不足(人力资本积累不足)造成的.在国家财政政策干预下,以内生增长为动力,逐步形成有利于经济增长的物质资本投资向人力资本投资转换的机制.     

宏观税负、公共支出结构与个人主观幸福感 ——兼论“政府转型”

本文利用CGSS2006数据库,对政府转型下的宏观税负、民生财政支出和地区收入差距等与个人主观幸福感的关系进行实证检验后发现：（1）宏观税负对居民主观幸福感有显著负影响;（2）总体而言,政府公共支出增进了居民的主观幸福感;（3）从公共支出结构看,地方政府基建投资对于城镇居民的主观幸福感有显著负效应,政府用于科教文卫和社会保障的支出对居民的主观幸福感有显著正效应;（4）科教文卫支出与社会保障支出对市民与外来人员幸福感的影响存在显著差异。     

On the Two Main Lines of China’s Economic Reform

In the autumn of 1987, the State Commission for Restructuring the Economic System organized eight units including the Research Group of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) to submit reports providing an outline economic reform plan for China for 1988-1995. The CASS Research Group recommended that enterprise reform and pricing and ownership reforms and their operational mechanisms should be carried out alongside each other in a two main lines approach. China’s deepening economic reforms have adhered to these two main lines throughout the last forty years. The first main line includes the revival and development of the individual economy, followed by the private economy, the introduction and utilization of foreign capital, and the reform of public ownership, including the state-owned system. In 1997, the 15th National Congress of the Party proposed the establishment of a socialist basic economic system with public ownership as the main body and simultaneous development of multiple forms of ownership. “Public ownership as the main body” is reflected in the dominance of public assets among total social assets and the fact that the state-owned economy controls the lifeline of the national economy and plays a leading role in economic development. The dominant role of public ownership has not changed in the forty years of reform and opening up. The second main line covers price reform, building a modern market system, reforming macro-control mechanisms and perfecting the macro-control and regulation system. From 1979 to 2017, our GDP grew at an average annual rate of 9.5 percent, while the CPI grew at an average annual rate of less than 5 percent: a perfect match. The two main line approach is in line with the provisions of economic reform in the new era proposed in the report at the 19th National Party Congress, which focuses on improving the property rights system and market-oriented factor allocation. There is no distinction of primary or secondary in the role of the two main lines; both are equally important. They are united in the establishment and improvement of the socialist market economic system.     

Impact of outward foreign direct investment: Evidence from Asia

The study makes an attempt to contribute to the ongoing policy debate on whether OFDI has a complementary or substitution effect on domestic investment and hence, growth. For the purpose, the current paper uses panel data analysis to understand the impact of OFDI for 14 emerging economies in the period 1981–2019. We supplement the cross-country evidence with a time series analysis for India, given that FDI outflows from the country have been steadily increasing over the years. The results confirm the positive effect of OFDI on economic growth, but the substitution effect for domestic investment. This indicates that the OFDI positively affects growth through its effect on trade and other positive spillover effect, rather than domestic investment. However, in case of India, the findings support the complementary effect of OFDI on domestic investment.     

储蓄率与经济增长的关系研究——基于中国1978～2008年间的数据分析

储蓄率在现代经济增长理论中占有极其重要的地位,是影响经济增长率的重要变量,大量实证研究也证实了这一点。基于中国1978～2008年间的数据,采用Granger因果检验来分析储蓄率和经济增长之间的关系,分析结果显示：经济增长率是储蓄率的Granger原因,但储蓄率对经济增长率的影响作用不显著。因此,中国宏观调控政策的重点应当放在启动消费上,适度改善投资结构,加强对可贷资金的引导和规范,保证储蓄向投资转化渠道的畅通。     

The Transnational Organization of Production and Environmental Degradation: A Cross‐National Study of the Effects of Foreign Capital Penetration on Water Pollution Intensity, 1980–1995*

Objective. This study attempts to increase our understanding of the environmental impacts of the transnational organization of production in the context of foreign capital penetration. Methods. With a sample of 53 countries, panel analyses using OLS and robust regression are conducted to assess the effects of foreign direct investment in the manufacturing sector on growth in organic water pollution intensity, 1980–1995. Slope‐dummy interaction variables are used to compare the effects in developed countries and less‐developed countries. The tested models include a variety of relevant controls, such as domestic investment, state environmentalism, size of the manufacturing sector, and level of economic development. Results. Findings for the analyses indicate that foreign direct investment in manufacturing positively affects growth in organic water pollution intensity in less‐developed countries, while the effect in developed countries is nonsignificant. Conclusions. This research illustrates the need for social scientists to investigate the environmental impacts of both the transnational organization of production and the overall scale of production in different sectors.     

Extending pension coverage in Cambodia: The governance and investment challenges of the Social Security Investment Fund

Rapid economic growth, declining fertility and changes in family structures have encouraged the Kingdom of Cambodia to reform its old-age pension system. The Government of Cambodia reached an important milestone in 2019, when the Law on Social Security was promulgated. The Law includes provisions for a compulsory defined benefit pension scheme, establishing a sound framework for extending compulsory pension coverage beyond the public sector to formal private-sector workers. As a future step, the compulsory pension scheme should be extended to informal workers. To accompany the reform, the investment policy for the pension scheme’s reserve funds, including the supervisory regime and investment strategy, will be essential for the modernization of the Cambodian social security system. In this regard, Cambodia has successfully sought policy advice. However, the country should continue to seek further advice, and to act on this. Otherwise, the necessary and increasingly pressing policy ambitions of Cambodia to develop an adequate and sustainable social protection system may not be fully realized.     

Gender inequality in human capital accumulation and economic growth: a comparative analysis of Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Even though the significance of human capital in the growth literature is well established, little evidence is available on the role of education on growth segregated on a gender basis. The present study has focused on the importance of female education and employment and queried to what extent gender inequality in education and employment has an impact on economic growth in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. To answer this question, a simultaneous equations model covering time period of 1975–2009 has been used and the Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) has been applied. The results have confirmed that the gender gap in education has induced an adverse impact on economic growth, both directly and indirectly, through rapid population growth and low investment. Results also show that though there is gender inequality in human capital accumulation in both counties but the intensity is higher in Pakistan as compared to Sri Lanka. The study explored the opportunities to encourage the role of females in the developmental activities of these countries. In view of the fact that gender inequality in education is critical for growth, the study recommends that rather than slashing the PSDP (Public Sector Development Program), Pakistan needs to promote investment in human capital and that there should be equal opportunity for education and employment for both males and females in both south Asian Countries.     

Macroeconomic effects of public investment in South-East Europe

This paper provides the first cross-country study of the macroeconomic effects of public investment in South-East Europe. For these countries, we construct a unique dataset of exogenous changes in public investment and use them with Jordá (2005) local projections method to estimate their dynamic effects on the main macroeconomic aggregates, the unemployment rate and debt-to-GDP ratio. Our results show significant multiplicative effects of public investment on GDP, delivered primarily through crowding in of private investment. Our analysis confirms that public investment can be seen as a catalyst of positive spillover effects to other sectors of the economy and thus contribute to productivity growth.