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- No 2. / (4) Effect of Development Aid on Productive Capacities
- Title_Effect of Development Aid on Productive Capacities Author_Sèna Kimm Gnangnon Pages_136-164 Abstract_The international policy discourse, for example by the World Trade Organization and the United Nations, has emphasized the critical role of productive capacities for promoting sustainable development and building economic resilience in developing countries. This paper examines whether ODA contributes to enhancing productive capacities in recipient countries. It considers two main components of the total official development assistance (ODA), namely, Aid for Trade (AfT) and Non-AfT, where the latter is part of total ODA allocated to other than trade-related sectors. The analysis relies on the index of the overall productive capacities developed recently by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and covers 111 countries over the period 2002-2018. Findings indicate that development aid, including its two main components, contributes to fostering productive capacities in recipient countries, with AfT flows exerting a larger positive effect on productive capacities than Non-AfT flows. Moreover, in least developed countries (LDCs), the positive effect of ODA on productive capacities reflects the key role of both AfT and NonAfT flows in contributing to the development of productive capacities. In contrast, in NonLDCs (other countries than LDCs in the full sample), only AfT flows matter positively for the strengthening of productive capacities, as Non-AfT flows do not appear to exert a significant effect on productive capacities. These outcomes highlight the criticality of development aid for enhancing productive capacities in developing countries, in particular in LDCs. Keywords_development aid, productive capacities
- IPAID 2023.02.27
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8
- No 2. / (3) China, Japan, and Korea in Laos’ Hydro Power Business Ventures: The Hydro-Hegemon Prevails
- Title_China, Japan, and Korea in Laos’ Hydro Power Business Ventures: The Hydro-Hegemon Prevails Author_Michelle R. Palumbarit Pages_129-135 Abstract_The Mekong region has witnessed ‘old’ and ‘new’ players in the development of the Mekong river basin since the conclusion of the Cold War. Of specific interest is the participation of the three Northeast Asian countries, China, Japan, and South Korea. Two interesting questions come into play and shall be answered in this exploratory research note. First, why and how do China, Japan and Korea participate in the hydro power projects in Laos? Second, what are the implications of their participation in the geo-politics in the Mekong region? This paper contends that the three countries are not only taking advantage of the economic benefits they can derive from developing Laos but also carving their own respective geopolitical influence in the country. Of the three, sources reveal that China exerts its own dominance in the Mekong region as the hydro-hegemon by ‘overpowering’ its challengers through its overwhelming hydropower projects in the country and through non-cooperation with Japan and Korea. Keywords_hydro-hegemon, hydropower, Laos, Mekong river
- IPAID 2023.02.27
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7
- No 2. / (2) Debut of Particulate Matter (PM) in East Asia: Science-Policy Interface
- Title_Debut of Particulate Matter (PM) in East Asia: Science-Policy Interface Author_Inkyoung Kim Pages_111-128 Abstract_This study explores what drove the outstanding public concerns about particulate matter (PM) in China, Japan, and South Korea in the early 2010s despite constant improvement of air quality compared to earlier decades and how smog problems in China have awakened not only its own public but also those in its neighboring countries. To understand why then, this study investigates the role of scientific knowledge in the process of issue framing in East Asia and the interface between science and policy. It finds that the debut of PM in East Asia is a function of three components: increasing visibility of air pollution through smoggy days; the development of scientific consensus on causes and consequences of PM; and the enhanced communication between science and the public. It concludes that the science-policy interface is not a simple relationship between scientists and policymakers. Rather, science develops and transmits knowledge to create engaging relationships between the state and society. PM proves this triangular relationship between the state, society, and science. Keywords_particulate matter, PM, science-policy interface, East Asia, China, Japan, South Korea
- IPAID 2023.02.27
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6
- No 2. / (1) Drivers of Private Urban Land Investments in a Developing Country: The Case of Kabale Municipality in Uganda
- Title_Drivers of Private Urban Land Investments in a Developing Country: The Case of Kabale Municipality in Uganda Author_Alex Thomas Ijjo1 and Davis Byaruhanga Pages_99-110 Abstract_Land tenure security, financial capability and supportive land policy seem to correlate with increased willingness of private landowners to undertake land development investments in urban Uganda. This paper employed a logit model to examine the influence of measures of land tenure security, economic status, age, and gender on the land development propensities of urban landowners in Kabale Municipality in Southwestern Uganda. The results show that improvements in tenure security and the economic status of the landowners increase the odds of active land development investments by 67% and 3% respectively, while gender and age, do not. In policy terms, these findings underscore the importance of land tenure security derived from effective property rights policy as a key motivating factor in urban land development investments. The paper underscores the urgency of appropriate policy to manage urbanization, and avoid rising urban congestion, slums and squalor in Uganda. Keywords_tenure security, urban development, land development investment, logit model, land policy
- IPAID 2023.02.27
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5
- No.1 / (5) Effect of Human Capital Investment on Economic Growth in India: A Path Analysis
- Title_Effect of Human Capital Investment on Economic Growth in India: A Path Analysis Author_ Seema Joshi Pages_ 85-98 Abstract_ This paper investigates the relationship between human capital development/investment (HCD), research and development (RD)/innovation, social security and welfare (SSW) spending and economic growth (EG). We conduct a path analysis using 30 years of annual time series data from India. Secondary data is used to construct an estimated hypothesized model. Then, the maximum likelihood statistical technique in Stata 13 is utilized to identify factors affecting growth. The findings suggest that HCD and SSW affect EG directly and positively, whereas RD has a direct as well as an indirect impact on growth via HCD. A negative and relatively large direct effect of RD outweighs the positive and small indirect effect. Therefore, the overall effect of RD on EG is negative. All path coefficients (or time- varying coefficients) are statistically significant except for RD. The negative sign of the path coefficient of RD clearly shows that in addition to quantity, the quality of RD and presence of “social filter conditions” matter. Therefore, a comprehensive policy focusing on a series of factors like socio-economic conditions is needed to support the overall innovation system to reap the benefits of higher RD expenditure. The positive and significant influence of HCD and SSW on economic growth highlights the much-needed impetus for human development and welfare policies. Although several researchers have written on the relationship between HCD, R&D, and SSW and economic growth separately, as per our knowledge there has been no study that tries to capture the direct and indirect impact of these variables on economic growth, or that has used a path analysis technique to do so. Keywords_Human Capital Development/Investment (HCD), Research, and Development (RD) and Social Security and Welfare (SSW) and Economic Growth (EG)
- IPAID 2022.07.23
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4
- No.1 / (4) Hours by Type of Work and Schooling in Ethiopia: Nonparametric and Parametric Estimates
- Title_Hours by Type of Work and Schooling in Ethiopia: Nonparametric and Parametric Estimates Author_ Evangelos M. Falaris Pages_ 70-84 Abstract_ I estimate regressions of the relationship between time devoted to alternative types of work activities and worker characteristics using data from Ethiopia. The regressions are useful in investigating how changes in individuals’ schooling are likely to affect their type of work activity which has implications for poverty reduction and their economic well-being. I estimate nonparametric regression as well Tobit models. The less restrictive nonparametric models are superior and reveal patterns in the relation of schooling and time devoted to three different work activities that are not apparent with Tobit models. The nonparametric and Tobit models result in significantly different predictions in the majority of the cases considered. Keywords_ hours by type of work, nonparametric regression, labor supply, Ethiopia
- IPAID 2022.07.23
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3
- No.1 / (3) Policy Shift and the Lack of Industrialization in Africa
- Title_ Policy Shift and the Lack of Industrialization in Africa Author_ Richard Grabowski and Sharmistha Self Pages_ 59-69 Abstract_ Empirical analysis indicates that a policy shift occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa that involved the political elite redirecting their attention to agriculture, resulting in policies that reduced the indirect taxation of this sector. It is hypothesized that this has had two effects: a productivity effect that stimulated the expansion of manufacturing and a reallocation effect that reduced manufacturing. It is hypothesized that initially, the productivity effect was stronger than the reallocation effect, and thus manufacturing expanded as a share of GDP. However, as indirect taxes continue to be reduced the reallocation effect comes to offset the productivity effect and the share of manufacturing in GDP begins to fall. A panel data set for a sample of Sub-Saharan African countries is created and analysis of this data indicates that indeed the hypotheses are supported. Keywords_ policy shift, agriculture, relative rate of assistance, agricultural policy, manufacturin
- IPAID 2022.07.23
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2
- No.1 / (2) Equality of Human Opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa
- Title_ Equality of Human Opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa Author_ Djavad Salehi-Isfahani and Atiyeh Vahidmanesh Pages_ 36-58 Abstract_ We present estimates of the Human Opportunity Index (HOI) for 10 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) using harmonized household expenditure and income surveys. The index measures equality of opportunity in access to basic services (electricity, piped water, sanitation and basic education) by children. MENA governments play a large role in provision of these services, so how equitably they are provided determines the life chances of MENA children and overall equality of opportunity in these countries. We find that HOI levels in MENA countries have improved over time and compare favorably with similar measures computed for other countries, notably those in Latin America. Our findings broadly indicate that authoritarian MENA governments that are widely criticized for failing to foster dynamic economies and deliver jobs and high economic growth, have done reasonably well in providing access to basic services and ensuring that they are delivered relatively equitably. We provide decompositions of HOI for individual outcomes over time to account for the contribution of the change in average access vs. its distribution to change in the HOI. We also provide the Shapley decompositions of the Dissimilarity Index of the outcomes to gain insight into the significance of different circumstances to changes in the HOI. Keywords_human opportunity index, inequality, inequality of opportunity, Shapley, decomposition, education, Middle East
- IPAID 2022.07.23
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1
- No.1 / (1) Effect of Productive Capacities on Economic Resilience in Developing Countries
- Title_ Effect of Productive Capacities on Economic Resilience in Developing Countries Author_ Sena Kimm Gnangnon Pages_ 1-35 Abstract_ COVID-19 has generated renewed interest in strengthening economic resilience to future shocks. Developing countries are disproportionately affected by adverse shocks and lack the resources to weather them. This paper contributes to this debate by investigating the effect of productive capacities on economic resilience in a panel dataset of 118 developing countries over the period 2000-2018. It constructs a regression-based economic resilience indicator, and makes use of the indicator of productive capacities recently developed by the UNCTAD. The development of productive capacities is associated with greater economic resilience. This is particularly the case for countries with greater trade openness, greater capital account openness, and those that promote a stable macroeconomic environment. Interestingly, development aid appears to matter for the effect of productive capacities on economic resilience. On the one hand, the magnitude of the positive economic resilience effect of productive capacities increases as countries receive higher Aid for Trade (AfT) flows. On the other hand, NonAfT flows (i.e., other development aid flows that AfT flows) hinder the possible positive contribution of productive capacities to economic resilience. These findings have important policy implications. Keywords_ productive capacities, economic resilience, developing countries
- IPAID 2022.07.23