The role of the family in development

It is important for the development planner to view the family as a flexible organizational unit of individuals who have different roles, privileges, rewards, options, and obligations. In developing countries the criteria for distributing resources and responsibilities within families are not the same as the Western criteria of development needs and requirements. Neither do sex and age, particularly among the poor, determine the roles people play in the family. Women play important productive roles in developing countries and a critical role in the cultivation of all crops, subsistence and cash, in sub-Saharan Africa. Children also make important contributions. Although all family members must work hard, scarce resources and immediate needs frequently result in unequal distribution of resources and access to services. All members of low-income families in developing countries are involved in the struggle for survival, for no 1 income source is adequate. The family's decision-making process is implicit in all its distribution of both responsibilities and resources. If wives in poor households are able to retain control of their earnings, they can have more power. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the women have a major agricultural role, their power bases are broader.     

Does reduced trade tax revenue affect government spending patterns?

Many skeptics of trade liberalization in the developing world argue that lowering trade taxes can cause significant fiscal pressures in countries particularly reliant on these taxes and result in a reallocation of resources away from important development goals. This paper evaluates whether there is evidence that central governments systematically change the composition of spending priorities in the wake of lowered trade tax revenues as a share of total government revenues. We find no systematic evidence for this concern in a sample of 51 developing countries for the 1991 through 2005 period.     

Small Manufacturing Enterprises in Developing Countries

Emphasis is often placed on the promotion of small enterprisesin developing countries, particularly as a means of improvingthe lot of unskilled workers. This focus raises questions aboutthe relationship between establishment size and the patternand efficiency of factor use, and about the nature and effectsof price differentials in factor markets. This article goessome way toward answering these questions with data from surveysof small manufacturing enterprises in India and Colombia sponsoredby the World Bank and relevant material from other countries.The article also examines India's long-standing policy, unusualamong developing countries, of providing special support andprotection for small enterprises. Analyses based on disaggregateddata found that small firms are not reliably more labor-intensivethan their larger counter-parts; nor are they consistently moretechnically efficient in their use of resources. In light ofthese findings and an analysis of factor markets, this articlediscusses the general implications of the research results forindustrial policy in developing countries.     

当前国际上海外耕地投资区位选择现状及评析

本文的研究目的是分析当前国际上海外耕地投资区位选择的特征和决定性因素,为中国海外耕地投资提供区位参考。以文献资料法和规范分析法为主要研究方法,本文研究得出:主要东道国的耕地资源禀赋状况良好,土地丰富,劳动力成本低廉,但市场规模不大,国家风险显著,基本上是发展中国家和贫穷国家;在可预计的未来东道国有足够的开发空间供耕地投资;东道国的耕地资源禀赋和政府的引资政策是海外耕地投资区位选择的决定性因素等。     

Climate transition risk in sovereign bond markets

Is climate transition risk factored into sovereign bond markets? We find that carbon dioxide emissions, natural resources rents, and renewable energy consumption—as measures of transition risk—significantly affect yields and spreads. Countries with lower carbon emissions incur lower borrowing costs. Advanced countries with reduced earnings from natural resources rents and increased renewable energy consumption are associated with lower borrowing costs, which differ from the effects in developing countries. Given the threat that climate change poses to the global economy and the fast materialization of transition risk, we advocate an increase in the significance of climate transition risk factors as determinants in sovereign bond markets.     

Genuine Savings Rates in Developing Countries

Augmented measures of savings and wealth in the national accountsare critical to conceptualizing and achieving sustainable development.After developing the theory of genuine savings—traditionalnet savings less the value of resource depletion and environmentaldegradation plus the value of investment in human capital—thisarticle presents empirical estimates for developing countries.These calculations account for resource depletion and carbondioxide emissions, using consistent time series data for 1970–93.The empirical evidence shows that levels of genuine savingsare negative in a wide range of countries, particularly in Sub-SaharanAfrica, and that these countries are being progressively impoverished.Increasing the coverage of natural resources and pollutantsin our calculations would reduce the estimated levels of genuinesavings overall. The use of genuine savings measures suggestsa series of policy questions that are key to sustaining development.These are also explored, specifically the extent to which monetaryand fiscal policies, exports of exhaustible resources, strongerresource policies, and pollution abatement measures boost genuinesavings rates. For policymakers, linking sustainable developmentto genuine savings rates means that there are many possibleinterventions to increase sustainability, from the macroeconomicto the purely environmental.     

A possible solution to tropical troubles? : Debt-for-nature swaps

Two major problems spurred the development of debt-for-nature swaps —the high rate of destruction of tropical forests and the heavy debts accumulated by these countries. Debt-for-nature agreements are part of a new wave of thinking about the links between the environment and debt. With funds procured through conservation organizations, debt-for-nature swaps and funds have been arranged in several developing countries. This article examines myriad proposals to reduce the debt burden, identifies the link between debt, development and the environment, and clarifies the conceptual framework of the debt-for-nature swaps approach. Debt-for-nature swaps are analysed in terms of sovereignty, socioeconomic impacts and policy implications. It is concluded that the debt-for-nature swaps approach is not intended to provide debt relief on any significant scale nor resolve the debt crisis. Their nominal impact on the debt situation does not imply failure: they improve the management of natural resources. It is a strategy in which a number of goals converge for different groups in developing as well as developed countries.     

Factors affecting the internal audit effectiveness: A survey of the Saudi public sector

This study assesses factors influencing internal audit effectiveness (IAE) in Saudi Arabia. Data were obtained from 203 managers and 239 internal auditors from 79 Saudi Arabian public sector organizations. Multiple regression analysis examines the association between IAE and five principal factors. Results suggest that management support for IAE drives perceived effectiveness of the internal audit function from both management's and the internal auditors’ perspective. Management support is linked to hiring trained and experienced staff, providing sufficient resources, enhancing the relationship with external auditors, and having an independent internal audit department. Saudi Arabia is representative of many developed and developing environments, and its recent tradition of governance and audit is mirrored in countries worldwide. Moreover, its specific cultural traditions involving clan and tribal allegiances, and pervasive and core religious beliefs, characterize the GCC countries, the Arab World generally, and indeed, many other developing countries, irrespective of wealth. Thus, links between management support and internal audit effectiveness are likely generalizable beyond the Saudi public sector context.     

The Resource Curse Hypothesis: Dynamic Heterogeneous Approach

Natural resources influence economic performance through many different mechanisms, both beneficial and harmful. Some of these mechanisms tend to set in fast while others are rather slow. This suggests that pooling the long- and short-run effect as typical in the resource empirical literature may lead to incorrect inferences. This article provides an evaluation of the income contribution of natural resources using a panel cointegration approach that allows for short-run dynamic heterogeneity while imposing the restriction of long-run homogeneity. It finds, in a sample of developing countries over the period 1990–2012, that natural resources are a curse in the long run. The evidence is robust to alternative dynamic specifications, different measures and types of natural resource wealth, and controlling for regional effects.     

The real effect of banking crises: Finance or asset allocation effects? Some international evidence

This paper analyzes whether the decline in economic growth that follows a banking crisis occurs because of a reduction in the amount of credit available (finance effect) or a worsening in the allocation of investable resources (asset allocation effect). We use a sample of more than 2500 industrial firms in 18 developed and developing countries that experienced 19 systemic banking crises between 1989 and 2007. The results indicate that banking crises negatively affect firms’ intangible investments, which intensifies the economic downturn. The negative growth effect produced by the worsening of the investment allocation is stronger in countries with highly developed financial systems and institutions.     

UN overestimates the level of development in central and East Europe

Conclusion With the HDI, the UNDP has attempted to construct a new development indicator which conveys the human development of a country by means of a Single National index number. This deserves recognition as a long overdue step towards the removal of Gross Product as the main indicator of development, putting as it does the development and employment of human abilities and resources in the centre of development efforts. The questionable results generated by the HDI show, however, that the index in its current form has many faults. It is time for the UNDP to change the HDI so that it better reflects differences in development between individual countries. Except for a few developing countries, which could see these results as a welcome reason for demanding increasing development aid at the expense of the transformation countries, nobody benefits if the UNDP certifies the Central and East European countries as having a level of development which they are still far from reaching.     

Nexus analysis of financial management,digital finance and new technologies

This paper measures the associations between financial development, green finance, and technological progress, focusing on developing countries in Asia and Europe. Employing the FMOLS estimation of variables from 2010 to 2021 concluded that the digital finance index has a positive coefficient in the panel of developing countries and the panel of European developing countries, while the coefficient of this variable is insignificant for Asian developing countries. The financial depth index also has a positive coefficient in all three-panel groups of countries. Regarding the Asian developing economies, there is only a bi-directional causal relationship between the innovation index and financial development. Developing countries can implement developing digital finance markets, improving good governance, increasing the competitiveness index, and creating a regional digital finance network as practical policies.     

Population growth. Its magnitude and implications for development

A summary of the 1984 World Development Report is provided. The 3 major points stressed in the report were: 1) rapid population growth adversely affects development, 2) governments must adopt policies to reduce fertility, and 3) policies adopted by many countries have effectively reduced fertility. World population growth began accelerating at 0.5%/year in the 18th century, and by 1950 the annual acceleration rate was 2%. Most of the increase in population size is occurring in less developed countries, and this increase is due in part to the recent decline in mortality experienced by these countries. Of the 80 million individuals who will be added to the world's population in 1984, 70 million will be in the developing countries. Since 1965 the population growth rate for developing countries as a group declined from 2.4% to 2%. However, because of the high proportion of younger aged individuals in developing countries, the decline in fertility is expected to level off. According to World Bank population projections, the world population will stabilize at around 11 billion in 2150. During the interium, the population of developing countries will increase from its present level of 3.6 billion to 8.4 billion, and the population of developed countries will increase from 1.2 billion to 1.4 billion. These projections are probably overly optimistic. The adverse impact on development of rapid population growth is due to several factors. 1st, resources which could be used for investment must instead be used to fulfill the consumption needs of an increased number of people. 2nd, increases in the labor force must be absorbed by the agricultural sector, and this reduces agricultural productivity. 3rd, rapid population growth increases management problems. The adaption of policies by governments to reduce fertility is a necessary step in halting population growth. For poor families, children provide economic security. Therefore, governments must act to improve the economic conditions for poor families if they hope to reduce population growth. Education and job opportunities must be expanded and social security provided for the elderly. In the past it was assumed that fertility would only decline when urbanization, industrialization, and income reached a certain level. It is now known that appropriate policies can effectively reduce fertility even in the absence of economic advancement. Fertility declines are more closely related to increases in literacy and life expectancy than to increases in the gross national product. Family planning programs in China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Korea, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia have reduced fertility far below the level normally associated with the income levels prevailing in those countries.     

后发国家探索独立自主发展道路的优劣势表现与路径选择

后发国家的工业化进程受历史、社会结构以及要素禀赋等多重复杂因素影响,存在后发优势和后发劣势。准确理解后发优势和后发劣势的动态演进过程和内在逻辑关系极其重要。对此,发展经济学不仅应呼应和回答后发国家在后工业化时期的技术创新与制度变革的结构性问题,而且应重点研究后发国家不同阶段的后发优势和后发劣势的变化问题。以中国为代表的后发国家在工业化进程中充分发挥后发优势,经过艰辛探索与实践创新,走出了一条独立自主的发展道路,取得了令世界瞩目的经济发展成就,为其他后发国家技术创新、制度变革等具体路径提供了有益参考。本文结合前期研究,围绕中国三次比较有影响力的关于后发优势、后发劣势的争论,总结提炼中国的成功经验,提出后发国家应聚焦科技自主创新与制度改革,以结构性改革为突破口发挥自身优势,促进后发国家内生性增长,进而在未来发展过程中尽快补齐短板,加快探索适合国情特色、适应世界经济发展潮流的发展模式和发展道路。本文建议立足后发国家的成败案例和不同模式,深化后发优势与后发劣势的比较研究,构建新的发展经济学范式与实证研究体系。     

论碳排放权的法律属性

《联合国气候变化框架公约》及其《京都议定书》确立了碳排放权及相关交易制度。这种机制是解决全球性气候变化问题、有效配置大气环境容量资源、保障各国特别是发展中国家正当发展权益的重要制度。明确碳排放权的法律属性,是确保国际与国内碳排放权交易顺利开展的前提。碳排放权因其客体可＂物＂化而具有物权性质,因权利的取得需经行政许可且权利行使方式的特殊性,因此可定性为特许物权。     

THE MULTIFIBRE ARRANGEMENT AND ITS EFFECTS ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The MFA provides for bilateral quotas against textile and clothingexports from developing countries. Thus, although it is administeredunder the auspices of GATT, the MFA derogates two GATT principles:nondiscrimination and the avoidance of quantitative restrictions.The impact of the MFA on developing countries is examined inthe article. Four important short-term effects of the MFA onexporting developing countries are (a) the forgoing of exports,(b) the transfer of quota rents, (c) the shift to unrestrictedexporters, and (d) the upgrading of products. In the long termthe MFA discourages newcomers from becoming successful exportersof textile and clothing products. Although it also encouragesforeign investment in unrestricted developing countries, ingeneral the MFA is harmful to current and potential exportersof textiles and clothing in developing countries, and it benefitsdomestic producers of textiles and clothing in the importingindustrial countries.      

金融市场与经济发展--论发展中国家企业集团的形成机制

企业集团是发展中国家的常见现象.许多学者运用新制度学派的企业理论来解释发展中国家企业集团的形成,将其归为市场不完善的结果.这种一般化的解释忽略了发展中国家企业集团形成的特殊性.发展中国家企业集团是在家族企业的基础上发展起来的.金融市场分割和资本绝对短缺为家族企业向企业集团转化奠定了社会经济基础,工业化发展战略和政府--银行--企业连结关系则直接导致了企业集团的形成.     

Corruption and competition for resources

An increasing share of world FDI is carried out by multinationals from developing countries. These investors may have objectives and constraints that differ from their developed country counterparts. In this paper we focus on differences in attitudes to corruption, and how these may shape the competition for the right to extract resources in a developing country context. We show how differences in the investors’ level of technology and differences in the host country government’s trade-off between bribes and taxes determine who wins the competition for the resource and the winning price. One finding is that competition from a bribe-willing investor may induce a bribe-averse investor to enter into corruption. Surprisingly, however, we also find that competition with a bribe-willing investor may induce the bribe-averse investor to increase its tax payments.     

发展中国家的金融体系问题研究:基于法律制度的视角

与发达国家相比,发展中国家的金融体系存在巨大的缺陷,但是发展中国家的金融体系发展程度也是不同的。为了提高发展中国家的金融体系效率,我们需要找出影响发展中国家金融体系效率背后的其他因素,比如在殖民统治期间形成现在仍有国家在遵守的法律制度。本文通过分组的t检验分析发现,法律制度是一个影响金融体系效率的关键因素。     

金融自由化实践的国际比较

金融自由化对发展中国家是一把"双刃剑",它在为发展中国家带来了好处的同时,也引发了很多负效应.原因在于发展中国家对金融自由化普遍缺乏足够的准备而仓促实施改革,国内金融制度与监管体系不健全,而金融市场过度开放又导致国际短期资本大量涌入.与发展中国家不同的是,发达国家的金融自由化改革却取得了较好的成效.与之相比,发展中国家目前处于两难的选择困境:如果不继续进行自由化,则在国际经济舞台上会更被动;如果进行自由化,却又由于前期的改革失败而无法准确把握好今后的战略措施.对此,发展中国家惟一正确的选择应当是结合国情,坚决地顺着金融自由化的方向走下去,不改革是没有出路的.