Stagnation or transformation of a dual economy through endogenous productivity growth

A growth model is developed for an open dual economy. The economyexpands owing to a higher growth rate of labour productivityin the modern sector through the Kaldor–Verdoorn channeland higher effective demand through a Keynesian channel. Themodel incorporates a retardation mechanism affecting the slopesof productivity and output growth schedules as labour surplusand economies of scale diminish. A wage-led or profit-led regimeand initial conditions may give rise to: de-industrializationin terms of both output and employment; a growth trap sustaininga situation of structural heterogeneity; or sustainable employmentand adequate output and productivity growth.     

Efficiency, depth and growth: Quantitative implications of finance and growth theory

We develop a parsimonious finance and endogenous growth model with microeconomic frictions in entrepreneurship and a role for credit constraints. We demonstrate that though an efficiency–growth relation will always exist, the efficiency–depth–growth relation may not. This has implications for the connection between the theory and empirics of finance and growth. We go on to ask whether the model can account for some historical trends in growth, financial depth and financial efficiency for the UK over the period 1850–1913. The best model of finance and growth is one that departs from the standard depth–growth link.     

Population and Economic Growth Under Different Growth Engines

Using a growth model with physical capital accumulation, human capital investment and horizontal R&D activity, this paper proposes an alternative channel through which an increase in the population growth rate may yield a non‐uniform (i.e., a positive, negative, or neutral) impact on the long‐run growth rate of per‐capita GDP, as available empirical evidence seems mostly to suggest. The proposed mechanism relies on the nature of the process of economic growth (whether it is fully or semi‐endogenous), and the peculiar engine(s) driving economic growth (human capital investment, R&D activity, or both). The model also explains why in the long term the association between population growth and productivity growth may ultimately be negative when R&D is an engine of economic growth.     

Beyond the Linearity Critique: The Knife-edge Assumption of Steady-state Growth

The “linearity critique” of endogenous growth models is presented in a general context of an arbitrary growth model and reassessed. It is argued that presence of linearities is not a valid criterion for rejecting growth models. Existence of exponential/geometrical steady-state growth (i.e. of a balanced growth path with strictly positive growth rates) necessarily requires some knife-edge condition which is not satisfied by typical parameter values. Hence, balanced growth paths are fragile and sensitive to smallest disturbances in parameter values. Adding higher order differential/difference equations to a model does not change the knife-edge character of steady-state growth.     

中国碳排放与经济增长间脱钩关系的实证分析

利用Tapio脱钩模型和Kaya恒等式,使用LMDI方法,建立扩展的Tapio脱钩模型。选取1990—2010年中国碳排放量和经济增长的数据,对中国碳排放与经济增长的脱钩关系进行定量分析。研究结果表明:1990—2010年期间中国碳排放与经济增长总体上具有弱脱钩关系,经济增长是碳排放增加的主要原因,能源强度降低是实现碳排放与经济增长脱钩的关键。最后提出"降低能源强度、优化产业结构、调整能源结构"的对策以实现碳排放与经济增长的脱钩。     

Money and growth in a cash-in-advance economy with costly credit

This paper develops a stochastic growth model with a cash-in-advance constraint, costly credit, and intermediary services. We study how the behavior of financial intermediaries affects the relationship between economic growth and the monetary system. We show that the payment that intermediaries charge for providing financial services influences the money–growth relationship. When the intermediation cost increases proportionally with credit purchases, we do not observe any influence of growth on the monetary system. When the intermediation cost is not proportional to credit purchases, growth is responsible for a transformation of the monetary system, i.e. money is relatively driven out of the economy as the economy grows.     

Is Declining Productivity Inevitable?

Fertility has been declining on all continents for the last couple of decades and this development is expected to continue in the future. Prevailing innovation-based growth theories imply, as a consequence of scale effects from the size of population, that such demographic changes will lead to a major slowdown in productivity growth. In this paper we challenge this pessimistic view of the future. By allowing for endogenous human capital in a basic R&D driven growth model we develop a theory of scale-invariant endogenous growth according to which population growth is neither necessary nor conductive for economic growth.     

Tax-spending policies and economic growth: Theoretical predictions and evidence from the OECD

We present an endogenous growth model to study the growth effects of the composition of government expenditure and the associated tax burden. When we use data from a set of 23 OECD countries during 1970–2000, our econometric results support the predictions of the theory. The share of productive government expenditure is associated with higher growth, and this result is more robust when we use effective average tax rates and statutory tax rates as measures of the tax burden. With respect to the tax burden, different tax rates have different growth effects.     

蓝色经济区碳排放对经济增长的阈值协整效应

构建了碳排放与经济增长及其相关影响因素的阈值协整模型,利用完全修正的最小二乘法对该模型进行估计。得出如下主要结论:碳排放随着经济增长周期的发展表现出非线性变化特征;蓝色经济区的碳排放对经济增长的阈值协整效应发生在人均GDP增长率为9.54%和13.46%之处;从产业结构和能源使用效率对碳排放的阈值效应可看出蓝色经济区正在走产业升级和转型之路,因此需要注重培育高新产业发展环境。     

A structural model of the transition to agriculture

I develop a model of the transition to agriculture that can be estimated using cross-cultural data on the incidence of agriculture. The model allows for endogenous growth effects in which population density and technological sophistication are symbiotically related, and also allows for technological spillovers from centers of civilization. The model describes conditions under which population density and technological sophistication are likely to cause a switch to agriculture. Results suggest that endogenous growth affects are absent among hunter gatherers, but that technological spillovers are important in generating a switch to agriculture, and in generating technological change. Technology appears to diffuse more slowly along the north-south axis than along the east-west axis. Among agricultural peoples, endogenous growth effects appear to be present and important—a society that is 10% more technologically sophisticated has a population density about 5% larger, and a society with a 10% higher population density is on average 5% more technologically sophisticated. Hunter-gatherer population density appears to be independent of technology, but elastic with respect to environmental factors such as rainfall and habitat diversity.      

Research and development in the growth process

This paper introduces into Schumpeterian growth theory an important element of heterogeneity in the structure of innovative activity—namely, the distinction between research and development. We construct a simple model of growth to investigate how the (steady-state) rate of growth affects and is affected by the relative mix between research and development. Although we assume for simplicity that the total supply of innovative activity is given it turns out that, with one important exception, the growth rate responds to most parameter changes in the same way as in previous models where growth was determined by the total amount of innovative activity. In particular, the level of research tends to covary positively with the rate of growth, even in the extreme case where the general knowledge that underlies long-run growth is created only by secondary innovations arising from the development process. The exception concerns the effects of competition on growth. Although simpler Schumpeterian growth models implied that increased competition would reduce growth by reducing the incentive to innovate, introducing the distinction between research and development implies that this effect is likely to be reversed.     

Does Environmental Policy Necessarily Discourage Growth?

This paper analyzes the long-run impact of an environmental policy on economic growth. A growth model with vertical innovation is modified by including intermediate goods as a source of pollution. Taxation on pollution reduces profits of intermediate firms as well as final outputs. However, it increases their mark-ups and alleviates profit losses. In this setting, profit losses are offset by the general equilibrium effect; thus, the tax enhances R&Ds which drive economic growth while it reduces pollution. If the government provides an R&D subsidy, the growth rate will be accelerated.     

Relative deprivation,wealth inequality and economic growth

This paper presents an endogenous growth model where utility depends on relative deprivation as well as consumption. It is shown that a negative relationship exists between wealth inequality and equilibrium growth rate. In addition, if the concern for relative deprivation is strong enough, instantaneous utility decreases while aggregate income increases.      

城市化、FDI与经济增长间关系的实证分析——以北京市为例

利用1987—2011年北京的时间序列数据,采用单位根检验、协整检验、误差修正模型、Granger因果关系检验和脉冲函数分析等方法和模型,对城市化、FDI与经济增长三者间的长期和短期关系进行了检验和分析。结果表明:城市化与经济增长互为Granger因果关系;城市化与FDI也互为Granger因果关系;经济增长是FDI的Granger原因,但FDI不是经济增长的Granger原因的概率高达31.8%。     

中国未来不同生育水平下的经济增长后果比较研究

对中国未来90年不同生育水平下的经济增长后果进行了人口-经济动态模拟。在生育水平过低导致劳动力减少过快、人口老龄化过重、劳动负担加重的情况下,将使经济增长大大放缓;而较高的生育水平下,虽然经济增长速度略快,但是人均GDP增长速度慢于中方案生育水平下的经济增长,并且人均GDP水平也具有较大差异。完善当前生育政策,使生育水平稳定在1.9-2.0之间,如此人口在本世纪缓慢地减少也将有利于我国的经济增长和人均生活水平的提高。同时,在低生育水平下,依靠劳动增加和资本积累的粗放型经济增长将不复存在,经济发展方式转变是必然选择,技术创新、技术进步将是未来经济增长首要源泉。     

On the short-run relationship between the income distribution-growth and debt-growth regimes

This paper examines the short-run relationship between the income distribution-growth and debt-growth regimes using a simple, post-Keynesian, demand-driven model. While mechanisms of wage-led and profit-led growth have been revealed, their relationship with debt-led and debt-burdened growth is yet to be clarified, because arguments on these growth regimes were developed separately. This paper shows that the growth regimes transform as the regime-switching parameters in the IS balance change. By way of theoretical analysis, this paper presents some important implications for (i) the possibility of the combination of growth regimes; (ii) the features of post-Keynesian economic analysis of income distribution, debt, and demand-led growth, which sharply contrast with the basic neo-classical theory; and (iii) theoretical validation of recent empirical results. Moreover, this paper also suggests some policy implications or lessons for the combination of economic growth regimes.     

Strategic policies and growth: an applied model of R&D-driven endogenous growth

We introduce and explore a general equilibrium model with R&D-driven endogenous growth, whose antecedents are the models of Romer (1990) [Romer, P.M., 1990. Endogenous technological change. Journal of Political Economy, 98, S71-102] and Grossman and Helpman (1991) [Grossman, G.M., Helpman E., 1991. Innovation and Growth in the Global Economy, The MIT Press, Cambridge]. Utilizing evidence from recent econometric studies on sources of growth, the model also accounts explicitly for cross-border technological spillovers. The model is specified and calibrated to data from Japan, and is solved to obtain both the transitional and the steady-state equilibria. We explore the effects of selective trade and R&D promotion policies on long-run growth and social welfare. The model results suggest that while a strategic trade policy has little effect on re-allocating resources into domestic R&D activities, it can significantly affect the cross-border spillovers of technological knowledge, which, in turn, stimulates growth. We find that trade liberalization may cause the growth rate to fall and lead to a loss of social welfare in the long-run, although it improves welfare in the short-run. R&D promotion policies stimulate growth by inducing private agents to allocate more resources to domestic R&D, as well as to take greater advantage of global R&D spillovers. Here, we find significantly high growth effects together with sizable gains in social welfare at low incidence to tax payers.     

绿色创新与经济增长动态关系研究——基于VAR模型的实证分析

基于湖北省1993—2018年相关数据,运用VAR模型对绿色创新与经济增长的动态关系进行实证研究,同时将绿色创新分为发明专利授权和实用新型专利授权两个要素。研究发现,经济增长与发明专利授权、实用新型专利授权存在长期协整关系;发明专利授权对经济增长存在“扩散效应”,实用新型专利授权对经济增长先体现“扩散效应”,后体现“挤出效应”,而经济增长对两者均具有“扩散效应”;发明专利授权对经济增长的促进作用明显大于实用新型专利授权对经济增长的促进作用。因此,应积极构建绿色创新与经济增长的长效互动机制;加大绿色创新开发投入,完善绿色创新相关制度;提升绿色创新的投入效率,加速绿色创新成果转化率。     

Economic growth and balance-of-payments constraint in Vietnam

Abstract

Our paper examines the long-run relation between economic growth and current account equilibrium in Vietnam, using a multicountry balance-of-payments-constrained growth model. We find that for the whole sample (1985–2010) Vietnam grew less than the rate predicted by the model. We also find that the balance-of-payments-constrained growth rate shifted after the 1997 Asian crisis. Since the relative price effect is neutral, the volume effects dominate in setting the balance-of-payments constraint. On the one hand, owing to the high income elasticities of exports, growth in advanced countries has a strong multiplier effect on the Vietnamese economy. On the other hand, this effect is hindered by a strong “appetite” for imports coming from Asia. Finally, we assess the impact of the current crisis on Vietnam’s growth for the period 2011 to 2017.     

Can the augmented Solow model explain China’s remarkable economic growth? A cross-country panel data analysis

China’s economy grew at an average annual rate of 9% over the last three decades. Despite the vast empirical literature on testing the neoclassical model of economic growth using data on various groups of countries, very few cross-country regressions include China and none of them particularly focuses on the explanation of China’s remarkable economic growth. We attempt to fill this gap by utilising panel data on 146 countries over the period 1980–2004 to examine the extent to which the rapid growth of China and the huge gap in the growth rate between China and other countries can be explained by the augmented Solow model. Using system GMM estimation techniques, we find that, in spite of the restrictive assumptions involved, the Solow model augmented by both human capital and structural change provides a fairly good account of international variation in economic growth. In particular, China’s relative success in economic growth is due to high physical capital investment, conditional convergence gain, dramatic changes in the structure of employment and output, and low population growth.