Exports and Economic Growth: Cointegration and Causality Evidence for Côte d’Ivoire

This paper examines the short‐ and long‐run relationship between economic growth, exports, real investments and labour force for Cô d’Ivoire for the period 1961–97, using cointegration and error correction techniques. The results indicate that there is one long‐run equilibrium relationship among the four variables, and the causal relationship flows from the growth in exports to the growth in GDP both in the short and long run, providing support for the export‐led growth hypothesis. This finding suggests that the recent trade reforms aimed at promoting domestic investment and restoring international competitiveness to expand and diversify exports have the potential of increasing economic growth in the future. L’article examine la relation à court et à long terme entre croissance économique, exportations, investissements réels et population active en Cô d’Ivoire pour la période 1961–97, au moyen de la technique de co‐intégration et de correction des erreurs. L’article conclut qu’il existe une relation déquilibre à long terme entre les quatre variables et que la relation de causalité lie la croissance des exportations à la croissance du PIB tant à court qu’à long terme, ce qui étaye l’hypothèse d’une croissance soutenue par les exportations. Ces conclusions laissent penser que les réformes commerciales récemment introduites pour promouvoir les investissements intérieurs et restaurer la compétitivité internationale, afin d’étendre et de diversifier les exportations, ont le potentiel de renforcer la croissance économique dans l’avenir.     

Solde Budgétaire,Croissance et Emploi en Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract: The objectives of the present paper were to determine how the fiscal balance, the level of employment and the economic growth evolved overtime in Côte d’Ivoire and to determine the direction of causality in the Granger sense between the fiscal balance, employment and growth. The data used for the study cover the period from 1976 to 2002. The empirical results suggest high positive correlation between the FDI, employment and GDP variables. A positive but weak correlation is found between the fiscal balance and growth. There is no cointegration relation between growth and the fiscal balance as well as between this later variable and the employment variable. With respect to causality, the results suggest a unidirectional causality from the fiscal balance towards growth. These results call for caution in the implementation of economic policies that focus too much on the fiscal balance to pull growth.     

Analyse des déterminants de la demande de travail dans les enterprises des sous branches du secteur de l’industrie en Côte d’Ivoire

La présente étude avait pour objectifs de déterminer les facteurs qui influent significativement sur la demande de travail des entreprises du secteur industriel en Côte d’Ivoire, d’évaluer l’impact d’une variation de ces facteurs sur le niveau de l’emploi et enfin de déterminer l’impact de la dévaluation sur la demande de travail. Les résultats suggèrent que la valeur réelle du capital, le chiffre d’affaires, la valeur ajoutée par unité de travail et le coût réel moyen du travail sont les facteurs qui influent significativement sur la demande de travail dans les entreprises du secteur industriel. En outre, le chiffre d’affaires est la variable qui a la plus forte corrélation (positive) avec l’emploi. Le coût réel moyen du travail a une forte corrélation négative avec l’emploi. La dévaluation intervenue en janvier 1994 a influé significativement aussi bien positivement que négativement sur la demande de travail des entreprises du secteur industriel et cela en fonction de la sous branche considérée. — The objective of the present study is to seek the determinants of labour demand in the manufacturing sector in the Côte d’Ivoire, and to determine the impact of a change in these elements on the level of employment. The paper also examines the impact of the change of parity of the domestic currency on the demand for labour. The empirical results suggest that real value of capital assets, cash flow, the value-added of a labour unit, and the average real cost of labour are significant determinants of the demand for labour in the manufacturing sector. Moreover, the cash flow has the highest positive correlation with employment. It is followed by the real cost of labour which has a negative correlation with employment. The devaluation of the domestic currency in January 1994 affected labour demand in the manufacturing sector both positively and negatively depending on the sub-sector considered.     

Stock Market Development and Economic Growth: Evidence from Côte D'Ivoire

Abstract: The present paper investigates the relationship between the development of the Ivorian stock market and the country's economic performance. Stock market development indicators were identified and used to calculate the Ivorian stock market development index. A set of control variables were also identified. The empirical results suggest that gross domestic product and stock market development are cointegrated when the control variables are included in the analysis. That is, there is a long‐run relationship between these variables taken together. Moreover, there is a unidirectional causality running from stock market development to economic growth.     

Shared Sectoral Growth Versus the Dual Economy Model: Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire,Ghana, and Zimbabwe

Abstract: Though recently challenged, the dual economy view has affected development economics and development policy, either explicitly or implicitly, for more than half a century. According to this view, agriculture merely serves to build the industrial sector — in particular, agriculture has no role as an engine of growth in the long term. Examining agriculture, industry and service sector growth in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Zimbabwe over more than three decades, we find little empirical support for this view. On the contrary, our analyses find a large degree of interdependence in long‐run sectoral growth, implying that the sectors ‘grow together’ or, similarly, that there are externalities or spillovers between sectors. Policy implications are also discussed; these include directing more attention towards the interdependencies in sectoral growth broadly defined. In particular, our findings have implications for the design of education and health programs, as well. This improved understanding of inter‐sectoral dynamics at all levels may facilitate policy implementation aimed at increasing economic growth — and thereby ultimately improving peoples' livelihoods — in Africa and elsewhere.     

Labor Market Distortions in Côte d'Ivoire: Analyses of Employer‐Employee Data from the Manufacturing Sector*

Abstract: This paper investigates the extent and nature of distortions in the labor market in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire by using quantile regression analysis on employer‐employee data from the manufacturing sector. We found that the labor markets in Côte d'Ivoire do not seem to be much distorted. Unions may influence employment through tenure but do not seem to influence wages directly except for vulnerable minorities that seem protected by unions. Establishment‐size wage effects are pronounced and highest for white‐collar workers. This may be explained by the efficiency wage theory, so that, even in the absence of unions, segmentation and inefficiencies will still be present as long as firms seek to retain their employees by paying wages above the market clearing level. The inefficiency arising from establishment‐size wage effects can be mitigated by education. Furthermore, the premium to education is found highly significantly positive only for higher education, and not for basic education, indicating that educational policies should also focus on higher education.     

Employment and Economic Growth in the Côte d'Ivoire: An Analysis of Structural Determinants

The present study investigated how economic growth and employment in the Ivorian modern private sector evolved over time, and the employment elasticities of selected variables. The empirical results suggest that employment and economic growth in the Côte d'Ivoire do not move together in the long run (they are not cointegrated), that is, jobless growth can occur and had occurred in the country. It also results from the econometric estimation that economic growth and employment were negatively correlated in the Côte d'Ivoire over the time period of analysis. The same negative correlation existed between employment and development aid. Unlike the above, investment is positively correlated with employment. Investment is therefore the key to tackle the crisis of unemployment and poverty. La présente étude avait pour objectif d'analyser l'évolution de la croissance économique et de l'emploi dans le secteur moderne privé ivoirien dans le temps, et les élasticités de l'emploi par rapport à un ensemble de variables. Les résultats empiriques suggèrent que l'emploi dans le secteur moderne privé et la croissance économique n'évoluent pas ensemble dans le long terme (ils ne sont pas cointégrés). Il appert donc de la possibilité d'une croissance sans emploi en Côte d'Ivoire. Les résultats de l'analyse économétrique suggèrent quant, eux, une corrélation négative entre le taux de croissance économique et celui de l'emploi sur la période d'analyse. Cette mé;me corrélation négative existe entre l'aide publique au développement et l'emploi moderne. A l'opposé des résultats ci‐dessus, l'analyse économétrique suggère aussi une relation positive entre l'investissement et l'emploi dans le secteur moderne privé. Il résulte par conséquent de ce qui précède que la clé de la lutte contre le chômage et la pauvreté est l'investissement orienté vers la création d'emploi.     

Privatization and Technical Efficiency: Evidence from the Manufacturing Sector in Malawi

This study evaluates the impact of privatization on the technical efficiency of six privatized enterprises, three state‐owned enterprises and six private enterprises competing in three oligopolistic manufacturing industries in which privatization took place between 1984 and 1991 using panel data between 1970 and 1997. Technical efficiency scores are computed using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) based on the ‘intertemporal frontier’ approach for panel data. The results show that privatization in Malawi is associated with high mean technical efficiency in privatized enterprises and competing state‐owned enterprises and private enterprises. If we account for other sources of technical efficiency, in the full sample we find evidence that the competitive process is more important than privatization in increasing the technical efficiency of all enterprises competing in the same industries. However, the results of the subsample of privatized enterprises show that privatization significantly increases the technical efficiency of privatized enterprises, although we cannot ignore the role of domestic competition, capital intensity, multinationality and structural adjustment programmes as sources of technical efficiency.     

西部农村经济的“四重资本”短缺:1889个农户证据

对西部地区1889个农户家庭经济状况进行深入调查显示,西部地区农村经济呈现智力资本、体力资本、土地资本和金融资本四重短缺,农业基本处于放弃状态,农村经济呈现无根状态。从农村经济金融的角度建立农业与农村经济增长的内在机制已势在必行。     

Creditors’ and Shareholders’ Reporting Demands in Public Versus Private Firms: Evidence from Europe*

In this study we investigate whether the importance of accounting information in contracting and communication with shareholders and creditors affects earnings timeliness in publicly disclosed general‐purpose financial statements. To operationalize the relationship between timeliness demands and the importance of accounting information to shareholders and creditors, we compare the (asymmetry in) earnings timeliness of public firms with that of private firms. We attribute public versus private firm differences in timeliness to shareholders’ demands when a country’s institutions provide strong investor protection. Similarly, we attribute these differences to creditors’ demands when the institutions provide strong creditor protection. Our analysis of public and private firms in 13 Western European countries suggests that creditors and shareholders have different timeliness demands. In particular, we find that the public versus private firm difference in asymmetric timeliness is not associated with a country’s degree of investor protection but positively associated with a country’s degree of creditor protection. The results further suggest that shareholders demand symmetric rather than asymmetric timeliness. An important implication of our study is that general‐purpose financial statements are responsive to creditors’ reporting demands, which contrasts with the idea that these — primarily private — creditors would use special‐purpose reports.     

新媒体使用对城市老年人电视信任的影响——基于西部三省市的实证调查分析

本文在2017年西部城市老年人健康素养调查数据的基础上,探讨新媒体使用对城市老年人电视信任的影响。研究表明,在新媒体时代,电视在老年群体中的最高信任度依然如故,媒介信任的分化现象没有在城市老年人口中出现。城市老年人的电视信任未受到以手机使用和互联网使用为代表的新媒体使用的冲击,而以看电视和看报纸为代表的传统媒体使用依然对城市老年人的电视信任具有促进和提升作用。