The Political Economy of Public Expenditures in Agriculture: Applications of Concepts to Mozambique

This paper undertakes an investigation of agricultural public investments in Mozambique, drawing on insights from qualitative field interviews conducted in Mozambique, secondary data analysis and examination of the existing empirical literature, and by situating these insights within a political economy conceptual framework. We explore the driving factors behind the amount and allocation of public funds to agriculture, and behind the differential attention that various types of public investments receive in the process of making decisions on resource allocation. Agricultural public investments are more likely to be made that have two key features: higher attributability to politicians and donors of the output of public spending, and a shorter lag time between expenditures incurred and outputs produced. Evidence on geographical targeting of agricultural public funds corresponds more closely with theories suggesting that resources are used to sway communities opposed to the ruling party, rather than to reward political supporters. Examination of the effect of actors' and organisations' incentives and constraints on resource allocation in agriculture points to the importance of not treating “government,” “the ruling party” and other institutions as monolithic bodies; the paper instead highlights how differentiated interests within seemingly coherent institutions drive what gets public expenditure attention in the agricultural sector.     

The impact of data snooping on the testing of technical analysis: An empirical study of Asian stock markets

The primary aim of this study is to investigate the validity and predictability of technical analysis in eight Asian equity markets. We employ the bootstrap tests of White (2000) and Hansen (2005) to determine whether any superior trading rule is found to exist amongst the ‘universe’ of technical trading rules identified by Sullivan et al. (1999). We use these powerful bootstrap tests to ascertain the profitability of technical analysis, along with two institutional adjustments for non-synchronous trading and transaction costs. The empirical results indicate that these three elements, data snooping, non-synchronous trading and transaction costs, have significant impact on the overall performance of technical analysis; indeed, the results for these eight Asian stock markets support the efficient market hypothesis, demonstrating that the generation of economic profits through the use of technical analysis is extremely unlikely with these particular markets.     

Weekday seasonality of stock returns: The contrary case of China

We document that Chinese stock returns exhibit early-in-the-week effects opposite-signed to those observed worldwide. The period of analysis is 2001–2016. Dominated by individual investors, Chinese stock markets offer unique out-of-sample insight regarding the source of weekday seasonality, ascribed elsewhere to institutional investors’ trading patterns. High returns to the market and to small, speculative stocks early-in-the-week pose a refuter to the mood explanation for the conventional (negative) Monday effect. A battery of tests suggests that the patterns in the Market, SMB, and RMW factors are jointly associated with Chinese individual investors whose demand is tilted towards small, speculative stocks. Our findings point to a potential role of dominant investor type in driving weekday patterns and the RMW premium.     

Increasing employability in the emerging tourism sector in Mozambique: Results of a qualitative study

Mozambique’s tourism sector could play a key role in the country’s socio-economic development, especially in the region of Cabo Delgado where the demand for tourist services is expected to increase. Nonetheless, several constraints (e.g. the lack of adequate training) are hindering the capacity of local people to take full advantage of this opportunity. Qualitative research has been performed in order to align vocational training programmes with the needs of the emerging tourism sector. Local and foreign key informants were interviewed in order to gain a better understanding of training needs and to gain insights into developing training programmes that can enhance local people’s employability. The main findings highlight the lack of symbolisation of tourism and its correlates from local communities. Therefore, rather than just delivering technical skills, training programmes should also promote a ‘culture of tourism’ and a more favourable attitude towards ‘working in the tourism sector’.     

取消股票发行市盈率限制的实证研究

企业经营绩效好坏在很大程度上取决于激励机制的有效性 ,我国国有股份制企业低效率的关键因素之一是激励机制存在问题。借鉴西方先进的管理经验 ,股权激励是解决股份公司委托代理矛盾的最好方法之一。本文阐述了股权激励制度的理论基础 ,对股权激励效应进行了分析 ,并针对中国     

Foreign dependence of individual stock prices: The role of aggregate product market developments

In this paper, we analyze the role of aggregate variables in the transmission from international stock price developments to individual domestic stock prices in a small open stock market. In particular, a theoretical and econometric model is used to determine whether international aggregate product market developments explain observed differences in foreign dependence among individual Belgian stocks. The results suggest that, except for the stocks of some internationally oriented companies, expected international production is not the most important explanatory variable and that an estimation model of aggregate fundamentals explains only part of individual stock price adjustments.     

Reconsidering patents and economic development: A case study of the Turkish pharmaceutical industry

The role that patents play in Third World economic development has been a subject of growing debate during the last two decades. The empirical evidence, however, has been insufficient to allow a closer evaluation of the contending arguments.The objective of this article is to reconsider the main issues of the debate on patents on the basis of the relatively long experience of non-patentability, that is since 1961, in the Turkish pharmaceutical industry. It is argued here that there is no simple and straightforward relationship between patents and Third World industrialization, either in the way that the supporters of the systems have perceived or on the grounds that the critics have raised their objections.     

Export instability and economic development: The case of Colombia

Zusammenfassung Instabilit?t der Exporte und wirtschaftliche Entwicklung: Der Fall Kolumbien. — In diesem Artikel wird über ein Forschungsvorhaben berichtet, in dem die l?ngerfristigen Wirkungen instabiler Exporte auf die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung untersucht werden. Als Analyseinstrument dient ein gesamtwirtschaftliches Modell des allgemeinen Gleichgewichts, das für ein recht typisches rohstoffexportierendes Entwicklungsland, n?mlich Kolumbien, spezifiziert wurde. Das Ergebnis stützt die These, da\ Exportinstabilit?t die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung beeintr?chtigt. Eine st?rkere, durch instabile Exporte induzierte gesamtwirtschaftliche Instabilit?t führt einerseits zu h?heren Ersparnissen und andererseits dazu, da\ die Regierung mehr internationale Reserven nachfragt, um bei gr?\eren transitorischen exogenen Schocks stabilisierend eingreifen zu k?nnen. Insgesamt ergibt sich, da\ bei Einkommensinstabilit?t die Reservenachfrage der Regierung die “freiwillige” Ersparnis der Konsumenten übersteigt, so da\ die realen Investitionen in der Gesamtwirtschaft betr?chtlich sinken. Dies hat negative Folgen für die gegenw?rtige Wohlfahrt und auf l?ngere Sicht auch für das Wirtschaftswachstum in Kolumbien. Von daher kann man schlie\en, da\ internationale wirtschaftspolitische Ma\nahmen, die das Halten einer instabilit?tsbedingt h?heren Reserve in Kolumbien überflüssig machen würden, dem Lande helfen k?nnen, die sch?dlichen Wirkungen der Instabilit?t zu vermeiden.

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Résumé L’instabilité des exportations et le développement économique: Le cas de la Colombie. — Cet article donne un rapport sur des recherches regardant les effets de l’instabilité des exportations sur le développement économique. L’auteur applique un computable modèle d’équilibre général pour étudier l’impact des fluctuations des exportations sur l’allocation des ressources et le revenu en Colombie, un assez typique pays en voie de développement qui exporte des matières premières. L’analyse supporte la proposition que l’instabilité des exportations est au détriment du développement économique en Colombie. Une instabilité plus haute dans l’économie nationale associée avec l’instabilité des exportations mène d’une part aux épargnes augmentées. D’autre part le gouvernement demande des réserves internationales de plus afin de stabiliser l’économie s’il y a des grands chocs exogènes transitoires. L’auteur arrive au résultat que la demande de réserve gouvernementale excède le montant des ressources mis à disposition par les épargnes volontaires des consommateurs de sorte que l’investissement réel agrégé doit baisser considérablement. Cela a des conséquences négatives pour le bien-être et à long terme aussi pour la croissance économique en Colombie. Sur la base de ces résultats on peut conclure que des mesures qui rendraient inutiles une augmentation des réserves internationales aideraient la Colombie à surmonter les effets adverses de l’instabilité.

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Resumen Inestabilidad de las exportaciones y desarrollo económico: el caso de Colombia. — El presente artículo informa sobre la investigación sobre los efectos de la inestabilidad de las exportaciones sobre el desarrollo económico. Se utiliza un modelo de equilibrio general computable para estudiar el impacto de las fluctuaciones de exportación sobre la asignación y el ingreso en Colombia, un típico país en desarrollo exportador de materias primas. El análisis efectuado en este artículo da sustento a la proposición que la inestabilidad de exportación es perjudicial para el desarrollo económico en Colombia. Una mayor inestabilidad asociada con inestabilidad de las exportaciones conduce por un lado a mayores ahorros. Por el otro lado el gobierno demanda mayores reservas internacionales con el fin de ejercer una influencia estabilizadora ante la presencia de largos estremecimientos exógenos transitorios. Resulta que la demanda del gobierno por reservas excede la cantidad de recursos proporcionada por los ahorros ?voluntarios? de los consumidores en vista de ingresos inestables, de tal manera que la inversión real agregada tiene que disminuir considerablemente. Esto tiene consecuencias negativas para el bienestar y en el largo plazo también sobre el crecimiento económico de Colombia. Sobre la base de estos resultados se puede concluir que las medidas que conducen a aumentar las reservas internacionales en vista de inestabilidad en las exportaciones, innecesariamente ayudaría a Colombia a sobreponerse a los efectos adversos de la inestabilidad.

     

Debt and development: The role of foreign capital in economic growth

Capital flows, whether between individuals or nations, are dominated by a two- fold paradox. Borrowers are initially primarily interested in obtaining sufficient funds for their needs, but once they have obtained a loan, their indebtedness becomes their principal concern. While a loan is being negotiated the lenders usually have the upper hand, but once it is made, they become dependent on the borrowers for repayment with interest. Their power to withhold future loans becomes their only real measure of control. Borrowing and lending has costs and benefits, and these balance out only in exceptional cases for both the borrowing and lending countries and the principal social groups within them. The debate about the impact of international capital flows accordingly has a long history. This paper begins with a historical perspective, and then reviews the principal characteristics of capital flows to developing countries since the 1950s. A discussion of the impact of capital flows on development, with a particular emphasis on trends in developing country indebtedness, follows. A brief examination of borrowing and debt management issues for borrowers, lenders and the international community concludes the paper.     

The demand for money in a small open economy: The case of Switzerland

The paper uses cointegration analysis to investigate the demand for money in Switzerland in the context of an open economy. It considers the general process of financial asset substitution and tests for the relevance of an exchange rate and a foreign interest rate variable in a conventional money demand equation. The results show that the variables entering into the demand for either monetary base or narrow money equation may not form a cointegrated system unless the exchange rate or foreign interest rate variable is included. This provides support to both the currency substitution and capital mobility hypotheses.     

The world economic crisis and the children: A United States case study

This is a review of the United States experience with issues of child health and services, as they relate to changes in economic trends. No existing data systems are entirely adequate for reporting on the current health status of children, an important consideration for the monitoring of children's health in the United States is the focus on subgroups such as those who are disadvantaged for reasons of poverty, discrimination or geographic isolation. Ample evidence exists that children living in poverty suffer adverse health consequences and that the proportion of children living in poverty in the United States has increased steadily since 1975 and dramatically since 1981. Most measures of health status and health risks for children show steady improvements througout the 1970s. The exercise of public responsibility for financing and providing essential services and supports held constant or improved during this recession period, especially during the recession of 1974–1975. The health status and risks for children since 1981 appear to be adversely affected which must be attributed to a combination of circumstances that include serious recession, increased poverty rates for households with children and diminished health benefits and social support services. These findings suggest that when either local or widespread economic reversals are anticipated, health services and social supports for children need to be expanded rather than contracted.     

Economic reform: Political environment and the efficacy of economic conditionalities

This paper presents a public choice model that consists of a special interest group that benefits from distortionary economic policies, the general public who suffers from such policies, and a government that implements these policies. The paper examines how these actors respond to externally imposed conditions that force the government either to implement economic reforms or face the loss of outside assistance. Depending on the domestic political environment, the imposition of economic conditionalities may prove effective, unnecessary, or even counterproductive.     

Tourism and local economic development: The case of the Highlands Meander

Local economic development (LED) planning is of major policy importance in post-apartheid South Africa. Although issues surrounding LED have attracted considerable policy attention, one neglected theme has been the role of tourism as a lead sector for LED. The aim of this article is to examine the planning and workings of one tourism-led LED initiative in South Africa. The case study is that of the Highlands Meander in Mpumalanga province, where five towns are collaborating in their LED initiatives in order to promote the area's tourism products. A key finding is that this growing tourism initiative is currently not benefiting local black communities. Recommendations are offered for developing a pro-poor tourism initiative.