Access to infrastructure and women’s time allocation: Implications for growth and gender equality

Improved access to infrastructure is commonly viewed as a critical step to increase women’s labor force participation and promote economic growth in developing countries. This positive relationship is first established in a basic gender-based, overlapping generations model with collective households and congestion costs. The model is then extended to account for endogenous gender bias in the market place and women’s bargaining power, as well as fertility choices and rearing time. Numerical experiments, based on a calibrated version of the extended model, show that increased access to infrastructure may induce women to devote more time to child rearing – in line with the model’s predictions and some of the empirical evidence – thereby mitigating the increase in time allocated to market work. As a result, it may weaken the benefits of increased female labor force participation in terms of reduced gender bias in the market place, improved women’s bargaining power in the family, and higher growth rates in the long run.     

Son preference,children’s gender and parents’ time allocation: evidence from China

This article investigates the effect of children’s gender on parents’ time allocation in developing countries due to the long-existing tradition of son preference. A collective model generates predictions concerning the impact of the birth of sons on family behaviour when son preference is treated as a premium in the father’s utility function. Using data from China, I show that, with more sons instead of daughters, the time spent by both men and women on housework rises, while men have to increase their work time in the labour market and women can reduce theirs. The results are consistent with theoretical predictions and are robust for use in further tests. For the possible endogeneity of children’s gender, I use the law forbidding the use of ultrasound-B to reveal the gender of a foetus as instrumental variables as the identification strategy.     

Marshall’s disciples: knowledge and innovation driving regional economic development and growth

Studies of knowledge and innovation as driving forces of regional development and growth offer a myriad of approaches. Here, questions asked, methods used and answers given are manifold. In our overview, we cover recent developments in this research area. Moreover, we explore the question as to the extent to which approaches in this research area compete with or complement one another. It turns out that the various studies are much more complementary than competitive. However, there is still much ground to be covered before we fully understand the processes underlying the creation and dissemination of knowledge and innovation leading to regional development and growth.JEL Classification: R11, O32, O33, O18 Correspondence to: Claudia WerkerThis Special Issue is the outcome of the workshop on Knowledge and Innovation in Creating and Sustaining Regional Growth in a Global Environment held at Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands, July 10 ^th until 12 ^th , 2003. Financial support by the Dutch research council (NWO), the Centre for Economic Research (CfER) of the Open University Milton Keynes (UK) as well as by Eindhoven Center for Innovation Studies (ECIS, The Netherlands) is gratefully acknowledged; as is the organizational support by ECIS. We are grateful for helpful comments by Ron Boschma and Joachim Schwerin. Moreover, we would like to thank Uwe Cantner for his kind support in making this Special Issue happen. Naturally, the usual disclaimer applies.     

Work ethic and economic development: An investigation into Weber’s thesis

This paper argues that the capitalist spirit associated with Max Weber’s Protestant Ethics is not associated with Protestantism but with the modernization phase of economic development. A preference for hard work is also found amongst other religions and non-religious people at times of high economic growth and decreases after the modernization phase. We find a robust relationship between the level and growth of economic development during an individual’s childhood and this individual’s work ethic. An epidemiological approach is applied to indicate that the direction of the relationship runs from growth and the level of economic development at the time values are formed, to work ethic. Protestant adherence has a positive relation with work ethic, but this relation is less robust than economic development.     

Women’s rights and development

Why has the expansion of women’s economic and political rights coincided with economic development? This paper investigates this question by focusing on a key economic right for women: property rights. The basic hypothesis is that the process of development (i.e., capital accumulation and declining fertility) exacerbated the tension in men’s conflicting interests as husbands versus fathers, ultimately resolving them in favor of the latter. As husbands, men stood to gain from their privileged position in a patriarchal world whereas, as fathers, they were hurt by a system that afforded few rights to their daughters. The model predicts that declining fertility would hasten reform of women’s property rights whereas legal systems that were initially more favorable to women would delay them. The theoretical relationship between capital and the relative attractiveness of reform is non-monotonic but growth inevitably leads to reform. I explore the empirical validity of the theoretical predictions by using cross-state variation in the US in the timing of married women obtaining property and earning rights between 1850 and 1920.     

Individualism–collectivism,governance and economic development

While an individualist society prizes personal control, autonomy and individual accomplishments, a collectivist one puts a premium on loyalty and cohesion and imposes mutual obligations in the context of in-groups. It has been argued that, in contrast to collectivism, individualism will promote economic development directly by sharpening individual incentives to invest, innovate and accumulate wealth. In this article, I argue that the individualist–collectivist dimension can also affect development through its impact on the quality of government. The in-group favoritism inherent to collectivist societies is likely to engender corruption, nepotism and clientelism in the public sphere. In individualist societies, the relative weakness of in-group pressures and an emphasis on personal achievement and worth will contribute towards a more meritocratic and efficient public sector to the benefit of long-run growth. Empirical evidence is provided suggesting that insofar as individualism affects economic development it does so because it promotes good governance.     

Obstacles facing women’s grassroots development strategies in Mexico

Women in the indigenous township of San Pedro Chenalhó, Chiapas have responded to economic crisis and structural adjustment in Mexico with cooperative survival strategies. While women have obtained a certain level of empowerment through these strategies, they have also faced severe obstacles to the development and success of their grassroots initiatives. This article examines the transformative potential of the women’s collective projects, analyzes the obstacles they face, and considers the implications of the case of Chenalhó for other marginalized communities facing similar impediments to grassroots development.JEL codes: J16; J12     

China’s economic reforms and growth prospects

Conventional wisdom attributes China’s rapid economic growth to its model of state capitalism, which combines direct state ownership of the commanding heights of the economy and indirect state control of the rest of the economy through industrial policies and the allocation of credit through state-owned banks. This article argues that China’s growth since 1978 is largely due to the result of the expanding role of markets and the rise of private business. If China systematically adopts the economic reform agenda endorsed by the Chinese Communist Party in the fall of 2013, it likely will avoid a sustained period of much slower growth that some have forecast.     

Evolution and development,categories of Genovesi’s economics1

Abstract

Genovesi represents the highest point of two long-lasting streams of thought. One of them criticises the hostility towards the increase in consumption, of Aristotelian origin. The other, which had starts with Petty, distinguishes more and less productive labours with an empirical approach. In both cases Genovesi provides an evolutionary view of economic development which is based on two processes: the increase in consumption and comforts, on the one hand, and the increase of intellectual labour, on the other. Genovesi’s original and decisive contribution on these themes have been always neglected.     

Gender bias and women’s political performance

We model voters’ gender bias as a prejudice on women’s competence coming from a distorted prior. We analyse the effect of this bias in a two-period two-party election model in which voters care about both policy preference and competence. We find that, if voters (wrongly) believe that women are drawn from a distribution of competences with higher weights on lower values, female politicians are less likely to win office but, when elected, they are on average more competent than male elected officials. As a consequence, female incumbents seek re-election more often.     

Knowledge Diffusion and economic Growth based on Fourier’s law

Learning is the basic thing for a person’s growth, whenever in school or on the work. Also the economic growth of a country depends its technology and science. The knowledge diffusion in a firm dynamic system is important. Some former models have been given by Fernando E. Alvarez, Francisco J. Buera and Robert E. Lucas, Jr’s paper: “Models of Idea Flows” (Alvarez et al., 2008). Our model based on the earlier work but extend the definition of spread direction based on Fourier’s law, in which case can also explain the asymptotic equilibrium state. Solving the partial differential equation helps us to learn the solution well. A simulation is given using finite difference method to sketch the curve moving, also comparing with the realistic economic curves and they are fit. It can well explain the economic stable in the closed system of a single country and a “huge” change under some special outside “source” power.     

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Singapore’s economic growth

Singapore’s remarkable success in economic development has been strongly associated with the country’s vigorous efforts to embrace the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution to promote economic growth. This study provides a comprehensive investigation of the contributions of ICT to Singapore’s economic growth during the 1990–2008 period. It documents three key findings. First, there is a strong positive association between the intensity of ICT use and value-added and labor productivity growth at the sector level. Second, ICT investment contributed approximately 1 percentage point to Singapore’s GDP during 1990–2008, and its role in driving economic growth has become increasingly important over time. Third, the contribution of the ICT manufacturing sector to Singapore’s growth was notable, but it was on the decline and faced difficult restructuring challenges. This paper also provides valuable policy lessons and strategic insights for governments in both developed and developing countries that aspire to embrace ICT to promote economic growth.     

Trade policy,market ‘distortions’, and agriculture in the process of economic development Brazil, 1950–1974

Brazilian agriculture was heavily and increasingly taxed during the 1950–1974 Import Substitution Industrialization process as a consequence of ‘distortions’ in the price structure. The subsidized rural credit policy from the mid 60's benefited only those segments of producers already well-off and more technologically advanced. Thus, the economic policy package of the period was highly selective and discriminatory both between sectors and within agriculture. The article systematically analyses the size and direction of the income transfers involved in this process.     

Does Benford’s Law hold in economic research and forecasting?

First and higher order digits in data sets of natural and socio-economic processes often follow a distribution called Benford’s law. This phenomenon has been used in business and scientific applications, especially in fraud detection for financial data. In this paper, we analyse whether Benford’s law holds in economic research and forecasting. First, we examine the distribution of regression coefficients and standard errors in research papers, published in Empirica and Applied Economics Letters. Second, we analyse forecasts of GDP growth and CPI inflation in Germany, published in Consensus Forecasts. There are two main findings: The relative frequencies of the first and second digits in economic research are broadly consistent with Benford’s law. In sharp contrast, the second digits of Consensus Forecasts exhibit a massive excess of zeros and fives, raising doubts on their information content.     

Health-related quality-of-life,work productivity,and economic burden among patients with Parkinson’s disease in Japan

Abstract

Aims: This study aimed to characterize the burden of Parkinson’s disease (PD) by examining health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL), impairments to work productivity and daily activities, healthcare resource use, and associated costs among Japanese patients with PD.

Materials and methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study used data from the 2009–2014 Japan National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS) (n?=?144,692). HRQoL (Short Form 36-Item Health Survey version 2), impairments to work productivity and daily activities (Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire), healthcare resource utilization, and annual costs were compared between respondents with PD (n?=?133) and controls without PD (n?=?144,559). The effect of PD on outcomes was estimated using propensity score weighting and multivariable regression models.

Results: HRQoL was lower in patients with PD compared to the control group, with reduced physical (41.3 vs 51.3) and mental (35.7 vs 45.4) component summary scores and health state utility scores (0.62 vs 0.77; p?<?.001 for all). Patients with PD also reported higher levels of absenteeism (19.3% vs 3.3%), presenteeism (45.2% vs 18.5%), overall work impairment (52.8% vs 20.3%), and activity impairment (49.6% vs 20.8%) than controls without PD (p?<?.001 for all). In addition, patients with PD had higher healthcare resource utilization, direct (¥3,856,921/$37,994 vs ¥715,289/$7,046), and indirect (¥2,573,938/$25,356 vs ¥902,534/$8,891) costs compared with controls without PD (p?<?.001 for both).

Limitations: Data were cross-sectional and did not allow for causal inferences. Although the NHWS demographically represents the Japanese adult population, it is unclear whether it adequately represents the adult population with PD in Japan.

Conclusions: PD was associated with poorer HRQoL, greater work productivity loss, and higher direct and indirect costs. The findings suggest that an unmet need exists among patients with PD in Japan. Improving PD treatment and management could benefit both patients and society.     

Small-medium sized enterprise cluster and small town economic development

The small-medium sized enterprise （SME） in China has made considerable progress and been the main power to promote the regional economic development. SME cluster at the small town in the developed areas along the east coast of China. This paper analyses the relationship between SME cluster and the economic development of small towns. The conclusion is that SME cluster is the direction of the small town＇s development. The special cultural tradition and value conception are the important location conditions to develop SME cluster. In the end, the author provides some countermeasures to develop SME clusters in the small towns.     

Cuba’s reform and economic growth: a comparative perspective with Vietnam

Cuban reform process lags behind the GDP growth reached by the Vietnamese. When comparing the evolution of the different sectors and demand components of GDP, Vietnam has had higher growth rates in all cases, highlighting exports first and investment second. Once the Balance of Payments Constrained Growth model has been estimated, the significant effect of the foreign exchange constraints on growth for both countries is confirmed. However, the Vietnam growth can be explained not only by its export success. International openness, which included the end of the US embargo, and institutional factors also explains the differential of results.     

Experiments,policy, and theory in development economics: a response to Glenn Harrison’s ‘field experiments and methodological intolerance’

In ‘Field Experiments and Methodological Intolerance,’ Glenn Harrison develops a criticism of randomized field experiments and denounces ‘intolerance’ for lab experiments and a ‘disconnect from theory.’ We argue that (i) lab experiments and RCTs are based on different methodological approaches and therefore fulfill different scientific objectives; (ii) key features of the RCT methodology make it highly relevant for policy-making, which accounts for a large part of its uptake; (iii) RCTs foster a convergence of interests between policy-makers and researchers around the study of economic mechanisms, which makes it possible to challenge and improve economic theory based on real-world facts; and (iv) hybrid forms of experimentation are being increasingly used and open promising avenues. In sum, economic research based on RCTs is more and more connected to theory and other forms of experiment, while also helping policy-makers tackle daunting problems of poverty and exclusion.     

Do financial development,foreign direct investment,and economic growth enhance industrial development? Fresh evidence from Sub-Sahara African countries

Portuguese Economic Journal - This study investigates the impact of financial development, economic growth, and foreign direct investment on enhancing industrial growth for a panel of selected...