EXPORTS, URBAN GROWTH, AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Several cross-countries regression analyses have revealed that exports positively contribute to economic growth in less developed countries, implying that apart from the increases in the stocks of labor and capital, growth can also be stimulated by reallocating resources from the less efficient non-export sector to the more productive export sector. This paper re-specifies the relation between exports and economic growth for non-urban goods exporting African countries. The impact of exports on the growth rate of national income is analyzed along with that of the growth of population in the urban region.     

POVERTY,INSTITUTIONS AND ECONOMICS: HERNANDO DE SOTO ON PROPERTY RIGHTS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT1

Hernando de Soto's analysis of the high cost of establishing, protecting and trading in property rights in his home country of Peru and other developing nations demonstrates the centrality of institutions to economic analysis and outcomes. The effective denial of property rights to hundreds of thousands of poor people means that their economic potential and that of their countries is largely untapped. De Soto's Peruvian think‐tank, the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, has worked for 20 years towards the implementation of reforms to clear property titles and reduce the excessive regulation that stifles developing world entrepreneurship.     

FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: A META‐ANALYSIS

We analyze 1334 estimates from 67 studies that examine the effect of financial development on economic growth. Taken together, the studies imply a positive and statistically significant effect, but the individual estimates vary widely. We find that both research design and heterogeneity in the underlying effect play a role in explaining the differences in results. Studies that do not address endogeneity tend to overstate the effect of finance on growth. While the effect seems to be weaker in less developed countries, the effect decreases worldwide after the 1980s. Our results also suggest that stock markets support faster economic growth than other financial intermediaries.     

BROADBAND AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: A MUNICIPAL CASE STUDY FROM FLORIDA

In this paper, we explore whether broadband investment by municipalities has an effect on economic growth. To do so, we employ an econometric model to compare economic growth between counties in the State of Florida. Our econometric model shows that Lake County – a small county in central Florida – has experienced significantly greater growth in economic activity relative to comparable Florida counties since making its municipal fiber-optic network generally available to businesses and municipal institutions in the county. Our findings are consistent with other analyses that postulate that broadband infrastructure can be a significant contributor to economic growth.     

LOCAL PUBLIC FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: The Indonesian Context*

This paper considers the relative centralization or decentralization of public finance, and relates the equity and efficiency issues to the special features of developing economies. The paper considers the centralization of taxation and service provision in Indonesia in relation to these theoretical principles and indicates ways in which we may expect decentralization to proceed in the Indonesian context.     

LAND MARKETS AND THE EFFECT OF REGULATION ON FORMAL-SECTOR DEVELOPMENT IN URBAN INDONESIA

Until recently, urban land and housing markets in Indonesia seemed to function well. Informal-sector development provided low-income housing affordably. Through government programs, formal-sector developers could build housing for all but the poor. Since 1989, however, daily conversation pictures land speculation as rampant and formal-sector housing as rising beyond the means of the middle class. Newspapers carry stories of conflicts between small landowners and large developers with government officials in between. This article investigates this situation by addressing two related questions: are urban land prices rising “too fast?”; how do land regulations and development practices affect costs, and who pays these costs? The article includes quantitative estimates of urban land prices, changes in urban land supply, movement of land through the permitting process, and the effect of development regulations on costs. Data come from a literature survey and interviews of some of the largest formal-sector developers in Indonesia. A principal finding concerns a development regulation called a “location permit” and the “social function” of land in Indonesian law. Although helpful as a means of assembling land in Indonesia's highly fragmented land markets, location permits allow formal-sector developers to hold land off the market and pay low prices to small landowners. Ultimately, the “social function” of land under Indonesian law holds down the price formal-sector developers pay for land, but not at the price at which they sell their product. The article concludes by proposing reforms to the regulatory process.     

URBAN DEVELOPMENT ISSUES IN THE PACIFIC RIM

Using a broad definition of the Pacific Rim (including some countries in Latin America), this paper examines selected aspects of Pacific Rim urban development. Despite the overwhelming economic dominance of the United States and Japan, urbanization in Pacific Rim countries is very diverse. Yet growth in most large cities on the Rim is decelerating, suggesting a possible paradox of rapid economic growth coexisting with slower urban growth. Location on the Rim may be important only for certain types of economic interaction, i.e. those subject to distance decay rather than being transmitted electronically. The internationalization of urbanization in the Pacific Rim is open to benign rather than dependency interpretations, given that economic and social conditions are better in developing countries in this region than in the rest of the world. The large size of many Pacific Rim primate cities suggests the need for a polycentric spatial structure, and the issue is how much intervention and of what kind is needed to ensure that decentralization takes place efficiently. Transportation may be one sector where successful innovations are transferable from one city to another. Environmental quality is a serious but neglected problem in many Pacific Rim cities, but will become more important as incomes rise. It remains unclear whether Metropolitan Development Authorities or some other form of regional government are needed for efficient metropolitan government. The most distinctive feature of Pacific Rim urban development is the commonality of urban problems that arise in rapidly growing economies.     

EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN QUALITY OF LIFE AMENITIES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTHEAST USA

This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion about amenity-driven rural development strategies by examining the relationship between quality of life amenities and rural economic development in the Southeast USA. The premise is that what is true at a national level may provide a partial or misleading picture when we look at particular areas. Additionally, data available at the county level can often provide richer and more precise information than what is found at the national level. The paper estimates spatial regression models using county-level data. For the most part, the results suggest that the differences in quality of life and amenities factors can explain a large portion of the trend in per capita income, employment and population change across counties in the Southeast USA.     

TOWARDS A SYNTHESIS OF ISLAM AND THE MARKET ECONOMY? THE JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT PARTY'S ECONOMIC REFORMS IN TURKEY

Turkey has some unique characteristics, one of which is that it is the only Muslim country seeking to join the European Union. Internally, it has been going through a new and challenging experience in recent years: implementing free-market economic policies under a 'Conservative Democrat' government, the leadership of which comes from moderate Islamism. Many observers think that Turkish experience shows how Islam and the market economy are compatible. This article critically evaluates these reformist economic policies implemented since late 2002 and highlights the major factors behind Turkey's success story.     

ECONOMIC PROSPECTS AND POLICY

Patrick Foley agrees with Tim Congdon on the unimportance of the current account and with Patrick Minford on the economy's medium-term growth prospects.