Inventing social capital: Evidence from African American inventors, 1843–1930

Much recent work has focused on the influence of social capital on innovative outcomes. Little research has been done on disadvantaged groups who were often restricted from participation in social networks that provide information necessary for invention and innovation. Unique new data on African American inventors and patentees between 1843 and 1930 permit an empirical investigation of the relation between social capital and economic outcomes. I find that African Americans used both traditional, i.e., occupation-based, and nontraditional, i.e., civic, networks to maximize inventive output and that laws constraining social-capital formation are most negatively correlated with economically important inventive activity.     

Did military service during World War I affect the economic status of American veterans?

I exploit discontinuous changes in the likelihood of military service induced by the transition between different registration regimes under the World War I draft to determine if wartime service affected economic outcomes. A new 1900–1930 linked sample is constructed to study the short-term effects, while the 1960 census is used for the long-term analysis. Implementing a fuzzy regression discontinuity design and a difference-in-discontinuities approach, I find little evidence of a causal relationship between wartime service and economic status. This may be due to America’s relatively short involvement in the war, coupled with comparatively less-generous benefits thereafter.     

Are people in the SADC region willing to pay more tax to fund public healthcare?

ABSTRACT

For Africa to develop and achieve sustainable development, African governments have to prioritise spending on public health. However, the current spending data shows that health spending is a continuing struggle for African countries. Many researchers have the view that African governments have to collect more tax to spend enough on public healthcare. The question here is what extent people are willing to pay more tax to increase spending on public healthcare? Employing a multilevel regression model on Afrobarometer survey data, this paper examined to what extent individual and country level factors influence people’s willingness to pay more tax to increase spending on public healthcare in 12 Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states. This study found that peoples’ trust in their government is an important determinant of willingness to pay more tax, while factors such as the country’s quality of democracy, economic condition, and current per capita health expenditure have no influence.     

The Southern African customs union: A reappraisal

The paper attempts to evaluate, as far as possible quantitatively, the costs and benefits to the countries of the ‘Southern African periphery’ (Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland) of participation with South Africa in the current customs union agreement. On balancing the agreement's measurable effects (on industrial development, exports, government revenue and the cost of living) against one another, it appears that on sanguine assumptions only, there would be a substantial benefit to Botswana and a much more moderate benefit to Lesotho if the customs union were dismantled and replaced by separately protected national markets. Such a calculation, however, neglects what may be the most important benefit and cost to the ‘peripheral’ countries of leaving the customs union, namely the increase of ‘economic independence’ and the risk of South African retaliation respectively: themes which are explored in the final section.     

The changing distribution of earnings in Ireland, 1937 to 1968

Data from the Irish Census of Industrial Production are used to illuminate changes in the distribution of earnings from 1937 to 1968, an important period in Irish economic history, relevant to debates about globalization and inequality. Between the late 1930s and mid‐1950s there was a greater compression of earnings than in the US's ‘great compression’ of the same period. Sectoral data suggest that this occurred quite generally. The degree of integration with the British labour market is key, and the impact of out‐migration, wage controls during the Second World War, and industrial protection all merit in‐depth investigation.     

The Emergency Land Fund: Robert S. Browne, the Idea and the Man

This article offers a snap shot of one of the several black institutions founded in 1972, by the late Robert S. Browne—the Emergency Land Fund (ELF). The idea of ELF—land ownership by blacks as an asset to build upon for economic well being, a cultural and social glue to ground a sense of family, place and community—was but another strategic and timely insight on the part of Robert S. Browne. The article is the story about the journey of ELF, a southern black-belt African American led institution, lead by Robert S. Browne it’s Chair, and it’s political, economic and policy impact on both public and private institutions, which for the most part, restricted and undermined the aspirations of black’s to own and benefit from landownership. It is also about the positive impact ELF had on rural black landowners, taking the form of organized networks challenging the discriminatory and land grabbing practices of both public and private sector actors. Robert S. Browne was a Man ahead of his time and a giant in the eyes of many who have follow his example today with asset development strategies that benefit communities of color.     

Higher education,employment and economic growth: Exploring the interactions

ABSTRACT

This article interrogates the impact and nature of South Africa’s post-apartheid economic growth performance through the lens of human capital investment with a particular emphasis on higher education. The South African economy has been characterised by a skills-biased trajectory, ensuring jobs for the better educated. By differentiating between tertiary and vocational training, we find that further education and training (FET) graduates are almost as likely to be employed as school leavers without higher education. We analyse the extent to which the educational attainments of labour affect the nature and trajectory of economic growth in South Africa, by estimating Olley and Pakes’ two-stage regression on a modified Cobb–Douglas production function. The results indicate that the degree cohort contributes to economic growth whilst other higher education institutions, including FET colleges, do not productively contribute to economic growth.     

The “flying geese” model of Asian economic development: origin, theoretical extensions, and regional policy implications

This paper presents a comprehensive review of the “flying geese” (FG) model, which recently has become well known as a way of explaining rapid economic growth in East Asia. Kaname Akamatsu’s 1930s work introduced the concept. Through statistical analysis of industrial development in pre-war Japan, this author followed Akamatsu in developing a theoretical model called Kojima Model I. Subsequent works produced Kojima Models II and III.The regional transmission of FG industrialization has been noted as an engine of Asian economic growth, due in part to Saburo Okita’s forceful presentation of the theme of the FG model in a 1985 lecture. It is hoped that this paper will help to advance a better understanding of the FG model, its historical origin, its theoretical extensions, and its relevancy, as well as its incompleteness as a model of economic development.     

The New Deal at war: alphabet agencies’ expenditure patterns, 1940-1945

While a multitude of New Deal “relief, recovery, and reform” agencies were created in response to the 1930s economic shock, many of these same agencies were subsumed by the Federal Works Agency and played key national defense roles during the 1940s. We examine the wartime expenditure patterns of these agencies, as well as spending on war supply contracts and war-related industrial facilities, to determine whether Depression-era economic goals were addressed during the Second World War. We find that some specific aspects of the New Deal economic agenda were carried out during the war. Furthermore, wartime spending by the alphabet agencies was significantly correlated with the expenditure patterns of those agencies during the 1930s, suggesting that the transition from economic to military objectives may not have been as pointed as the Roosevelt Administration often asserted.     

“Weak” Trade,European States in the International Arms 1920–1937: The impact of external threats,market forces,and domestic constraints

Abstract

This article analyses the small- and medium-size arms trade behaviour of nine “weak” (that is, limited political and economic influence) European states in the interwar period: Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. In particular, the significance of external threats, market forces and domestic constraints is assessed for these states' military trade. Firstly, the hypothesis that there might be fewer domestic constraints on the military trade behaviour of these states was not supported by the analysis. The increased military spending of the 1930s seemed to benefit the domestic producers. Secondly, most of these countries were dependent on their aggregate military trade, especially military exports. Thirdly, the hypothesis that the differences between these states might be explained by geographical, strategic or economic factors was found too simplistic. Only proximate groupings could be developed based on various types of categories. Fourthly, “weak” states were found to benefit from the intense international political and economic competition of the 1930s, enabling the pursuit of new military export markets amidst increasing threats.     

Moving to the right place at the right time: Economic effects on migrants of the Manchuria Plague of 1910–11

How do initial arrival conditions in a host locality affect migrants’ subsequent economic welfare? Manchuria (Northeast China), which attracted millions of migrants from North China during the first half of the twentieth century, experienced a devastating pneumonic plague outbreak in 1910–11. Using data from a rural household survey in the mid-1930s, we explore how the post-plague conditions in various villages affected migrant cohorts’ long-term wealth accumulation. We find that the migrant households that moved to plague-hit villages soon after the plague ended prospered the most: they owned at least 112% more land than migrant households that either moved elsewhere or migrated to the same village before or long after the plague outbreak. Our results are robust after controlling for factors that influence the long-term wealth accumulation of migrants and are not caused by selection.     

Making sense of immigration policy: Argentina, 1870–1930

The aim of this article is to disentangle the different forces that shaped Argentinian immigration policy from 1870 to 1930. A new index of immigration policy is presented, showing how immigration restrictions increased over time but, in contrast with the US, Argentina remained open to mass migration until the 1930s. The quantitative evidence presented here suggests that there were economic reasons to restrict immigration prior to the 1930s, namely rising inequality, the closing of the frontier, and the declining relative quality of immigrants. A political economy interpretation helps to understand the long‐run evolution of immigration policy. Labour interests could not be translated into Parliament in a direct way. A large share of workers did not have the right to vote simply because they were foreigners. Inequality influenced immigration policy through social unrest since those negatively affected by massive immigration developed alternative actions: general strikes, labour unrest, and violence. Contrary to what economic theory would have predicted, anti‐immigration legislation came from Argentinian capital and landowners who feared political and social unrest.     

中国双向FDI协调发展与经济增长相互影响吗?——基于“双循环”背景的实证检验

通过观察一个国家的IFDI、OFDI常常与该国的经济增长呈现出正相关关系的现象,本文使用新经济地理学模型,依据对中国双向FDI协调发展与经济增长之间相互作用机理的分析,推演两者之间的空间内生性逻辑。实证方面,基于2003-2018年中国31个省域的面板数据和广义空间三阶段最小二乘(GS3SLS)估计,运用空间面板数据联立方程模型对中国双向FDI协调发展与经济增长之间相互作用的宏观效应进行了统计测度。研究表明:⑴在全国层面上,双向FDI协调发展能够促进经济增长;同时,经济增长也能够促进双向FDI的协调发展。在分样本讨论的情况下,该结论依然成立。⑵双向FDI协调发展与经济增长之间的相互影响存在空间分异。总体而言,中东部地区的双向FDI协调发展对经济增长的促进作用更为明显。此外,双向FDI协调发展与经济增长之间的相互影响关系还与产业结构升级、人均资本存量、企业所得税等有关。     

Leaders and Tenures in Sub-Saharan Africa

While there has been extensive evidence provided on the varying effects of leaders’ extended tenures on economic growth, political institutions and conflict, little attention in the empirical literature has been given to the determinants that may contribute to long tenures. Without being cognisant of these underlying factors, any efforts aimed at limiting tenures to progress economic development and democratic institutions will have little effect, as evidenced by several leaders’ attempts to subvert constitutional laws in this regard. Using panel data analysis for sub-Saharan African countries between 1960 and 2015, this study looks at the likely determinants (both at individual and country level) that can increase or decrease political survival. The preliminary results suggest that at an individual level, the leader’s age, political career and rebel experience increase the likelihood of extended tenure, while the leader’s education reduces the probability of extended tenure. At a country level, the country’s wealth is likely to increase tenures, while increased conflict and strong institutions decrease a leader’s tenure.     

经济地理、政治版图与不对称相互依赖的权力效用——以俄罗斯阻止乌克兰加入北约为例

国际政治现实中存在着有趣的不对称经济相互依赖未能产生有效权力的情形,不对称依赖较小的一方不能凭借其在经济相互依赖中的有利地位,通过使用经济手段,将经济影响力转化为政治影响力,进而对依赖较大的一方形成权力,从而实现自身的外交目标。在对相关文献进行述评的基础上,作者构建了一个经济地理和政治版图的新解释框架以解释该现象。在引入经济地理和政治版图的基本框架之后,提出依赖较大国内部经济地理和政治版图的错位或者契合是影响不对称相互依赖能否在短期内发挥权力效用的关键因素。在两者错位的情况下,权力难以顺利实现;在两者契合的状况下,权力容易实现。同时,作者选取并详细剖析了2004年以来俄罗斯借助经济不对称依赖中的优势地位阻止乌克兰加入北约这一案例,以论证这一核心观点。     

Black economic thought and the southern economy

From early in the nineteenth century Southern whites often analyzed the ills of the South as originating in the region’s colonial relation to the North. A survey of black economic thought, academic, journalistic and political, suggests that this notion was never strongly endorsed by black intellectuals. The outstanding exceptions were works by black sociologists collaborating with white colleagues in the 1930s. For the most part, however, black writers subscribed to a view that emphasized the dependent nature, not of the South, but of the economy of the black community in its relations with the South.     

Clé Lesger,The Rise of the Amsterdam Market and Information Exchange – Merchants,Commercial Expansion and Change in the Spatial Economy of the Low Countries,c.1550–1630

Abstract

Between 1930 and 1935, Sverre Steen wrote four volumes of Det norske folks liv og historie [The Life and History of the Norwegian People], covering the period 1500–1814. He has now half completed the task of bringing the work further towards our own time in a comprehensive series entitled ‘Free Norway’. The first three volumes are devoted to political history in the period immediately following 1814. In this, the fourth volume, entitled ‘The Old Society’, Steen examines the social and economic history of the period 1814–1840. Both the title and the arrangement of the book indicate that Steen's intention is to provide a survey of the foundations of Norwegian society before continuing his work in further volumes, not only about ‘Free Norway’, but also about ‘New Norway’.     

经济增长对我国能源消费的影响

在中国现阶段,经济增长与能源消费关系呈现双向因果关系:其中从经济增长到能源消费方向的因果关系呈现持续、刚性的特点,因此未来较长时期我国的能源消费从总量上还将维持上涨趋势;而从能源消费到经济增长方向的因果关系则更富弹性,能源消费仅仅是经济增长的原因之一。无论是不可逾越的工业化进程,还是赶超式的经济增长,都决定了在未来一段时间我国经济对能源的依赖程度还会保持高位,经济增长与节能减排这一对矛盾仍然之分突出。     

Black economic well-being since the 1950s

Conclusion Industrial cities like Cleveland and Pittsburgh that once offered manufacturing jobs as a route to economic advancement no longer provide an economic environment conducive to long-run gains in black incomes. Faced with massive losses in blue-collar manufacturing jobs in the 1970s and 1980s — as well as growing local government fiscal difficulties — these cities are changing rapidly in character. Administration and management are more and more the dynamic, expanding sector, and the resultant demands for workers have been concentrated in the white-collar fields. Highly educated blacks benefit from these trends in job availability; the less educated lose ground economically. The swing between widespread progress (as in World War II) and widespread regression in relative economic status (as in the 1930s) was the traditional cyclical fate of the overall urban black population. Today the smaller white-collar group prospers while the larger blue-collar urban black work force is undermined, except in periods of labor shortage.