Does too much government spending depress the economic development of transition economies? Evidences from dynamic panel threshold analysis

This paper investigates the relationship between government size and economic growth and determines the optimal level of government spending to maximize economic growth. The paper applies a dynamic panel data analysis based upon a threshold model to test the threshold effect of government spending in 26 transition economies over the period spanning 1993–2016. According to the analysis results, government expenditures have a threshold effect on economic growth, and there is a non-linear relationship depicted as an Armey curve in these transition economies. The findings indicate that a government size above the threshold government spending level adversely affects economic growth, while a government size below the threshold level has a positive effect. Furthermore, there is a statistically significant relationship between the two variables above and below that optimal level, even if we divide the sample into developed and developing countries. Our findings suggest that governments in transition economies should consider optimal government size at around the estimated threshold level to support sustainable economic growth.     

Risk premium,macroeconomic shocks,and information technology: an empirical analysis

This study empirically identifies the impact of various macroeconomic factors on the default risk premium. Using monthly data for the period 1970–2010 for the US, our estimations indicate that the monetary policy aggregates, risk-free interest rate, term structure of interest rates, inflation, and the state of the business cycle influence the risk premium. The results also provide some evidence in support of the hypothesis that the development of information technology has had a decreasing impact on the risk premium. As expected, various financial crises have had substantial and long-lasting effects on the premium. The results suggest that the direct impact of the subprime crisis and Lehman’s collapse on the risk premium was as large as two and a half percentage-points for a sustainable period. Foreign financial crises, in turn, have lowered the risk premium in the US market, suggesting a flight-to-safety phenomenon.     

Convergence,technological interdependence and spatial externalities: a spatial dynamic panel data analysis

This study adopts a spatial dynamic panel data approach and spatial quasi-maximum likelihood to re-estimate the speed of growth convergence in 91 countries based on technological interdependence and spatial externalities. We perform a conditional Lagrange multiplier test for spatial error dependence and find some differences to previous studies. First, the switch from a cross-sectional to a dynamic panel data framework enables the estimated rate of conditional convergence to be higher, more accurate and more appropriate for realistic and theoretical expectations. Second, the spatial Durbin model (SDM) is a general form of simplified model that considers spatial error correlation, and its likelihood ratio test for the theoretical model of ‘learning by doing’ effect provides further evidence. Finally, statistical tests find that spatial correlation not only occurs in each variable, but also appears in the error term. Thus, the SDM does not exist in the assumptions associated with the spatial error, which are not necessarily correct.     

The Political Foundations of Development: The Case of Botswana

Unlike many of its fellow sub-Saharan countries, Botswana has avoided the African Growth Tragedy. The success lied in the ability of the government of Botswana to successfully adopt growth-enhancing policies. We argue that the success stems from three factors. First, the government enhanced its legitimacy by relying on traditional sources of authority. Second, the traditional leaders pursued policies that legitimized the political system. Third, the government did not expend resources on military expenditures during its first decade. The interaction of these factors explain Botswana’s success.

皖江城市带承接产业转移的影响因素实证研究——基于面板协整模型的实证分析

承接产业转移是中部地区经济发展和产业结构升级的有效途径,文章利用皖江城市带十城市的面板数据对其承接产业转移的影响因素进行了实证分析,认为安徽省的经济发展规模、劳动力成本和路径效应对吸引外来资金均有正向拉动效应,并提出安徽承接产业转移的应对措施。     

财政支出与广义货币关系的协整分析及其政策含义

文章利用协整分析讨论了财政支出与广义货币的相互关系,发现在1978～2002年间,中国的财政支出和广义货币具有二阶差分平稳的特征,二者之间存在显著的协整关系.财政支出的变动速度是广义货币变动速度的Granger因,但不能说广义货币变动速度是财政支出变动速度的Granger因.财政支出的短期变化对广义货币的短期变化影响较大,并且是同方向的.广义货币供给的增长速度具有一定惯性,且具有向长期值的自我恢复功能.财政支出的增长速度并不具有自我恢复功能,这意味着政府应对财政支出施加一定约束,以避免财政支出在经济过热或不景气时发生过度扩张或紧缩.     

Does defence expenditure affect private consumption? Evidence from the United States

This paper empirically discusses the relationship between government defence expenditure and private consumption for the United States. The estimations show a substitution or complementary effect of the military sector on private categories of consumer choices, although sensitivity analysis for different utility functions and sub-samples indicates a time-decrease on substitutability. Our findings are in line with previous results highlighting a weak substitution of defence expenditure on aggregate consumption.     

政府支出与私人消费的关系研究——基于跨国数据(1983-2008年)的面板协整分析

文章运用面板协整分析方法和世界上36个国家(20个发达国家和16个发展中国家)1983-2008年的面板数据进行跨国研究,通过建立变系数面板模型并结合可支配收入和宏观经济环境的影响,分析了政府支出和私人消费的关系。研究结果显示,总体上而言,样本国家的政府消费支出与私人消费成互补关系,可支配收入仍然是影响私人消费的主要因素,宏观经济环境(经济开放程度和失业率)对消费的影响在统计上很不显著。为了扩大消费,中国政府应实施积极的财政政策、扩大财政支出和提高社会保障水平以及切实解决民生基本难题。     

中国金融发展与外贸关系的面板协整检验和因果分析

基于跨省面板数据,运用面板协整理论和面板因果检验方法分析了中国金融发展与对外贸易之间的关系.多种协整检验方法一致表明,金融发展与出口贸易、金融发展与进口贸易之间都存在长期均衡稳定关系;而基于面板误差修正模型的Granger因果检验则表明金融发展与对外贸易之间同时存在长、短期双向因果关系.这意味着在金融深化改革和贸易增长方式调整的特殊历史时期,保持金融和贸易政策的有效组合具有十分重要的意义.     

政府支出与私人消费的关系研究——基于跨国数据（1983—2008年）的面板协整分析

文章运用面板协整分析方法和世界上36个国家（20个发达国家和16个发展中国家）1983—2008年的面板数据进行跨国研究,通过建立变系数面板模型并结合可支配收入和宏观经济环境的影响,分析了政府支出和私人消费的关系。研究结果显示,总体上而言,样本国家的政府消费支出与私人消费成互补关系,可支配收入仍然是影响私人消费的主要因素,宏观经济环境（经济开放程度和失业率）对消费的影响在统计上很不显著。为了扩大消费,中国政府应实施积极的财政政策、扩大财政支出和提高社会保障水平以及切实解决民生基本难题。     

Export-led Growth in South Asia: A Panel Cointegration Analysis

Abstract

In this paper, we attempt to examine the export-led and manufacturing export-led growth hypothesis for four South Asian Countries; namely, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, using Pedroni’s panel cointegration technique for the period 1980–2002. In this context we estimate growth accounting equations to investigate the impact of exports, manufacturing exports and other important physical and human capital variables on both total GDP and non-export GDP. The study finds long-run equilibrium relationship between GDP (and non-export GDP) and exports along with other variables supporting export-led growth hypothesis. The results also substantiate the existence of manufacturing export-led growth hypothesis. Further, we find that export, fixed capital formation, public expenditure on health and education have statistically significant coefficients re-emphasizing the importance of these variables for higher economic growth.