Innovation and Growth: A Schumpeterian Model of Innovation Applied to Taiwan

Following Schumpeter, we assume that innovation in specific firms, or groups of firms, can have economy-wide effects. Models based on this idea can be shown to have multiple equilibria. The idea of a positive feedback loop innovation system, or POLIS, is formalized by picking an appropriate sequence of equilibria over time. It is shown that POLIS has empirical relevance by applying the formal model to an actual economy. The 1997-98 financial crisis in many Asian countries, most notably South Korea, seemed to have reversed the conventional wisdom regarding the "East Asian miracle". This paper applies the concept of a POLIS to the case of Taiwan to show that, at least in this case, neither the view that the miracle was a mirage nor the view that the growth was a result of factor accumulation only is correct. Ultimately, technological transformation--in particular the creation of a positive feedback loop innovation system--is what makes the difference between sustained growth and gradual or sudden decline. Although problems remain in both the real and the financial sectors, the successes of Taiwan in building the preconditions for an innovation system are worth examining. Upon careful examination of Taiwan's system of innovation within the above Schumpeterian model it is found that Taiwan has a fighting chance of building a POLIS in the near future.     

Financial structure and economic growth

Recent empirical work on financial structure and economic growth analyzes multi-country dataset in panel and/or cross-section frameworks and concludes that financial structure is irrelevant. We highlight their shortcomings and re-examine this issue utilizing a time series and a Dynamic Heterogeneous Panel methods. Our sample consists of fourteen countries. Tests reveal that cross-country data cannot be pooled. Financial structure significantly explains output levels in most countries. The results are rigorously scrutinized through bootstrap exercises and they are robust to extensive sensitivity tests. We also test for several hypotheses about the prospective role of financial structure and financial development on economic growth.     

Is Trade Liberalisation Pro-Poor in Pakistan? Evidence from Large-Scale Manufacturing

This article aims to analyse the impact of industry-level trade liberalisation (measured through industry-specific tariff rates) on poverty in Pakistan. Combining data for tariff rates with the Labour Force Survey of Pakistan, we use quantile regression analysis to estimate the impact of changes in tariff rates on workers’ wages (associated with the manufacturing sector of Pakistan) that are at different points of the income distribution. Our findings meaningfully signal that trade liberalisation helps to reduce poverty in the economy. Based on these results, this study provides policy recommendations to reap maximum benefits from trade liberalisation.     

Similarity of differential information with subjective prior beliefs

We present a complete, separable and metrizable topology on the product space of information and (subjective) beliefs. Such a topology formalizes similarity of differential information without the assumption of a common prior, but under the assumption that objectively impossible events are considered impossible by subjective beliefs. As an application to the theory of the consumer, we provide results on the continuity of expected utility and demand functions. We also provide continuity results for the value of information and the insurance premium as defined in the literature.     

Terrorist economic impact evaluation (TEIE) model: the case of Pakistan

Quality & Quantity - The terrorist economic impact evaluation (TEIE) model is a new model to evaluate the intensity of terrorism to measure the economic cost in a state (province) of any...     

Prospect of off-seasonal vegetable production in Bangladesh: a socioeconomic diagnosis

Quality & Quantity - The research work was conducted to estimate comparative profitability, seasonal price variations, and factors affecting the farmers’ decision in the adoption of...     

Revisiting spiritual and emotional emptiness in American higher education

“Although American higher education can justifiably take pride in its capacity to develop the student's ability to manipulate the material world through its programs in science, medicine, technology, and commerce, it has paid relatively little attention to the student's “inner” development—the sphere of values and beliefs, emotional maturity, moral development, spirituality, and self‐understanding.” —from the Foreword to Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education by Alexander W. Astin and Helen S. Astin