Understanding the Relationship between Inflation and Growth: A Wavelet Transformation Approach in the Case of Bangladesh

This paper re‐examines the relationship between inflation and economic growth in developing countries. Both the theoretical and the empirical literature are extremely divided on this issue. We apply a relatively new empirical technique – the continuous wavelet transform – to Bangladesh. Bangladesh is of interest because of its remarkable economic growth and poverty reduction during the last 30 years in combination with, for a developing country, a controlled inflation. The wavelet analysis is a contribution because it displays how the correlation and the lead–lag structure between variables change over timescales, taking into account that growth and inflation can follow several different cycles. Comovements between variables are generally studied in the time domain. Results from studies in the time‐domain study can be sensitive to the frequency of observations. On the other hand, studies in the frequency domain are not easily translated into time domains that can be associated with economic policies. The wavelet methodology finds a balance between time and frequency domains. Our study finds that growth Granger causes inflation at all frequency scales, starting from the short run to the very long run. Inflation, on the other hand, Granger causes growth in the long run but not in the short run. This result has implications for Bangladesh, and as such for similar developing countries, where some policymakers believe that inflation must be kept at very low levels for sustained economic growth.     

Luddites, the industrial revolution, and the demographic transition

Technological change was unskilled-labor-biased during the early industrial revolution, but is skill-biased today. This implies a rich set of non-monotonic macroeconomic dynamics which are not embedded in extant unified growth models. We present historical evidence and develop a model which can endogenously account for these facts, where factor bias reflects profit-maximizing decisions by innovators. In a setup with directed technological change, and fixed as well as variable costs of education, initial endowments dictate that the early industrial revolution be unskilled-labor-biased. Increasing basic knowledge then causes a growth takeoff, an income-led demand for fewer but more educated children, and a transition to skill-biased technological change in the long run.     

Pillion riders' cloth related injuries and helmet wearing patterns: a study of Lahore,Pakistan

This study aims at investigating the burden and pattern of clothing related pillion riders' injuries and their helmet wearing pattern in Lahore, Pakistan. Data were collected for nine months (July 2013 to March 2014), reporting 13,248 motorcycle related injuries, out of which 8751 (66%) cases were related to the clothing related pillion riders' injuries. Out of these injuries 10.30% were severe injuries which can be prevented or reduced by proper safety measure, e.g. wearing helmet. It was also found that most of the fatalities were not wearing helmet. Injuries due to wearing of loose fitting clothes and absence of helmet are not uncommon in Pakistan and other underdeveloped parts of the world. Such accidents may be reduced by creating awareness and safety sense in the riders, where use of safe dress and helmet should be encouraged in order to avoid such fatal damages.     

Venture capital or private equity? The Asian experience

Venture capital in Asia has exhibited remarkable growth over the last two decades. Researchers and practitioners have, however, expressed doubts as to whether what is being reported as venture capital in Asia can really be classified as such. Authors of scholarly studies often avoid this debate and, consequently, fail to caution readers about the applicability of their research findings. Through an exploration of the history, development, and composition of venture capital in Asia, this article not only confirms significant differences between Asian and traditional venture capital, but also finds that venture capital in Asia differs little from what is commonly called private equity. As such, a need exists within the venture capital literature to recognize this peculiarity of the Asian venture capital market. Moreover, venture capitalists considering expansion into Asia must comprehend the nature of the Asian market in order to avoid disillusionment and frustrations which may result from inadequate understanding.     

Re‐Visiting Financial Development and Economic Growth Nexus: The Role of Capitalization in Bangladesh

This paper revisits the relationship between financial development and economic growth in Bangladesh by incorporating trade openness in production function using quarter frequency data over the period of 1976‐2012. We applied combined Bayer–Hanck cointegration approach to examine cointegration among the series. Our empirical evidence suggests that development of financial sector facilitates economic growth but capitalization impedes it. In addition, trade openness stimulates economic growth. Labour is also positively linked to economic growth. The vector error correction model Granger causality results divulge that financial development causes real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth, and resultantly, real per capita GDP growth causes financial development in a Granger sense. The results also show that trade and labour Granger cause economic growth. The findings of the paper provide insights for policymakers to use financial development and trade openness as a tool for sustained economic growth in the long run. The paper also suggests policymakers to utilise capitalization in a way that is beneficial for economic growth of Bangladesh.     

Rural women leaders

This research project was designed to study the determinants of leadership development in rural women. The first phase of the study involved individual interviews with women recognized as leaders within a rural community. Each of the 25 rural women leaders interviewed was raised on a farm or in a community with a population smaller than 2,000. The second phase of the study was administered via Survey Monkey to 133 women using a modified version of the Review of Personal Effectiveness with Locus of control (ROPELOC) instrument, which included the key domains of interest and was expanded to include additional questions focusing on unique challenges to leadership among women living in rural communities. The project used leadership‐related community groups as an entry point to identify women across rural Kansas for the survey. The results from these two methods identified six themes: lifelong learners, bias and discrimination, self‐efficacy and overcoming barriers, community influence and social capital, leadership mentors, and expression of leadership.     

Are the FDI inflow spillover effects on Malaysia's economic growth input driven?

This paper inspects the influence of human capital, labour force, and absorptive capacity, physical capital as a control variable, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and gross domestic product (GDP) on Malaysia's productivity growth. A time series quarterly data from the period of 1999 to 2008 was used. The effects of FDI inflows on human capital, labour force, absorptive capacity and physical capital were investigated. The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression was applied to estimate the data in the first step and in the second step productivity indicators were calculated. The results show that the FDI inflows and inputs used are negatively contributed to total factor productivity (TFP). Meanwhile, FDI plays a significant role in achieving economic growth through input driven as indicated by the contribution of the TFP. In this regard, a significant positive relationship between human capital, labour force and absorptive capacity which determines the spillover effect on Malaysian economic growth (GDP) was found and the physical capital has shown negative relationship.     

Book briefs

World food marketing systems, Butterworth & Co, London, 1986.

Faces of hunger. An essay on poverty, justice and development, Studies in applied philosophy, Allen & Unwin, London, 1986. xiii + 178, distributed in South Africa by MacMillan South Africa, Braamfontein.

Decentralization and development — Policy implementation in developing countries, Sage Publications, London, 1983, 319 pp

Soviet interests in the Third World, Sage Publications, London, 1985, xi + 329 pp

No shortcuts to progress — African development management in perspective, Heinemann Educational Books Ltd, London, 1983, xv + 223 pp.

Strategies for African Development, University of California Press, London, 1986, xii + 603 pp.

Labour and poverty In Kenya 1900‐1980, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1986, xii + 296, £20,00     

An Empirical Investigation of the Effect of CFO Power on Disclosure Quality

We examine the association between chief financial officer (CFO) power and disclosure quality, measured using financial statement disaggregation disclosure and analyst forecast disclosure. Empirically, we validate that CFO power, measured by multiple dimensions, is positively associated with firms’ disclosure quality. We also find that this positive association between CFO power and disclosure quality is stronger when firms exhibit higher governance monitoring and accounting quality. Further analysis shows that our main results hold across multiple disclosure quality tests. Our findings are robust to addressing endogeneity issues using two-stage least squares, Heckman selection bias, and propensity score matching analyses. The results highlight the importance of CFO power for the accounting reporting process and decision-making.     

Masculinity cues,perceptions of politician attributes,and political behavior*

How are masculine‐looking politicians perceived by voters? Are these judgments accurate? We asked Australian survey participants to rate images of unknown‐to‐them Swiss politicians. We find that politicians with prominent markers of masculinity (including facial hair, baldness, and higher facial width‐to‐height ratio) are perceived as less honest and competent. To determine whether these perceptions correlate with political behavior, we exploit two unique features of Swiss politics. First, to check for politician–voter congruence, we match each politician's voting record to that of their constituents on identically worded legislative proposals. We find that bearded politicians are less likely to behave according to constituents' preferences. Second, by exploiting the mandatory disclosure of lobby group affiliations, we show that bearded politicians are less likely to be captured by interest groups. Our results suggest that more masculine‐looking politicians are recognized by both voters and lobby groups as less amenable to being controlled.