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This paper complements the cross-country approach by examining the correlates of growth acceleration in per capita gross domestic product around "significant" public expenditure episodes by reorganizing the data around turning points, or events. The authors define a growth event as an increase in average per capita growth of at least 2 percentage points sustained for 5 years. A fiscal event is an increase in the annual growth rate of primary fiscal expenditure of approximately 1 percentage point sustained for 5 years and not accompanied by an aggravation of the fiscal deficit beyond 2 percent of gross domestic product. These definitions of events are applied to a database of 140 countries (1...
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for about 97–99 per cent of total enterprises and 60–80 per cent of total employment in ASEAN countries. The participation of SMEs is thus crucial for achieving greater regional economic integration amongst ASEAN countries. SMEs are, however, often constrained by many disadvantages that limit their abilities to become importers and exporters. This is well documented in the research literature on trade and firm size. This volume contains selected ASEAN country studies on the participation of SMEs in regional economic integration based on primary microdata. This is supplemented by empirical studies on the role played by East Asian multinati...
Abstract: The economies of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are heavily reliant on oil. Greater economic diversification would reduce their exposure to volatility and uncertainty in the global oil market, help create jobs in the private sector, increase productivity and sustainable growth, and help create the non-oil economy that will be needed in the future when oil revenues start to dwindle. The GCC countries have followed many of the standard policies that are usually thought to promote more diversified economies, including reforms to improve the business climate, the development of domestic infrastructure, financial deepening, and improvements in education. Nevertheless, ...
A detailed examination of the GATT regime for international trade, discussing the negotiating record, policy background, economic rationale, and case law. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was created alongside other towering achievements of the post-World War II era, including the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. GATT, the first successful agreement to generate multilateral trade liberalization, became the principal institution to administer international trade for the next six decades. In this book, Petros Mavoidis offers detailed examination of the GATT regime for international trade, discussing the negotiating record, policy background,...
This paper identifies a remittances channel that transmits exogenous shocks, such as business cycles in remittance-sending countries, to the public finances of remittance-receiving countries. Using panel data for remittance-receiving countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, three types of results emerge. First, remittances appear to be strongly procyclical vis-à-vis sending country income. Second, remittances tend to be spent on consumption of both imported and domestically produced goods, rather than on investment. Third, shocks in the sending countries are transmitted via remittances to the public finances - specifically, tax revenues - of receiving countries. In the case of the 2009 global downturn, this impact was particularly strong for several countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia, whereas in the subsequent recovery in 2010 virtually all receiving countries benefitted from an upturn in remittance-driven tax revenues.
This Selected Issues paper offers policy recommendations for Senegal to reach high and sustained growth with the goal of exiting low-income country status. For Senegal to reach Plan Sénégal Emergent (PSE) objectives, reforms under the PSE need to create space for small and medium-sized enterprises and foreign direct investment to thrive. Reform of Senegal’s business environment needs to be accelerated. Macrostructural reforms should be stepped up in the energy sector, in which Senegal still ranks 170th in the world. Progress in the electricity sector can be achieved by continuing to improve reliability of supply and reduce electricity costs. Reform of the taxation system, by simplifying procedures and optimizing the tax rates, is another macro-critical area in which Senegal needs to make significant strides.
International trade in 2009 is projected to contract for the first time since 1982. As a result, export diversifi cation has gained new urgency as one way of using exports to recover lost growth momentum. Moreover, diversifi cation is central to reducing income volatility and sustaining high growth rates, which are especially important for countries with large populations living in poverty. In the 1950s, countries became concerned that their dependence on primary products would lead to steady falls in the purchasing power of primary exports and thus slow growth. A major policy objective of developing countries since that time has been to diversify out of primary products into manufactures. A...
This text presents a comprehensive and up-to-date reference work on popular music, from the early 20th century to the present day.
This pocket-sized reference on key environmental data for over 200 countries includes key indicators on agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, energy, emission and pollution, and water and sanitation. The volume helps establish a sound base of information to help set priorities and measure progress toward environmental sustainability goals.