Search

Search Results

• 1. [Article] The role of employment in dualistic economic development models

  Traditionally employment and output have been the major two criteria for evaluating aggregate performance in a dual economic model for less developed countries. This has been mainly discussed by transferring ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The role of employment in dualistic economic development models Author: Shadman-Valavi, Mohammad Traditionally employment and output have been the major two criteria for evaluating aggregate performance in a dual economic model for less developed countries. This has been mainly discussed by transferring labor from the agricultural sector to non-agricultural use. Most models are specified in such a manner that the migrated agricultural workers will be absorbed in non-agricultural jobs. In reality though, the transformation of labor to the non-agricultural sector (i. e., industrial or urban) has created an unemployment problem in that sector. The purposes of this paper are (1) to study some of the relevant common characteristics of less developed countries, (2) to review the literature related to labor employment, and (3) to demonstrate the importance of the efficiency of employment and output in dualistic development models. This paper has reviewed three classes of models. First, this study has considered the Fei-Ranis model of economic development which has drawn heavily from W. A. Lewis’s model of economic development with unlimited supplies of labor (Fei-Ranis is primarily a classical model). Second, the Jorgenson’s model of development of a dual economy has been presented. This model is based on Harrod-Domar's concept of steady growth, Third, this study looks at a more recent model, the Todaro model, which considered the practical problem of urban (industrial) unemployment. The problem of urban-unemployment is not considered by the first two models. Todaro's approach to the development of a dual economy may be the beginning of a new trend in the literature. On the basis of findings of this work it was concluded that: (1) The transformation of an agricultural surplus labor economy to an industrial surplus labor economy, can only be justified by a careful consideration of the production possibilities of each case, and the demand for the products of each sector. (2) The rate of growth of each sector will be dictated by the optimum growth path. This is the locus of optimum combination of output and employment of resources in each sector in the given time period. Because production possibilities and demand considerations operate to determine the optimum growth path, this path will rarely if ever coincide with the straight-line balanced growth path prominent in the Fei-Ranis model. Title: The role of employment in dualistic economic development models Author: Shadman-Valavi, Mohammad Traditionally employment and output have been the major two criteria for evaluating aggregate performance in a dual economic model for less developed countries. This has been mainly discussed by transferring labor from the agricultural sector to non-agricultural use. Most models are specified in such a manner that the migrated agricultural workers will be absorbed in non-agricultural jobs. In reality though, the transformation of labor to the non-agricultural sector (i. e., industrial or urban) has created an unemployment problem in that sector. The purposes of this paper are (1) to study some of the relevant common characteristics of less developed countries, (2) to review the literature related to labor employment, and (3) to demonstrate the importance of the efficiency of employment and output in dualistic development models. This paper has reviewed three classes of models. First, this study has considered the Fei-Ranis model of economic development which has drawn heavily from W. A. Lewis’s model of economic development with unlimited supplies of labor (Fei-Ranis is primarily a classical model). Second, the Jorgenson’s model of development of a dual economy has been presented. This model is based on Harrod-Domar's concept of steady growth, Third, this study looks at a more recent model, the Todaro model, which considered the practical problem of urban (industrial) unemployment. The problem of urban-unemployment is not considered by the first two models. Todaro's approach to the development of a dual economy may be the beginning of a new trend in the literature. On the basis of findings of this work it was concluded that: (1) The transformation of an agricultural surplus labor economy to an industrial surplus labor economy, can only be justified by a careful consideration of the production possibilities of each case, and the demand for the products of each sector. (2) The rate of growth of each sector will be dictated by the optimum growth path. This is the locus of optimum combination of output and employment of resources in each sector in the given time period. Because production possibilities and demand considerations operate to determine the optimum growth path, this path will rarely if ever coincide with the straight-line balanced growth path prominent in the Fei-Ranis model. Close

• 2. [Image] Growth and Stability in the Jordan Economy

  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Growth and Stability in the Jordan Economy Year: 1967 Title: Growth and Stability in the Jordan Economy Year: 1967 Close

• 3. [Image] Ch. 1 - The Economy of Syria

  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Ch. 1 - The Economy of Syria Year: 1975 Title: Ch. 1 - The Economy of Syria Year: 1975 Close

• 4. [Image] Various Aspects of National Economy Examined

  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Various Aspects of National Economy Examined Year: 1984 Title: Various Aspects of National Economy Examined Year: 1984 Close

• 5. [Article] The Oregon Blueberry Industry and South Korea: An Opportunity for Growth

  20 pages

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Oregon Blueberry Industry and South Korea: An Opportunity for Growth Author: Thompson, Gage Year: 2015 20 pages Title: The Oregon Blueberry Industry and South Korea: An Opportunity for Growth Author: Thompson, Gage Year: 2015 20 pages Close

• 6. [Article] Central America: An Attempt at Modern Economic Growth

  Since World War II the five historic Central American nations, Costa Rica, EI Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, underwent a period of aggregate economic growth which was followed by a collapse ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Central America: An Attempt at Modern Economic Growth Author: Kibbey, Richard Year: 1993 Since World War II the five historic Central American nations, Costa Rica, EI Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, underwent a period of aggregate economic growth which was followed by a collapse of dramatic proportions. All five countries experienced an economic downturn in the latter 1970s which led to several years of declining GDP and GDP per capita, together with an economic and social disarray which is typically referred to as "la crisis" in Central American literature. The intent of this study is to present an argument for the position that the economic collapse of the five Central American nations was due in considerable part to their failure to pursue economic development in a manner which would generate sustainable increase. Based on a conception of modern economic growth and the statistical studies of Simon Kuznets and others since the 1940s, a set of indicators was selected for the purpose of clarifying the structural transformation referred to as economic development. This formulation of economic development was then used to distinguish the process from the simple aggregate expansion known as economic growth. The economic development indicators were also applied to the statistical records of two east Asian economies which were comparable in many respects to the Central American nations shortly after World War II. Both Taiwan and South Korea, like the nations of Central America, emerged from the 1940s as dominantly agricultural, dualistic, importers of manufactured consumer goods. The study begins with an examination of the growth versus development issue in economic theory, proceeds to discussion of the historical record of the two sets of nations, consideration of the indicators, evaluation of the data, and conclusions based on the data. The development indicators clearly distinguish the records of the Central American nations from those of the east Asians. Whereas both Taiwan and South Korea illustrate the expectations of structural transformation in economic development as defined by Simon Kuznets, the Central American nations obviously do not. Conclusions are drawn that the policies which were followed by the two east Asian nations generated the complex structural transformation which characterizes an industrialized economy. The strictly market driven policies of Central America, on the other hand, generated simple aggregate growth for a number of years without a change in the structure of the economy. The study presents evidence that the Central American nations avoided structural change during the post-World War II period in anticipation of receiving the benefits of growth without undergoing the costs of a change in structure. Such a change in structure would have required reorganization of long-standing historic patterns of national social, economic and political interaction. Title: Central America: An Attempt at Modern Economic Growth Author: Kibbey, Richard Year: 1993 Since World War II the five historic Central American nations, Costa Rica, EI Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, underwent a period of aggregate economic growth which was followed by a collapse of dramatic proportions. All five countries experienced an economic downturn in the latter 1970s which led to several years of declining GDP and GDP per capita, together with an economic and social disarray which is typically referred to as "la crisis" in Central American literature. The intent of this study is to present an argument for the position that the economic collapse of the five Central American nations was due in considerable part to their failure to pursue economic development in a manner which would generate sustainable increase. Based on a conception of modern economic growth and the statistical studies of Simon Kuznets and others since the 1940s, a set of indicators was selected for the purpose of clarifying the structural transformation referred to as economic development. This formulation of economic development was then used to distinguish the process from the simple aggregate expansion known as economic growth. The economic development indicators were also applied to the statistical records of two east Asian economies which were comparable in many respects to the Central American nations shortly after World War II. Both Taiwan and South Korea, like the nations of Central America, emerged from the 1940s as dominantly agricultural, dualistic, importers of manufactured consumer goods. The study begins with an examination of the growth versus development issue in economic theory, proceeds to discussion of the historical record of the two sets of nations, consideration of the indicators, evaluation of the data, and conclusions based on the data. The development indicators clearly distinguish the records of the Central American nations from those of the east Asians. Whereas both Taiwan and South Korea illustrate the expectations of structural transformation in economic development as defined by Simon Kuznets, the Central American nations obviously do not. Conclusions are drawn that the policies which were followed by the two east Asian nations generated the complex structural transformation which characterizes an industrialized economy. The strictly market driven policies of Central America, on the other hand, generated simple aggregate growth for a number of years without a change in the structure of the economy. The study presents evidence that the Central American nations avoided structural change during the post-World War II period in anticipation of receiving the benefits of growth without undergoing the costs of a change in structure. Such a change in structure would have required reorganization of long-standing historic patterns of national social, economic and political interaction. Close

• 7. [Article] The economic impacts of Oregon's south coast restoration industry

  44 pages

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The economic impacts of Oregon's south coast restoration industry Author: Davis, Emily Jane, Sundstrom, Shiloh, Moseley, Cassandra Year: 2015, 2011 44 pages Title: The economic impacts of Oregon's south coast restoration industry Author: Davis, Emily Jane, Sundstrom, Shiloh, Moseley, Cassandra Year: 2015, 2011 44 pages Close

• 8. [Article] The Effectiveness of Public Development Banks: Designing Good Impact Evaluations

  PDB programs have become a fundamental ingredient of productive development policy strategies in most emerging economies. Although the overall need for these interventions is rarely questioned, academics ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Effectiveness of Public Development Banks: Designing Good Impact Evaluations Author: Maffioli, Alessandro, Rodriguez, Cesar M. Year: 2013 PDB programs have become a fundamental ingredient of productive development policy strategies in most emerging economies. Although the overall need for these interventions is rarely questioned, academics and policymakers often debate their effectiveness, as well as the optimal approaches and instruments necessary to implement them. Therefore, the need to produce rigorous evaluations of PDBs has become increasingly relevant for both government and civil society (see Chapter 2). This chapter presents the main concepts and operational arguments regarding the execution of indepth impact evaluations of PDB initiatives and instruments. For a more practical approach, these arguments are presented with examples of such evaluations, which have either ended or are ongoing, as well as of other programs that relate to their activities. This, however, limits the scope of this chapter. First, only one key aspect of the evaluation process is included: the attribution of effects. This suggests that all the methods and techniques covered address the fundamental problem of identifying the causal relationship between public policy intervention and the observed changes in the study’s target population. Other important elements relating to a comprehensive evaluation process—such as efficiency, relevance, and institutional coherence—fall beyond the scope of this analysis. Second, only quantitative approaches are included, in order to solve the problem of attribution. This does not, in any way, imply that the contribution made by the qualitative approaches to the study of PDBs is not appreciated. On the contrary, quantitative and qualitative approaches are complementary, but much more exhaustive studies are required to include both. This chapter focuses mainly on the methodological literature based on counterfactual analysis, which stems from applying experimental and quasi-experimental methods to the evaluation of public policy. Interventions that are applicable to a PDB can cover a wider range of sectors than can be dealt with in one chapter alone. Therefore, the analysis and discussion in this chapter is restricted to those PDB initiatives that improve access to credit for the productive sector (business and agriculture). As such, it is possible to discuss more specific ideas and suggestions, while acknowledging that the complexity and characteristics of PDB programs call for more specific studies. The rest of this chapter is structured as follows. It begins with a section posing the most important questions that are (or should be) included in any study of PDB effectiveness. The following section will identify the most commonly used indicators in these studies and the potential sources of information needed to establish such indicators. Later, the chapter analyzes the methods to respond to important questions relating to an evaluation, thus ensuring that the effects are correctly attributed. The final section explores the resources required to carry out a rigorous PDB evaluation. Title: The Effectiveness of Public Development Banks: Designing Good Impact Evaluations Author: Maffioli, Alessandro, Rodriguez, Cesar M. Year: 2013 PDB programs have become a fundamental ingredient of productive development policy strategies in most emerging economies. Although the overall need for these interventions is rarely questioned, academics and policymakers often debate their effectiveness, as well as the optimal approaches and instruments necessary to implement them. Therefore, the need to produce rigorous evaluations of PDBs has become increasingly relevant for both government and civil society (see Chapter 2). This chapter presents the main concepts and operational arguments regarding the execution of indepth impact evaluations of PDB initiatives and instruments. For a more practical approach, these arguments are presented with examples of such evaluations, which have either ended or are ongoing, as well as of other programs that relate to their activities. This, however, limits the scope of this chapter. First, only one key aspect of the evaluation process is included: the attribution of effects. This suggests that all the methods and techniques covered address the fundamental problem of identifying the causal relationship between public policy intervention and the observed changes in the study’s target population. Other important elements relating to a comprehensive evaluation process—such as efficiency, relevance, and institutional coherence—fall beyond the scope of this analysis. Second, only quantitative approaches are included, in order to solve the problem of attribution. This does not, in any way, imply that the contribution made by the qualitative approaches to the study of PDBs is not appreciated. On the contrary, quantitative and qualitative approaches are complementary, but much more exhaustive studies are required to include both. This chapter focuses mainly on the methodological literature based on counterfactual analysis, which stems from applying experimental and quasi-experimental methods to the evaluation of public policy. Interventions that are applicable to a PDB can cover a wider range of sectors than can be dealt with in one chapter alone. Therefore, the analysis and discussion in this chapter is restricted to those PDB initiatives that improve access to credit for the productive sector (business and agriculture). As such, it is possible to discuss more specific ideas and suggestions, while acknowledging that the complexity and characteristics of PDB programs call for more specific studies. The rest of this chapter is structured as follows. It begins with a section posing the most important questions that are (or should be) included in any study of PDB effectiveness. The following section will identify the most commonly used indicators in these studies and the potential sources of information needed to establish such indicators. Later, the chapter analyzes the methods to respond to important questions relating to an evaluation, thus ensuring that the effects are correctly attributed. The final section explores the resources required to carry out a rigorous PDB evaluation. Close

• 9. [Article] Essays on environment and the spatial distribution of economic activities

  Environmental quality and the spatial distribution of economic activities affect each other in many ways. The primary purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to understanding the complex interrelationship ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Essays on environment and the spatial distribution of economic activities Author: Wang, Chunhua Environmental quality and the spatial distribution of economic activities affect each other in many ways. The primary purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to understanding the complex interrelationship and its policy implications. This dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay examines the roles that locational amenities and increasing returns to scale play in the formation of urban development patterns and regional economic growth. The spatial distribution of amenities is shown to be a major determinant; and the effects of amenities are reinforced by external scale economies and localized information spillovers, both of which promote agglomeration and human capital accumulation. Workers in amenity locations are more productive because of increasing returns, which encourage investment on human capital development. The decentralized equilibrium is not optimal because of the externalities associated with human capital investments. The efficiency can be improved by public policies encouraging human capital investments. Such policies also increase the number and size of cities and the pace of urbanization and economic growth. The second essay examines the effects of natural disasters on population growth across U.S. counties during the period of 1960-2000. Results suggest that except earthquakes and most serious hurricanes, the risks of natural disasters have no statistically significant effects on population growth. We also estimate the effects of natural disasters on county socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, including human capital, age and ethnic composition of population, industrial composition, and income inequality, which correlate with county population growth. The insignificance of those effects indicates that natural disasters have no indirect effects on population growth, either. The third essay considers the roles of mandatory building codes for regulating land development in a natural disaster-prone area as self-insurance and self-protection. To find the optimal building codes, a simple urban economics model is constructed for the analysis. A number of comparative statics results are presented to describe how optimal building codes are affected by the endowed probability of the disaster, the expected loss, productivity levels of self-insurance and self-protection, and socioeconomic characteristics of the area such as wage, population, and the share of land area in the risky region. Title: Essays on environment and the spatial distribution of economic activities Author: Wang, Chunhua Environmental quality and the spatial distribution of economic activities affect each other in many ways. The primary purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to understanding the complex interrelationship and its policy implications. This dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay examines the roles that locational amenities and increasing returns to scale play in the formation of urban development patterns and regional economic growth. The spatial distribution of amenities is shown to be a major determinant; and the effects of amenities are reinforced by external scale economies and localized information spillovers, both of which promote agglomeration and human capital accumulation. Workers in amenity locations are more productive because of increasing returns, which encourage investment on human capital development. The decentralized equilibrium is not optimal because of the externalities associated with human capital investments. The efficiency can be improved by public policies encouraging human capital investments. Such policies also increase the number and size of cities and the pace of urbanization and economic growth. The second essay examines the effects of natural disasters on population growth across U.S. counties during the period of 1960-2000. Results suggest that except earthquakes and most serious hurricanes, the risks of natural disasters have no statistically significant effects on population growth. We also estimate the effects of natural disasters on county socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, including human capital, age and ethnic composition of population, industrial composition, and income inequality, which correlate with county population growth. The insignificance of those effects indicates that natural disasters have no indirect effects on population growth, either. The third essay considers the roles of mandatory building codes for regulating land development in a natural disaster-prone area as self-insurance and self-protection. To find the optimal building codes, a simple urban economics model is constructed for the analysis. A number of comparative statics results are presented to describe how optimal building codes are affected by the endowed probability of the disaster, the expected loss, productivity levels of self-insurance and self-protection, and socioeconomic characteristics of the area such as wage, population, and the share of land area in the risky region. Close