scholarly journals Foreign Aided: Why Democratization Brings Growth When Democracy Does Not

2013 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Gerner Hariri

There is an unresolved puzzle in research on the economics of democracy. While there is consensus that democracy is not generally associated with higher rates of economic growth, recent studies have found that democratization is followed by growth. But why shouldbecominga democracy bring growth ifbeingone does not? This article shows that a substantial and immediate influx of foreign aid into new democracies accounts for the positive growth effect of democratization. The domestic regime characteristics of neither democracy nor democratization therefore seems to bring growth. The importance of aid in explaining the democratization-growth nexus underscores that democratizations do not occur in vacuum and cannot be fully understood from internal factors alone.

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan E. Ogbuabor ◽  
Onyinye I. Anthony-Orji ◽  
Oliver E. Ogbonna ◽  
Anthony Orji

This study provides a pioneer analysis of the growth effect of WAEMU integration at the econometric level, unlike the extant literature that relied on descriptive analysis of the sub-region’s trade statistics. The study used robust instrumental variables system GMM regression in the framework of a cross-country growth model and annual panel data for the period 2000 to 2015. Contrary to the widely held view that regional economic integration fosters economic growth of the participating countries, we did not find any empirical support for a positive growth impact of WAEMU integration in West Africa, which may be due to a variety of factors that mainly point to the characteristics of the WAEMU economies. However, the results indicate that foreign direct investment (FDI), institutional quality, capital, labour and the initial real per capita GDP are important drivers of growth in the sub-region. Interestingly, the results further indicate that FDI and institutional quality are the channels through which WAEMU integration may impact on growth in West Africa. The study therefore concludes that policy reforms towards improved institutions and increased FDIs will enhance economic growth in West Africa.


2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 908-929
Author(s):  
Kin-Ming Wong ◽  
Terence Tai-Leung Chong

Abstract Pioneered by New Zealand in 1990, a growing number of countries have adopted the practice of inflation targeting, the international experience of which has been reported as satisfactory. However, existing empirical evidence fails to support inflation targeting as having a positive growth effect. To provide further evidence, this study adopts a new classification system for monetary policy regimes that allows the empirical estimation of the effect of inflation targeting on economic growth in comparison with its main alternative, exchange rate targeting. Our study, which covers more than 100 countries for the 35 years from 1974 to 2009, presents robust evidence that inflation targeting promotes economic growth.


2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

1973 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Syed Nawab Haider Naqvi

The recent uncertainties about aid flows have underscored the need for achieving an early independence from foreign aid. The Perspective Plan (1,965-85) had envisaged the termination of Pakistan's dependence on foreign aid by 1985. However, in the context of West Pakistan alone the time horizon can now be advanced by several years with considerable confidence in its economy to pull the trick. The difficulties of achieving independence from foreign aid can be seen by reference to the fact that aid flows make it possible for the policy-maker to pursue such ostensibly incompatible objectives as a balance in international payments (i.e., foreign aid finances the balance of payments), higher rates of economic growth (Lei, it pulls up domestic saving and investment levels), a high level of employment (i.e., it keeps the industries working at a fuller capacity than would otherwise be the case), and a reasonably stable price level (i.e., it lets a higher level of imports than would otherwise be possible). Without aid, then a simultaneous attainment of all these objectives at the former higher levels together with the balance in foreign payments may become well-nigh impos¬sible. Choices are, therefore, inevitable not for definite places in the hierarchy of values, but rather for occasional "trade-offs". That is to say, we will have to" choose how much to sacrifice for the attainment of one goal for the sake of somewhat better realization of another.


2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 727-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Feeny ◽  
Bazoumana Ouattara
Keyword(s):  

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1969
Author(s):  
Donghui Lv ◽  
Huiying Gao ◽  
Yu Zhang

Identification of local priorities within each potential sector and implementation of a targeted development policy would definitely accelerate rural economic growth. In this sense, it is useful to examine each region’s industrial structural evolution compared to the whole economy and aggregate industries. Shift-share analysis has been confirmed as a useful method to measure regional economic differences and analyze the contribution of industrial structure. This paper selects five representative counties in Heilongjiang province and applies shift-share decomposition to analyze the change in rural economic development from 2000 to 2018. The change of economic growth in each selected county is decomposed into three components: national growth effect, industrial structure effect, and competitive effect, taking the national level as the reference. The results showed the following: (1) the trend of rural economic growth fluctuated greatly for nearly 20 years, distinguished by a mismatch of industrial structure with competitiveness for the selected counties; rural economies with an inappropriate industrial structure did not experience strong growth, despite high competitive potential. (2) The low-end agricultural structure and secondary industry structure led to the loss of each competitive effect; the tertiary industry structure based on economic structure servitization was rational, but the competitive effect did not work out. (3) Finally, this paper provided differentiated suggestions in accordance with local resources and priorities of the selected counties, so as to avoid excessive convergence and the lack of characteristics in industrial structure in rural transformation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 98 (5) ◽  
pp. 2203-2220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adi Brender ◽  
Allan Drazen

We test whether good economic conditions and expansionary fiscal policy help incumbents get reelected in a large panel of democracies. We find no evidence that deficits help reelection in any group of countries independent of income level, level of democracy, or government or electoral system. In developed countries and old democracies, deficits in election years or over the term of office reduce reelection probabilities. Higher growth rates over the term raise reelection probabilities only in developing countries and new democracies. Low inflation is rewarded by voters only in developed countries. These effects are both statistically significant and quite substantial quantitatively. (JEL D72, E62, H62, O47)


2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aye Mengistu Alemu ◽  
Jin-Sang Lee

Previous empirical studies on the effects of foreign aid on economic growth have generated mixed results that make it difficult to draw policy recommendations. The main reason for such mixed results is the choice of a single aggregate list of countries, regardless of the disparities in levels of development. This study therefore fills the development gap by disaggregating the African data into a panel of 20 middle- income and 19 low- income African countries over a period of 15 years between 1995 and 2010, and employing a dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) model to address the dynamic nature of economic growth as well as the problems of endogeneity. The results of this study support the theoretical hypothesis that a positive relationship between aid and GDP growth exists, but only for low-income African countries, not middle-income ones. On the other hand, the study reveals that middle- income African countries tend to experience a greater impact on their economic growth from foreign direct investment (FDI) and natural resources revenues, mainly oil exports. This implies that the frequent criticism that foreign aid has not contributed to economic growth is flawed, at least in the case of low-income African countries. In fact, foreign aid has played a critical role in stimulating economic growth in such countries through supplementing domestic sources of finance such as savings, thus increasing the amount of investment and capital stock in them.


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