Vietnam eyes PPPs to plug infrastructure gap

Subject The emerging infrastructure investment framework in Vietnam. Significance Vietnamese infrastructure lags some regional competitors; Hanoi estimates that investing 500 billion dollars could resolve this, but needs 300 billion of this to come from public-private partnerships (PPP). Following problems with Vietnam's PPP regulatory framework, a new framework was introduced in April and a new public investment law in January, among other measures seeking to attract private capital into national infrastructure. Such measures are timely: the ASEAN Economic Community is coming in late 2015, while Vietnam signed a free trade deal on May 29 with the Eurasian Economic Union; capitalising on both requires Vietnamese infrastructural development. Impacts The government may need to delay some projects while private capital comes online. As government and industry adapt to the new infrastructure investment framework, updates to planning instructions may be needed. A concerted anti-corruption campaign would support efficiency drives in infrastructural development, but progress will be slow.

Significance Officials are trying to correct high domestic prices which they see as unjustified, and to claw back what they regard as excessive profits earned by metals companies. Impacts Export duties could exert upward pressure on global prices of steel, nickel and aluminium. Exports to the Eurasian Economic Union are exempt, so the government will need a failsafe system to prevent re-exports to third countries. The export duties will reduce the corporate income tax earned by metal-producing regions.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Perez-Montiel ◽  
Carles Manera

Purpose The authors estimate the multiplier effect of government public infrastructure investment in Spain. This paper aims to use annual data of the 17 Spanish autonomous communities for the 1980–2016 period. Design/methodology/approach The authors use dynamic acyclic graphs and the heterogeneous panel structural vector autoregressive (P-SVAR) method of Pedroni (2013). This method is robust to cross-sectional heterogeneity and dependence, which are present in the data. Findings The findings suggest that an increase in the level of government public infrastructure investment generates a positive and persistent effect on the level of output. Five years after the fiscal expansion, the multiplier effects of government public infrastructure investment reach values above one. This confirms that government public infrastructure investment expansions have Keynesian effects. The authors also find that the multiplier effects differ between autonomous communities with above-average and below-average GDP per capita. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no research uses dynamic acyclic graphs and heterogeneous P-SVAR techniques to estimate fiscal multipliers of government public investment in Spain by using subnational data.


Significance Accounting directly and indirectly for 16-17% of GDP in 2019, tourism is a major plank of the Dominican economy and will be key to broader economic recovery in 2021. With that in mind, the government is striving to encourage visitors back as soon as possible. Impacts Cruises are less important to the Dominican Republic than some smaller islands, but the slow recovery of that sector will be a blow. The president plans to launch an infrastructure investment programme later this year to help boost employment. The dismissal of Health Minister Plutarco Arias over alleged procurement irregularities may undermine government anti-corruption pledges.


2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Friday Osemenshan Anetor

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of shocks in the various components of private capital inflows on economic growth in Nigeria using quarterly data in the period 1986Q1–2016Q4. Design/methodology/approach The study employs the impulse response function and the forecast error variance decomposition of the structural vector autoregression (SVAR) model. Findings The research result shows that shocks in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and portfolio investment inflows have a positive and significant impact on economic growth in Nigeria. In addition, FDIs accounted for significant variation in the growth of the Nigerian economy followed by portfolio investments, while personal remittances exerted the least variation in growth. Practical implications The government should promote a favorable macroeconomic environment for existing and potential foreign investors to ensure the continued inflows of FDI and portfolio investment. Originality/value The novelty of this study lies in disaggregating private capital inflows and analyzing the effect of the shock of each component on the growth of the Nigerian economy using SVAR.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 146-156
Author(s):  
Bhupendra Singh ◽  
Neelu Jyoti Ahuja

Purpose This paper aims to popularize information retrieval from palm leaf manuscripts among computer scientists to make available the guidance of the age-old heritage in shaping the future. Design/methodology/approach With computer technology penetrating every aspect of life, information retrieval algorithms can be exploited to help build a system which can dig into the ocean of knowledge from these manuscripts. Findings The knowledge in them covers all aspects of life. Be it religious beliefs, literature, science, mathematics, or any other. However, due to discontinuation of practice of copying their content on fresh leaves, they now possess a fragile life which needs to be preserved at the earliest. The modern means of digitization can help in their preservation. Research limitations The Government of India and other organizations are doing commendable job of preserving and safeguarding country’s heritage and age-old knowledge system through the movement of digitization. In the years to come, the agonizing problem of manuscripts degradation will be eradicated completely. However, next when it will come to mining the knowledge treasure out of these manuscripts, we would be confronted with another helpless situation. Practical implications The digitization process would capture the manuscripts from present physical palm leaf to digital image form by clicking high-quality pictures. All the text in a palm leaf will be available in the form of images, but on these images, a simple search for any word would not be possible. Originality/value Working towards mining the treasure of knowledge from the palm leaf manuscripts, hordes of challenges have been outlined. Over and above the problem of preventing decay to palm leaf manuscripts is the challenge of deciphering text, image analysis, information retrieval and search. Search is further associated with issues of meaningful and useful extraction through semantic analysis. This paper advocates the dire need for systematic research to be undertaken in this field opening up avenues for past knowledge to guide future prospects in several domains.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanmugam Muthu

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the crowding-in or crowding-out relationship between public and private investment in India. Design/methodology/approach The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach is used to estimate the long run relationship between public and private investment using annual data from 1971-1972 to 2009-2010. Findings Based on the empirical findings, it is observed that aggregate public investment has a positive effect on private investment both in the long run and the short run. In contrast to the findings of previous studies, no significant impact of public infrastructure investment on private investments is found in the long run, while non-infrastructure investment has a positive impact on private investment in the short run. Among the various categories of infrastructure sector, a positive and significant impact in the case of electricity, gas and water supply is observed. Similarly, the result indicates that public investment in machinery and equipment and construction have substantially influenced the private sector machinery and equipment in the long run and the short run. In the case of the role of macroeconomic uncertainty, the results find a negative and significant impact on private investment and the impact is higher in the short run than in the long run. Originality/value The present study extends the literature in three important ways: First, the study attempts to capture heterogeneity of public investment as well as disaggregate effects of two different categories of public infrastructure on private investment. The extent to which two different types of public assets impact the private investment in machinery and equipment investment is also examined. Second, ARDL model is used to examine the long-run relationship between public and private investment. Third, the study incorporates macroeconomic uncertainty into the empirical analysis to examine the role of macroeconomic volatility in determining private investment decision.


2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Carranza ◽  
Christian Daude ◽  
Angel Melguizo

Purpose – This paper aims to understand the relationship in developing countries between fiscal consolidation and public investment – a flexible part of the budget that is easier to cut during consolidation effort, but with potentially negative growth effects. Analyzing in detail the case of Peru, the paper explores alternative fiscal rules and frameworks that might help create fiscal space for infrastructure investment. Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses trends in public and total infrastructure investment in six large Latin American economies, in the light of fiscal developments since the early 1980s. In particular, the paper explores the association between fiscal consolidations (improvements in the structural fiscal balance) and public infrastructure investment rates. In the second part, the paper analyzes recent changes in the fiscal framework of Peru and shows how they were conductive in creating additional fiscal space. Findings – The authors argue that post-crisis fiscal frameworks, notably fiscal rules that are increasingly popular in the region, should not only consolidate the recent progress towards debt sustainability, but also create the fiscal space to close these infrastructure gaps. These points are illustrated in a detailed account of recent developments in the fiscal framework and public investment in the Peruvian case. Originality/value – The paper contributes new evidence to the literature on fiscal consolidation and the composition of government expenditures. While the literature based on evidence from the 1990s has argued that fiscal consolidation plans in Latin America have almost always led to a significant reduction in public infrastructure investment, the paper finds less clear cut evidence when extending the analysis backwards (1980s) and forwards (2000s). The example of the case of Peru is used to explore fiscal institutions and rules that might be useful for other developing countries that face important infrastructure gaps.


Subject Laos's development outlook. Significance Second-stage construction of the Xayaburi hydroelectric dam began on January 26, as part of Vientiane's wider scheme for national infrastructure development. Laos's development efforts have long been accompanied by considerable international criticism of its human rights record. These criticisms will acquire fresh significance as Vientiane intensifies development efforts anticipating the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in late 2015, and prepares to take the ASEAN chair in 2016. Impacts Progress on ASEAN human rights mechanisms will probably be limited under Laos's 2016 chairmanship. China's importance to Laos's infrastructural development will grow, despite some local controversy over Chinese investment. Laos will maintain economic and diplomatic links with Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.


Significance The non-party government of former EU Commissioner Dacian Ciolos took office on November 17 after the Ponta government stood down. Much of the previous administration's budget projections have been carried over, but the new draft also raises spending on investment, education and health, widening the projected deficit to 2.95% of 2016 GDP from 1.8% in 2015. Impacts PSD could insist on the budget including a rise in the minimum wage, but the government wants to assess its impact first. Parliamentary parties back the government publicly, but are manoeuvring for advantage with an eye to elections in late 2016. Key economic policies include infrastructure investment, improved administrative standards and tax collection, and absorption of EU funds.


Subject The government's latest GDP expectations for 2016-19. Significance On September 19, days before surviving a parliamentary no-confidence vote, the government announced GDP projections for 2016-19, based on improvements in consumption growth and the labour market, where registered unemployment hovers at historically low levels. Despite its weakened position following the recent departure of junior coalition partner Siet, Smer-Social Democracy (SD) is upbeat about the prospects for robust GDP growth in 2016, revising its forecast upwards to 3.6% from 3.2%. Impacts Industrial output, GDP and inflationary pressures may pick up post-2018, as consumers spend more and auto industry investments create jobs. The government may miss its targets in the short term, but fiscal deficits should remain below the EU limit of 3% of GDP in 2016-18. More public-private partnerships, modelled on the Bratislava ring-road, plus EU funding, may support infrastructure investment after 2017.


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