scholarly journals Foreign aid, legal origin, economic growth and Africa’s least developed countries

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Wamboye ◽  
Abel Adekola ◽  
Bruno S. Sergi
Perceptions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna N Smith

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. Despite its abundance of natural resources, it has failed to develop and maintain political stability since its decolonization in 1960. With its unstable and corrupt government, the DRC’s primary source of fiscal investment comes from foreign aid, from both International Organizations (IOs), like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, as well as International Non-Governmental Organization (INGOs). In this paper I examine how the role of international aid from The World Bank, IMF, and INGOs has contributed to the pervasive stagnation of the DRC’s economic growth, and how aid can be implemented equitably and efficiently. In order to create a comprehensive overview of economic development in the DRC, I analyze the repercussions of colonial legacies, government corruption, the benefits of foreign aid, and possible neo-colonial implications of foreign aid on the country’s growth. After analyzing the sum of these effects on economic growth, we can conclude that ultimately foreign aid is necessary for development in the DRC; however, adjustments must be made to current aid programs in order to create equitable growth.


2008 ◽  
pp. 142-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Kentor ◽  
Edward Kick

After the “peace bonus” era, global military expenditures have escalated sharply despite some worldwide declines in military personnel. Theories on the economic impacts of the military institution and escalated military spending greatly differ and include arguments that they either improve domestic economic performance or crowd out growth-inducing processes. Empirical findings on this matter are inconclusive, in part due to a failure to disentangle the various dimensions of military expenditures. We further suggest that modern sociology's relative inattention to such issues has contributed to these shortcomings. We explore a new dimension of military spending that clarifies this issue—military expenditures per soldier —which captures the capital intensiveness of a country’s military organization. Our cross-national panel regression and causal analyses of developed and less developed countries from 1990 to 2003 show that military expenditures per soldier inhibit the growth of per capita GDP, net of control variables, with the most pronounced effects in least developed countries. These expenditures inhibit national development in part by slowing the expansion of the labor force. Labor-intensive militaries may provide a pathway for upward mobility, but comparatively capital-intensive military organizations limit entry opportunities for unskilled and under- or unemployed people. Deep investments in military hardware also reduce the investment capital available for more economically productive opportunities. We also find that arms imports have a positive effect on economic growth, but only in less developed countries.


Author(s):  
Kiran Bahadur Pandey

Foreign aid is essential for least developed countries like Nepal because these countries have the shortage of fund to meet their domestic investment for accelerating economic development and also to finance the import of essential capital goods required for the development. Nepal receives foreign aid from bilateral and multilateral sources. Following a descriptive approaches this paper analyses the trend of foreign did flow in Nepal from aggregative perspective. Economic Journal of Development Issues Vol. 23&24 No. 1-2, (2017) Combined Issue, Page : 71-76


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Alex Thomas Ijjo ◽  
Isaac M. B. Shinyekwa

Endemic supply side constraints including fluctuating output levels, deficient trade infrastructure, rampant non-tariff barriers and incapacity to ensure international quality standards continue to thwart the gainful participation of many Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in an increasingly liberal global trade environment. At its 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, the World Trade Organization launched its Aid for Trade (AFT) initiative aimed at coordinating global financial support for strengthening trade capacity in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). This paper examined the effect of foreign aid, particularly Official Development Assistance, on Uganda’s external trade and its AFT component in strengthening the country’s trade capacity. Using time series Error Correction Modelling and the World Bank’s World Development Indicators and official national statistics, the paper finds small but positive aid influence on Uganda’s exports and imports and generally close alignment between aid and national priorities. However, given general aid volatility but more especially following the anti-homosexuality legislation and gross corruption allegations in the case of Uganda, the paper advises that external aid be treated as a supplement rather than a substitute for domestic financial resource mobilization in trade capacity development.


2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caf Dowlah

The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)—a system of differential and favorable trade arrangements toward less developed countries, adopted by the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT)—has been around since the early 1970s. A primary objective of these schemes has been to promote industrialization and economic growth in less developed countries through trade rather than aid. The outcome of such programs has, however, been mixed. This paper identifies some of the underlying political and economic dynamics which led to the dismal performance of the GSP schemes of the United States in respect to the industrialization and economic growth of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The paper suggests that the effectiveness of GSP schemes could be significantly improved if they were brought under the binding WTO rules, if greater resources were directed to removing supply constraints in the LDCs, and if developed countries granted unwavering market access to LDC exports.


Author(s):  
Caroline Geetha

Economic interdependence among nations of the world has become important and enormously complex. Foreign capital and aid is an important form of economic interdependence because they are the main components of capital formation especially for the developing nation. A significant amount of foreign capital and aid which has amounted to around $30 billion of the worlds gross domestic product, grows at an annual rate of 15 percent (higher than the economic growth rate of certain nation). Multinational corporations in search for profits in the developing nation undertake inflow and outflow of foreign capital in the form of foreign direct investment, skills and technology. This creates internal economies of scale for the parent company and external economies of scale for its subsidiaries. Overwhelming performance of foreign capital can also create external diseconomies of scale known as stunting effects for the developing nation. The government of the developed countries for political and humanitarian reasons also offers foreign aid. Foreign aid should be paired well with the stages of the economic development of a country to create increasing returns. This paper provides a critical analysis of growth in relation to foreign capital and aid in Malaysia. The analysis is divided into two sections. The first section looks at foreign capital and aid as an independent variable while the second section looks at foreign capital and aid as the dependent variable. Foreign capital is found to be positively correlated to economic growth and it is also highly significant compared to foreign aid which has no positive correlation and hardly contributes to Malaysias economic growth. Finally some policy options are recommended to improve the economic growth in Malaysia.


2012 ◽  
Vol 51 (4II) ◽  
pp. 261-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rehana Siddiqui ◽  
Ghulam Samad ◽  
Muhammad Nasir ◽  
Hafiz Hanzla Jalil

It is necessary for a country to make its agriculture sector efficient to enhance food security, quality of life and to promote rapid economic growth. The evidence from least developed countries (LDCs) indicates that agriculture sector accounts for a large share in their gross domestic product (GDP). Thus the development of the economy cannot be achieved without improving the agriculture sector. According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan (2011-12) its main natural resource is arable land and agriculture sector’s contribution to the GDP is 21 percent. The agricultural sector absorbs 45 percent of labour force and its share in exports is 18 percent. Given the role of agricultural sector in economic growth and its sensitivity to change in temperature and precipitation it is important to study the impact of climate change on major crops in Pakistan. There are two crops seasons in Pakistan namely, Rabi and Kharif. Rabi crops are grown normally in the months of November to April and Kharif crops are grown from May to October. These two seasons make Pakistan an agricultural economy and its performance depends on the climate during the whole year. Climate change generally affects agriculture through changes in temperature, precipitation.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamsuddin Ahamad ◽  
Hamdan Amerali Al-jaifi ◽  
Md Imtiaz Mostafiz

PurposeThe development of family-based microenterprises has attracted the attention of regulators, microfinance institutions and other stakeholders in either developing or least developed countries. In the finance literature, several studies have examined the determinants of the family-based microenterprises development; however, there are several venues that need to be examined. The study aims to explain the economic profit of microenterprises from resource-based theory and human capital perspectives.Design/methodology/approachBased on critical review and theoretical grounding, this study proposes a conceptual framework, which bridges intangible resources with economic growth of microenterprises.FindingsAfter reviewing previous studies and based on the underpinning theoretical framework, the study finds that human capital is one of the variables that has received a little attention and yet to be examined as a moderating role. Based on the human capital theorist, individual's competencies help enterprises to perform better in business, as enterprises that possess competencies and capabilities are more likely to have higher levels of growth and profitability.Practical implicationsThis finding provides useful implications for the stakeholders and policymakers and contributes in the future literature.Originality/valueBased on critical review and theoretical grounding, this study proposes a conceptual framework, which bridges intangible resources with economic growth of microenterprises.


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