scholarly journals A Biological Theory of Social Discounting

2014 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 3481-3497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur J. Robson ◽  
Balázs Szentes

We consider a growth model in which intergenerational transfers are made via stocks of private and public capital. Private capital is the outcome of individuals' private savings while decisions regarding public capital are made collectively. We hypothesize that private saving choices evolve through individual selection while public saving decisions are the result of group selection. The main result of the paper is that the equilibrium rate of return to private capital is at least 2–3 percent more than the rate of return to public capital. In other words, social choices involving intertemporal trade-offs exhibit much more patience than individual choices do. (JEL D11, D71, D91, H43)

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (232) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zidong An ◽  
Alvar Kangur ◽  
Chris Papageorgiou

Most macroeconomic models assume that aggregate output is generated by a specification for the production function with total physical capital as a key input. Implicitly this assumes that private and public capital stocks are perfect substitutes. In this paper we test this assumption by estimating a nested-CES production function whereas the two types of capital are considered separately along with labor as inputs. The estimation is based on our newly developed dataset on public and private capital stocks for 151 countries over a period of 1960-2014 consistent with Penn World Table version 9. We find evidence against perfect substitutability between public and private capital, especially for emerging and LIDCs, with the point estimate of the elasticity of substitution estimated closely around 3.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3661
Author(s):  
Waqar Ameer ◽  
Kazi Sohag ◽  
Helian Xu ◽  
Musaad Mansoor Halwan

In this study, we investigate whether outbound foreign direct investment (OFDI) either augments or impedes domestic public and private investment, incorporating the role of institutional quality into the context of developed and emerging countries. To this end, we apply a cross-sectional-autoregressive-distributed lag (CS-ARDL) approach to analyze panel data from the period 1996–2017. Our empirical findings suggest that OFDI augments private capital formation for developed countries. Institutional quality (IQ) is found to be a driving factor that promotes private capital formation in the established economies of developed countries. However, OFDI has a negative association with the public capital formation in the established economies of developed countries, while IQ has a positive association with it. In the context of emerging economies, OFDI is found to be too insignificant to have an effect on private and public capital formation. Interestingly, IQ has a detrimental effect on both private and public capital formation in emerging economies. Our findings are robust. The empirical findings of this study imply that institutional quality should continue to be improved in developed countries, while it should surpass a certain threshold for emerging economies to promote domestic capital formation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-72
Author(s):  
Jan-Erik Wesselhöft

Abstract Based on new estimates of public and private capital stocks for 22 OECD countries we study the dynamic effect of public capital on the real gross domestic product using a vector autoregression approach. Whereas most former studies put effort on examining the effects of public capital in a single country, this paper covers a large set of OECD countries. The results show that public capital has a positive effect on output in the short-, medium- and long-run in most countries. In countries where the effect is negative, possible explanations as the different productivities of investments, crowding out or high growth rates of government debt are analyzed.


Author(s):  
Pierre-Richard Agénor

This chapter extends the Allais–Samuelson Overlapping Generations models presented in chapters 1 and 2 to study interactions between infrastructure and human capital with R&D activities and growth. It begins by providing some background evidence on these interactions. The model is then presented and solved, and the impact of public policy, including potential trade-offs associated with the provision of infrastructure and other services by the government, is discussed. Again, this is a critical issue; if governments have access to limited resources to cover their expenditure, different types of government interventions may entail (temporary or permanent) trade-offs at the macroeconomic level—even though at the microeconomic or sectoral level these interventions are largely complementary. In addition, different types of government intervention may generate spillover effects on other sectors, which may have an indirect impact on innovation capacity.


Author(s):  
Joseph Nyangon ◽  
Nabeel Alabbas ◽  
Lawrence Agbemabiese

This chapter assesses energy, water, and food resource systems based on their inter- and intra-sectoral imperatives of large scale development investments at the institutional level (including private and public activities) and how to achieve security of resource supplies. It identifies key interrelated processes, practices, and factors that underpin integrated resource management (IRM) and their attendant benefits. Applying the E4 framework concerned with energy, economy, environment, and equity to identify the main threats to these systems, the chapter evaluates their institutional, political, economic, cultural and behavioral components, and characterizes the forces that drive each of them at different governance scales. The chapter is guided by political economy, economic, and sociological theories that suggest that institutional structures affect economic factors and processes (i.e. production, distribution, and consumption processes). A case study of energy, water, and food (EWF) conflicting sectoral imperatives in Delaware is discussed in detail to better understand how these policy and institutional processes occur, which forms they take, and in which ways they define the quality and quantity of EWF resource systems in the State. In order to verify these parameters, the analysis considered the advantages of a sectorally balanced, E4 framework, in particular to evaluate the valency and magnitude of cross-sectoral connections, balance competing needs, and identify policy options that address various trade-offs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fredrick Ikpesu ◽  
Abraham Emmanuel Okpe

AbstractThe study applied the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique in investigating the effect of capital inflows and exchange rate on agricultural output in Nigeria between the periods 1981 and 2016. The technique was selected because the variables are integrated at both 1(1) and 1(0) and the sample size is considerably small. Variables used in the study are agricultural output (AO), private capital inflow (PRCI), public capital inflow (PUBCI), investment (INV), labor (L) and real effective exchange rate. Findings from the empirical research revealed that the variables are cointegrated. The research outcome also indicates that in the short run and long run, private capital inflow and public capital inflow positively affect the country agricultural output. The study also revealed that exchange rate depreciation would cause agricultural output to decline in the short and long run. Based on the research findings, it is recommended that the government should create an enabling and conducive environment to attract more inflows of foreign capital into the country to boost the agricultural output. Also, monetary authority should ensure the stability of the country’s exchange rate (Naira) since exchange rate depreciation affects agricultural output negatively. Furthermore, there is the need for the harmonization of foreign capital inflow policy and monetary policy by the government, taking into consideration the optimal level of capital inflow that will not have a detrimental effect on exchange rate so as to ensure sustainable growth in agricultural output.


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