Specialization in Luxury Goods, Productivity Gaps and the Rapid Growth of Small Tourism Countries

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen D. Álvarez-Albelo ◽  
Raúl Hernández-Martín
Keyword(s):  
Terms Of Trade ◽  
Luxury Good ◽  
Luxury Goods ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Sectoral Productivity ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Good Nature ◽  
Tourism Economy ◽  
Tourism Services ◽  
Growth Differential

This paper shows that specialization in luxury goods accounts for the remarkable growth performance of small tourism countries during recent decades. Two two-country models are constructed for this purpose. One country is large and rich and produces traded capital goods; the other is a small poor economy that produces traded tourism services. The models differ only in the luxury good nature of tourism. In both models, the tourism economy grows sustainably because its terms of trade improve continuously. This result is related to sectoral productivity gaps. Throughout the transition, the growth differential between the countries is significantly higher when tourism is a luxury good. In this case, there is a faster increase in the tourism imports of the rich economy. As a result, the terms of trade of the poor economy improve greatly and its investment is boosted.

scholarly journals INAPPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY What Is in It for the Rich?

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANA FERNANDES ◽  
KRISHNA B. KUMAR
Keyword(s):  
Green Revolution ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Welfare Effects ◽  
Luxury Good ◽  
Rich Region ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Poor Region ◽  
Inferior Good ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Local Use

In this paper, we investigate incentives, other than altruism, that developed countries have for improving developing country technologies. We propose a simple model of international trade between two regions, in which individuals have preferences over an inferior good and a luxury good. The poor region has a comparative advantage in the production of the inferior good. Even when costly adaptation of the technology to the poor region's characteristics is required—making the technology inappropriate for local use—there are parameter configurations for which the rich region has an incentive to incur this cost. It benefits from a terms-of-trade improvement and from greater specialization in the luxury good. Indeed, there are cases where the rich region would prefer to improve the poor region's technology for producing the inferior good rather than its own. We apply our model to the Green Revolution and provide a quantitative assessment of its welfare effects.

Editor's Note

2004 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. i-iii
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Education ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Ethnic Origin ◽  
Fair Use ◽  
Good Education ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich

In this election year, 2004, people are grappling with the various forces that make up these United States. What forces encourage inclusion and which exclusion? Who is to be included and who excluded? Is this to be a country with wide discrepancies between the rich and the poor? Is this to be a country where public education is poorly funded and a good education depends upon private resources? Are we going to forget that discrimination on the basis of gender, race, ethnic origin, and economic status still exists and needs to be perpetually, vigilantly addressed? There is a deep division in the country over the proper and fair use of our resources that constitutes concern in all our citizens

A Final Muse

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wendell Moller
Keyword(s):  
Human Beings ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich

Why are kings without pity for their subjects? Because they count on never being common human beings. Why are the rich so hard toward the poor? It is because they have no fear of being poor. . . .—Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Émile; or, On Education1In Shakespeare’s ...

“One law for the rich and one law for the poor.”

1890 ◽  
Vol s7-IX (224) ◽  
pp. 288-288
Author(s):  
H. Fishwick
Keyword(s):  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich

THE FINANCIAL RETURN OF CEREAL FARMING FOR SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF ETHIOPIA

2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
LALISA ALEMAYEHU DUGUMA ◽  
IKA DARNHOFER ◽  
HERBERT HAGER
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Labour Productivity ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Financial Return ◽  
Net Return ◽  
Net Returns ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Central Highlands ◽  
The Rich

SUMMARYA study was conducted in Suba area, central highlands of Ethiopia, to assess the net return, land and labour productivity, and the return to scale of cereal farming practice. Seventy-five farmers belonging to three local wealth classes (poor, medium and rich) were randomly selected and interviewed about inputs and outputs related to cereal farming for the production year 2007/2008. Farm soil properties were investigated to check the variability in soil quality among the wealth classes. Benefit:cost ratio (BCR), net returns and annual profit were used to indicate the worthiness of the cereal farming activity. The return to scale was estimated by using the Cobb–Douglas production function. The results show that cereal farming is a rewarding practice, with the rich households gaining more profit than the poor. Farm size was the most important variable that affects the net return. There is an increasing return to scale. However, it is unlikely that farmers will have more land than they own at present because of the land shortage problem in the country caused by the increasing human population. Thus, attention should be given to minimizing the costs of production through proper regulation of domestic fertilizer costs and increasing labour productivity especially for the poor and medium households. The use of manure and compost as an additional fertilizer should also be promoted.

scholarly journals Vertical position can affect categorization of the rich and the poor in Chinese culture

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 183449092110257
Author(s):  
Qiong Li ◽  
Chen Deng ◽  
Bin Zuo ◽  
Xiaobin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Social Categorization ◽  
High Income ◽  
Vertical Position ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Rich

This study explored whether vertical position affects social categorization of the rich and the poor. Experiment 1 used high- and low-income occupations as stimuli, and found participants categorized high-income occupations faster when they were presented in the top vertical position compared to the bottom vertical position. In Experiment 2, participants responded using either the “up” or “down” key to categorize high- and low-income occupations, and responded faster to high-income occupations with the “up” key and low-income occupations with the “down” key. In Experiment 3, names identified as belonging to either rich or poor individuals were presented at the top or bottom of a screen, and the results were the same as in Experiments 1 and 2. These findings suggest that social categorization based on wealth involved perceptual simulations of vertical position, and that vertical position affects the social categorization of the rich and the poor.

The effects of debt restructurings on income inequality in the developing world

2021 ◽  
pp. 135406612110014
Author(s):  
Glen Biglaiser ◽  
Ronald J. McGauvran
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Government Spending ◽  
Tax Reform ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Impact

Developing countries, saddled with debts, often prefer investors absorb losses through debt restructurings. By not making full repayments, debtor governments could increase social spending, serving poorer constituents, and, in turn, lowering income inequality. Alternatively, debtor governments could reduce taxes and cut government spending, bolstering the assets of the rich at the expense of the poor. Using panel data for 71 developing countries from 1986 to 2016, we assess the effects of debt restructurings on societal income distribution. Specifically, we study the impact of debt restructurings on social spending, tax reform, and income inequality. We find that countries receiving debt restructurings tend to use their newly acquired economic flexibility to reduce taxes and lower social spending, worsening income inequality. The results are also robust to different model specifications. Our study contributes to the globalization and the poor debate, suggesting the economic harm caused to the less well-off following debt restructurings.

The Relative Fertility of the Rich and the Poor

BMJ ◽  
1904 ◽  
Vol 2 (2286) ◽  
pp. 1116-1116
Author(s):  
W. R. Williams
Keyword(s):  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Relative Fertility
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