Country's GNP Research Articles

Success and Threats in the Clustering of the Automotive Industry in Spain: The Role of Public and Private Agents

Research Question: This article clarifies the role of clusters in industry agglomeration efficiency as well as the role that public and private agents play in their efficiency. Motivation: The automobile industry in Spain is an exception to the industrial decline suffered by the secondary sector since the economic crisis exploded in Spain. Employment in the vehicle manufacturing industry has recovered significantly in Spain in 2017, with a significant growth bringing it closer to 2008 levels. The sector accounts for 8.6 % of the country's GNP. How can we explain this success? Are there new threats (technology, environmental standards, emerging economies, etc.) menacing the sector? Based on value chain and cluster theories we explain its success and how new threats could be managed? The response lays in analyzing the role of cluster agents in the various clusters dynamics. The research shows how the openness of clusters plays a crucial role in their sustainability. Idea: Based on value chain and cluster theories we explain their success and how new threats could be managed? The response lays in analyzing the role of cluster agents in the various clusters dynamics. The research shows how the openness of clusters plays a crucial role in their sustainability. Data: primary data was collected in two surveys and interviews campaigns during 2013 and 2017. Furthermore, secondary data from national, regional and sectoral sources were analysed. Tools: The research is based on a series of interviews and visits to the automotive clusters in Spain. Additionally, the authors have analyzed abundant secondary information and web contents available on the clusters agents: manufacturers, suppliers, unions, associations, etc. Findings: The paper concludes that regional and national policies are relevant but that consensus between clusters’ agents is essential for their success. However, will the existing agents be able to withstand new threats? .Contribution: The article contributes to clusters literature and the clusters’ role of the agents in the global value chain context. It also sheds light on public policies to support automotive industries. Limitations are linked to resource limitations.

International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture for Rural Development 2018 (ICSARD 2018)

PREFACEOn behalf of the Organizing Committee, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your contributions and participations in the International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture for Rural Development 2018 (ICSARD 2018) which was held in Purwokerto, Indonesia, 23-24 October 2018.Agriculture is a vital sector since it provides foods and raw materials related to food for human life. Agriculture gives employment opportunities to a very large proportion of communities. It also has a great significance in global trade as well as foreign exchange resources, which in turn might improve a country's GNP value. Agriculture is at a crossroad. It has to find ways to feed the world while being environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. The International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture for Rural Development 2018 (ICSARD 2018), therefore, was aimed to promote scientific and educational activities towards the advancement of knowledge by improving the theory and practice of various disciplines and areas of sustainable agriculture. This conference addressed the food system activities of processing, distributing and consuming food, as well as food production from crop and livestock; the availability, access, utilization and stability dimensions of agriculture; and the synergies and trade-offs between economic, environmental, health and social objectives and outcomes. The conference became an excellent opportunity for academic researchers, industry professionals, government delegates and students to interact and share their experiences and knowledge on cutting-edge developments in the fields of Agro-technology, Soil Science, Agronomy, Horticulture, Plant Protection, Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Agroecology, Food Science and Technology, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, as well as Socio-economics of Agriculture and Agribusiness.ICSARD 2018 was organized by the Faculty of Agriculture, Jenderal Soedirman University, Indonesia. The conference was joined by eight keynote speakers who are leading experts from reputable organizations, i.e. Prof. Dr. Robert Edwin Paull (University of Hawai’i at Manoa), Prof. Dr. Shao Hui Zheng (Saga University, Japan), Dr. Tuyen Chan Kha (Nong Lam University, Vietnam), Prof. Dr. Rindit Pambayun (Sriwijaya University, Indonesia), Prof. Lilik Soetiarso, Ph.D (Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia), Prof. Dr. Ahmad Yunus (Sebelas Maret University, Indonesia), Prof. Loekas Soesanto, Ph.D (Jenderal Soedirman University, Indonesia), and Prof. Totok Agung DH, Ph.D (Jenderal Soedirman University, Indonesia). Participants of this conference came from Sudan, Ecuador, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.As the general chair of this conference, I realize that the success of the conference depends ultimately on the many people who have worked with us in planning and organizing both the technical program and supporting social arrangements. In particular, we thank the Program Chairs for their wise advice and brilliant suggestion on organizing the technical program and also the Scientific Committee for their thorough and timely reviewing of the papers. Recognition should go to the Organizing Committee members who have all worked extremely hard for the details of important aspects of the conference programs and social activities. We would also like to thank our special honorary guests and plenary speakers for their dedication to this event.I hope that this publication can bring beneficial contributions to the development of knowledge particularly in the field of sustainable agriculture.Susanto Budi Sulistyo, Ph.D.Jenderal Soedirman University, Purwokerto, IndonesiaGeneral Chair of ICSARD 2018 Conference CommitteeFebruary 2019, Purwokerto, Indonesia

Attitudes and Preferences of Local Visitors Toward Ecotourism Sites in Bahrain

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Tasa de natalidad y el ingreso como determinantes de la pobreza

La reducción de la pobreza significa un gran desafío para todos los países a nivel mundial. Por ello, el objetivo del presente artículo es analizar cómo se pueden clasificar a los países según su grado de pobreza a través de cuatro variables independientes: tasa de natalidad, tasa de mortalidad, PIB per cápita y PNB per cápita, basados en el modelo Maltusiano de población. La clasificación original se realizó de acuerdo con el Método Atlas del Banco Mundial de 2013, en el cual basado en su PNB per cápita se clasifican entre países ricos o pobres. Desde aquella clasificación se implementa un análisis discriminante con la finalidad de identificar las características que diferencian a cada grupo para poder encasillarlos adecuadamente en países ricos o pobres. El modelo resulta robusto indicando una correlación positiva entre tasa de natalidad y pobreza mientras que con el PIB y PNB per cápita la correlación es negativa.

FINANCING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: SOLUTIONS OF WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg, SouthAfrica 2002 has given significant priority to finance and trade issues since funding hasbeen identified as key constraints for the implementation of Agenda 21. The Summitadopted some ambitious programs specifically for poverty eradication such as halving theproportion of the world's people whose income is less than $1 a day, proportion of peoplewho suffer from hunger, proportion of people who are without access to safe drinkingwater and sanitation by 2015. Obvious.y, the implementation of all its decisions dependson the success of addressing development finance issues that covers a vast range, fromofficial development assistance to tommercialloans by multilateral financial institutionsand private banks, foreign direct investment, domestic credits, investment and governmenttransfers. The objective of this paper is to investigate whether the WSSD presents asolution to the financing for sustainable development taking Sri Lanka as a case study.The study observed that between 1992-2000 Official Development Assistant (ODA) hasfallen steadily from 0.33 % of donor country GNP to 0.22 % although at the Earth Summitdeveloped countries agreed to provide 0,7% of GNP as ODA This decline has affected theleast developed countries (LDCs), who arc highly dependant on ODA, which constitutes onthe average almost 90'% of their total long term capital inflows. However during thisperiod, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has significantly increased. FDI to developingcountries has increased from US$ 36 billion in 1991 to US$ 185 billion in 1999, butdeclined to US$ 175 billion in 2000. This is however is only a small portion of the globalFDI flows, which amounted to US$ 1.1 trillion in 2000. In 2000, 80% of FDI went to onlyten developing countries and LDCs attracted only 2.5 % of all FDI flows to developingcountries. In Sri Lanka, foreign direct investments have dropped from US$ 129 Mn ill1977 to US$ 82 Mn 2001. Total outstanding foreign debt has rose from Rs. 235,358 Mn in1992 to Rs. 634,622 Mn in 2001. This indicates serious debt crises in developing countries,which is not a favorable condition for attracting further FDI to developing countries.At the same time measures taken by the international community to treat the excessive debtburdens of 41 heavily indebted poor countries (HIPe) have not delivered the expectedresults. Thought the IMF and the World Bank have approved debt reduction programs for22 countries in December 2000, only' Uganda was able to clear the prerequisite thecreditors. This evidently suggests that the proposed financing measures at the WSSD willalso face implementation problems. Unless all debtors and creditors work positivelywithout demanding unreasonable prerequisite for debt relief measures, the objectives of theWSSD cannot be achieved.

The Economic Effects of the EU Budget: A VAR Analysis*

AbstractThis article analyses the allocation, redistribution and stabilization role of the EU budget from 1976 to 2001. We use impulse responses from VAR models to infer the dynamic effect of a country's GNP on its disposable income – defined as GNP plus net EU budget transfers – both in the short run (stabilization) and in the long run (redistribution). In addition, we measure the allocation role of net budget transfers through their ‘dynamic multiplier’ effect on a country's GNP, circumventing the difficult task of estimating allocation via costs and benefits of trade flows. By disaggregating our data by sub‐period and by budget component, we discover how diverse the above effects can be in different decades, for different budget programmes and for different Member States. Finally, our framework allows us to establish some additional stylized facts that help derive relevant economic relations and useful policy conclusions.

Age- and sex-specific analysis of homicide mortality as a function of economic development: A cross-national comparison

This study examined the association between homicide rates and GNP per capita (as a measure of economic development) among all age- and sex-specific groups in 53 countries. Cross-sectional data on homicide rates by age- and sex- specific groups were obtained for 53 countries from World Health Statistics Annual 1996. The association between homicide rates and economic development was studied by using two methods: (1) with regression analysis and (2) by categorizing the data into four income-based country groups and then comparing the differences in their mean values. Results indicate that there was a negative correlation between homicide rates and economic development. The association between homicide rates and country GNP per capita became stronger with increasing age. Pearson's product moment correlation coefficient was strongest among older age groups (65+year) in both sexes (male, r = -0.77 and female, r = -0.71). The correlation was weakest and positive among 1- to 4-year-old children (males, r = 0.17 and females, r = 0.07). The homicide rate among females was highest for <1-year-old children in low income countries (LICs) (12.8 per 100,000). Lower middle-income countries are in the stage of high priority where both homicide rates and homicide as percentage of total death are high, and its impact was greatest for young males. However, infanticide as a public health problem seems highly concentrated in the poorest countries, while homicide among small children, 1-4 years old, appears to be a universal phenomenon across all nations.

India's new government pledges to continue economic reforms - but investors worry a fractious coalition will be bad for business

Will India's economic and high-tech boom continue? The country's GNP grew nearly 8 percent last year, and India seemed set to boast a trillion-dollar economy by 2010. But worries about its future set in virtually the moment election results were declared. This is because investors worry a fractious coalition will be bad for business.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF AIR POLLUTION IN SAO PAULO METROPOLITAN AREA, BRAZIL: INFLUENCE OF MOBILE SOURCES AND RELATED HEALTH EFFECTS

Sao Paulo, Brazil, a metropolitan region with 39 municipalities and a continuous urban sprawl of 1,051 square kilometers and 16.5 million inhabitants, is responsible for 18% of the country's GNP and six million jobs. Over 40,000 industries and 5.7 million vehicles are registered there (25% of Brazilian car fleet). Three million cars circulate daily and 1 million drive in every day (350,000 trucks). The average car speed is around 17 krdh. These facts cause prohibition of circulation of 20% of passenger cars daily. During the 1970's air quality had an important influence from industrial sources. Nowadays emissions come mainly from vehicles (97.7% of CO: 96.2% of NOx; 97.8% of HC; 69.3% of SOx and 49.3% of particles). Lip,ht-duty vehicles are powered by gasohol (mixture of 78% gasoline and 22% ethanol) and by ethanol. Heavy-duty vehicles are diesel-oil fueled. Strong pollution control for stationary sources and a program of emissions reduction for new vehicles were put in practice, but only sulfur dioxide concentrations were greatly reduced. Levels of other pollutants are still above air quality standards during part of the year, in some neighborhoods. Higher number of cars neutralized efforts. Surveys conducted in the 1970's and 1980's showed correlation between air pollution levels and respiratory symptoms. Comparison done in 1998 showed that symptoms decreased in neighborhood where pollution control programs were successful, but increased where only sulfur dioxide levels were reduced and other pollutants increased. Nowadays, there is concern in relation to ozone's health effects for its concentrations surpass standards. This paper discusses air pollution in Sao Paulo, control programs, their efficacy, vehicle emissions and effects on health.

Galton's fallacy and economic convergence

The term 'Galton's fallacy' has more than one meaning. Usages of the term starting with Francis Galton are reviewed. Recently the term has been used to denote problems encountered when the neoclassical convergence model is tested in a cross-section of country GNP histories (Barrow-Baumol regressions). M. Friedman and D. Quah independently identify problems which they separately call Galton's fallacy. Friedman and Quah mean different things by the term. Once the nature of various Galton fallacies have been clarified, it is possible to elucidate some issues of econometric estimation that may be encountered in economic convergence regression estimation. Copyright 1999 by Royal Economic Society.

Road to Ruin: Road Traffic Accidents in The Developing World

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are the leading cause of deaths in adolescents and young adults globally (Mohan and Romer 1991). The World Bank (1993) estimates that of the 865,000 traffic deaths occurring annually worldwide, 74% are in developing countries. While the RTA rates and related death and disability are decreasing in most industrialized countries, they are increasing rapidly in many less developed countries (LDCs). RTAs also exert a considerable economic burden on developing countries, estimated to cost 1-4% of a country's GNP per annum (Zwi 1993). In an effort to examine the underlying causes of this growing burden of premature death and disability developing countries are experiencing due to RTAs, the available epidemiological and anthropological literature has been reviewed. The concepts of risk and vulnerability have been employed in order to explore the complex web of socio-cultural and politico- economic factors influencing the rapidly increasing rates of RTAs in developing countries, as illustrated by cases of Nigeria and Kenya. It is argued that an approach which incorporates elements of epidemiological and anthropological concepts of risk and vulnerability, based on a mutual understanding about the limits of knowledge, while legitimizing different way of knowing, may well be the path to a comprehensive coverage of the issues. It is further argued that, beyond the theoretical and methodological issues being explored, the highest priority should be a focus on the more immediate concerns including the apparent lack of basic data and the complete absence of anthropological studies of any sort in relation to RTAs in developing countries.

China's Economic Reform (review)

396 China Review International: Vol. 4, No. 2, Fall 1997 peared as a plan for political change thought out by some impractical academics was actually realized by political power" (p. 112). 17.Max Weber, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, trans. H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills (New York: Oxford University Press, 1946), pp. 224-228. 18.See A. C. Graham, "The Place of Reason in Ancient Chinese Philosophical Tradition." 19.See Zhang Qiyun, Zhonghua wuqian nian shi. 20.Feng Youlan traces the origin of the "rule of man" before the emergence oflegalism. See Feng, Zhongguo zhexue shi (A history of Chinese philosophy), vol. 2, Sansongtang quanji, pt 1 (Henan People's Press, 1988), pp. 292-295. Liang Qichao discusses the legalist attacks on the Confucian belief of personality as a factor in successful government (History ofChinese Political Thought, p. 119). Finally, Solomon shows very powerfully the Confucian family value system as an origin of China's "rule ofman." See Richard H. Solomon, Mao's Revolution and the Chinese Political Culture (Berkeley: University of California Press), 1971. Shangquan Gao. China's Economic Reform. London and New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996. 251 pp. Hardcover $69.95, isbn 0-312-12034-6. Much has been written about China's economic reform since its inception in 1978. Most of the publications on this subject are by experts outside China. The book under review here, by Shangquan Gao, is one of the few studies contributed by an insider. Gao is Vice Minister of the State Commission for Restructuring the Economic System of the State Council, and the President of China Reform and Development Institute. Recognized in China as the leading expert on China's economic reform, Gao's book can be viewed as an official explanation ofit. The book is preceded by forewords from two prominent British experts, Edward Health, a member of the British Parliament, and Sir Alec Caimcross—both ofwhom have expressed high praise for the work—followed by nine chapters and one appendix. Chapters 1-8 chart the course of China's gradual transformation during the first decade of the reform. Chapter 9 contains several interviews with Chinese and foreign journalists. The 64-page appendix is a detailed chronicle of the major events during the ten years from 1978 to 1988. In general, the book presents a succinct review of the changes during the early phase of the reform. Chapter 1 starts with a historical-background analysis of China's evolution© 1997 by University from a Soviet-type, centrally planned economy to a market economy. The market ojHawai ? Presseconomy in China is different from the general pattern prevailing in other countries ; it is officially labeled a "socialist market economy." According to the author, Reviews 397 one salient feature ofthe Chinese system is that it is based on public ownership, while in other countries the market economy is privately operated. The basic vision ofthe "socialist market economy" involves the establishment of: (1) a modem enterprise system, making state enterprises integral to the market ; (2) an open, unified, and ordered market system such that the entire sphere ofproduction can enter the market; (3) a macroeconomic management system appropriate to the socialist market economy that will precipitate the transformation ofgovernmental functions; (4) a social security system fit for the socialist market economy; and (5) market discipline and a legal framework appropriate for the socialist market system. While the new system may represent a breakthrough from the original centrally planned one, the aufhor fails to explain how a market system based on competition and spontaneous decision making could dovetail with a public-ownership system that is based on bureaucratic control and state monopoly. Chapter 2 reviews both the achievements and the problems of China's economic reform. According to the author, its most significant accomplishment is die transition from a product economy to a system founded on the commodity market . The reform has promoted the development ofproductive forces, improved national economic strength, and enhanced people's living standards. During the ten-year period from 1978 to 1988, the average annual growth rate offhe country's GNP reached 9.6 percent, substantially higher than the 6.1 percent achieved in the preceding twenty...

East Asian NIC manufactured intra-industry trade 1965–1990

This paper examines the intra-industry trade of the four East Asian Newly Industrialized Countries (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) with European markets, Japan and the United States over the period 1965–1990. Five hypotheses are tested: (1) the effects of product differentiation; (2) the presence of scale economies; (3) the broadening of economic bases as the country's GNP increases; (4) the influence of multinational corporations (MNCs); and (5) the income-similarity (Linder) Hypothesis. The paper notes the empirical relevance of Inter-Industry trade for NIC exports, and finds empirical support for several theoretical explanations of this phenomenon. ( JEL F14)

From oil shortage to oil glut: Simulation of growth prospects in the Nigerian economy

During the 1970s, the economy of Nigeria provided one of the most interesting cases of development financed through oil revenue. Between 1970 and 1980, the country's GNP grew at an outstanding rate—after the transition from oil shortage to oil glut, the economy of Nigeria ran into dramatic financial difficulties, which are now placing major constraints to its development. To investigate the transition from an oil-based economy to a stage characterized by greater diversification of exports and more balanced sectoral growth, a model has been built by the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. The model was developed in association with Project LINK staffing for the future inclusion in the Project. According to the finding presented in the study, the annual growth rate of GDP of Nigeria between 1980 and 1988 will be around 2.5 percent. To compensate the drop of the foreign exchange earnings caused by the contraction of oil prices and demand, a vigorous export drive of agricultural products is simulated.

Bringing in the Sheaves: The Next Stock Market Cycle

* Between 1950 and 1970, the percentage of this country's GNP devoted to education more than doubled. Although the education boom began to fade by the end of the 1960s, the spending boom continued, with government welfare spending jumping from 12 to 20 per cent of GNP between 1966 and 1976. Although many feel that these expenditures harmed the economy, they can be viewed as investment in human capital; education, on-the-job training, research and development, better health and mobility all enhance people's productive capacity. The 1980s should see the beginning of a return on the major investments in human capital of the last three decades. Unlike the 1950s, when the dependent population increased three times faster than the working population, the increase in dependents over the 1 980s will be less than a third of the increase in the working population. Furthermore, growth in the working population itself will be highly concentrated in the experienced worker group (expected to increase by more than 13 million)-a group for which the investment in human capital has already been made. With only a small increase in the dependent population and a decline in the population of young, inexperienced workers, spending on human capital as a percentage of GNP should decline during the 1980s. To take advantage of a mature, highly trained workforce, however, the U.S. will need to increase its rate of tangible investment in high technology by three percentage points-from 10 to 13 per cent. Given this kind of growth in capital goods investment over the 1 980s, the economy-and the high technology sector in particular-will reap the benefits of human capital investment. h O VER THE LAST DECADE, a significant share of the United States' Gross National Product has been spent on people-on education, health and welfare. Some feel that the U.S. economy has suffered as a result, that investment in human capital has been made only at the expense of investment in tangible assets. Soon, however, the economy (and investors) may reap the benefits of past social welfare spending. To see why, it is necessary to examine the country's demographic trends over the past 30 years.