Economic Development Of Less-developed Countries Research Articles

Development strategy, resource misallocation and economic performance

This paper provides a consistent explanation for the distinct economic performance among the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) from the perspective of government development strategy. We argue that government development strategy and resource misallocation are key determinants of economic development in LDCs, i.e. China. Descriptive statistics show that China's capital-to-output ratio is negatively correlated with per-capita output, which contradicts the predictions of standard neoclassical growth theory. We incorporate governmental heavy-industry-oriented development strategy into a two-sector model to understand this puzzle. Our theoretical model reveals that a greater emphasis on heavy-industry-oriented development results in a larger capital-to-output ratio and lower per-capita output. We test our hypothesis against other theories using prefecture-level and firm data from China. We find that a larger capital-to-output ratio is associated with a greater degree of misallocation driven by government development strategy. A heavy-industry-oriented strategy will result in greater misallocation and lower TFP, which is consistent with our hypothesis.

Local Economic Development in the Era of Globalization: The Case of Republic Of Macedonia

This paper makes a case that discerning what globalization means for local economic development strategies, structures and policies becomes a formidable governance challenge today. The thesis of this paper rests on the assumption that Local Economic Development (LED) policies as an integral part of the global socio-economic development, continuously occupy a greater importance in the overall economic development in less-developed countries as a way of resisting the forces of globalization. The main goal of this research paper is to find quantitative and qualitative justification for an appropriate governance structure for fostering local economic development. First, we argue that globalization debates engender controversy. One of the views is that it is a process which engages with trade, communication, technology, culture and the flow of capital across national boundaries and another that globalization has led to marginalization and exclusion because of downward pressures on systems of social protection, changing labor market conditions and increasing inequality in wages. Then, drawing on large national surveys of local economic development policies, the paper explores the policy strategies for community development that localities are employing as a response to globalization. Finally, the special focus of this paper has been given to the case of local economic development in the Republic of Macedonia.

Remittances or technological diffusion: which drives domestic gains from brain drain?

This article examines the impact of technological diffusion and international migrants’ remittances on the economic development of less-developed countries. The hypothesis that skilled workers, living and working overseas, can effectively channel technological knowledge back to their home country, which in turn contributes to that country's economic growth, is tested utilizing data on the stock of high-skilled workers from 50 developing countries working in industrialized countries over the last two decades. Results obtained lend strong support to this hypothesis. In addition, the effect that remittances from workers in developed countries, which are used for investment purposes in developing countries, have on the rate of growth of those developing economies is investigated. Our empirical evidence indicates that this remittance channel exerts a significant, positive impact on growth, although quantitatively the contribution of such investment-oriented remittances in driving sustainable economic development appears to be somewhat smaller than that of more general technological diffusion.

Cross-over, thresholds, and interactions between science and technology: lessons for less-developed countries

Presently, science is an important precondition for the economic development of less-developed countries. This paper discusses the specific roles that science has at initial stages of development, pointing to its contributions for the countries’ absorptive capability. Furthermore, this paper specifies the role of science for initiating a positive interaction with technological development, since initial stages of development and during catching up processes. For less-developed countries, neither the linear model of technology nor an “inverted linear model” would take place: a more interactive approach is necessary for development. Using statistics of patents (USPTO) and scientific papers (ISI) for 120 countries (1974, 1982, 1990, and 1998), this paper analyses some evidences on thresholds levels of scientific production to originate an interactive relationship between science and technology. These data also document that the value of this threshold seems to double from one period to another. Although this paper presents tentative results, some policy implications are discussed: scientific institutional building must be seen as a component of modern industrial policies.

Communication, technology and less developed countries' economic development

ABSTRACT Thesignificant contribution of communication technology in the current global economic trend has been widely reported in the literature. However, the growth and realisation of potential benefits of communication technology, such as computer-mediated communication (CMC) have been limited for the less developed countries (LDCs). This article explores the role of CMC and the need for the technology in the economic development of LDCs. Specifically, the article examines the benefits of CMC in the area of telework, identifies challenges, and discusses techniques for implementing telework and CMC in LDCs along with the potential socio-cutural impact of implementing the necessary changes.

Marketing and Economic Development

Marketing and economic development interface marketing as the prime mover of development activity operationalizing the relationship between marketing and economic development channels of distribution and the economic development process consumerism and economic development the role and relevance of marketing research to economic development of less-developed countries.

Social benefit-cost analysis and telecommunications investment in developing countries

Telecommunications expansion can make an important contribution to the social and economic development of less-developed countries. But that in itself does not mean that telecommunications projects should receive top priority in a country's investment budget. This is because projects in other sectors can also make strong claims to being vital for development. This situation points to a basic problem for development planners: how to allocate scarce resources between competing projects which more than exhaust the available investment budget. The analytical technique that has been developed in answer to this policy problem is a significant extension of social benefit-cost analysis. A pertinent question at this point is: how has the application of the new technique affected budgets for telecommunications investment in developing countries? This paper addresses that question by considering how the World Bank has applied social benefit-cost analysis in the area of telecommunications.