Economic Policy Reforms Research Articles

The seed sector development in low-income countries: Lessons from the Malawi seed sector policy process

IntroductionExternal conditionalities have shaped public policy development in borrowing nations. This has been through top-down policy support programs, an example being the policy reforms under the structural adjustment program. Under the seed sector reforms Malawi committed to the Southern Africa Development Community and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa harmonized seed regulations technical agreements.MethodsTo contribute to the debate, we analyzed the Malawi seed sector policy process by investigating three questions: What were the leading events? Who were the stakeholders involved, and their roles? Which factors influenced the policy process? Qualitative tools were employed based on policy process theory using the Kaleidoscope Model. We used stakeholder inception, planning, feedback workshops, and key informant interviews (N = 17). This data was complemented by grey literature as secondary information. Snowball sampling was used to identify key informant interview participants based on the saturation principle. Narrative analysis focusing on content, structure, and dialogic context was used.ResultsOur results show a strong external influence on the seed sector policy process. This began after independence when development partners supported the establishment of the public agricultural research system to improve production for food security and export. Failure to achieve the earlier objectives resulted in economic reforms aimed at private sector-led seed sector development based on market-oriented policies. The increase in the private sector's role called for adopting and enacting regulatory policies and legislation that used policy transfer theory. International financial institutions, multinational companies, and regional economic communities led this process. Our evidence suggests that the civil society community in Malawi contested the policies for not recognizing farmers' rights. This affected the domestication process of the harmonized seed regulations technical agreements.DiscussionTherefore, we recommend critical consideration and embracing of existing domestic social, political, and technical conditions to support economic policy reforms. This would help reduce unintended consequences and improve inclusivity. Governments may need to play an interlocutory role for the various actors in the policy domain during the domestication process.

Exploring the unique characteristics of environmental sustainability in China: Navigating future challenges

With the pace of global sustainable development, China has improved significantly in tackling environmental problems such as carbon emissions, climate change, air, water, and soil pollution, and wildlife extinction. Our study shows that despite China’s economic policy reform, several issues persist, including inequality between society and region, depletion and waste of resources, and damage to the natural environment. The study observed that China shuts low-level oil and coal-based power plants to prevent air pollution, promote a zero-carbon world, and reduce carbon intensity to 18.8%. The country also increased forest coverage by nearly 23.4%, declared five national parks in 2021, cleaned 98% of polluted water bodies, and improved the air quality in many big cities. A country like China has shown deep concern for environmental sustainability and has formulated many policies, laws, and regulations to prevent and conserve the environment and biodiversity and ensure sustainable economic development. This study argues that the Chinese concept of ecological civilization construction adheres to global sustainable development as both pursuits of achieving sustainable conservation of natural resources and improving the livelihoods of the people. Therefore, this paper reviews China’s policies toward ecological civilization (EC), which aim to create a beautiful China by 2035 on the outline of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030. The present study also addresses the issues the Chinese government faces while implementing environmental sustainability.

Does the Composition of Fiscal Deficit Matter for Economic Growth at the Sub-National levels? An Empirical Analysis for India

Does the Composition of Fiscal Deficit Matter for Economic Growth at the Sub-National levels? An Empirical Analysis for India

Exploring Ukraine's accession to the WTO and the impact on its economic development

This paper explores whether Ukraine has gained economic benefits from it after it acceded to the WTO and is expected to play a role. Generally, the public believes that joining the WTO can help countries integrate into global development. However, under many WTO reform items, whether small economies can preserve their economic benefits without being impacted by strong competition from foreign countries has become a question worth exploring. This analysis explains a series of consequences brought by Ukraine after the economic policy reform from deregulation, state-owned enterprises reform, and government procurement advocated by the WTO in the perspective of constructivism and indicates the pros and cons of the removal of trade barriers on the social and economic development of small economies like Ukraine.

Exploration of the Process and Impact of the Rao’s Government Economic Policy Reform on Indian Modern Industrial Development

Taking a survey of Indian modern and contemporary history, the reforms implemented during Rao’s administration played an extremely important role in the development of Indian modernization. From 1980s to 1990s, liberalization, marketization, globalization and Neoliberalism had become the world main trends of economic development. During this period, the evolution of the social systems of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries, the rapid rise of the four Asian tigers and Chinese achievement in reform and opening up made Indian government realized that under such circumstances, reform is particularly important. This paper discussed what process and impact (pros and cons) included in Rao’s reform by using the approach of literature reading. The paper got a significant conclusion that Rao’s new policies provided an effective path for Indian development, broke the traditional closed economic model by changing the structure of enterprise ownership and other scientific approaches. Finally, helped India open the door of Neoliberalism. This study provided experience for developing countries to choose policies and formulate targets.

From revolutions to institutions: the experience of Arab reform

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to outline the reasons for the 2011 Arab Spring and why the Arab states failed to achieve sustainability and inclusive growth over the past three decades.Design/methodology/approachThis study used the augmented growth model framework derived from a production function and a dynamic panel LSDCV estimation, which incorporates aggregated economic and political reform indicators generated by principal component analysis. The empirical analysis is a comparative assessment of the Arab region as a whole and the Gulf countries and emerging Arab countries. This study is based on several panel data models for the Arab region’s reform programmes from 1995 to 2018.FindingsThe absence of robust economic and institutional reforms was the main reason for the uprising. Structural reforms in Gulf countries have been insufficient and more difficult to address than macroeconomic stability. By contrast, Arab emerging economies have achieved strong progress in structural reform but with weak progress in economic stability. Critically, governance indicator reforms enhance growth, with different items of governance based on the type of each group of countries. The results of this study confirm that reform is simultaneously political, social and economical.Practical implicationsEconomic reform should not be seen in a vacuum or in isolation from the political and social choices that society makes. Looking forward, the Arab reform agenda must address critical governance issues that hinder the effectiveness of reform policies.Originality/valueTheoretically, this study reappraises governance’s role in economic growth using a unified mathematical model. Methodologically, this study analyses economic, social and political reform components in the Arab region using econometric analysis. Empirically, this study investigates regional socioeconomic reform programmes. Existing studies have failed to recognise the economic and institutional policy reform patterns in the Arab world.

Green Energy Optimization in Dinajpur, Bangladesh: A Path to Net Neutrality

Bangladesh has endured a significant power crisis as its economy grows. Hence, it is crucial to investigate the 40% expansion of renewable energy to attain the 2041 renewable energy goal as delineated by the government of Bangladesh. The study explores the current agricultural waste situation in rural areas of the Dinajpur District to propose a feasible alternative and integrated waste management system to meet the energy policy targets for animal waste and crop residues. It analyzed the spatial distribution of feedstocks, identified the optimal sites for the locations of biogas plants based on socioeconomic and environmental criteria and geographic information, and evaluated biogas production to satisfy electricity demand using geographic information system (GIS) suitability analysis and hotspot analysis by proposing six different scenarios. The results show that 2.81 million tons of total agricultural residues are sufficient to produce 11.31 million m3 per year of biogas in the study area. Furthermore, it is found that 21 biogas-based power plants using cattle manure and rice straw are spatially and technically feasible to produce 6389.14 kW of electrical energy per year, which meets 5.73% of the demand of the district in 2019. From the 6 proposed scenarios, number 4 can produce the maximum electricity, 3047.41 kW/year. The findings support the target of achieving a clean, green, sustainable energy system in Bangladesh while improving agricultural residue management. Estimating substrate availability and location is one of the first steps in promoting biogas-based energy from cattle manure and rice straw, which demands comprehensive technical, economic, and social policy reforms. Moreover, bioenergy expansion in Dinajpur District via biogasification represents a commitment to long-term investments in rural areas of Bangladesh.

A Case Study of Relations between India and Germany and their Impact on Trade

India and Germany, with their vast economic parameters are nations that believe in a pluralist and open society, uphold democratic values and show great respect for human rights. Despite the shared values India and Germany are yet to transform their relationship to their full potential. Both the countries started re-writing their story of nation building around the same time in the mid-1940’s. The cold-war period was a period of insignificance in the relations of the two countries. However, the fall of the Berlin Wall, in 1989 and the economic liberalisation of India, in 1991, were two milestones that both India and Germany experienced. India’s economic policy reform, whereby it opened its economy to the world, also impacted Germany. This changed the dynamics of Indo-German relationship. Since then, a deeper understanding of each other and increased cooperation between the two partners has brought in notable gains and strengthened economic, political and social ties. Empirical data, however, shows that this relationship still has greater economic potential and can consequently, help in consolidating the position of the two partners at the international stage.

Impact of The Economic Reform Policy and COVID 19 on The Seasonality of The Most Important Egyptian Agricultural Exports and Imports

Impact of The Economic Reform Policy and COVID 19 on The Seasonality of The Most Important Egyptian Agricultural Exports and Imports

The role of networks in policy processes in developing countries: The case of harmonized seed regulations in Malawi

AbstractNetworks have increasingly played an essential role in the economic reform policy process in developing countries. However, their policy influence and impact on agriculture and the seed sector are unknown. Therefore, this study used social network analysis to understand the role of the policy networks in Malawi's harmonized seed regulation policy process. Key informant interviews were used for primary data collection for the SNA questionnaires (N = 27). The primary data was complemented by secondary information. Data analysis used network graphs, centrality measures, and descriptive methods to understand the network's governance structure and social interaction. Three centralized networks with external affiliations were identified: seed trade and corporate citizenship representing core‐peripheral networks and the policy advocacy network as a hub‐and‐spoke. The governance structure and type of administration determined the policy networks' influence in advocating for specific policy interests. Strong technical and financial support from international organizations and the government to a network proved critical in Malawi's seed sector policy reform direction. These ensured network trust that was important in bringing cohesion and stability toward a common policy goal. This call for support for those networks representing the underprivileged in developing countries, including civil society.

Economic Policy Reforms in Uzbekistan: Achievements, Current Situation and Future Perspectives

The economy of Uzbekistan requires fundamental, systematic, and continuous changes, as well as the replacement of the whole structure of public institutions. The primary objective is to establish an atmosphere conducive to the regular operation of effective market processes. This article discusses some of the measures taken by the government of Uzbekistan to ensure efficient transformation of national economy into a more developed and robust economy which supports inclusive and sustainable development in the long–term.

Does Fiscal Deficit Matter for Economic Growth Performance of Indian States?


 Considering a standard economic growth model, this study tries to empirically evaluate the effects of fiscal deficits on the economic growth of 14 major Indian states from 1980-81 to 2019-20. The panel fixed effect regression establishes that gross fiscal deficit (GFD), tax revenue, and inflation rates have a significant adverse impact on economic growth. In contrast, private investment, gross enrolment ratio (GER) in primary education, and the adoption of Fiscal Responsibility Legislations (FRLs) have favourable effects; non-tax revenues, GER in secondary education, and economic policy reform (EPR) didn't show any significant effect. Where FRLs were enacted, fiscal deficits showed a positive impact on growth in the post-FRL period. Further, we find a threshold effect of fiscal deficit on growth, implying that when GFD lies within a specified threshold, it has a positive impact; beyond this limit, it impedes states’ economic growth.

Promote or Demote? Investigating the Impacts of China's Transferable Development Rights Program on Farmers' Income: A Case Study from Chongqing.

China has been undergoing rapid urbanization and industrialization process since the adoption of economic reform and open-door policy in 1978, which is leading to tremendous urban growth and encroachment on rural farmland. To address the conflicts between urban development and farmland protection, the Chinese government introduced the transferable development rights (TDR) program named the Link Policy, and it was popularized nationwide given the tremendous land revenue from policy implementation. However, as farmers are the key stakeholders, the impacts of the policy on farmers' income need to be examined and justified. Thus, this paper aims to fill this gap by taking Chongqing as a case study. The synthetic control method was introduced to construct a synthetic Chongqing without the policy implementation using the 49 municipal cities and Chongqing during 2000-2017. Findings from the analysis indicate that Chongqing's TDR program significantly promoted farmers' income at the beginning of the policy implementation, while the positive impacts became weak afterward. Based on these findings, a few policy suggestions including a fair revenue distribution scheme and protection of farmers' land use rights are offered to facilitate the policy implementation and increase farmers' household income in the coming future.

The Spread of New Chinese Socialist Martial Arts Films in Africa

ABSTRACT In the 1970s, Hong Kong kung fu films were distributed across Africa and reached large audiences. Although the spread of Hong Kong films in Africa has received some scholarly attention worldwide, the African reception of Chinese films in the post-Mao era has rarely been analysed. Based on archival research and the collation of historical data and materials, this article discusses the background and advancement of the new Chinese socialist martial arts films across Africa and uses the acclaimed film Wudang as a case study to explore the spread of Chinese socialist martial arts films. This article argues that Mainland Chinese films’ imitation of Hong Kong films was a strategic choice made in the context of the Economic Reform and Opening Up policies, in response to Africans’ changing attitudes toward socialist ideology. The research contributes to the understanding of the historical exchanges between China and Africa in the post-Mao era, as well as to the topic of cooperation in the Global South today.

The Influence of Financing Constraints on Enterprises' Export Trade Patterns

The party and the government have long regarded the improvement of international competitiveness and the promotion of the transformation and upgrading of export trade as a relatively important goal in economic policy reform. In the work report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, it is clearly required to intensify efforts to promote the construction of a trade powerhouse, cultivate new trade formats, and promote the vigorous expansion of foreign trade. With the help of the matching or data from the effective customs trade database and the Chinese industrial enterprise database, this paper studies the possible impact of the quantitative regression financing constraints on the domestic export trade enterprise model. The result is that when domestic enterprises face the pressure of financing constraints, they will choose the processing trade with lower profits and abandon the general trade model with higher profits.

Key binding constraints, structural reform, and growth potential of Azerbaijan via economic diversification: A computable general equilibrium policy impact analysis

Being highly dependent on the oil sector, Azerbaijan suffered from economic downturn due to sharp fall in oil prices in 2015. However, such dependence creates development challenges for her. Simulated impact of prioritized economic reform policies—using a computable general equilibrium model (AZEORANI)—shows that, under the business-as-usual case with oil prices at 2011 level, it is projected to grow by 2.0% a year to 2030. However, consistent policy reforms enable enhanced growth by another 1.1 percentage points annually due to productivity boost and increased exports from non-oil sectors, viz., tourism and agriculture. In particular, following strategic roadmap, we consider baseline and policy shocks—10% improvement in productive efficiency, investment boost by 5% in non-mineral sector, and enhanced agricultural efficiency by 5%, and boost in tourism and transport by 10% via logistics-infrastructure, and technical progress in manufacturing over long run by 10–20% per annum. All these show that economic reforms have potentials to induce positive impact to overcome the binding constraints inhibiting growth and hence could promote economic development of Azerbaijan.

The Shenzhen Experiment: The Story of China's Instant City by Juan Du

Reviewed by: The Shenzhen Experiment: The Story of China's Instant City by Juan Du Susanne Stein (bio) The Shenzhen Experiment: The Story of China's Instant City By Juan Du. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2020. Pp. 376. With her equally instructive and highly readable monograph on the urban evolution of Shenzhen, Princeton-educated and Hong Kong-based architect Juan Du aims to dispel a powerful, multilayered myth at the heart of most "rise of China" narratives on the recent past. As the People's Republic of China's original and most prestigious Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and first major window to the outside world after three decades of increasing political and economic self-isolation, Shenzhen has long been stylized as the epitome of the economic reform policies initiated after 1978 by the central leadership under Deng Xiao-ping (1904–97); more recently, it has come to symbolize China's ascent to global power at the turn of the twenty-first century. Forty years after Shenzhen's inception as socioeconomic experimental zone, most of us are still ignorant of the city's complex developments beyond the legendary tale of "former fishing village turned megacity." That is why Du's multifaceted history, written for a "broad intellectual audience," is a welcome addition to existing scholarship on Shenzhen's urban and social landscape (p. 359). By exposing and contextualizing common misconceptions about Shenzhen perpetuated in official versions of the familiar success story, she strives to deliver a "factual account of the city's evolution" (p. 8). This encompasses a thorough reconsideration of Shenzhen's reinvention as SEZ; its purpose and location, neither capitalist enclave nor tabula rasa; the time needed for its development, refuting the notion of an "instant city" founded in 1979; and the various groups and people involved, ranging from Chinese Communist Party leaders, central planners, outside investors, and infrastructure regiments of the People's Liberation Army, to local governments, villagers, and millions of migrants. The four sections in Du's book represent the different scales and foci of [End Page 587] her analysis, proceeding from Shenzhen's National Relevance and Regional History down to the local City Construction and District Transformation levels. In each section the author centers on different (historical) individuals and artifacts entangled with the urban and economic evolution of today's Shenzhen. Drawing on various academic contributions, newspaper articles, local gazetteers, official documents, and her own field research, Du ties the threads of personal histories, experiences, and anecdotes with general developments in the emerging metropolis. Her descriptions are meticulously documented and well-illustrated with relevant maps, photographs, and architectural diagrams. Some readers might wish for a comprehensive theoretical framing of the narratives, including a critical discussion on the sources—as well as their limitations—and a proper bibliography providing easy access to Chinese and Western reference materials alike. Complementing earlier research by Stefan Ai (2014) and Linda Vlassenrood (2016), Du argues that "Shenzhen's growth and development after 1979 should not be attributed solely to the national government's centralized economic policies," but is equally, if not more importantly, rooted in the geography, history, and culture of the Shenzhen region, especially the city's urban form and spatial organization (p. 8). This is a topic she unfolds in her third and fourth sections. Historians of technology, migration, and land use change will be particularly interested in her illuminating sketches of the history of salt and oyster production and the long-term impact of these trades on local infrastructure, architecture, and the natural environment. Du's book also resonates with O'Donnell, Wong, and Bach's (2017) collection on Shenzhen's urban transformation and, more generally, with Peter Herrle, Josefine Fokdal, and Detlev Ipsen's (2015) study on urban(izing) villages in the Pearl River Delta regarding the significance of local negotiations and informal practices alongside national development policies. For planning historians and urban anthropologists, several of Du's observations on the discrepancies between central planning targets and the actual situation may seem prosaic; however, she turns them into a compelling argument against promoting Shenzhen as a "replicable model of city planning and economic development," at home or abroad (p. 9). Du effectively demonstrates that Shenzhen...

Trade Liberalization Process and Its Impact on Agriculture Sector in Nepal

This study examines the process of Nepal's trade liberalization and its impact on Nepalese agriculture sector. It explains and analyzes the various economic policy reforms undertaken in Nepal including trade, fiscal, industrial, and financial reforms; and explains how these reforms supplemented one another to promote trade liberalization. It is descriptive and analytical study. Simple descriptive statistical tools were used to analyze the impact of trade liberalization on agriculture sector in Nepal. The study finds that trade liberalization has not caused any significant changes in the position of Nepalese agriculture sector. It means a condition of Nepalese agriculture has not been improved and it is being deteriorated. Similarly, export/import ratio has been further decreased continuously after trade liberalization implying that power of export of agro product to purchase import of agro product is continuously diminishing. Similarly, there is continuous trade deficit in food item and live animal after trade liberalization. Role of agriculture in the economy has been decreased. It has increased the dependency on foreign agricultural products.

The political economy transition in a developing country

The current national economic and social development plan of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) aims to promote economic development, shift the structure of the economy for modern industry, and foster the growth of culture and society (Luangrath, 2019). This results in the economic transition from a centralised economy to a market economy. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to investigate the variables that influence such transitions and the resulting modifications. To achieve these goals, qualitative data analysis, and in-depth interviews were conducted. The results demonstrate that such transition depends on both external (the role of Laos, the influence of China, and the roles of international organisations) and internal factors (mechanisms of state ideology, economic reform, legislation and regulations, and the adaptation of the country’s leaders from one generation to the next). In response to the transitional economy, there are two essential changes, including capital groupings and state adjustments. The study proposes that investors interested in investing in Laos should research the country’s ideological mechanism, new economic reform policies, legislation and regulations, and economic transition history in depth since these are essential elements contributing to the economy in transition.

POSTWAR RECOVERY OF UKRAINE'S INDUSTRY: CHALLENGES AND FEATURES OF POLICY

Introduction. The war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine encourages a rethinking of the model of national economic reform policy pursued in recent decades and has caused significant technological and economic backwardness of the country, making it vulnerable to external aggression. Policy miscalculations, especially in matters of industrial development, should be taken into account in shaping the directions of postwar The war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine encourages a rethinking of the model of national economic reform policy pursued in recent decades and has caused significant technological and economic backwardness of the country, making it vulnerable to external aggression. Policy miscalculations, especially in matters of industrial development, should be taken into account in shaping the directions of postwar recovery. Purpose. Identify key challenges and outline the features of the policy of postwar recovery of Ukrainian industry. Results. The exceptional importance of industry for the stability and state of the economy both in peacetime and in wartime is shown. The key indicators of Ukraine's industrial development in the pre-war period are analyzed, which testify to its significant backwardness from developed countries. Against this background, the approaches to the formation and implementation of industrial development policy in developed countries and in Ukraine are analyzed and compared. The essence of modern state entrepreneurship is briefly described and its important role in ensuring effective economic and industrial transformations in developed countries is shown. Attention is drawn to the need for a complementary combination of structural and fundamental factors of development and the allocation of its strategic priorities in the implementation of state entrepreneurship. The main shortcomings of Ukraine's economic policy that led to deindustrialization and lagging behind in the pre-war period are identified. The "bottlenecks" of Ukraine's economy, which appeared during the war and led to large-scale economic losses, are shown. It is pointed out that overcoming the consequences of the war and post-war reconstruction should not be carried out by prolonging the pre-war approaches to economic management. Possibilities of implementation of the state entrepreneurship model to ensure effective recovery and accelerated development of the domestic economy are proposed. In this regard, the strategic priorities of the country's development, the corresponding sectoral priorities of the industry, its stages of recovery and the main organizational measures to be taken by the state to implement these priorities are highlighted.