Economic Development Outcomes Research Articles

Governance, Politics, and Economic Development: Some African Perspectives

The article documents the evolution of governance measures in Africa during post-independence: economic freedom, electoral competitiveness, political rights and civil liberties, executive constraint, and polity2. It examines their implications for economic development, considers political instability (PI) in the form of coups d’état and civil wars on the premise that PI results from poor governance. In addition, the article sheds light on the links between the more recent measures of governance – the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) – and economic development outcomes among African countries. The article concludes by paying special attention to potential governance/institutional instruments that might reflect “good governance”, and highlights the implicit risks faced by African countries in their efforts to sustain the continent’s recent economic gains within the current political economy framework.

Becoming Urban Citizens: A Three-Phase Perspective on the Social Integration of Rural-Urban Migrants in China.

This article attempts to provide an integrated conceptual framework for understanding how rural–urban migrants in China integrate into urban society. We propose a three-phase conceptual framework in which the social integration of rural–urban migrants is categorized into circular migration, urban settlement, and urban integration. We argue that the three phases differ with respect to the aims of migration, the identity of migrants, the key dimensions of social integration, the role of government, and the hukou policy. While the transition from circular migration to urban settlement is an outcome of economic development and change in demographic structure, as reflected by the economic conditions of rural–urban migrants, welfare expansion also plays a critical role during this process. We further hypothesize that the transition from urban settlement to urban integration will be a result of the social interaction between rural–urban migrants and local urbanites, within which social capital and cultural factors are vital. Since most rural–urban migrants are currently at the phase of urban settlement, we suggest that the Chinese government should enlarge welfare provisions to support their settlement in cities. This study contributes to improving the understanding of how to facilitate social integration of internal migrants in developing countries.

Technologies potential and economic viability analysis of deriving electricity from Municipal Solid Waste in Kumasi, Ghana

As an outcome of rapid economic development and population growth, Municipal Solid Waste production has increased in Kumasi. Increased development of urban solid waste impacts the city's climate and presents many health risks. Aside from increased municipal solid waste generation, population and industrial growth have caused high electricity demand in Kumasi. Therefore, the current study analyzes the electricity production prospects of MSW in Kumasi with landfill gas (LFG) to energy in addition to techs from anaerobic digestion (AD). From 2020 to 2039, Kumasi's municipal solid waste generation capacity is projected. Furthermore, the paper evaluates the economic viability of LFG for energy and anaerobic digestion (AD) projects. Moreover, a sensitivity study was carried out to assess the influence on the projects' economic viability of the adjustments in some presumed variables. Findings show that waste generation potential in Kumasi during the project period is from 915 thousand to 3.2 million tons per year. Anaerobic digestion technology was found to have the highest potential for power generation. The study recognized that the LFG to energy project requires a lower total life cycle cost. However, it is less economical in Kumasi compared with anaerobic digestion. The sensitivity analysis revealed that all projects are not feasible when operating at a higher discount rate. Once run at a discount rate exceeding 25%, the LFG to power project is not viable, the anaerobic digestion project, on the other hand, is not practicable at a discount rate of more than 20%.

Strategic collaboration: Examining the possibilities of cooperation among local economic developers

AbstractSite selection processes whereby companies choose a location for an expansion or relocation have changed substantially over the past several decades. One key shift has been the emergence of collaboration among both individual economic developers and cooperation among the communities they represent. The rise in collaborative practices has also been increasingly reflected in the contemporary economic development literature outside the discipline of geography. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of economic development studies of collaboration and then to suggest ways that geographers might use concepts from that scholarship to inform and extend the limited number of studies exploring site selection practices. The paper begins by offering a context for the emergence of collaboration trends by highlighting the ways that information asymmetry in site selection processes create a demand for greater collaboration among industry practitioners. It then turns to an overview of the burgeoning literature on collaboration that has evolved over the last decade in the interdisciplinary scholarship on economic development. Next, the paper shifts to a discussion of the ways that geographers might use the literature on collaboration to inform studies of site selection, specifically focusing on geographic scale and research on site selection consultants as possible areas for future investigation. The article concludes by arguing that studying collaboration in the context of geographies of site selection holds the potential for greater insights into the broader outcomes of economic development.

Convergence of micro-geochemistry and micro-geomechanics towards understanding proppant shale rock interaction: A Caney shale case study in southern Oklahoma, USA

As a direct outcome of economic development coupled with an increase in population, global energy demand will continue to rise in the coming decades. Although renewable energy sources are increasingly investigated for optimal production, the immediate needs require focus on energy sources that are currently available and reliable, with a minimal environmental impact; the efficient exploration and production of unconventional hydrocarbon resources is bridging the energy needs and energy aspirations, during the current energy transition period. The main challenges are related to the accurate quantification of the critical rock properties that influence production, their heterogeneity and the multiscale driven physico-chemical nature of rock–fluid interactions. A key feature of shale reservoirs is their low permeability due to dominating nanoporosity of the clay-rich matrix. As a means of producing these reservoirs in a cost-effective manner, a prerequisite is creation of hydraulic fracture networks capable of the highest level of continued conductivity. Fracturing fluid chemical design, formation brine geochemical composition, and rock mineralogy all contribute to swelling-induced conductivity damage. The Caney Shale is an organic-rich, often calcareous mudrock. Many studies have examined the impact that clay has on different kinds of shale productivity but there is currently no data reported on the Caney Shale in relation to horizontal drilling; all reported data on the Caney Shale is on vertical wells which are shallow, compared to an emerging play that is at double the depth. In this work we develop geochemical–geomechanical integration of rock properties at micro-and nanoscales that can provide insights into the potential proppant embedment and its mitigation. The novel methodology amalgamates the following: computed X-ray tomography, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, micro-indentation, and Raman spectroscopy techniques. Our results show that due to the multiscale heterogeneity in the Caney Shale, these geochemical and structural properties translate into a variation in mechanical properties that will impact interaction between the proppant and the host shale rock.

Citizens' preferences for development outcomes and governance implications

AbstractPeople's preferences influence national priorities for economic development and ecological integrity. Often policymakers and development agents base their actions on unclear assumptions about such preferences. This paper explores rural citizens' preferences for economic and ecological development outcomes and how they differ within and between communities. We collected data from three purposely selected communities representing dominant social‐ecological systems in the transboundary Cubango‐Okavango River basin in southern Africa. We used contingent ranking survey experiments, which are a novel methodological advance in policy related research. This included a qualitative experimental design process that provided a broad framing underpinning the research. The contingent ranking itself allowed us to simultaneously assess: (i) respondents' priorities for development domains; and (ii) respondents' preferences for the ordering of outcomes in diverse domains. We found relatively strong preference homogeneity within and between communities. Economic development was given high priority across all communities. At the same time, all communities expressed a high preference for a healthy river system providing stable water quality and quantity. This does not mean that our respondents prioritised nature conservation. They showed low preferences for preserving biodiversity and forests that provide fewer local benefits. This is of high governance relevance. The results point at development domains where policymakers can most likely expect stronger buy‐in from citizens. Understanding citizens' preferences help to better align national development priorities with what citizens want.

The Rise of Germany in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries and Sustaining Democracy

Abstract This article examines the rise of Germany from the nineteenth century to explain that it is open access in the economic sphere, as well as institutional building related to the protection of property rights, contract enforcement, financial markets, rule of law, and human resource accumulation that determine economic and human development. The case of Germany is not very consistent with the logic of the open access orders of North et al. or the theory of extractive political institutions of Acemoglu and Robinson along the line of contestation and inclusiveness. The case of Germany is, however, able to support the research of Przeworski and Limongi that economic development is more likely to sustain democracy. Germany is certainly not the only case in explaining that stable democracy is not the cause but rather the consequence or outcome of lengthy economic development. The historical evidence from South Korea and Taiwan similarly supports the position that democracy is the outcome of economic and political development. This article, however, does not examine whether western values of human equality and human freedom are essential in economic and human development. They are very likely to be so as human equality is the precondition of open access in the economic sphere and human freedom is closely integrated with the interconnected institutions examined in this article. Future research may investigate the roles of these values in different political systems regardless of whether a political system is under the rule of one party, by a dominant party, or through the utilization of a multiparty system.

An assessment of factors influencing awareness, access and use of agro-climate services among farmers in Clarendon, Jamaica

In recent times, the provision of agro-climate services has been elevated as an adaptation policy priority across the Caribbean. Despite strides in such efforts, there is a paucity of research on levels of awareness and use of climate services by farmers. Understanding these nuances can illuminate important pathways for improving climate service uptake and delivery for favourable social and economic development outcomes. In this paper, we used a mixed-method approach to assess the factors influencing climate service uptake among farmers (N = 356) in one of Jamaica’s principal agricultural regions, Clarendon. Regression analysis techniques were used to specifically determine the likelihood of farmers’ awareness, access and use of locally developed climate services disseminated via TV/radio, climate text message, online farmer bulletin, and community-specific forecast across fifteen (15) social and environmental variables. Eight (8) factors were found to have significant influence on climate service awareness, access, and use (p < 0.05). These include gender, age, access to extension service, participation in groups/organizations, climate change perceptions, non-farm income, farm size, and agronomic conditions. The active use of the climate and weather information was closely linked to farmers’ experiential observation of the relevance of the information within their own immediate context. Qualitative case study analyses further highlighted socio-spatial patterns of inequalities in CIS use, being dominated by the younger, more educated demographic. These results highlight potential entry points for increased tailoring of the design and delivery of agro-climate service products for greater effectiveness in climate service delivery. Given the projected impacts of increased climate variability on Caribbean agricultural systems, learning how farmers interact with agro-climate service products can surface opportunities to increase uptake and strengthen resilience.

All Is Not LOST in Texas? An Outcome-Oriented Analysis of Local Option Sales Tax Choices on Measures of Economic Growth

Are municipal-level local option sales taxes (LOST) in Texas associated with long-term economic development outcomes? The Texas 4a and 4b LOST options fund economic development projects managed by a dedicated municipal-level economic development corporation (EDC). Instead of short-term outputs, we consider associations with three primary long-range outcomes: property value growth, population growth, and new home construction. Three regression analyses examine economic growth between 2011 and 2015 for Texas municipalities while controlling for county-level nesting effect, local capacity, and other contextual factors. The implementation of the 4a industrial development LOST shows a small significant positive association with population growth, albeit at the .10 level. The 4a LOST is also selected as part of the optimal model for property value growth despite not being significant. Implementation of the broader 4b community development LOST is not found significant nor included in any of the three outcome-based models. In each case, the county-level nesting effect is highly associated with economic development outcomes, while municipal-level capacity measures, such as property tax collected per capita, household median income, and the percentage of 4-year college graduates also show strong associations. Municipalities more dependent on the manufacturing sector show a significant negative association with all three economic development outcomes.

Public Expenditure on Healthcare in India and Tamil Nadu: Five-Year Plans

Background: Health is both an input and an outcome of broader social and economic development. It is alsowell known that achievements in health do not simply depend on the health sector, other than arise out ofimprovements in education, standard of living, social stability, housing, water supply, sanitation and otherenvironmental factors. These are amenable to change by actions taken by households, communities andgovernments and are typically outside the domain of the health system.Objective: The present paper attempts to estimate the extent of public health expenditure in India and TamilNadu over the period under review with reference to five-year plans.Methodology: The particulars regarding the total plan investment outlay, health and family welfareexpenditures in India and Tamil Nadu have been collected from the published source which is presentedbeneath the respective table. To carry out the research, straightforward tabular statements were prepared forworking out the percentage and average value.Conclusion: From the analysis, it’s evident that the total expenditure on health and family welfare of thecentral and state government shows a steady increase over the plan periods. It’s clear from that the planoutlay on both the health and family welfare has increased from first plan (1951-56) to twelfth plan (2012-17) in absolute terms. However it has been always low sharing to the total plan investment outlay of thecountry. In Tamil Nadu, almost in all the plan periods, the approved outlay was less than incurred actualexpenditure.

Place-value Attachment on Provisional and Cultural Services for Sustainable Management of Ngezi Forest

This paper uncovers the importance of people’s place-values on sustainable forest management, and how such values can be incorporated into forest management actions and decision-making. Specifically, it focuses on mapping economic and cultural values on forest ecosystem services; assesses how non-materials and materials benefit from forest ecosystem cause landscape fragmentation; and how this information could assist in better forest planning and management. The data were collected from ten villages surrounding the Ngezi forest reserve in Pemba, Tanzania. Data were collected through participatory mapping, field observation, and focus group discussions. A map of place-values for each respondent was transferred from paper to digital format, digitized and coded using the GIS, and analysed using kernel density. Non-spatial data were processed and integrated into GIS-based spatial analysis. The results indicate that only 12 areas were identified as very high-valued and these require careful consideration for sustainable forest planning and management. About 4 out of 6 very high-valued areas for material services are found inside the reserve. The areas outside the reserve are undervalued and not utilized effectively for material services. Contrary to cultural services, only 1 out of 6 very high-valued places is located inside the reserve. Furthermore, economic situations, together with social driving forces, have been important determinants of forest values in the areas. Therefore, placevalues issues, particularly economic development outcomes, preservation of the aesthetics and improvement of recreational amenities should be considered when examining sustainable forest resource management.

Motorsport Valley revisited: Cluster evolution, strategic cluster coupling and resilience

Over 20 years ago a series of papers identified a strikingly dominant economic cluster – the UK’s Motorsport Valley (MSV) – which led to MSV becoming an international exemplar of concepts such as agglomeration, clusters and knowledge-driven systems of regional development. Utilising an evolutionary perspective on cluster development, this paper asks ‘whatever happened to MSV?’. Drawing on the framework of strategic cluster coupling, four cluster development episodes are conceptualised that each depict the dynamic evolution of the cluster’s multi-scalar institutional environment, strategic coupling trajectories and economic development outcomes. Reflecting the emerging synthesis between evolutionary economic geography and geographical political economy, the paper describes an extended case study of cluster development, an evolutionary process of strategic cluster coupling and, ultimately, an example of cluster resilience. Through a focus on strategic cluster coupling, the paper provides further understanding of cluster evolution and path development mechanisms at key moments of cluster reconfiguration – and an empirical update and continuation of the economic story and cluster lifecycle of MSV.

Socio-Economic Development of Russia: Through the Waves of a Pandemic and a Systemic Crisis

In the article, the authors express their opinion on the outcomes of social and economic development of Russia in 2020 and give a forecast of expected results for 2021 and 2022. The state and possible directions for overcoming stagnation are considered, primarily by closing the technology gap in production and ensuring the growth of labor productivity, business, investment and consumer activity, increasing the efficiency of capital investments as key factors in the recovery of the real sector and the knowledge economy, including industrial production, agriculture, capital construction.The drawbacks of the current management system are noted, and measures to overcome the structural crisis are proposed. The need for changing the state socio-economic policy is substantiated. Its main goal should be to ensure the health of the nation.The authors compare trends in the Russian and world economies by main development indicators, such as gross domestic product, industrial production, investments, foreign trade.The article examines the shortcomings of the current state financial policy, which should become an instrument of financial support for sustainable socio-economic development and countering external and internal risks and threats. The problems of execution of the federal budget for 2020 are analyzed. Using case examples, the authors prove the necessity for priority use of financial resources of the «rainy-day fund» to accelerate the development of sectors of the national economy.Given the slowdown in global economic growth in 2020 and problems associated with its full recovery in 2021, the expected expansion of trade wars and sanctions lead to a conclusion that there is a growing negative trend in the Russian economy as well with the potential of stagnation escalating into recession.

China's Rebalancing and Gender Inequality

This paper examines gender inequality in the context of structural transformation and rebalancing in China. We document declining women's relative wages and labor force participation in China during the last two decades, despite rapid growth and expansion of the service sector. Using household data, we provide evidence consistent with a U-shaped relationship between economic development and women's labor market outcomes. Using a model of structural transformation, we show that labor market barriers for women have increased over time. Model counterfactuals suggest that removing these barriers and increasing service sector productivity can boost both gender equality and economic growth in China.

Craft beverage tourism development: The contributions of social capital

This study investigates the role that social capital plays in synergizing two growing components of economic development for many communities - the tourism and craft beverage industries. By focusing on an emerging craft beverage tourism destination, Wake County in North Carolina (United States), this study illustrates the economic development outcomes that can be generated by craft beverage tourism and the forms of social capital needed to establish and sustain this type of niche tourism. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 30 stakeholders revealed that craft beverage tourism contributes to economic development outcomes such as: (1) community capacity, (2) firm and industry capacity, (3) entrepreneurial activity, and (4) innovative infrastructure. Both bridging and bonding social capital supported these outcomes in the forms of (1) collaboration among stakeholders, (2) support for new members of the industry, (3) craft beverage stakeholders' involvement with the community, and (4) creation of a craft beverage destination. Results indicate that bonding social capital is a crucial resource for establishing and sustaining Wake County's craft beverage industry and its development as a craft beverage destination. However, there is only limited utilization of bridging social capital in efforts to advance craft beverage tourism development. Collectively, these findings outline the economic development benefits of craft beverage tourism and the social capital resources needed to achieve those benefits. These insights can facilitate the development of CBT products. • Craft beverage tourism facilitates economic development. • Bonding social capital is required to establish craft beverage tourism. • Bridging social capital encourages expansion of craft beverage tourism. • Tourism destination leaders must increase contributions to bridging social capital.

Is Favoritism a Threat to Chinese Aid Effectiveness? A Subnational Analysis of Chinese Development Projects

Abstract Chinese aid comes with few strings attached, allowing recipient country leaders to use it for domestic political purposes. The vulnerability of Chinese aid to political capture has prompted speculation that it may be economically ineffective, or even harmful. We test these claims by estimating the effect of Chinese aid on subnational economic development—as measured by per-capita nighttime light emissions—and whether this effect is different at times a jurisdiction is favored politically. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, we do not find that the local receipt of Chinese aid undermines economic development outcomes at either the district level or provincial level. Nor does political favoritism in the allocation of Chinese aid towards the home regions of recipient country leaders reduce its effectiveness. Our results—from 709 provinces and 5,835 districts within 47 African countries between 2001 and 2012—demonstrate that Chinese aid improves local development outcomes, regardless of whether such aid is given to jurisdictions at times they are the birth region of the country’s leader.

Carbon Pricing and Household Welfare: Evidence from Uganda

Policy makers frequently voice concerns that carbon pricing could impair economic development in the short-run, especially in low-income countries such as Uganda. We estimate a quadratic almost ideal demand system (QUAIDS) for energy and food items to assess how consumers’ welfare, energy and food demand, as well as nutritional intake, can be expected to react to a carbon price of US$40/ton. The results suggest overall progressive welfare effects in the range of 0.1 – 4.9% across the population. We further observe declines in the demand for electricity, kerosene and transport in the range of 4 – 20%, with concomitant shifts within food consumption baskets, due to complementarities with cooking fuels, and income effects. Heterogeneous demand responses across expenditure terciles and rural-urban areas reveal significant disparities in food and calorie consumption as well as protein and micronutrient intake due to carbon pricing. The bottom third of households exhibit nutritional declines of up to 16%, while middle-class urban households witness increases by around 9%. Complementary social protection policies in conjunction with carbon pricing could ease potentially adverse effects on economic development outcomes in Uganda.

Religious Festivals and Economic Development: Evidence from Catholic Saint Day Festivals in Mexico

Societies worldwide spend substantial resources celebrating religious festivals. How do festivals influence economic and social outcomes? We study Catholic patron saint day festivals in Mexico, exploiting two features of the setting: (i) municipal festival dates vary across the calendar and were determined in the early history of towns after Spanish conquest, and (ii) there is considerable variation in the intra-annual timing of agricultural seasons. We compare municipalities with “agriculturally-coinciding” festivals (those that coincide with peak planting or harvest months) to other municipalities, examining differences in long-run economic development and social outcomes. Agriculturally-coinciding festivals have negative effects on household income and other development outcomes. They also lead to lower agricultural productivity and higher share of the labor force in agriculture, consistent with agriculturally-coinciding festivals inhibiting the structural transformation of the economy. Agriculturally-coinciding festivals also lead to higher religiosity and social capital, potentially explaining why such festivals persist in spite of their negative growth consequences.

Economic development and trade outcomes in East African countries: prospects and constraints

This study employed a panel data analysis from selected East African countries, with the use of fixed and random effects model which was tested using Hausman specification test. The results from the study showed that; trade agreement and foreign direct investment (FDI) have a significant positive effect on East African economy, while trade openness exerts a negative effect as a result of low productivity. Therefore, the study recommended that the government of East African countries should embrace and develop policies in promoting the continental trade agreement and economic integration, in order to raise the level of productivity within the region and the sub-region for sustainable economic development.

The Drivers of Stock Market Growth in Pakistan: How Relevant is Irrelevant?

Pakistan’s stock market has experienced severe downside volatility after its classification in MSCI’s emerging market index in 2016. Global pandemic, political instability and capital limitations through money laundering control mechanisms have exposed the foundations of capital allocation to an escalating risk of default. The situation prerequisites a review of contentious relationship between drivers of economic growth and stock market expansion.&#x0D; This paper seeks to examine the relationship between non-financial and banal drivers of economic growth and their relative impact on stock market development in Pakistan, building on the fact that financial market development is a direct outcome of economic growth and development of the generic capabilities of production and capital formation through profit trails.&#x0D; GMM approach is used to analyze the contribution of capital formation and allocation through generic productivity and risk allocation mechanism. The paper discusses GDP growth, Gross fixed capital formation, Private credit and use of IMF credit as instrumental in determining stock market expansion. Originality of the research transpires from the fact that key outputs of real sector have been added to analyze the development of financial market which have long been ignored as extraneous for empirical analysis.