Economic Development Outcomes Research Articles

The Transfer of Intangible Assets and Intangible Rights: Talmudic, Medieval post-Talmudic, and Islamic Legal Literatures

This study explores how legal institutions have the potential to change economic development outcomes. Talmudic law ostensibly precludes the transfer (sale) of intangible assets and intangible rights thereby limiting an agricultural society’s ability to hedge risks and to raise financing. We argue that the Talmud itself found a fairly reasonable “rental contract” solution for enabling the transfer of intangible assets. We further maintain that the motivation for this solution arose out of economic pressure on rabbinical service providers by Jewish farmers in Roman-Palestine for whom Roman law arguably provided an alternative more sympathetic transfer model. The transfer of intangible rights proved to be a more difficult issue to resolve, however. Nevertheless, by the high and late middle ages, at least some post-Talmudic scholars suggested alternative mechanisms to effect the transfer of intangible assets/rights such as the Hitchayvut and the Situmta. The Situmta mechanism would have been particularly favorable to merchants involved in the transfer of intangibles on an ongoing basis. The relationship of these ideas to Islamic conceptions of intangibles, especially as it relates to Islamic commerce and commodity forward markets, is also explored.

Принцип комплементарності в міждисциплінарних дослідженнях економіки

The article aims on critical analysis of understanding the definition of in different scientific sectors. Outlined general characteristics of complementarity, which cause the necessity to use complementary approaches in research of modern socioeconomic processes. Complementarity, as one of the basic characteristics of human being (economic, social, environmental, cultural, etc.) has a general meaning; its philosophical value consists in the fact that, opposite to unilateral approaches, using complementarity approaches becomes an important step forward in understanding supplement of rational and irrational in a developing economy. The Idea of complementarity came into modern economic theories from theoretical approaches in the different spheres of science. This led to the development of new methodological principles in the economic theories, which stand for the principle of multiple interests in the person's desire to cooperating and complementing instead of struggling. A person, using complementarity principle, accepts the environment as a complex complementary system, and, as a result, understands the fact that any invasion into the system becomes a subject and object of socioeconomic development, where the social and the economic become a single unit, that cannot be separated. Socioeconomic unity formed through complementarity and cooperation of economic subjects, is accompanied by parallel cultural changes, which are, in turn, a result of economic development and increase in welfare, so people are enabled to more effective self-fulfillment and social protection. Under such conditions, complementarity as a part of interaction between different groups of population brings motivation for more effective coordination and complementary activities, which increase economic effectiveness of and ensure sustainable development. Economic activities are, in most cases, connected with a significant impact on the environment, which strongly require a complementary interaction between society, economics and ecology. As of now, the need to find new components in social and economic being is crucial, as it will allow to prevent irreversible impact on the environment and motivate to careful use of natural resources. Actualization of the complementarity in the analysis of the results of economic transformations in former USSR countries is determined by the need of understanding them as a whole, in connection with institutional and sociocultural approaches. In spite of a broad opportunities of the institutional approach in research of transformational processes, there is a need of moving beyond and investigate economic and social processes through cultural tendencies, i.e. to complement the institutional understanding of the society with the sociocultural one.

From Local State Corporatism to Land Revenue Regime: Urbanization and the Recent Transition of Rural Industry inChina

This paper examines the transition of rural industry in China, particularly changes in the recent decade following the privatization of collective enterprises. Based on fieldwork in aJiangsu county and drawing on national data, the author shows that rapid urbanization has fundamentally altered the nature of rural industry, with previous village‐based rural enterprises replaced by large industrial corporations and urban real estate. While urbanization seems to many an inevitable outcome of economic development, this paper argues and shows that the current form of urbanization inChina has been driven by an unsustainable accumulation regime that prioritizes the needs of local revenue, real estate development and large capital at the expense of the previous broad‐based rural industry. This is thrown into sharp relief by comparing with the accumulation regime based on local state corporatism during the early reform period.

Industrial Policy in Indonesia: A Global Value Chain Perspective

The gains of a country from participating in global value chains (GVCs) will depend on the productive activities taking place in its jurisdiction and their linkages to the domestic economy. Lead firms’ decision on where to locate and how to coordinate production activities is influenced, among others, by industrial policies. On the one side, policy space provides governments with some leverage in guiding economic activities and influencing development outcomes. On the other hand, policy risks have the potential to adversely affect the outcomes. This study focuses on industrial policies in Indonesia, using the mineral sector as a mini case study. The case study assesses the Indonesian Government’s recent effort to boost domestic value addition in the sector. This paper argues that the effectiveness of government policies in maximizing the gains from GVC participation depends not only on policy design, but also on policy consistency and coherence, effective implementation, and coordination.

A nutrition/health mindset on commercial Big Data and drivers of food demand in modern and traditional systems.

Building greater reciprocity between traditional and modern food systems and better convergence of human and economic development outcomes may enable the production and consumption of accessible, affordable, and appealing nutritious food for all. Information being key to such transformations, this roadmap paper offers a strategy that capitalizes on Big Data and advanced analytics, setting the foundation for an integrative intersectoral knowledge platform to better inform and monitor behavioral change and ecosystem transformation. Building upon the four P's of marketing (product, price, promotion, placement), we examine digital commercial marketing data through the lenses of the four A's of food security (availability, accessibility, affordability, appeal) using advanced consumer choice analytics for archetypal traditional (fresh fruits and vegetables) and modern (soft drinks) product categories. We demonstrate that business practices typically associated with the latter also have an important, if not more important, impact on purchases of the former category. Implications and limitations of the approach are discussed.

Corporate and public governance in mining: lessons from the Marcopper mine disaster in Marinduque, Philippines

The Philippines sits atop vast mineral deposits estimated to be worth around 47 trillion Philippine Pesos. Yet, mining in the Philippines has a mixed track record as far as its impact on human and economic development is concerned. This paper tries to draw lessons from the Marcopper Mine in Marinduque, Philippines, using a framework—what we call a “mining and human development causality chain”—to begin to think through how extractive industries can contribute to inclusive growth. Essentially, there is a chain of inputs and events that—when properly executed by various stakeholders—could lead to very strong economic and human development outcomes not just for the communities directly affected by the mine but also the country as a whole. Too often, this chain is easily broken by (both corporate and government) governance. Using a critical analysis of the Marinduque mining disaster, we illustrate how breaking this chain can completely reverse mining’s potential to assist in human development.

Progress toward universal health coverage in ASEAN

Background The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is characterized by much diversity in terms of geography, society, economic development, and health outcomes. The health systems as well as healthcare structure and provisions vary considerably. Consequently, the progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in these countries also varies. This paper aims to describe the progress toward UHC in the ASEAN countries and discuss how regional integration could influence UHC. Design Data reported in this paper were obtained from published literature, reports, and gray literature available in the ASEAN countries. We used both online and manual search methods to gather the information and ‘snowball’ further data. Results We found that, in general, ASEAN countries have made good progress toward UHC, partly due to relatively sustained political commitments to endorse UHC in these countries. However, all the countries in ASEAN are facing several common barriers to achieving UHC, namely 1) financial constraints, including low levels of overall and government spending on health; 2) supply side constraints, including inadequate numbers and densities of health workers; and 3) the ongoing epidemiological transition at different stages characterized by increasing burdens of non-communicable diseases, persisting infectious diseases, and reemergence of potentially pandemic infectious diseases. The ASEAN Economic Community's (AEC) goal of regional economic integration and a single market by 2015 presents both opportunities and challenges for UHC. Healthcare services have become more available but health and healthcare inequities will likely worsen as better-off citizens of member states might receive more benefits from the liberalization of trade policy in health, either via regional outmigration of health workers or intra-country health worker movement toward private hospitals, which tend to be located in urban areas. For ASEAN countries, UHC should be explicitly considered to mitigate deleterious effects of economic integration. Political commitments to safeguard health budgets and increase health spending will be necessary given liberalization's risks to health equity as well as migration and population aging which will increase demand on health systems. There is potential to organize select health services regionally to improve further efficiency. Conclusions We believe that ASEAN has significant potential to become a force for better health in the region. We hope that all ASEAN citizens can enjoy higher health and safety standards, comprehensive social protection, and improved health status. We believe economic and other integration efforts can further these aspirations.

English

The aim of the paper is to critically analyse the potential of Zimbabwe’s foreign policy, specifically the Look East Policy at stimulating economic development and growth. This analysis is based solely on selected secondary material. In response to external and internal pressure, the government of Zimbabwe redesigned its foreign policy outlook with the aim of establishing relations with countries in the East like China as an alternative to the fragmented links with the West. Zimbabwe’s target is to create and sustain relations with states that it supposedly shares common goals with. China, regardless of its famous proclamation that it is driven by a desire to help the oppressed, pursues foreign policies that promote its own national interests. China is seeking opportunities to boost its economic and political status in the international system. Zimbabwe, while seeking similar goals, lacks proper guiding structures and appears to be closely associated with ZANU-PF to an extent that one is tempted to conclude that it is more of a political slogan rather than a proper foreign policy. Zimbabwe has turned into a predatory state which is on the verge of total collapse. The ruling elite are concerning themselves with security political posts as a means to accessing personal wealthy at the expense of national development. The potential of the LEP can only be realised when Zimbabwe policy makers put the needs of electorates ahead of personal gains and develop a strategic approach to its relationship with Beijing. The government of Zimbabwe needs to realise that if China does indeed become a super power it is likely going to impose its will on its weaker associates. Before positive economic development outcomes can be produced by the LEP, Zimbabwe has to change its position in this partnership. Key words: Look East Policy, economic development, failed state, sovereignty, state.

Convergent innovation for sustainable economic growth and affordable universal health care: innovating the way we innovate.

This paper introduces convergent innovation (CI) as a form of meta-innovation-an innovation in the way we innovate. CI integrates human and economic development outcomes, through behavioral and ecosystem transformation at scale, for sustainable prosperity and affordable universal health care within a whole-of-society paradigm. To this end, CI combines technological and social innovation (including organizational, social process, financial, and institutional), with a special focus on the most underserved populations. CI takes a modular approach that convenes around roadmaps for real world change-a portfolio of loosely coupled complementary partners from the business community, civil society, and the public sector. Roadmaps serve as collaborative platforms for focused, achievable, and time-bound projects to provide scalable, sustainable, and resilient solutions to complex challenges, with benefits both to participating partners and to society. In this paper, we first briefly review the literature on technological innovation that sets the foundations of CI and motivates its feasibility. We then describe CI, its building blocks, and enabling conditions for deployment and scaling up, illustrating its operational forms through examples of existing CI-sensitive innovation.

Supply Chain Management Opportunities for Regional Economic Development

AbstractGlobal competition has intensified geographic repositioning of supply chain activities with implications for the economic prosperity of specific regions and geographies affected by such shifts. Despite recent advancements made in the theory and practice of facility location decisions, a gap exists in understanding how these decisions are influenced by regional geographies and their respective supply chain capabilities. As economic development agencies recognize the value inherent in location-specific and geographically concentrated supply chain capabilities, this research explores how these affect regional prosperity and economic development. Through a combination of exploratory Delphi panels, web content analysis, and cluster mapping procedures, the research suggests a framework highlighting the potential role of regional supply chain capabilities and public sector strategies on economic development outcomes. Findings indicate that regional geographies are differentially and uniquely qualified to serve as supply chain hubs by capitalizing on these capabilities through actionable public- and private sector interventions. Regional differentiation lies in supply chain elements that are place-luck embedded and as such difficult to acquire, change, or modify.

China's social assistance policy: experiences and future directions

The Minimum Living Standard Guarantee System (MLSGS) forms the core of China's current social assistance policy, and special assistance programmes are used to supplement this policy. This paper scrutinizes the evolution and achievements of the social assistance policy, and analyses the challenges and problems that the policy faces. In this paper, we argue that the international trend of social assistance reforms, institutional background changes and the problems of social assistance in China require a developmental model to guide the future development of the social assistance policy. Therefore, social assistance policy should not only fulfil the basic living requirements of the underprivileged and enable underprivileged people to share the outcomes of economic and social development, but also should enable the underprivileged to develop human capital and participate in the labour market. To move towards developmental social assistance, this article proposes several relevant policy suggestions.

Digging deeper for development: the case of Simandou and the Southern Guinea Growth Corridor

Last decade’s surge in commodity prices has now abated, but some of its effects on the mining industry may well be longer-lasting. The combination of booming consumer demand and continued depletion of mineral deposits in established producing nations expanded investor attention to the developing world. Projects grew bigger to capture economies of scale and compensate for rising capital costs, and the industry’s pipeline soon filled with some of the largest projects ever proposed. Expectations of social and economic gain in mineral-rich nations also increased dramatically, fuelling a surge of resource nationalism worldwide. As a new tier of developers courted governments to access mineral resources, a sense of choice became entrenched. Individual mining corporations came under pressure to demonstrate that their ever-larger investments delivered commensurate economic benefits to host countries. In an attempt to balance the need to attend to local hegemony in policy making with a growing interest in economic development outcomes, some large mining corporations have started to develop innovative responses—illustrated in this paper with the case of Simandou and its promotion of a Southern Guinea Growth Corridor. The authors contend that a company’s ability to address and manage development matters will become an increasingly important dimension of competitive advantage in the mining industry.

A conceptual framework for examining HRD and NHRD linkages and outcomes

Purpose – This paper aims to review technical vocational education and training (TVET) literature, identify different components of the TVET system and develop a conceptual framework that integrates human resource development (HRD) and national human resource development (NHRD) outcomes. The renewed focus on technical vocational education and training (TVET) is important for human resource development (HRD), as it expands current understanding of its role in economic development through workforce training. National human resource development (NHRD) perspectives recognize the role of TVET in linking regional and national economic development strategies. Furthermore, TVET’s focus on literacy education, poverty alleviation and inclusion of marginalized and vulnerable populations emphasizes social development outcomes that are critical for NHRD. Using this background, the integration of HRD and NHRD outcomes into one conceptual TVET framework for addressing workforce, economic and social development outcomes has been proposed. Design/methodology/approach – A targeted literature review approach was used for exploring relevant research on TVET systems, identifying the components which support and/or inhibit its effectiveness and an integrative framework that connects education, workforce development, social development and economic development was developed. Findings – Three major themes were identified. The first theme identifies nine sub-themes that make an effective TVET system. These are as follows: national TVET policy, regional TVET policy, training, participation, curriculum, coordination of stakeholder institutions, individual and institutional attitudes toward skill development, managing supply-demand mismatches and economic and social development outcomes. The second major theme underlines the increasing overlap and connection between workforce development, social development and economic development strategies. In the third and final finding, effective TVET systems are positioned as the linking pin connecting the four TVET components (skills, education, innovation and knowledge) to the strategic goals of workforce development, economic development and social development. Originality/value – Integrating national and organizational-based HRD strategies is a unique focus and reflects the broader examination of the differences in the relationship between corporate HRD and more traditional TVET systems. It is argued that the role of TVET in social and workforce development at the regional and societal level cannot be ignored. HRD and NHRD outcomes were integrated by utilizing TVET as a framework for linking economic, social and workforce development strategies.

A POLICY-BASED ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACTS OF CASINO GAMBLING

In 2003, as part of a lecture series sponsored by the American Gaming Association, Richard LaBrie and Howard Shaffer issued a ‘concept statement’ titled Toward a Science of Gambling Regulation. They stated, “The set of gambling regulations within a jurisdiction represent that jurisdiction’s strategy for preventing negative consequences….We propose that gambling regulations would be more effective if the regulatory process was science-based” (2003, p. 1). This paper represents a step towards scientifically analyzing variations in existing policies to determine how effective they are in reaching policy goals. A quasi-experimental matching procedure is utilized to assess the impacts of casinos at the county level. Additional analysis examines the effects of various policies on economic development outcomes. The findings suggest that more restrictive casino policies reduce the economic impacts associated with casino development.

The Long-Term Effects of Protestant Activities in China

Does culture, and in particular religion, exert an independent causal effect on long-term economic growth, or do culture and religion merely reflect the latter? We explore this issue by studying the case of Protestantism in China during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Combining county-level data on Protestant presence in 1920 and socioeconomic indicators in 2000, we find that the spread of Protestantism has generated significant positive effects in long-term economic growth, educational development, and health care outcomes. To better understand whether the relationship is causal, we exploit the fact that missionaries purposefully undertook disaster relief work to gain the trust of the local people. Thus, we use the frequency of historical disasters as an instrument for Protestant distribution. Our IV results confirm and enhance our OLS results. When we further investigate the transmission channels over the long historical period between 1920 and 2000, we find that although improvements in education and health care outcomes account for a sizable portion of the total effects of missionaries’ past activities on today’s economic outcomes, Protestant activities may have also contributed to long-term economic growth through other channels, such as through transformed social values. If so, then a significant amount of China’s growth since 1978 is the result not just of sudden institutional changes but of human capital and social values acquired over a longer historical period.

The Role of Power Generation and Industrial Consumption Uncertainty in De-industrialising Pakistan

The term deindustrialisation refers to the process of socio-economic changes taking place due to reduction in the industrial capacity and/or the loss of industrial potential of an economy. This also connotes the secular decline in the share of industrial sector employment as observed in developed countries since 1970s. The secular shift from manufacturing to services sector reflects the impact of discrepancy in productivity growth between the said sectors. A faster rise in productivity in manufacturing sector than in services switches the employment from manufacturing to the services sector, as suggested by Rowthorn and Ramaswamy (1997). Generally, deindustrialisation is considered as the natural outcome of economic development because it involves the transformation from primitive agriculture-based economy to the modern industrial-based. After the establishment of manufacturing sector, the long-run economic growth stimulates an innovation-based economy implying the services sector’s growth [Galor (2005)]. However, the process requires a gradual shift accompanied by allied institutional and infrastructural reforms and the process of deindustrialisation occurs at the later stage of development.

Natural Resources and Economic Underperformance: An Empirical and Theoretic Inquiry

In the book, Paradox of Plenty, Terry Lynn Karl sought to solve the perplexing puzzle of why countries that experienced unprecedented transfer of wealth from the oil booms of the 1970s and 1980s, without exception, displayed similar economic development outcomes in spite of having very dissimilar histories, geo-strategic importance, and socio-political arrangements. The book, while a remarkable effort, managed to confirm what the literature on the subject had been alluding to but failed to give coherence -- reliance on a dominant natural resource to drive macroeconomic development would, with recent minor exceptions, always and everywhere engender bureaucratic corruption, rent-seeking behavior, authoritarian or quasi-democratic political structures, and disincentives to develop other internal sources for economic growth. What I intend to achieve in this paper is to show that, in addition to known culprits, the observed similar economic outcomes in most oil exporting countries is primarily the result of weak or nonexistent domestic social institutions, damaging interferences by international financial institutions, and a world trade order based on neoclassical orthodoxy. A comparative study of four oil-exporting countries – Indonesia, Algeria, Iran, and Venezuela, would be used to show how each country manifested the effects of oil revenue, and how their respective economies suffered as a result.

On the Institutionalization of Congress(Es) in Latin America and Beyond

This paper proposes an agenda for the study of the determinants and the processes by which strong policymaking institutions emerge, with emphasis on the most central democratic institution: the legislature. It reviews extant theories of institutionalization, and proposes further ways of specifying and studying the concept. It emphasizes the notion that investments and beliefs are the driving force of Congress institutionalization and of its relevance in the policymaking process. Making use of several indicators of Congress institutionalization, it provides evidence suggesting that Congress institutionalization has an impact on the qualities of public policies and on economic and social development outcomes. It also explores some constitutional factors that may promote Congress institutionalization. Given that a central theoretical argument of this paper is that the institutionalization of legislatures is a process that includes various self-reinforcing dynamics, the paper also undertakes the preliminary steps in developing a comparative case study of the evolution of Congress institutionalization in two Latin American countries: Argentina and Chile.

Economic Growth, Comparative Advantage, and Gender Differences in Schooling Outcomes: Evidence from the Birthweight Differences of Chinese Twins

Data from two surveys of twins in China are used to contribute to an improved understanding of the role of economic development in affecting gender differences in the trends in, levels of, and returns to schooling observed in China and in many developing countries in recent decades. In particular, we explore the hypothesis that these phenomena reflect differences in comparative advantage with respect to skill and brawn between men and women in the context of changes in incomes, returns to skill, and/or nutritional improvements that are the result of economic development and growth.

Equity in health systems

The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region has experienced remarkable progress in terms of economic development and health outcomes, enjoying a relatively good position in the developing world context. Unfortunately, this apparent privileged position in terms of accomplishments is based on regional averages that hide troubling and persistent inequalities among and within the countries. These inequalities are closely associated with political marginalization, inequitable and poor access to public health care services, which threaten the health gains of the last few decades and jeopardize growth and development. Levels of mortality and morbidity differ greatly by economic and social factors and geographic boundaries both within and between countries of the Region and are concentrated among disadvantaged populations, who also experience earlier onset of chronic diseases and higher levels of disability. Inequalities in life expectancy are observed when people in Haiti are expected to live 62.2 years on average, as compared to 79.4 years for people