Variation In Economic Development Research Articles

Does the Level of Economic Development Affect IFRS Information Comparability?

This study examines whether levels of economic development affect IFRS information comparability. Since the extant literature indicates that accounting information comparability is also affected by code law versus common law legal origins, we hold the legal system variable constant by focusing on a single code law legal jurisdiction, and document significant evidence on the effect of variations in economic development across regions in China on IFRS information comparability. Specifically, we find comparability is higher for firms from more developed regions in the pre-IFRS convergence period, but not in the post-IFRS convergence periods; and the magnitude of improvement in information comparability upon IFRS convergence is greater for firms from less developed regions. Taken together, our findings suggest that firms from less developed regions in a code law legal jurisdiction actually have more to gain from IFRS convergence.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, New Business Formation, and Scale-up Activity: Evidence from 286 Chinese Cities

Abstract This paper examines the effects of the quality of entrepreneurial ecosystems on new business formation and scale-up activity in China at the city-industry level. Accounting for only large and fast-growing firms, we focus on productive entrepreneurship which creates economic wealth. Based on a newly constructed panel dataset for 29 manufacturing industries and 286 prefecture-level cities of China during the period 1998–2009, we find that entrepreneurial ecosystem components, including access to finance, knowledge, marketization, local market demand, and entrepreneurial culture, are important determinants in explaining the differences in entrepreneurial activity across city-industry clusters and over time. Analysing a dynamic period in China’s industrialization with large regional variation in economic development, we show that the relative importance of the ecosystem components in shaping entrepreneurial activity changes over time when regions develop. In addition, we show that interaction between the ecosystem components – indicating system strength – has additional power in explaining new business formation and scale-up activity.

The cultural evolution of love in literary history

Since the late nineteenth century, cultural historians have noted that the importance of love increased during the Medieval and Early Modern European period (a phenomenon that was once referred to as the emergence of 'courtly love'). However, more recent works have shown a similar increase in Chinese, Arabic, Persian, Indian and Japanese cultures. Why such a convergent evolution in very different cultures? Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, we leverage literary history and build a database of ancient literary fiction for 19 geographical areas and 77 historical periods covering 3,800 years, from the Middle Bronze Age to the Early Modern period. We first confirm that romantic elements have increased in Eurasian literary fiction over the past millennium, and that similar increases also occurred earlier, in Ancient Greece, Rome and Classical India. We then explore the ecological determinants of this increase. Consistent with hypotheses from cultural history and behavioural ecology, we show that a higher level of economic development is strongly associated with a greater incidence of love in narrative fiction (our proxy for the importance of love in a culture). To further test the causal role of economic development, we used a difference-in-difference method that exploits exogenous regional variations in economic development resulting from the adoption of the heavy plough in medieval Europe. Finally, we used probabilistic generative models to reconstruct the latent evolution of love and to assess the respective role of cultural diffusion and economic development.

Measurement of China's provincial consumption-based PM2.5 emissions and its influencing factors in the perspective of spatial heterogeneity

PM2.5 emissions has become a serious issue in China with enormous regional variation in economic development, resource endowment, and consumption patterns, which leads to great variations in regional PM2.5 emissions and embodied PM2.5 transfer among provinces. The spatial and temporal evolution pattern of PM2.5 and its influencing factors are important issues in the study of air pollution emissions and control, which could help policy makers allocate emission responsibilities and reduction targets. Based on the perspective of final consumption, this paper uses a multiregional input-output model to estimate PM2.5 emissions in 30 provinces in different years in China, applies a geographically weighted regression model to analyze different driving factors, and then analyzes the spatial heterogeneity of consumption-based PM2.5 emissions. The results show that consumption-based PM2.5 presents a significant reduction trend, although the separation of production and consumption areas of PM2.5 emission is further intensified. The provinces with rich energy but relatively backward economies and manufacturing industries correspond to the primary net inflow of PM2.5, while the provinces with strong consumption ability and the most developed economies and industries present a net outflow of PM2.5. Moreover, the slowdown of consumption growth and the improvement of consumption quality have a positive impact on PM2.5 emission reductions. The optimization of industrial structure has a more significant impact on pollution control and haze reduction in the western region, while the improvement of energy utilization efficiency and rational use of construction land are more conducive to the reduction of consumption-based PM2.5 emissions in the eastern region. From the perspective of temporal and spatial changes, significant spatial differences occur between regions. Energy consumption, environmental protection investment and construction land show the trend of " high value area diffusion and low value area reduction".

The Human Migration in 21st Century India: Intensity, Trends, Flow and Opportunities for Economic Development of Migrants

Migration has been an inherent part of human existence since the dawn of human civilisation, shaped by numerous socio-economic factors. Since 1991 India has been experiencing an upsurge in migration, largely affectingurbanisation, social transformation and economic development of the country. The objective of the present study isto analyse spatial-temporal variation in trends, pattern, and reasons for migration, and its impact on society. Based on secondary sources of information and simple statistical methods, the study finds that increasing trends of migration in the country are closely related to the liberalisation of the economy. Excluding marriage-related migration, migration is mainly a male dominated, employment oriented and long distance phenomena.Given the spatial variation in economic development, people migrate from under-developed regions to developed regions to improve their living conditions. Migration is a livelihood strategy for majority of the people and therefore, it should be viewed in the context of regional disparity in economic development.

Long‐term vision and economic development

AbstractThis paper examines the effect on economic development of whether a country's policymakers adopt a long‐term vision. We use a novel institutional variable that indicates whether policymakers have a long‐term strategic vision. However, the difficulty in estimating a causal effect is that long‐term vision is endogenous to economic development. Therefore, we use the future‐time reference language variables introduced in American Economic Review, 103, 690; 2013 as instrumental variables for long‐term vision. To account for endogeneity, the paper conducts two‐stage least‐squares estimations where the language instruments are used in the first stage to find an exogenous source of variation in long‐term vision. The results show that long‐term vision, instrumented by future‐time reference, explains cross‐country variations in economic development. These results are robust even after the inclusion of control variables and after the exclusion of outliers.

A research on coordination between economy, society and environment in China: A case study of Jiangsu

Environmental stresses with remarkable economic growths in China entail a transformation of development from the traditional path to a coordinated and sustainable one. Based on the connotation of development, this paper constructs a combined model of economic-social-environmental system, coupling with the entropy weight method, to measure the coordinated development of a combined system ESE as well as the subsystems. Via the data of economic growth, social construction and environmental protection in Jiangsu from 2002 to 2017, this study analyzes the current situations and problems faced by Jiangsu, so as to achieve a comprehensive development. Main results show that all the four kinds of coordinated degrees present an upward trend, where the economic-social coordination rises fast, the volatility is insignificant and the gap between different cities is not obvious. The time-variation and space-distribution characteristics of the economy-environment, society-environment and overall development coordination are basically similar. The reason for such fluctuations is the changes in the macroeconomic environment, which have led to an unordered variation in economic development, and the level of social development is mainly affected by the availability of social public service facilities. The fluctuations in environmental systems are mainly due to changes in water resources and sewage discharges, which are also the main factors affecting the overall development coordination level. Therefore, to further promote the sustainable development and optimize the spatial layout in Jiangsu, it is necessary to eliminate such problems as imperfect public construction and insufficient environmental protection and accelerate the economic transformation and upgrading.

Utveckling av svensk välfärd under ett kvartssekel 1994–2019

The development of welfare and welfare policy in Sweden 1994–2019Sweden is a country with a high standard of living, relatively small income differentials and a well-developed welfare system. However, that does not mean that there are no problems. The development of the economy, labour market and welfare in Sweden has been dramatic in several respects over the last quarter of a century. The variations in economic development have been considerable during this period, which has had an impact on the labour market, not least for groups such as young people who have not completed high school studies and newly arrived refugees. Also important is the increase of immigration because of the expansion of the EU but also of refugees. The economic development has affected various individuals and groups in different ways. Economic development has also had an influence on the development of the different parts of the welfare system. There have been several changes in the social policy programmes. Privatization of parts of the sector is one important change. This chapter outlines the main features of this development in different areas of the economy, the labour market and the welfare system in Sweden.

The Role of Initial Conditions in Post-Great Recession Recovery and Development: Single-County MSAs

This article studies the impact of initial (circa 2009) socioeconomic conditions on post-Great Recession economic development/recovery. The units observed are 145 single-county metropolitan statistical areas in the lower 48 American states. Principal components analysis is used to construct a four-dimensional index representing economic development/recovery over 2009 to 2016. Variables in five categories—education/human capital, general socioeconomic/demographic conditions, industrial structure, public policy, and regional variables—are used to explain variation in the economic development index. The estimates indicated that approximately two thirds of the variation in post-recession economic development can be explained using only initial conditions.

Airport competition within the Scottish lowlands region

The aim of this paper is to undertake an assessment of airport competition within the Scottish Lowlands region, which has experienced significant variations in economic development, and to examine whether competitive forces have been strengthening or weakening in recent years. This region covers the airports of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Prestwick in the last twelve years they have all experienced changes in ownership. BAA which had, for many years, operated both Edinburgh and Glasgow airports, sold the former to GIP in 2012 whilst in 2013 the Scottish Government purchased the privately-owned Prestwick. During this period there were also significant changes in airline network strategies. In order to assess the competitive pressures facing these airports, three key areas are considered, namely: aeronautical charging policy, the service quality provided and traffic development. The analysis shows that since ownership separation, competition has intensified between Edinburgh and Glasgow, whilst Prestwick airport, which benefitted from Ryanair expansion in the 1990s, is now a significantly diminished competitive proposition in the Scottish Lowland market. This has implications not only for airport policy and economic regulation but also for broader economic well-being in this region.

Does Quality of Government and Trust Explain the Cross-National Variation in Public Support for Climate Policies?

In accordance with the Paris agreement, the signing countries have undertaken to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, implying more government intervention to steer the behaviors of different actors with climate policy measures. However, states face very different possibilities for gaining support for such interventions, especially those targeting the consumption patterns of individual citizens, due to for example the variation in economic development, the quality of political institutions, and other country covariates. While most research on climate policy support has focused on individual factors, such as ideological position, values and socio-demographic factors, there are also studies out there showing that there is quite some variation in country support for various climate change policies. Using newly published data from the European Social Survey, we explore whether variation in climate policy support is associated with levels of quality of government (QoG) and individuals’ trust in political institutions and people in general, and if these associations vary across different types of climate policies. We find that QoG and generalized trust are positively linked to support for climate taxes, but we find no associations with support for climate subsidies and climate bans. Moreover, we find that political and institutional trust are more strongly linked to support for climate taxes than to support for climate subsidies and climate bans.

Geographic Endowment, Corruption, and Economic Development

Corruption plays an important role in determining the effectiveness and quality of the institution, and growth. This paper investigates the linkage between corruption, various measures of geographical endowments and economic growth. I use corruption as a proxy for institutional quality and try to solve the endogeneity problem by Instrumental Variable approach as 2SLS for panel data for a sample of 192 countries and showed that corruption matters for economic growth. The results indicate that graphical endowments explain cross-country variation in economic development through their effect on corruption even when I control for other historical and cultural factors. Thus, when considering making policy for developing or developed countries much attention should be paid to this fact.

Revisit China's Lewis Turning Point: An Analysis from a Regional Perspective

China's significantly slower economic growth since 2012 has been attributed to the passing of its Lewis turning point and the depletion of surplus labor in rural agriculture. At the same time, some export‐oriented labor‐intensive manufacturers have moved their factories from coastal to inland cities. Against this background, we re‐examine China's Lewis turning point and highlight the regional variations in economic development. Our analysis shows that China's eastern and north‐eastern regions passed the turning point by 2010, while the central region is approaching this point and the western region remains far from it. However, only 6 provinces have passed the turning point. These findings indicate the need to focus on noticeable regional and provincial variations in China's economic development.

Assessing the impact of road transport infrastructure investment on economic development in South Africa

Background: There has been considerable decline in the investment on road transport infrastructure in recent times, as a result of the dwindling economic investment owing to lowering gross domestic product (GDP) since 2009.Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between road transport investment (ROTI) and economic development (ED) in South Africa. This article adopts the Harrod–Domar (HD) model of economic growth and development theory, endogenous growth theory and Solow–Swan neoclassical growth model.Method: Data were derived from the South African Reserve Bank, Quantec database and Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) between 1990 and 2014. It used time series, econometric models cointegration and vector error correction model (VECM) to analyse.Result: The results of the estimation demonstrate that the explanatory variables account for approximately 86.7% variation in ED in South Africa. Therefore, there exists a positive relationship between ROTI and ED.Conclusion: This study established a long-run relationship between phenomena and demonstrates the role of road transport investment on economic development in South Africa.

Boon or bane: Examining divergent development outcomes among oil- and mineral-dependent countries in the Global South

Under neoliberal conditions that privilege foreign investors and call for the retreat of the state, some oil- and mineral-dependent countries in the Global South outperform others. To investigate what accounts for this variation in economic development among these countries, this study tests hypotheses derived from resource curse and dependency/world systems literatures using a dataset of 36 oil- and mineral-dependent countries in the Global South from 1984 through 2010 and panel methods of data analysis. The results show that state capacity and debt dependence shape uneven development outcomes among these countries. The implications for resource curse and dependency/world systems theories are discussed.

Health of midlife and older adults in China: the role of regional economic development, inequality, and institutional setting

ObjectivesTo document the association between economic development, income inequality, and health-related public infrastructure, and health outcomes among Chinese adults in midlife and older age.MethodsWe use a series of multi-level regression models with individual-level baseline data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS). Provincial-level data are obtained both from official statistics and from CHARLS itself. Multi-level models are estimated with different subjective and objective health outcomes.ResultsEconomic growth is associated with better self-rated health, but also with obesity. Better health infrastructure tends to be negatively associated with health outcomes, indicating the likely presence of reverse causality. No supportive evidence is found for the hypothesis that income inequality leads to worse health outcomes.ConclusionsOur study shows that on top of individual characteristics, provincial variations in economic development, income inequality, and health infrastructure are associated with a range of health outcomes for Chinese midlife and older adults. Economic development in China might also bring adverse health outcomes for this age group; as such specific policy responses need to be developed.

Externally imposed institutions and regional growth differences: Evidence from France and Germany

This paper provides a critical examination of effect of French Revolution institutions on regional economic development variations in 19th century by focusing on the experience of France. The argument in Daron Acemoglu et al. (2011) that differences in long-run economic performance of German states stem from differences in externally imposed French and domestic German institutions needs to be investigated further. A difference-in-difference estimation is used to identify a treatment effect causing growth differences between border and interior departments. The proposed treatment effect is the faster industrialization due to intensified minerals mining and railway construction in northern and northeastern France after 1850. It is shown that border departments experienced higher economic growth primarily after 1850 even though Revolution institutions and reforms were imposed in all of French departments. Therefore, externally imposed French Revolution institutions and reforms shouldn?t be counted as primary factors of causing variation in economic development across German polities.

Endowments, Culture and Economic Development

AbstractThis paper investigates whether the geographic characteristics of a country can explain cross‐country variations in income levels through their ability to explain cross‐country variations in cultural traits that enhance economic development. In other words, this paper attempts to determine whether the geographic endowment can serve as an instrument in examining the effect of culture on economic development. The paper conducts two‐stage least‐squares regressions. The second stage is a regression of the logarithm of real gross domestic product per capita on each of the cultural attributes that are considered in this study. In the first stage, the geographic factors that statistically explain a cultural aspect are used as instrumental variables. The results of the empirical estimation show that the cultural variables, instrumented by the geographic variables, explain cross‐country variations in economic development.

Living Arrangements and Psychological Well-Being of the Older Adults After the Economic Transition in Vietnam.

We examine the relationship between living arrangements and psychological well-being of the older adults in Vietnam, where there is an influence of Confucian values and a lack of close substitutes for family care of the older adults, by exploiting a great deal of regional variation in economic development. We also examine the role of living arrangements in well-being differentials across regions. We estimate a triangular simultaneous-equation discrete-response model, which accounts for the simultaneity between living arrangements and psychological well-being (happiness, depression, loneliness, poor appetite, and sleep disorder), using a nationally representative sample of 2,225 adults aged 60 and older drawn from the 2011 Vietnam Aging Survey. Intergenerational coresidence significantly increases the psychological well-being of the older adults in Vietnam. The results are fairly robust, even after taking quasi-coresidence into account, decomposing the psychological well-being index into each affect and symptom, and splitting the sample by gender. Changes in living arrangements induced by differences in labor market opportunities in neighboring regions have resulted in significant differences in psychological well-being among the older adults. The findings point to the need for attention to the mental health of elderly parents left behind in less economically developed regions.

Does Economic Development Affect Life Satisfaction? A Spatial–Temporal Contextual Analysis in China

Social context affects people’s life satisfaction because it provides a natural reference for evaluating their own socioeconomic standing. Given their reference role, social contexts operationalized by space versus time may have very different implications. Our hypothesis is that spatial variation in economic development has little impact on life satisfaction as individuals living in different locales are unlikely to experience this variation personally, but that short-term temporal changes in economic development, on the other hand, do have an impact, as individuals in a given locale experience these changes directly. These two very different implications of spatial versus temporal social contexts are tested with an analysis of repeated survey data in 60 counties of China from 2005 to 2010. The results show that life satisfaction does not vary much with regional differences in economic development but responds positively to the local level of economic development over time. That is, the contextual effects of economic development vary greatly depending on how social context is operationalized. Temporal context matters far more than regional context where individuals’ life satisfaction is concerned.