|
Showing 1 - 10 of
10 matches in All Departments
For almost as long as economics has been a profession, the role of
natural resources in the promotion of economic growth has been
among the core issues of development theory. Some newer theories
suggest that natural riches produce institutional weaknesses as
various social groups attempt to capture the economic rents derived
from the exploitation of natural resources. Since the 1960s, some
analysts have argued that resource-rich developing countries have
grown more slowly than other developing countries. Nevertheless, we
find ourselves in a time when conventional wisdom again postulates
that natural resources are indeed riches.
This book brings together a variety of analytical perspectives,
ranging from econometric analyses of economic growth to historical
studies of successful development experiences in countries with
abundant natural resources. The evidence suggests that natural
resources are neither a curse nor destiny. Natural resources can
actually spur economic development when combined with the
accumulation of knowledge for economic innovation. Furthermore,
natural resource abundance need not be the only determinant of the
structure of trade in developing countries. In fact, the
accumulation of knowledge, infrastructure, and the quality of
governance all seem to determine not only what countries produce
and export, but how firms and workers produce any good.
For almost as long as economics has been a profession, the role of
natural resources in the promotion of economic growth has been
among the core issues of development theory. Some newer theories
suggest that natural riches produce institutional weaknesses as
various social groups attempt to capture the economic rents derived
from the exploitation of natural resources. Since the 1960s, some
analysts have argued that resource-rich developing countries have
grown more slowly than other developing countries. Nevertheless, we
find ourselves in a time when conventional wisdom again postulates
that natural resources are indeed riches.
This book brings together a variety of analytical perspectives,
ranging from econometric analyses of economic growth to historical
studies of successful development experiences in countries with
abundant natural resources. The evidence suggests that natural
resources are neither a curse nor destiny. Natural resources can
actually spur economic development when combined with the
accumulation of knowledge for economic innovation. Furthermore,
natural resource abundance need not be the only determinant of the
structure of trade in developing countries. In fact, the
accumulation of knowledge, infrastructure, and the quality of
governance all seem to determine not only what countries produce
and export, but how firms and workers produce any good.
"Lederman, Maloney, and Serven offer an excellent empirical
investigation into the impacts of the North America Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) on the Mexican economy. . . . The authors pay
close attention to the experiences of other Latin American
countries and the European Union while avoiding ideological
debates." -- CHOICE
" Lessons from NAFTA" is important perhaps less for what it tells
us about changes under a free-trade agreement and more for its
nuanced and careful empirical investigation of how trade can
actually make people better off. This, indeed, is the ' big story'
of NAFTA and the potential for free trade agreements in the
region." -- Political Science Quarterly"
"Lederman, Maloney, and Serven offer an excellent empirical
investigation into the impacts of the North America Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) on the Mexican economy. . . . The authors pay
close attention to the experiences of other Latin American
countries and the European Union while avoiding ideological
debates." -- CHOICE
" Lessons from NAFTA" is important perhaps less for what it tells
us about changes under a free-trade agreement and more for its
nuanced and careful empirical investigation of how trade can
actually make people better off. This, indeed, is the ' big story'
of NAFTA and the potential for free trade agreements in the
region." -- Political Science Quarterly"
The Political Economy of Protection explains why countries,
especially developing countries, change their trade policies over
the course of history. It does so through an interdisciplinary
approach, which borrows analyses from both political science and
economics. While the central focus of this book is to explain
historical changes in trade policy in one country. Chile, it is
broadly relevant for students, scholars, and trade specialists
interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the politics and
economics of international trade. Given the intensifying public
debates about the benefits of globalization, the author provides a
uniquely rigorous yet interdisciplinary analysis of the forces that
shape trade policy decisions, not just in Chile, but throughout the
world.
The analysis in this report confirms the findings of previous
studies that trade liberalization improves aggregate welfare and is
in the long run associated with higher employment and wages. The
analysis addresses a major gap in the literature, which has
heretofore provided limited evidence about the trade-related
adjustment costs faced by workers in developing countries and how
they are affected by mobility costs. Labor market frictions reduce
the potential gains from trade reform. For a tariff reduction in a
given sector, the resulting change in relative prices raises real
wages in some sectors and reduces them in the liberalized sector.
The emerging wage gaps lead to labor reallocation. But workers
typically incur costs to change jobs; the higher the mobility
costs, the slower the transition to the new labor market steady
state. Workers sticky feet result in foregone welfare gains from
trade. This report presents an estimation strategy for capturing
mobility costs when only net flows of workers between industries
are observed, generating cross-country estimates for 47 developed
and developing countries. The basic analytical approach is then
refined to take advantage of micro-level data on worker transitions
and wages when gross flows can be observed to derive mobility cost
estimates that account for sector and formality status. These cost
estimates are used to model the dynamic paths of labor reallocation
between sectors and in and out of the labor force, the associated
wage paths, and the resulting labor adjustment costs. The main
findings of the report are that: labor mobility costs in developing
countries are high; foregone trade gains due to frictions in labor
mobility can also be substantial; workers bear the brunt of
adjustment costs; mobility costs and labor market adjustments to
trade-related shocks vary by industry, firm type, and worker type;
entry costs are significantly higher for formal than for informal
employment; trade reforms increase economy-wide wages and
employment; and workers displaced by plant closings are likely to
face relatively long adjustment periods. The findings provide
insights that could be helpful to policymakers hoping to mitigate
negative short-term consequences of trade liberalization and
facilitate labor adjustment."
Does what economies export matter for development? If so, can
industrial policies improve on the export basket generated by the
market? This book approaches these questions from a variety of
conceptual and policy viewpoints. Reviewing the theoretical
arguments in favor of industrial policies, the authors first ask
whether existing indicators allow policy makers to identify
growth-promoting sectors with confidence. To this end, they assess,
and ultimately cast doubt upon, the reliability of many popular
indicators advocated by proponents of industrial policy. Second,
and central to their critique, the authors document extraordinary
differences in the performance of countries exporting seemingly
identical products, be they natural resources or 'high-tech' goods.
Further, they argue that globalization has so fragmented the
production process that even talking about exported goods as
opposed to tasks may be misleading. Reviewing evidence from history
and from around the world, the authors conclude that policy makers
should focus less on what is produced, and more on how it is
produced. They analyze alternative approaches to picking winners
but conclude by favoring 'horizontal-ish' policies--for instance,
those that build human capital or foment innovation in existing and
future products that only incidentally favor some sectors over
others."
The world economy is not what it used to be twenty years ago. For
most of the 20th century, the world economy was characterized by
developed (North) countries acting as 'center' to a 'periphery' of
developing (South) countries. However, the recent rise of
developing economies suggests the need to go beyond this
North-South dichotomy. This tectonic re-configuration of the global
landscape has brought about significant changes to countries in the
Latin America and Caribean (LAC) region. The time is ripe for an
in-depth analysis of the dynamics and nature of LAC's external
connections.This latest volume in the World Bank Latin American and
Caribbean Studies series will focus on the implications of these
trends for the economic development of LAC countries. In
particular, trade, financial, macroeconomic, and sectoral shifts,
as well as labor-market aspects will be systematically analyzed.
This is the Spanish edition.
In the 1960s, economic development was thought to be shaped by
unlimited supplies of labour. Unlimited labour supply implies that
wages would remain stagnant even when economies grow. In the 21st
Century, the evidence is clear: the correlation between changes in
wages and changes in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is
high and close to one across economies of various sizes. Economic
Development with Limited Supplies of Labor argues that the size of
an economy's labour force does condition development. It studies
the challenges of small economies by systematically analysing
correlates of labour-force size. The export structures of small
economies are concentrated in a few products or services and in a
small number of export destinations. In turn, export concentration
is associated with terms of trade volatility, which combined with
high exposure to international trade, implies that domestic
economies also tend to be volatile as external volatility permeates
national economic life. Moreover, limited territory plays a role in
shaping how economies are affected by natural disasters, even when
the probability of facing such disasters is not necessarily higher
among small than among large economies. The combination of large
governments with macroeconomic volatility seems to be associated
with low national savings rates in small economies. This
combination could be a challenge for long-term growth if
productivity growth and foreign investment do not compensate for
low domestic savings.
Entrepreneurship is a fundamental driver of growth, development,
and job creation. While Latin America and the Caribbean has a
wealth of entrepreneurs, firms in the region, compared to those in
other regions, are small in size and less likely to grow or
innovate. Productivity growth has remained lackluster for decades,
including during the recent commodity boom. Enhancing the creation
of good jobs and accelerating productivity growth in the region
will require dynamic entrepreneurs. Latin American Entrepreneurs:
Many Firms but Little Innovation studies the landscape of
entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Caribbean. Utilizing new
datasets that cover issues such as firm creation, firm dynamics,
export decisions, and the behavior of multinational corporations,
the book synthesizes the results of a comprehensive analysis of the
status, prospects, and challenges of entrepreneurship in the
region. Useful tools and information are provided to help policy
makers and practitioners identify policy areas governments can
explore to enhance innovation and encourage high-growth,
transformational entrepreneurship.
|
You may like...
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
|