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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.
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.
"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
"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
Economists have long argued that developing countries have the potential for high productivity growth if they adopt existing technologies and apply them to the local context. This report brings to bear a battery of new data sources to explore the innovation ""paradox"": despite the potential for very high returns, developing countries invest far less in adopting and inventing new processes and products than advanced countries. The report posits three broad factors underlying this paradox. The first is that firms in developing countries lack the managerial and technological capabilities to undertake meaningful innovation projects. This implies that conventional innovation policies are unlikely to be effective, and moving firms up the ""capabilities escalator"" becomes central. A second factor is that firm capability is only one of many critical ingredients - for instance, access to financial markets, macroeconomic stability, and imported machinery - that are complements to the innovation process, and whose absence lowers the return to innovation in developing countries. This implies that cultivating an effective innovation system will be a greater policy challenge, and that standard measures of innovation performance, such as research and development or GDP, are misleading. Finally, government capabilities required to redress these two points are also correspondingly weaker in developing countries, so building these capabilities needs to be explicitly integrated in formulating innovation policy.
The stagnation of productivity in the developing world, and indeed, across the globe, over the last two decades dictates a rethinking of productivity measurement, analysis, and policy. Reviving Global Productivity presents a "second wave" of thinking in three key areas of productivity analysis and its implications for productivity policies. The volume calls into question the measurement and relevance of distortions as the primary barrier to productivity growth, urges a broader concept of firm performance that goes beyond efficiency to quality upgrading and demand expansion, and explores what it takes to generate an experimental and innovative society where entrepreneurs have the personal characteristics to identify new technologies and manage risk within an entrepreneurial ecosystem that facilitates their doing so. It also reviews arguments surrounding industrial policies. The authors argue for an integrated approach to productivity analysis that incorporates both the need to reduce economic distortions and generate the human capital capable of identifying the opportunities offered to follower countries and upgrade firm capabilities. Finally, it offers guidance on prioritizing policies when there is uncertainty around diagnostics and limited government capability.
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Preparation for Natural Theology - With…
Courtney D. Fugate, John Hymers
Hardcover
R5,921
Discovery Miles 59 210
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