Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Malaysian Development Planning, David Lim

Prof. David Lim

Development planning has been described as "a deliberate governmental attempt to coordinate economic decision-making over the long-run and to influence, direct and, in some cases, even control the level and growth of a nation's principal economic variables (income, comsumption, employment, investment, saving, exports, imports, etc.) in order to achieve a pre-determined set of development objectives." One set of reasons for planning centres round the operation of the market system. Thus, market prices are often distorted and can result in a misallocation of scarce resources. Another set revolves round the need to have a rallying point for local and foreign interests …

Explaining The Growth Performances Of Asian Developing Economies, David Lim

Prof. David Lim

No matter how it is measured, the growth performance of the newly industrializing economies (NIEs) stands out. That of the Southeast Asian group, with the exception of the Philippines, and that of China is also impressive. The South Asian countries have done much less well, with countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America even further behind...

East Malaysia In Malaysian Development Planning, David Lim

Prof. David Lim

Malaysia consists of Peninsular Malaysia and the two East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak. Development planning in Peninsular Malaysia began as early as 1950, while the first plan for the whole of the Malaysian federation founded in 1963 was published in 1966. Have the two East Malaysian states been integrated properly into the various Malaysian plans? Or have they, with their somewhat different economic, political and social backgrounds, been treated as a nuisance element and appeared in the plans only as an afterthought? In any case, is the planning experience of Peninsular Malaysia relevant for solving the problems of …

Employment, Income Distribution And Economic Growth In Seven Small Open Economies, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Resurgent interest has been manifested among development economists in trickle-down, i.e., the view that the more rapid the rate of economic growth, the more rapid the improvement in employment and income distribution. Throughout this paper, the term ‘income distribution’ will refer to the location and dispersion of the pattern of incomes, i.e., to ‘absolute incomes and poverty’ and to ‘relative income inequality’. Empirical evidence supports trickle-down in some cases, but the evidence is contrary to trickle-down in others.

These data indicate:

1. A high rate of economic growth is neither necessary nor sufficient for inequality to decline.
2. A high rate …

Income Distribution And Economic Growth, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Who benefits how much from economic growth and why? This question is fundamental to today’s development economics. This chapter reviews some of the major lessons learned and major directions for future research in the study of income distribution and economic development.

Malaysia's Transitional Moment? : Democratic Transition Theory And The Problem Of Malaysian Exceptionalism., Jason P. Abbott

Jason Abbott

Many theorists of democratization transition have, either explicitly or implicitly, a teleological concept of political progress, liberalization and reform. For such theorists, countries such as Malaysia are therefore in transition towards substantive 'full' liberal democracy. Taken in this light, the significant advances by opposition political parties in the 2008 federal and state elections in Malaysia represent a major advance towards this end goal. While many have highlighted that Malaysia may in fact be an exception to this rule, this paper contends instead that the Malaysian case study challenges the central tenets of democratic transition more profoundly. Indeed, since independence the …

Aid, Growth And Jobs, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

Various development objectives are worthy, but one objective merits special attention: reducing the scourge of absolute economic misery in the world. This study focuses on an important but relatively underemphasized approach to poverty reduction: helping the poor earn more in the labour market for the work they do, so that they can buy the goods and services they need to move up out of poverty. The core of the study is divided into three sections: defining the global poverty challenge and the world’s employment problem, presenting policy options for improving employment outcomes for the poor, and suggesting ways of choosing …

Milk In The Data: Food Security Impacts From A Livestock Field Experiment In Zambia, Margaret Jodlowski, Alex Winter-Nelson, Kathy Baylis, Peter Goldsmith

Kathy Baylis

Smallholder livestock ownership has potential to enhance food security by raising incomes of the poor and by increasing the availability of nutrient-dense foods. This paper exploits the staggered rollout of livestock distribution by Heifer International in Zambia to identify the effects of livestock using statistically similar treatment and control groups in a balanced panel of households. Results indicate that livestock ownership improves dietary diversity through both direct consumption of animal products produced on farm and through increased consumption expenditures. Further results indicate that expanded livestock ownership alters the local food economy to influence food consumption by households lacking farm animals.

Farmers' Risk Preferences And Pesticide Use Decisions: Evidence From Field Experiments In China, Kathy Baylis, Yazhen Gong, Robert Kozak, Gary Bull

Kathy Baylis