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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Southern African Economic Integration: Evidence From An Augmented Gravity Model, Kirsten Wandschneider, Thierry Warren, Phanindra Wunnava, Optat Tengia
Southern African Economic Integration: Evidence From An Augmented Gravity Model, Kirsten Wandschneider, Thierry Warren, Phanindra Wunnava, Optat Tengia
Kirsten Wandschneider
This paper investigates the feasibility of creating a common-currency union consisting of 16 countries in Southern Africa. We estimate an augmented-gravity model that includes public deficit, public debt, public expenditure, inflation, and the foreign reserves position. We also integrate Africa-specific variables such as existing economic blocs in the region, colonial heritage, and the convergence of living standards. Our analysis shows that the prospect for further integration in Southern Africa is promising, but many challenges still persist. The existing economic blocs can provide a first stepping stone to a larger currency union, but countries continuously have to cultivate good governance and …
Shooting On A Moving Target: Explaining European Bank Rates During The Interwar Period, Kirsten Wandschneider
Shooting On A Moving Target: Explaining European Bank Rates During The Interwar Period, Kirsten Wandschneider
Kirsten Wandschneider
This paper describes the monetary policy response of countries during the inter-war period. How did central banks react to the Great Depression? How did countries balance the externals demands of the gold standard with domestic policy pressures? What was the optimal level of international policy coordination? We use weekly data over the period 1925-1936 to estimate central bank rate reaction functions for a panel of 22 countries during the inter-war gold standard. The estimates suggest to us changing objectives for monetary policy. Countries moved away from the sole objective of convertibility and towards a more ‘modern’ monetary policy based on …
The Fiscal Impact Of The War Of The Pacific, Kirsten Wandschneider, Richard Sicotte, Catalina Vizcarra
The Fiscal Impact Of The War Of The Pacific, Kirsten Wandschneider, Richard Sicotte, Catalina Vizcarra
Kirsten Wandschneider
In the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia, and acquired territories that contained vast deposits of sodium nitrate, a leading fertilizer. Chile’s export tax on nitrates later accounted for at least one half of all government revenue. We employ a multi-country model of export taxation in order to simulate the potential government revenues that Bolivia, Chile and Peru could have earned under the counterfactual scenario that Chile did not conquer the nitrate-rich provinces of its adversaries. Our results are that Peruvian and Bolivian government revenues could have been at least double their historical levels. We estimate …
The Effect Of Political Regimes And Technology On Economic Growth, Kirsten Wandschneider, Khurram Jamali, Phanindra Wunnava
The Effect Of Political Regimes And Technology On Economic Growth, Kirsten Wandschneider, Khurram Jamali, Phanindra Wunnava
Kirsten Wandschneider
Do political regimes have a significant effect on economic growth? This study builds on the new neoclassical growth model to identify economic determinants of growth, and explicitly tests for the influence of political variables on economic performance for the 1990s. The results suggest that democracies and bureaucracies significantly outperform autocracies. Economic growth is also promoted by increased protection of property rights, and higher investment in education. Moreover, technology has become a requirement for efficient production, and hence, is crucial in promoting growth. Countries can therefore increase the level of economic growth by increasing the levels of education and technology in …