Economics Commons^™

Concepts And Perspectives From The Economics Of Sustainable Development: Views Of Economists And Their Policy Implications For Ethiopia And The Rest Africa, Sisay Asefa

International Conference on African Development Archives

Sustainable development is a concept about the relationship between economic growth and the environment. The term was first used in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development (also known as the Brundtland Commission for its Chair, Gro Harlem Brundtland). In the Commssion’s report, “our common Future”, it defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987. The aim of this paper is to explore the various dimensions of sustainability from an economic perspective by focusing …

Public Economies And The Endogenous Choice Of Institutions, Eduardo Zambrano

Economics

In this paper I provide a framework in which to formalize the seminal work of Elinor Ostrom on the study of public economies, a prominent theoretical construct aimed to provide answers to the following questions: (a) Why some societies are able to solve their collective action problems and others are not? and (b) Why societies choose the particular institutions they choose from a vast array of possible choices?

Nash Bargaining Without Convexity, Eduardo Zambrano

Economics

In this note I study Nash bargaining when the utility possibility set of the bargaining problem is non-convex. A simple variation of Nash's symmetry axiom is all that is necessary to establish a set valued version of Nash's solution in non-convex settings.

Du Bateau Négrier À L’Avion Négrier : Haïti, Les Puissances Esclavagistes Et Le Monde Noir, Cilas Kemedjio

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The main argument of this study may be outlined as follows: colonized communities in the world economy being integrated by means of “historical fatality” from slavery to colonialism and neo-colonialism. The counter-movement of decolonization, as exemplified in the Haitian revolution, was meant to propose a more humane outbreak of enslaved peoples on the world scene. The account of globalization reveals that Haiti was forced into the world economy through the modality of extortion, which denied the most vulnerable members of Haitian society their basic humanity. The failure of the Haitian revolution to reverse the course of historical fatality opened the …

Rationality, Tort Reform And Contingent Valuation: A Classroom Experiment In Starting Point Bias, Victor Matheson

Economics Department Working Papers

This simple classroom experiment demonstrates the existence of starting point bias. Asked to place a dollar value on a non-market good such as the loss of a limb or the destruction of a wetland, students place a much smaller value on the loss if a small value is first suggested by the questioner while placing a significantly higher value on the loss when a large value is originally suggested. This experiment can be used in theory classes to demonstrate the limits of individual rationality or in applied classes in law or environmental economics in relation to tort reform or contingent …

Fiscal Federalism And Its Discontents: Theory And Policy, Abu Girma Moges

International Conference on African Development Archives

A number of countries have pursued fiscal decentralization within a broad context of political and economic reforms to improve the performance of their public sector. Fiscal decentralization can potentially improve the allocation efficiency of the public sector and increase the capacity of a nation to address its pressing economic, social and political problems. The sustainability of such an approach is conditioned by the existence of effective democratic institutions and implementation capabilities. When political imperatives dictate the adoption of fiscal decentralization, however, the process would confront problems of the commons, capacity constraints and externalities that would limit the potential efficiency gains …

The Need For Standardization Of Aggregates For Concrete Production In Ethiopian Construction Industry, Abebe Dinku

International Conference on African Development Archives

Concrete is one of the versatile and widely used building material in the world construction industry. Fine and coarse aggregates make about 70% by volume of concrete production. It goes without saying that the quality of concrete is thus strongly influenced by aggregate’s physical and mechanical properties as well as chemical composition of the parent aggregate making material. This calls for a critical identification and classification of aggregates so that they are used to meet the intended purpose.

In this article, the physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of aggregates are reviewed. The sources and modes of production of coarse and …

Ethiopia In The World Economy: Trade, Private Capital Flows, And Migration, Kenneth A. Reinert

International Conference on African Development Archives

Economic globalization can be evaluated with reference to at least three dimensions: trade, private capital flows, and migration. For each of these dimensions, pathways can be identified through which economic globalization can alleviate or contribute to poverty. This paper makes a preliminary examination of the pathways between globalization and poverty for the case of Ethiopia. As one of the world’s poorest countries, Ethiopia’s integration with the world economy takes on specific features. It is highly dependent on the exports of a few goods, has imported a large amount of arms, is largely excluded from global FDI flows, benefits from relatively …

Socioeconomic Impact Of Export Oriented Agricultural Production On Farmers, In Eastern Ethiopia, Adem Kedir

International Conference on African Development Archives

This study was undertaken to assess the socio-economic impact of producing export oriented agricultural crops on the livelihoods of the farmers, in eastern Ethiopia. A random sample of 305 farmers was studied. Comparisons were made between producers and non-producers using the Z- test and regression analysis. It was found that producers of export oriented crops are better off than the non-producers in terms of sending children to elementary school, housing conditions and ability to finance their families’ food requirements. The impact of father’s education, number of children and livestock ownership on the improvements in the livelihoods of the farmers and …

The 3rd Eaf-Earo & Wmu-Cadpr International Symposium On Ethiopian Development Studies, June 18-19, 2005, The Ghion Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sisay Asefa

International Conference on African Development Archives

Introductory remarks for Third International Conference on Development Studies in Ethiopia, June 18-19, 2005, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Electoral Systems, Ethnic Fragmentation And Party Systems Volatility In 31 Sub Saharan African Countries, John Ishiyama

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper thus addresses two primary issues. What is the relationship between the types of electoral systems that have been used to govern initial elections in the democratizing states of Africa and the degree to which party systems volatility has emerged? What other factors impact on the levels of volatility? I examine the above questions using data from 31 African countries. I find that most of the factors often cited as impacting on party systems development do not account for the level of legislative volatility. However, the dominance of the ruling party in the first election following democratic transition does …

Integrated Agricultural Development Strategies In The Anrs: Lessons From The Amarew Project, Brhane Gebrekidan, Yitayew Abebe, Fekadu Yohannes, Elias Zerfu, Habtemariam Kassa

International Conference on African Development Archives

The Amhara Micro-enterprise development, Agricultural Research, Extension and Watershed management (AMAREW) Project is a USAID/Ethiopia Mission funded initiative established in July 2002 to provide technical assistance in integrated agricultural development in the Amhara National Regional State (ANRS). The Project works to strengthen agricultural research, extension, watershed management, capacity building, and micro-enterprise development in the ANRS by collaborating with its ANRS partners in strategically selected two pilot watershed sites and five pilot food-insecure woredas.

The Project is being implemented by a Virginia Tech led Consortium (Virginia Tech, Cornell University, Virginia State University and ACDI/VOCA) in collaboration with its ANRS Primary Partners …

Improved Har Inference Using Power Kernels Without Truncation, Peter C.B. Phillips, Yixiao Sun, Sainan Jin

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Employing power kernels suggested in earlier work by the authors (2003), this paper shows how to refine methods of robust inference on the mean in a time series that rely on families of untruncated kernel estimates of the long-run parameters. The new methods improve the size properties of heteroskedastic and autocorrelation robust (HAR) tests in comparison with conventional methods that employ consistent HAC estimates, and they raise test power in comparison with other tests that are based on untruncated kernel estimates. Large power parameter (ρ) asymptotic expansions of the nonstandard limit theory are developed in terms of the usual limiting …

The Evolution Of Our Preferences: Evidence From Capuchin-Monkey Trading Behavior, Keith M. Chen, Venkat Lakshminarayanan, Laurie Santos

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Behavioral economics has demonstrated systematic decision-making biases in both lab and field data. But are these biases learned or innate? We investigate this question using experiments on a novel set of subjects — capuchin monkeys. By introducing a fiat currency and trade to a capuchin colony, we are able to recover their preferences over a wide range of goods and risky choices. We show that standard price theory does a remarkably good job of describing capuchin purchasing behavior; capuchin monkeys react rationally to both price and wealth shocks. However, when capuchins are faced with more complex choices including risky gambles, …

A Two-Stage Realized Volatility Approach To The Estimation For Diffusion Processes From Discrete Observations, Peter C.B. Phillips, Jun Yu

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

This paper motivates and introduces a two-stage method for estimating diffusion processes based on discretely sampled observations. In the first stage we make use of the feasible central limit theory for realized volatility, as recently developed in Barndorff-Nielsen and Shephard (2002), to provide a regression model for estimating the parameters in the diffusion function. In the second stage the in-fill likelihood function is derived by means of the Girsanov theorem and then used to estimate the parameters in the drift function. Consistency and asymptotic distribution theory for these estimates are established in various contexts. The finite sample performance of the …

A Simple Approach To The Parametric Estimation Of Potentially Nonstationary Diffusions, Federico M. Bandi, Peter C.B. Phillips

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

A simple and robust approach is proposed for the parametric estimation of scalar homogeneous stochastic differential equations. We specify a parametric class of diffusions and estimate the parameters of interest by minimizing criteria based on the integrated squared difference between kernel estimates of the drift and diffusion functions and their parametric counterparts. The procedure does not require simulations or approximations to the true transition density and has the simplicity of standard nonlinear least-squares methods in discrete-time. A complete asymptotic theory for the parametric estimates is developed. The limit theory relies on infill and long span asymptotics and is robust to …

Robust Implementation: The Role Of Large Type Spaces, Dirk Bergemann, Stephen Morris

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

A social choice function is robustly implemented if every equilibrium on every type space achieves outcomes consistent with a social choice function. We identify a robust monotonicity condition that is necessary and (with mild extra assumptions) sufficient for robust implementation. Robust monotonicity is strictly stronger than both Maskin monotonicity (necessary and almost sufficient for complete information implementation) and ex post monotonicity (necessary and almost sufficient for ex post implementation). It is equivalent to Bayesian monotonicity on all type spaces. It requires that there not be too much interdependence of types. We characterize robust monotonicity for some interesting economic environments. We …

Banking Sector Reforms And Bank Consolidation: Conceptual Framework., Moses Ajayi

Bullion

Reforms are predicated upon the need for reorientation and repositioning of an existing status quo in order to attain an effective and efficient state The objective of this paper is, therefore, to present the conceptual framework for banking sector reforms. particularly, consolidation. The paper is divided into five sections. following the introduction, section ll conceptualizes the facets of reforms and conceptual issues on consolidation in the banking sector, while section ll discusses the critical success issues in banking sector consolidation. section IV presents concepts associated with country elements of banking elements of banking reforms, while section five concludes the paper. …

Banking Sector Reforms And Bank Consolidation: The Malaysian Experience., Okorie A. Uchendu

Bullion

This paper examines banking sector reform with particular reference to the Malaysian banking sector. The Malaysian banking sector which resulted from the Asian financial crises of the 1990s is the subject of the study. The paper is divided into four sections: following the introduction, section II covers conceptual issues in banking sector reform and bank consolidation. The Malaysian experience in banking sector reforms and bank consolidation is discussed in section III, while lessons for Nigeria and concluding remarks are presented in section IV. The paper highlights the response of the Malaysian authorities to the Asian financial crisis and identified the …

Banking Sector Reforms And Bank Consolidation: The Turkey Experience., U. M. Ogubunka

Bullion

Countries reform their banking sectors for a number of reasons, including structural, capitalization and ownership issues. Consequently, the objectives of the reforms can hardly be the same in all countries. This paper is presented on the basis that an overview of the banking reform in the lessons Nigeria could learn from it. The paper is structured into seven sections. the next section following this introduction identifies some of the key features of Turkish banking system pre-reform era of 2001, section three deals on the drivers of banking reform in the country. section four reviews some of the actions taken in …

Post-Consolidation Challenges., Biodun Adedipe

Bullion

This paper tend to look at the huge complexity of a consolidation programme of the kind embarked upon by the CBN demands caution, constant reappraisal of strategies and actions, and full attention to the identified and emerging challenges. The paper is structured into three parts, dealing with the benefits of a properly conceived and effectively implemented consolidation programme, which has several components. beyond the benefits, the challenges that the banking industry stakeholders (especially the Central Bank of Nigeria) will face when the "dust settles". The final part offers some advice on what the CBN and other stakeholders should do in …

Non-Performing Assets Of The Banking System In Nigeria: Complementary Measures., Moses F. Otu

Bullion

The article examines the structure of the non-performing assets of the banking system in Nigeria with the view of ascertaining loan concentration. further attempt would be made to examine the causes of deteriorating assets and explore the complementary options for managing the non-performing loans. Following an introduction as section one, the rest of the paper is thus: section two focuses on definitional and conceptual issues, section three covers the literature review while section four addresses the methodology and trend of non- performing assets and the sectoral contributions. Section five, presents the complementary options and the concluding remarks. The study concluded …

Nonstationary Discrete Choice: A Corrigendum And Addendum, Peter C.B. Phillips, Sainan Jin, Ling Hu

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We correct the limit theory presented in an earlier paper by Hu and Phillips (Journal of Econometrics, 2004) for nonstationary time series discrete choice models with multiple choices and thresholds. The new limit theory shows that, in contrast to the binary choice model with nonstationary regressors and a zero threshold where there are dual rates of convergence ( n 1 /4 and n 3 /4 ), all parameters including the thresholds converge at the rate n 3 /4 . The presence of non-zero thresholds therefore materially affects rates of convergence. Dual rates of convergence reappear when stationary variables are present …

Economics: The Next Physical Science?, J. Doyne Farmer, Martin Shubik, Eric Smith

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We review an emerging body of work by physicists addressing questions of economic organization and function. We suggest that, beyond simply employing models familiar from physics to economic observables, remarkable regularities in economic data may suggest parts of social order that can usefully be incorporated into, and in turn can broaden, the conceptual structure of physics.

Limit Theory For Moderate Deviations From A Unit Root Under Weak Dependence, Peter C.B. Phillips, Tassos Magdalinos

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

An asymptotic theory is given for autoregressive time series with weakly dependent innovations and a root of the form ρ n = 1 + c / n α , involving moderate deviations from unity when α in (0,1) and c in R are constant parameters. The limit theory combines a functional law to a diffusion on D[0,∞) and a central limit theorem. For c > 0, the limit theory of the first-order serial correlation coefficient is Cauchy and is invariant to both the distribution and the dependence structure of the innovations. To our knowledge, this is the first invariance principle of …

Natural Concepts In Macroeconomics, Ray C. Fair

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Ragnar Frisch proposed in 1936 a procedure for estimating natural variable values by modifying what are now called structural macroeconometric models. This paper shows that Frisch’s procedure can be used to illuminate natural concepts using today’s models. The procedure also forces one to be precise regarding the assumptions used in moving from a short-run model to a medium-run or long-run model.

Randomized Sign Test For Dependent Observations On Discrete Choice Under Risk, Anat Bracha, Jeremy Gray, Rustam Ibragimov, Boaz Nadler, Dmitry Shapiro, Glena Ames, Donald J. Brown

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

This paper proposes nonparametric statistical procedures for analyzing discrete choice models of affective decision making. We make two contributions to the literature on behavioral economics. Namely, we propose a procedure for eliciting the existence of a Nash equilibrium in an intrapersonal, potential game as well as randomized sign tests for dependent observations on game-theoretic models of affective decision making. This methodology is illustrated in the context of a hypothetical experiment — the Casino Game.

Economic Transition And Growth, Peter C.B. Phillips, Donggyu Sul

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Some extensions of neoclassical growth models are discussed that allow for cross section heterogeneity among economies and evolution in rates of technological progress over time. The models offer a spectrum of transitional behavior among economies that includes convergence to a common steady state path as well as various forms of transitional divergence and convergence. Mechanisms for modeling such transitions and measuring them econometrically are developed in the paper. A new regression test of convergence is proposed, its asymptotic properties are derived and some simulations of its finite sample properties are reported. Transition curves for individual economies and subgroups of economies …

Gmm With Many Moment Conditions, Chirok Han, Peter C.B. Phillips

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

This paper provides a first order asymptotic theory for generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators when the number of moment conditions is allowed to increase with the sample size and the moment conditions may be weak. Examples in which these asymptotics are relevant include instrumental variable (IV) estimation with many (possibly weak or uninformed) instruments and some panel data models covering moderate time spans and with correspondingly large numbers of instruments. Under certain regularity conditions, the GMM estimators are shown to converge in probability but not necessarily to the true parameter, and conditions for consistent GMM estimation are given. A …

A Note On A ‘Square-Root Rule’ For Reinsurance, Michael R. Powers, Martin Shubik

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

In previous work, the current authors derived a mathematical expression for the optimal (or “saturation”) number of reinsurers for a given number of primary insurers (see Powers and Shubik, 2001). In the current paper, we show analytically that, for large numbers of primary insurers, this mathematical expression provides a “square-root rule”; i.e., the optimal number of reinsurers in a market is given asymptotically by the square root of the total number of primary insurers. We note further that an analogous “fourth-root rule” applies to markets for retrocession (the reinsurance of reinsurance).