Growth and Development Commons^™

Levers For Change -- Philanthropy In Select South East Asian Countries, Prapti Upadhyay Anand, Crystal Hayling

Lien Centre for Social Innovation: Research

Explosive economic growth in South East Asia has resulted in unparalleled wealth creation. Forbes magazine reports there are 386 billionaires in the Asia Pacific region. While the region’s emerging economies report hopeful signs of a broadening middle class, income inequality is rising faster than living standards for the majority. There is widespread agreement that the stark income disparity must be addressed or it risks threatening political and social stability. For those interested in the social economy, key questions remain unanswered: first, will philanthropic giving match the fast pace of wealth accumulation, and second, will that philanthropy be strategic and targeted …

The Impact Of Fdi And Trade Openness On The Economic Growth Of The Transition Economies, Regina Castro

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines effects of FDI inflows and trade openness on economic growth of three former Soviet Union economies: Kazakhstan, Armenia and Ukraine. The study uses a regression model that incorporates data sets for the period from 1992 to 2011 obtained from the World Bank. The regression result indicates that FDI inflows are positively correlated to the economic growth of the transition economies. However, impact of FDI would vary for each specific country depending on the degree of capacity of the host country to use FDI efficiently. Trade openness has also a positive effect on the real GDP per capita …

The Predictive Power Of Commodity Futures Prices On South American Equity Markets, Aadithyan Manivannan

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the futures United States futures market the returns on the South American stock market. In particular the paper focuses on three key commodities—industrial sugar, copper, and coffee. The study looks into methods to isolate the effect of the United States commodity market from the returns of the equity exchanges in both the United States and South America. Once isolated, the relationship between the selected commodities and South American stock market returns can be estimated through quantitative analysis.

Determinants Of Non-Oil Export And Economic Growth In Nigeria: An Application Of The Bound Test Approach, Samson Adeniyi Aladejare, Abdulwahab Saidi

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

The effects of the recent global economic crises on Nigeria’s economy have reaffirmed the urgent need for economic diversification in the country. Although no country is immune to such global crises, the over reliance on oil export revenue by Nigeria expose her economy excessively to external shocks. Therefore, this research examines the impact of aggregate non-oil sector and its determinant on economic growth. The bound test approach was explored to examine the long and short run effects of the non-oil export and its ensuing determinants. The result reveals a significant effect of non-oil export on economic growth in both the …

Balancing Preservation And Promotion Of Natural Resources: A Case Study Of Newaygo County, Michigan, Jeffrey Koch

Student Research – Stevenson Center

Natural resource management (NRM) involves a multitude of levels and interests. Options for sustainable management must involve all stakeholders and balance levels of decision-makers, whether local, regional, or national. No one-size-fits-all approach applies to NRM; instead, co-management of resources and multi-stakeholder collaborations assist in achieving sustainable solutions, given the multiple interest groups involved in the commons. Through good governance, flexibility to change, and community engagement efforts, NRM has a better chance for success and sustainability.

Clearly, natural resources cross governmental boundaries and jurisdictions, and NRM strategies must compensate for this dynamic. The region of West Michigan contains a wealth of …

Ubiquitous Consumer-Centric System To Combating Product Counterfeiting And Boosting Entrepreneurship In Developing Economies, Kingsley C. Nwosu

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

Counterfeiting has been a menacing problem to global economies; however, it has been more devastating to developing and under-developed countries as a result of its impacts on various aspects of the economic development and health conditions of those countries. The consequences are abundantly documented, evidential and troubling. In addition to the fact that counterfeiting results in distribution of fake, cheap, and substandard products, it has very dissuasive effects on the entrepreneurial fabrics of a society. As various governments and agencies attempt to combat the menace and mitigate the consequences, the perpetuators are becoming even more sophisticated and resolute – encouraged …

The Effect Of Natural Disasters On Volunteerism, Alexander P. Kalish

CMC Senior Theses

The power of natural disasters to significantly and drastically alter the lives of the people they touch is vast, and the response rate of the provided aid can be the difference between a successful recovery and not. This study examines the relationship between natural disasters and volunteerism. The analysis makes use of panel data measurements on volunteer rate and volunteer hours per resident as well as FEMA measurements of major natural disasters from 2005 – 2012. I find that states that experience a natural disaster in the current year experience a significant and positive increase in volunteer rate in the …

Who Is The Customer? Identifying The Initial Adopters Of Formal Savings. Field Evidence From Malawi, Karan Saggi

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines household characteristics as determinants of formal savings accounts in rural Malawi. The main questions answered in this paper include the effects of household characteristics on the probability of having formal savings, the amounts saved in these accounts, and the probability of adopting formal savings. The central discussion aims to identify the initial adopters of formal savings accounts, using a marketing approach previously unapplied to this area of research. This paper also contributes to the dialogue of the household composition by considering three untried variables: number of adults, number of children, and literacy of all household members. Results …

Africa Rising: Corruption & Foreign Direct Investment Inflows, Kunaal A. Chande

CMC Senior Theses

Using a panel data set spanning from 2005 to 2012 and drawn from 35 Sub-Saharan

African countries, this paper examines the relative impact of corruption on the

inflow of foreign direct investment. This study is motivated by the recent influx of

political and media attention on the African continent that is poised to receive

billions of dollars in investment over the coming years. It is argued in this paper that

there is no significant link between the two variables. There did appear to be a

negative skew meaning higher levels of perceived corruption resulted in less FDI

inflows, while few …

Monitoring The Philippine Economy Year-End Report For 2013, Mitzie Irene P. Conchada

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Philippine economic growth for the year 2013 exceeded expectations – posting a 7.2 growth despite devastation brought about by the Zamboanga crisis and natural calamities. Economic performance: Upward trend in the demand side was driven by consumer spending and domestic investment; on the other hand, the main growth factor for the supply side was the services sector.

Study On Investment In Water And Wastewater Infrastructure And Economic Development, Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center For Public Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management Publications

The Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management in the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston was tasked by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Advisory Board (MWRAAB) with asking and answering a very fundamental question relating to public infrastructure: “What is the relationship between investment in water and wastewater infrastructure and economic growth?” To do so, Center staff not only researched the positive results of investing in infrastructure, but also took time to consider what failing to invest in adequate water and wastewater infrastructure might mean. Additionally, the Center …

Food Imports Under Foreign Exchange Constraints In The Cfa’S Franc Zone Of Sub-Saharan Africa (Ssa), Seydina Ousmane Sene

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

To respond to the high imported food prices in their domestic markets, net food importing countries in the Communauté Financière Africaine (CFA) zone^[1] are adjusting their import tariffs and homologate domestic prices of imported commodities such as rice, wheat, maize, and sugar. This research uses a multivariate specification of error correction model (VECM) of estimation to investigate the link between food imports, world price index of rice, wheat, maize and sugar, real effective exchange rates, domestic food production, GDP, and trade openness in the short and long run. The data are on each homogenous commodity from 1969 to 2012. …

Macroeconomic Effects And Microeconomic Determinants Of Fertility, Maria R. Apostolova-Mihaylova

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

This dissertation focuses on the relationship between the education-based fertility gap and economic growth and on policy as a determinant of fertility.

In the first essay I evaluate the impact of differential fertility (the difference between fertility rates of women with high educational attainment and women with low educational attainment) on economic growth by accounting for critical marginal effects and the general level of educational attainment in a given country. I also examine the possibility that this effect varies based on level of inequality and income levels. I find that for a less developed country with high income inequality, higher …

The Role Of Polices In Speeding The Demographic Transition: A Case Study Of Some East Asian Countries And Lessons Learnt, Sarah El-Khishin, Magued Osman, Heba Nassar

Economics

برزت إشكالية البحث عندما أكدت توقعات مستقلبية دولية عديدة قدرة الاقتصاد المصري على تحقيق طفرات تنموية ناتجة من معدلات نمو متسارعة خلال العقود المقبلة قد تمكنها من أن تصبح ضمن أسرع دول العالم من حيث معدلات النمو. ولكن هذه التقارير ربطت قدرة الاقتصاد المصري على تحقيق هذه الطفرات باستغلاله مقومات التنمية التي كان من أهمها فرصة النافذة الديمغرافي( ١)، حيث يتميز الهيكل العمري للسكان في مصر حالي ً ا بوجود شريحة كبيرة ومتزايدة منهم في سن العمل؛ نتيجة لتراجع معدلات وفيات الأطفال والخصوبة، وهو الأمر الذي يمثل مورد ً ا هام ً ا في عملية التنمية وإمكانية كبيرة للمساهمة في …

Cracking The Code On Stem: A People Strategy For Nevada's Economy Executive Summary, Jessica A. Lee, Mark Muro, Jonathan Rothwell, Scott Andes, Siddharth Kulkarni

Brookings Mountain West Publications

Nevada has in place a plausible economic diversification strategy—and it’s beginning to work. Now, the state and its regions need to craft a people strategy. Specifically, the state needs to boost the number of Nevadans who possess at least some postsecondary training in the fields of science, technology, engineering, or math—the so-called “STEM” disciplines (to which some leaders add arts and design to make it “STEAM”).

The moment is urgent—and only heightened by the projected worker needs of Tesla Motors’ planned “gigafactory” for lithium-ion batteries in Storey County.

Even before the recent Tesla commitment, a number of the more high-tech …

Does U.S. Macroeconomic News Make Emerging Financial Markets Riskier?, Esin Cakan, Nadia Doytch, Kamal P. Upadhyaya

Publications and Research

This study analyzes the impacts of US macroeconomic announcement surprises on the volatility of twelve emerging stock markets by employing asymmetric GJR-GARCH model. The model includes both positive and negative surprises about inflation and unemployment rate announcements in the U.S. We find that volatility shocks are persistent and asymmetric. Asymmetric volatility increases with bad news on US inflation in five out of the twelve countries studied and it increases with a bad news on U.S. unemployment in four out of twelve countries. Asymmetric volatility decreases with good news about US employment situation in eight countries out of twelve countries. Such …

Diplomacy & Negotiation, Liefke M. Cox

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

Over the course of history when women have been involved in the diplomatic, political, social, and economic structure of a country it has been found they are one of the key ingredients to building an effective and stable democracy. Investing in women strengthens the back bone of any society. Top CEO’s, such as Tupperware’s Rick Goings and Warren Buffett, have also publically supported this assumption. I argue that women in different societies have traits that have been instilled in them culturally which in turn translate directly to their ability to handle diplomatic situations and business negotiations. Societies, however intentionally or …

Housing The Workforce Following The Canterbury Earthquakes In New Zealand, Yan Chang-Richards, Suzanne J. Wilkinson, Erica Seville, David Brundson

International Institute for Infrastructure Resilience and Reconstruction (I3R2) Conference

Temporary housing following a large-scale disaster has a positive effect on household welfare and community recovery. Following the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, a shortage of temporary accommodation created barriers for the outside construction workforce to engage in repairs and rebuild in Christchurch. This study investigates the impacts of housing shortages for the overall recovery and the strategies adopted by both households and the workforce in the building industry. Findings suggest that the interplay among the industry strategies and household strategies for securing housing determines the magnitude and scope of economy-wide inflation. One unfortunate consequence of these industry strategies is …

Meeting The Challenge Of Reconstruction And Development In Fragile States: Lessons From Aceh, Haiti, And South Sudan, Josef Leitmann

International Institute for Infrastructure Resilience and Reconstruction (I3R2) Conference

Reconstruction and development in poor, fragile countries present a double challenge: tackling the issues of poverty and underdevelopment as well as the constraints posed by instability, poor governance, and weak capacity. This context generates a range of problems that include: insecurity, insufficient planning, inadequate implementation capacity, poor financial management, misprocurement, corruption, a volatile fiscal environment, ineffective donor coordination, and negative environmental and social impacts. The paper draws lessons from positive and negative experiences in meeting these challenges in three conflict- and/or disaster-affected cases: Aceh Province, Indonesia (postdisaster reconstruction and postconflict development following the tsunami and earthquakes of 2004), Haiti (postdisaster …

Coexistence Of Gm, Conventional And Organic Food Not Always Possible, Konstantinos Giannakas

CAFIO: Policy Research Group Policy Pagers

The coexistence of genetically modified (GM) products with their conventional and organic counterparts has been one of the most scrutinized issues surrounding the introduction of products of agricultural biotechnology into the agri-food system. Fears that the widespread adoption of GM products will drive their conventional (and, perhaps, organic) counterparts out of the market have been countered by arguments that their presence enhances the equilibrium product variety in the market. Central to the argument is, of course, the possibility of coexistence of GM, conventional and organic products with the main focus having been on farm production systems and the prospect of …