MikeLigalig.com

Jet Setting Tips for Getting From Heathrow to Gatwick

Clever travelers know that they can sometimes save money on their flights if they fly in and out of different airports during a stopover in London. When you are booking your flights you just might find that flying into Heathrow but flying out of Gatwick is the best option. However, this leaves you with one question: "What is the best way to get from Heathrow to Gatwick?"

Source: Jet Setting Tips for Getting From Heathrow to Gatwick

Indulge in Some Breathtaking Highlights of Vancouver

Vancouver is one of the most sought after cities on the planet that attract a lot of tourists from all over the world. The attractions are simply hard to refuse.

Source: Indulge in Some Breathtaking Highlights of Vancouver

Moving From One Airport To The Next

Sometimes when travelling, the need arises to connect planes. Again, the connecting planes may be only available at a different airport bringing up the need of getting airport transfer services.

Source: Moving From One Airport To The Next

Take Flights to Lisbon - A City of Dreams

Lisbon is one of the most sought after tourist destinations on the planet that are worth a visit. Its attractions are simply mind-blowing.

Source: Take Flights to Lisbon - A City of Dreams

Fantastic Tips For Your Travel Needs

Fed up with the hassle of travel by air? Check out our hot tips to make your next flying vacation go just that much smoother. Your family will thank you for making their airline travel experience that much more enjoyable and less stressful.

Source: Fantastic Tips For Your Travel Needs

Cool Tips to Avail of the Best Air Routes

Along with Mumbai, another prominent town in Maharashtra is Pune or Poona as it is called. It is one of the metropolitan cities of the country. Delhi and Bangalore are also major travel destinations for business tours and holiday trips. All the major cities are connected via flights through the air route.

Source: Cool Tips to Avail of the Best Air Routes

Flights Help You to Visit Places

Goa has remained an alluring travel location since time immemorial. The enchanting blend of the modern day culture combined with the age old Portuguese traditions is a major tourist attraction. The Basilica of the Born Jesus Church has accomplished global fame for respectfully preserving the mortal remains of St Francis Xaviers.

Source: Flights Help You to Visit Places

Navigating TSA Checkpoints: Getting Through Security Stress Free for Business Travel

For infrequent travelers, it seems every TSA experience is different. What are the latest changes to the security process, and which of those changes are most likely to slow passengers down?

Source: Navigating TSA Checkpoints: Getting Through Security Stress Free for Business Travel

Strategies for Hassle Free Business Travel

My advice is to travel light and travel easy. First off, your luggage is key. You want to have sturdy luggage with really good wheels that allow the bag to glide easily so you don't have to pull it too much. You have to make travel as easy on yourself as you possibly can.

Source: Strategies for Hassle Free Business Travel

10 Tips for Flying-With-Your-Preschooler

Being with your preschooler in 'normal' conditions is one thing but can you imagine adding the excitement and unknown of flying? Well you made the decision so let's think about the major potential crises points so that you are well prepared. The key is Be Prepared like a good Girl Guide or Boy Scout. Here is your Check-list!

Source: 10 Tips for Flying-With-Your-Preschooler

Flight Details for Travel Plans

Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi are the three major metropolitan cities of the country. The number of passengers to these cities increases on a daily basis and thus the air fare is reduced to a great extent. Read on to know more about the flight details and the attractive concessions offered on the plane tickets.

Source: Flight Details for Travel Plans

Airline Industry in a Quandary Over Fuel Surcharges and the Search for More Efficient Planes

Fuel prices rise and fall. Airlines passengers pay fuel surcharges that are added to airline ticket prices. When fuel prices go up passengers pay more, but when the prices fall many times passengers are not seeing reductions in fees. There are new laws, studies, and remedies available that passengers may soon notice in the near future.

Source: Airline Industry in a Quandary Over Fuel Surcharges and the Search for More Efficient Planes

Hidden Gems of Singapore

Singapore, 'the visitor's paradise' is a bustling city with countless tourist attractions and will be heavily crowded. However, there are several hidden gems in Singapore that are great for a perfect vacation. These unexplored and relatively less crowded places can soothe your nerves! Headout to few of Singapore's hidden gems to mix up with the local customs, culture and food.

Source: Hidden Gems of Singapore

Modern Airport Amenities Provide an Upscale Experience

These days a trip to the airport is more than just a necessity while waiting for a flight. The airport itself is becoming the destination by providing a number of upscale amenities such as movie theaters, yoga studios and museums for airline passengers.

Source: Modern Airport Amenities Provide an Upscale Experience

A Quick Guide to Comfortable Travel

This article aims to aid in the education of those who are preparing to travel via air. The article includes handy tips and suggestions to how passengers can relax and enjoy long distance flights.

Source: A Quick Guide to Comfortable Travel

Discover Mumbai - A City That Never Sleeps

Mumbai is the city that is filled with an adrenaline that takes its vacationers on a joy ride. Its attractions are worth a visit.

Source: Discover Mumbai - A City That Never Sleeps

Fly Away With Your Perfect Pilot Supplies

Being a qualified pilot is a fabulous job to have, not only is it high-flying job but it allows you to travel the world and, dress in a very smart uniform everyday. People might look at pilots and think they look good but what they don't realise is how much responsibility they have on their shoulders when controlling a huge piece of machinery which is also known as a plane!

Source: Fly Away With Your Perfect Pilot Supplies

How To Keep Your Child Entertained On Flights

As much as children enjoy travelling to other places, it cannot be helped that there are instances where they experience boredom during the trip (and some end up throwing tantrums). When this happens, adult travelers are often stressed during their airplane flights just trying to placate kids.

Source: How To Keep Your Child Entertained On Flights

How Airline Tickets Changed With Time

Over the past few decades, airlines have witnessed a significant amount of changes, most of which focus on making sure that the travel experiences of each and every passenger is made faster and easier. Back during the days when aircrafts were newly opened to the public, for example, the fee that the passengers pay are all the same and the seats that they take are all found in one room.

Source: How Airline Tickets Changed With Time

Things To Consider When Choosing Airport Transportation

People who are flying in groups should get an idea about the things that should be considered when choosing their airport transportation. Choosing appropriate airport transportation is an important part of arranging flights since it will help travellers arrive at the airport safely and promptly. Getting airport transportation also reduces the hassle and troubles on the part of the travellers.

Source: Things To Consider When Choosing Airport Transportation

Travel to Hawaii Come to Maui

Maui Airport is the only airport that accesses flights from the United States to the exotic island of Maui. This airport is located about 3 miles from Kahului and is found in between Western Maui and the Haleakala mountains. This airport spans across over 1,300 acres of land. The airport in Maui boasts of a number of impressive features like restaurants, duty-free shops, ample parking space and even unique facilities for specially challenged passengers or individuals.

Source: Travel to Hawaii Come to Maui

Discover Cheap Flights To Cape Town

Travelling to Cape Town is affordable as there are many cheap flights to Cape Town offering superb connections to choose from. On top of that they offer specials depending on the time of year and routing.

Source: Discover Cheap Flights To Cape Town

Avail Of the Best Flights to Explore Attractive Travel Locations

When you speak of alluring tourist spots in India, Goa and Delhi automatically spring to mind. Goa with its sandy, sun kissed beaches and boundless ocean beckon the tourists to visit. For history lovers a visit to Delhi is a must and the star attraction of Mumbai is the Bollywood film industry which produces innumerable entertaining movies to cater to the masses.

Source: Avail Of the Best Flights to Explore Attractive Travel Locations

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Booking

When preparing for a trip out of the country or even with domestic flights, there is always the question of actually going to an airline ticket agency for flight bookings or just going online and booking your flights through the airline's website. While you can actually choose which option would suit best for you, more and more people are leaning to the fact that doing online bookings for discount flights online is favorable, especially in a time where everything goes by so fast.

Source: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Booking

What To Do When Canceling A Flight

Sometimes, sudden changes in circumstances happen, which forces travelers to cancel their travel plan. No sufficient amount of preparation can be done when travel plans are abruptly changed. When this happens, it is possible that even booked flights will be cancelled since it cannot be used by the passengers anymore.

Source: What To Do When Canceling A Flight

5 Things To Consider Before Booking Flights

Too many times travelers rush when they book their flights. They forget about some of the consequences of such a hasty and rash decision. These types of travelers are in reality purchasing airline tickets at a much higher cost compared to those who know exactly what to consider right before booking a flight.

Source: 5 Things To Consider Before Booking Flights

Jet Charter for the Masses

The struggling economy has had an enormous impact on virtually every industry, and jet charter is no exception. As commercial airlines partner with hotels and popular tourist destinations, slash prices, and promise to do "whatever is necessary" to gain customers, the charter industry has sat quietly in the background watching these bidding ways play out across television screens and the web. One reason for this is that air charter tends to be substantially more expensive than standard commercial flights, due mainly to the fact that clients who opt for this mode of travel are renting an entire aircraft rather than...

Source: Jet Charter for the Masses

Liberal hopefuls to set rules to select single presidential candidate

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- Two leading liberal hopefuls agreed to begin consultations aimed at setting rules in fielding a single candidacy for the December vote, officials said Sunday.
   The move came during a telephone conversation between Moon Jae

Source: Liberal hopefuls to set rules to select single presidential candidate

Special counsel plans unprecedented raid on Cheong Wa Dae

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- A team led by special counsel Lee Kwang-bum has reportedly secured a search and seizure warrant for the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in connection with a controversial land deal for President Lee Myung-bak's now-scrapped

Source: Special counsel plans unprecedented raid on Cheong Wa Dae

(LEAD) Yomiuri Giants win Asia Series baseball title

(ATTN: ADDS comments)
By Yoo Jee-ho
   BUSAN, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- Japanese baseball champs Yomiuri Giants defeated the Lamigo Monkeys of Taiwan 6-3 to claim the 2012 Asia Series title here Sunday.
   At Sajik Stadium, about 450 kilometers southeast of

Source: (LEAD) Yomiuri Giants win Asia Series baseball title

S. Korean clubs fizzle at Asia Series on home soil

By Yoo Jee-ho
   BUSAN, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- The 2012 Asia Series baseball tournament closed here Sunday with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan beating the Lamigo Monkeys of Taiwan for the title, as the two South Korean participants were relegated to the role o

Source: S. Korean clubs fizzle at Asia Series on home soil

Yomiuri Giants win Asia Series baseball title

By Yoo Jee-ho
   BUSAN, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- Japanese baseball champs Yomiuri Giants defeated the Lamigo Monkeys of Taiwan 6-3 to claim the 2012 Asia Series title here Sunday.
   At Sajik Stadium, about 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, 20-year-old star

Source: Yomiuri Giants win Asia Series baseball title

Suspended nuclear reactor expected to resume operation early next month

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- A nuclear reactor, whose operation remains stalled while problematic parts are replaced, could resume generating electricity early next month, operators said Sunday.
   It is one of the two reactors which came to a halt ear

Source: Suspended nuclear reactor expected to resume operation early next month

Tourists rise on S. Korean islands bordering North

INCHEON, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- The number of tourists visiting the South Korean islands closest to the border with North Korea has steadily risen even after one of the islands sustained a deadly shelling by the North two years ago, their county office sa

Source: Tourists rise on S. Korean islands bordering North

Lee returns home from Southeast Asian trip

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak returned home Sunday from a trip to Indonesia and Thailand where he attended a regional democracy forum and held summit talks focused on boosting economic ties.
   Lee began the trip with the Bali Dem

Source: Lee returns home from Southeast Asian trip

S. Korea, Ecuador to strengthen safety of fishery products

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Ecuador will sign an agreement this week to strengthen the safety of fishery products being traded between the two countries, Seoul officials said Sunday.
   The agreement to be signed on Monday will require

Source: S. Korea, Ecuador to strengthen safety of fishery products

"A Werewolf Boy" draws 3 million viewers

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- Local romance movie "A Werewolf Boy" drew more than 3 million moviegoers last week, a rare feat for its genre, the Korean Film Council said Sunday.
   The film about a werewolf boy and his love interest who has a lung diseas

Source: "A Werewolf Boy" draws 3 million viewers

Taskforce launched to respond to prolonged low growth, interest rates

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's financial watchdog said Sunday that it has launched a taskforce to better gauge the impact of the prolonged sluggish economic growth and low interest rates on the domestic financial sector.
   The taskforce com

Source: Taskforce launched to respond to prolonged low growth, interest rates

(Copyright)

All information carried by the Yonhap News Agency, including articles, photographs, graphics, audio and video images, and illustrations (collectively, the content) is owned by the Yonhap News Agency.
   The use of the content for any other purposes o

Source: (Copyright)

(LEAD) Koo Ja-yeol selected as chairman of LS Group

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- Koo Ja-yeol, chairman of South Korea's top wire and cable maker LS Cable and System, has been selected to take over the helm of LS Group, group officials said Sunday.
   Koo will serve as the new chairman of LS Group, taking

Source: (LEAD) Koo Ja-yeol selected as chairman of LS Group

S. Korea's trade balance in cultural and entertainment products posts surplus

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's trade balance in music, movies, games and other entertainment products has posted a surplus so far this year, helped by the growing popularity of Korean culture, data showed Sunday.
   The trade surplus involvi

Source: S. Korea's trade balance in cultural and entertainment products posts surplus

(Yonhap Interview) World YWCA supports building awareness on women's rights in N. Korea

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- The president of the World Young Women's Christian Association (World YWCA) said the women's rights group advocates raising awareness and "providing support and solidarity with the women in North Korea."
   Deborah Thomas-A

Source: (Yonhap Interview) World YWCA supports building awareness on women's rights in N. Korea

Younger viewers spending less time in front of TV

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- Television viewer ratings among younger people have nearly halved over the past decade amid a rise of alternative Internet and mobile media, research showed Sunday.
   According to AGB Nielsen Media Research, the viewer rati

Source: Younger viewers spending less time in front of TV

Financial firms to eliminate up to 3,400 workers this year

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- Financial companies in South Korea will likely cut their workforces by up to 3,400 this year, industry data showed Sunday, pointing to harsh times that they are experiencing in the face of the prolonged economic slump.
   Ko

Source: Financial firms to eliminate up to 3,400 workers this year

S. Korean parliament allocates budget to guard against Japan's claim over Dokdo

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's parliament approved a sharply increased budget to be used to guard against Japan's claims over South Korea's easternmost islets, the foreign ministry said Sunday.
   The decision came as diplomatic tensions wit

Source: S. Korean parliament allocates budget to guard against Japan's claim over Dokdo

Ginseng exports decline as global economic doldrums continue

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's exports of ginseng and ginseng products shrank drastically this year due to dwindling demand for the health food amid a protracted global economic slump, the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. said Sunday.

Source: Ginseng exports decline as global economic doldrums continue

Mura man ug walay programa para sa mga balo sa atong nasud.

Will Obama read those words?

Regional integration and natural resources : who benefits ? evidence from MENA

This paper builds on theoretical predictions that show that gains from regional integration are unevenly distributed between resource rich and poor countries. It explores the effects of different integration schemes in the Middle East and North Africa. The results suggest that within the Pan Arab Free Trade Agreement, there is significant trade creation for resource poor countries associated with regional integration, and no evidence of trade diversion. In resource rich countries, however, there is evidence of pure trade diversion in both resource-rich/labor-abundant countries and resource-rich/labor-importing countries. This underscores the idea that regional integration can help to spread the benefits of unevenly distributed resource wealth among the region's economies.

Source: Regional integration and natural resources : who benefits ? evidence from MENA

Impact of hospital provider payment reforms in Croatia

Croatia began to implement case-based provider payment reforms in hospitals beginning in 2002, starting with broad-based categories according to therapeutic procedures. In 2009, formal diagnostic related groups were introduced, known locally as dijagnosticko terapijske skupine. This study examines the efficiency and quality impacts of these provider payment reforms globally on the Croatian health system by analyzing data on five procedures in acute health care for 10 years, between January 2000 and December 2009. The five procedures are cataracts, pneumonia, coronary bypass, appendectomy, and hip replacement. Using data from the Croatian Institute for Health Insurance, this study finds that both broad-based and detailed case-based payment systems have improved efficiency as measured by a reduction in average length of stay, with little impact on the number of cases. These provider payment reforms have had no adverse impact on quality as measured by readmissions. While it is still too early to quantify the impact of Croatia's introduction of formal diagnostic related groups, it appears that the introduction of both broad and detailed case-based payment systems has improved efficiency in acute hospital care.

Source: Impact of hospital provider payment reforms in Croatia

The law's majestic equality ? the distributive impact of litigating social and economic rights

Optimism about the use of laws, constitutions, and rights to achieve social change has never been higher among practitioners. But the academic literature is skeptical that courts can direct resources toward the poor. This paper develops a nuanced account in which not all courts are the same. Countries and policy areas characterized by judicial decisions with broader applicability tend to avoid the potential anti-poor bias of courts, whereas areas dominated by individual litigation and individualized effects are less likely to have pro-poor outcomes. Using data on social and economic rights cases in five countries, the authors estimate the potential distributive impact of litigation by examining whether the poor are over or under-represented among the beneficiaries of litigation, relative to their share of the population. They find that the impact of courts varies considerably across the cases, but is positive and pro-poor in two of the five countries (India and South Africa), distribution-neutral in two others (Indonesia and Brazil), and sharply anti-poor in Nigeria. Overall, the results of litigation are much more positive for the poor than conventional wisdom would suggest.

Source: The law's majestic equality ? the distributive impact of litigating social and economic rights

Trade causes growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

In the 1990s the mainstream consensus was that trade causes growth. Subsequent research shed doubt on the consensus view, as evidence suggested that the identification of the effect of trade on growth was problematic in the existing literature. This paper contributes to this debate by focusing on growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. It estimates the effect of openness to international trade on economic growth with panel data. Employing instrumental variables techniques that correct for endogeneity bias, the empirical evidence suggests that within-country variations in trade openness cause economic growth: a 1 percentage point increase in the ratio of trade over gross domestic product is associated with a short-run increase in growth of approximately 0.5 percent per year; the long-run effect is larger, reaching about 0.8 percent after ten years. These results are robust to controlling for country and time fixed effects as well as political institutions.

Source: Trade causes growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

Optimizing the size of public road contracts

Procurement packaging has important effects on not only the bidders' bidding behavior, but also contractors' performance. By changing the size of public contracts, procurers can encourage (or discourage) market competition and improve contract performance, avoiding unnecessary cost overruns and project delays. In practice, there is no single solution about how to package public contracts. With procurement data from road projects in Nepal, this paper examines the optimal size of road contracts in rural areas. The optimum varies depending on policy objectives. To maximize the bidder participation, the length of road should be about 11 kilometers. To minimize cost overruns and delays, the contracts should be much larger at 17 and 21 kilometers, respectively. Compared with the current procurement practices, the findings suggest that procurers take more advantage of enlarging road packages, although contracts that are too large may increase the risk of discouraging firms from participating in public tenders.

Source: Optimizing the size of public road contracts

Do migrants really foster trade ? the trade-migration nexus, a panel approach 1960-2000

Despite the burgeoning empirical literature providing evidence of a strong and robust positive correlation between trade and migration, doubts persist as to unobserved factors which may be driving this relationship. This paper re-examines the trade-migration nexus using a panel spanning several decades, which comprises the majority of world trade and migration in every decade. First the findings common to the literature are reproduced. Country-pair fixed effects are then used to account for unobserved bilateral factors, the implementation of which removes all of the positive impact of migration on trade. In other words the unobserved factors, a leading candidate for which it is argued is international bilateral ties, are on average strongly and positively correlated with migrant networks. Dividing the world into the relatively affluent North and poorer South, the results show that migrants from either region only affect Northern exports to the South. This is intuitive since in general countries of the North export more differentiated products and information barriers between these regions are greatest. A country-level analysis further shows that migrants may both create and divert trade. Taken as a whole, the results demonstrate the large biases inherent in cross-sectional studies investigating the trade-migration nexus and highlight the extent to which previous results have been overstated.

Source: Do migrants really foster trade ? the trade-migration nexus, a panel approach 1960-2000

Import protection, business cycles, and exchange rates : evidence from the great recession

This research estimates the impact of macroeconomic fluctuations on import protection policies over 1988:Q1-2010:Q4 for the United States, European Union, and three other industrialized economies. First, estimates on a pre-Great Recession sample provide evidence of three key relationships for the US and EU. Increases in domestic unemployment rates and real appreciations in bilateral exchange rates led to substantial increases in antidumping and related forms of import protection. Furthermore, economies historically imposed these bilateral import restrictions on trading partners going through their own periods of weak economic growth. Second, estimates from the pre-Great Recession model predict a major trade policy response during 2008:Q4-2010:Q4, given the realized macroeconomic shocks. New US and EU trade barriers were projected to cover up to an additional 15 percentage points of nonoil imports, well above the baseline level of 2-3 percent of import coverage immediately preceding the crisis. Third, re-estimating the model on data from the Great Recession period illustrates why the realized trade policy response differed from model predictions based on historical data. While exchange rate movements played an important role in limiting new import protection, the US and EU also "switched" from their historical behavior during the Great Recession and shifted new import protection toward trading partners experiencing economic growth and away from those that were contracting.

Source: Import protection, business cycles, and exchange rates : evidence from the great recession

How bribery distorts firm growth : differences by firm attributes

How corruption affects economic performance has been studied for over a decade. Yet the lack of detailed firm-level data has limited research regarding who is carrying the real burden of corruption. This study shows that for firms in the Latin America and Caribbean region, bribery significantly distorts firm growth. Firms that pay bribes when conducting business transactions -- such as applying for permits, electricity, or water connections -- have 24 percent lower annual sales growth than firms that do not face such solicitations. Moreover, these distortions are more severe for low-revenue-generating and young firms. Using the instrumental variables method, the authors show that these results are robust to different specifications and the use of different sub-samples.

Source: How bribery distorts firm growth : differences by firm attributes

Pharmaceutical patents and prices : a preliminary empirical assessment using data from India

The enforcement of stringent intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical sector of developing countries generates considerable controversy, due to both the extensive research investment and the public policy importance of this sector. This paper explores the likely effects of enforcing product patents on prices and utilization of drugs in the Central Nervous System market in India. The Central Nervous System segment is the second largest therapeutic category in terms of retail sales in the world and is one of the fastest growing segments in India. Using information on product patents granted by the government and panel data on pharmaceutical prices and utilization from 2003-2008, the paper finds limited evidence of overall price increase following the introduction of product patents. However, there appear to be heterogeneous effects on prices by the type of product patent granted on drugs, implying the need for a careful examination of the product patent portfolio.

Source: Pharmaceutical patents and prices : a preliminary empirical assessment using data from India

Experiments in culture and corruption : a review

Two decades of empirical evaluation have shown that corruption has a negative impact on economic growth, political stability, judicial effectiveness, democratization, educational attainment, and equality of income. However, corruption exists, persists, and varies significantly by culture. Lab studies have recently come to the forefront in identifying both the incentives and disincentives for corrupt behavior. However, lab studies on culture and corruption have led to some puzzling, contradictory results. This paper begins with a discussion of non-experimental work in this area, and evaluates the experimental findings in the context of earlier research. The authors sketch out the channels through which culture interacts with corruption (through institutions and social norms), and argue that discrepancies in experimental results may be due to differences in design (including repetition or unobserved variation in beliefs) or to differences in the response to punishment across societies. In addition to exploring design-based reasons for previous contradictory findings, avenues for future research include: behavioral responses to different types of externalities; replicating results in different countries; and utilizing the lab to formulate effective anti-corruption measures.

Source: Experiments in culture and corruption : a review

The health effects of universal health care : evidence from Thailand



Source: The health effects of universal health care : evidence from Thailand

The impacts of public hospital autonomization : evidence from a quasi-natural experiment



Source: The impacts of public hospital autonomization : evidence from a quasi-natural experiment

Promoting intellectual property monetization in developing countries : a review of issues and strategies to support knowledge-driven growth

This paper outlines and evaluates several intellectual property monetization strategies available to patent holders in developing countries that help generate domestic innovation and knowledge-driven growth by promoting more active technology markets. Based on a review of World Intellectual Property Report indicators, the patent ownership gap between a sample of developed and developing countries has narrowed gradually for more technologically-sophisticated developing countries. However, based on complementary International Monetary Fund Balance of Payments data, the patent commercialization divide (as indicated by licensing income) has been widening. The paper argues that patents, and all forms of intellectual property, are an enabling mechanism rather than a defensive right: an intangible asset class that can be proactively nurtured and managed for greater value extraction to stimulate knowledge-based entrepreneurship and growth in developing countries. The paper presents multiple case studies of alternative monetization strategies to address the commercialization divide. These strategies range from private, market-driven options to those requiring a greater amount of public policy support: from patent securitization and patent exchanges (focusing on the United States-initiated Intellectual Property Exchange International and the Shanghai Silicon Intellectual Property Exchange), to the strengthening of technology transfer and commercialization infrastructure (focusing on the experience of the Association of University Technology Managers and Taiwan, China's Intellectual Property Rights Institute), to patent litigation support (including South Korea's support of patent infringement lawsuit costs for small and medium enterprises). The paper also highlights areas where further policy research would be helpful.

Source: Promoting intellectual property monetization in developing countries : a review of issues and strategies to support knowledge-driven growth

Unlocking Bangladesh-India trade : emerging potential and the way forward

The primary objective of this study is to analyze the impact on Bangladesh of increased market access in India, both within a static production structure and also identifying dynamic gains. The study shows that Bangladesh and India would both gain by opening up their markets to each other. Indian investments in Bangladesh will be very important for the latter to ramp up its exports, including products that would broaden trade complementarity and enhance intra-industry trade, and improve its trade standards and trade-handling capacity. A bilateral Free Trade Agreement would lift Bangladesh's exports to India by 182 percent, and nearly 300 percent if transaction costs were also reduced through improved connectivity. These numbers, based on existing trade patterns, represent a lower bound of the potential increase in Bangladesh's exports arising from a Free Trade Agreement. A Free Trade Agreement would also raise India's exports to Bangladesh. India's provision of duty-free access for all Bangladeshi products (already done) could increase the latter's exports to India by 134 percent. In helping Bangladesh's economy to grow, India would stimulate economic activity in its own eastern and north-eastern states. Challenges exist, however, including non-tariff measures/barriers in both countries, excessive bureaucracy, weak trade facilitation, and customs inefficiencies. Trade in education and health care services offers valuable prospects, but also suffers from market access issues. To enable larger gains, Bangladesh-India cooperation should go beyond goods trade and include investment, finance, services trade, trade facilitation, and technology transfer, and be placed within the context of regional cooperation.

Source: Unlocking Bangladesh-India trade : emerging potential and the way forward

Protection in good and bad times ? the Turkish green card health program

This paper evaluates the equity and financial protection implications of the expansion of the Green Card (Yesil Kart) non-contributory health insurance program in Turkey during the growth years from 2003 to 2008. It also considers the program's protective impact during the economic crisis in 2009. The authors find that the rapid expansion of the program between 2003 and 2008 was highly progressive. It led to significant gains in coverage of the poor but offered limited financial protection as out-of-pocket expenditures even before the introduction of the program had been limited. Using a specialized welfare monitoring survey, fielded in 2009, the authors estimate the impact of the program on household level health care utilization during the first phase of the economic slowdown in Turkey. Using three different estimation techniques, they find that the Green Card program had a significantly positive impact on protecting health care utilization during the crisis.

Source: Protection in good and bad times ? the Turkish green card health program

Antidumping and market competition: implications for emerging economies

While the original justification of the antidumping laws in the industrial economies was to protect domestic consumers against predation by foreign suppliers, by the early 1990s the laws and their use had evolved so much that the opposite concern arose. Rather than attacking anti-competitive behavior, dumping complaints by domestic firms were being used to facilitate collusion among suppliers and enforce cartel arrangements. This paper examines the predation and anti-competitiveness issues from the perspective of the "new users" of antidumping -- the major emerging economies for which antidumping is now a major tool in the trade policy arsenal. The paper examines these concerns in light of important ways in which the world economy and international trading system have been changing since the early 1990s, including more firms and more countries participating in international trade, but also more extensive links among suppliers and consumers through multinational firm activity and vertical specialization.

Source: Antidumping and market competition: implications for emerging economies

Bancassurance -- a valuable tool for developing insurance in emerging markets

Bancassurance is the process of using a bank's customer relationships to sell life and non-life insurance products. In some developed countries it has had a dramatic impact on developing sales volumes, attaining market shares in excess of 50 percent in life and more than 10 percent in non-life. By contrast, in other developed countries it has had much lower impact. Its strategic benefits to developing countries are wide ranging. This paper discusses the potential of Bancassurance to contribute to the growth and the stability that both life and non-life insurance products can bring to developing countries. The details of how some approaches work better than others, and how regulation and consumer protection issues can impact such development, are reviewed here, together with a discussion of regulatory policy issues and recommendations for best practice. The paper provides a detailed study of the operation of Bancassurance in a major developed market (France). This is contrasted with a further study in a developing market (Mexico). A short summary draws together the key implications for developing countries.

Source: Bancassurance -- a valuable tool for developing insurance in emerging markets

There goes gravity : how eBay reduces trade costs

This paper compares the impact of distance, a standard proxy for trade costs, on eBay and offline international trade flows. It considers the same set of 62 countries and the same basket of goods for both types of transactions, and finds the effect of distance to be on average 65 percent smaller on the eBay online platform than offline. Using interaction variables, this difference is explained by a reduction of information and trust frictions enabled through online technology. The analysis estimates the welfare gains from a reduction in offline frictions to the level prevailing online at 29 percent on average. Remote countries that are little known, with weak institutions, high levels of income inequality, inefficient ports, and little internet penetration benefit the most, as online markets help overcome government and offline market failures.

Source: There goes gravity : how eBay reduces trade costs

Visualizing Uncertainties, or how Albert Hirschman and the World Bank disagreed on project appraisal and development approaches

Since its birth in 1944, the World Bank has had a strong focus on development projects. Yet, it did not have a project evaluation unit until the early 1970s. An early attempt to conceptualize project appraisal had been made in the 1960s by Albert Hirschman, whose undertaking raised high expectations at the Bank.  Hirschman's conclusions -- published first in internal Bank reports and then, as a book in 1967 -- disappointed many at the Bank, primarily because they found it impractical. Hirschman wanted to offer the Bank a new vision by transforming the Bank's approach to project design, project management and project appraisal. What the Bank expected from Hirschman, HOWEVER, was not a revolution but an examination of the Bank's projects and advice on how to make project design and management more measurable, controllable, and suitable for replication. The history of this failed collaboration provides useful insights on the unstable equilibrium between operations and evaluation within the Bank. In addition, it shows that the Bank actively participated in the development economics debates of the 1960s. This should be of interest for development economists today who reflect on the future of their discipline emphasizing the need for a non-dogmatic approach to development. It should also be of interest for the Bank itself, which is stressing the importance of evaluation for effective development policies. The history of the practice of development economics, using archival material, can bring new perspectives and help better understand the evolution of this discipline.

Source: Visualizing Uncertainties, or how Albert Hirschman and the World Bank disagreed on project appraisal and development approaches

Psychology and behavioral economics lessons for the design of a green growth strategy

A green growth agenda requires policy makers, from local to supranational levels, to examine and influence behavior that impacts economic, social, and environmental outcomes on multiple scales. Behavioral and social change, in addition or conjunction with technological change, is thus a crucial component of any green growth strategy. A better understanding of how and why people consume, preserve, or exploit resources or otherwise make choices that collectively impact the environment has important and far-reaching consequences for the predictive accuracy of more sophisticated models, both of future states of the world and of the likely impact of different growth strategies and potential risk management strategies. The prevailing characterization of human decision making in policy circles is a rational economic one. Reliance on the assumptions of rational choice excludes from consideration a wide range of factors that affect how people make decisions and therefore need to be considered in predictions of human reactions to environmental conditions or proposed policy initiatives. In addition, a more complete and more fully descriptive understanding of decision processes provide powerful tools for policy design that complement legal or economic instruments or may lead to more effective implementation of such policy instruments.

Source: Psychology and behavioral economics lessons for the design of a green growth strategy

Tools for assessing the costs and benefits of green growth : the U.S. and Mexico

This paper examines the processes used in the United States and Mexico to assess the economic costs and benefits of environmental improvement, the kinds of information obtained from these procedures, and the additional knowledge that is needed about both elements to improve understanding of the problems and prospects of advancing a green growth agenda. Because environmental and other development needs are large and resources are limited, it is important to choose the best projects, those with the highest returns on both public investments and private resources harnessed by regulation. The United States is well-established as a world leader in the use of quantitative methods to evaluate options for environmental regulation and policy. Mexico represents a case where a developing country has made clear advances in reforming its economy and in introducing transparency in its regulatory processes for environmental and other policy areas.

Source: Tools for assessing the costs and benefits of green growth : the U.S. and Mexico

Correcting real exchange rate misalignment : conceptual and practical issues

This paper studies the issue of real exchange rate misalignment and the difficulties in settling international real exchange rate disputes. The authors show theoretically that determining when a country should be sanctioned for real exchange rate "manipulations" is difficult: in some situations a country's real exchange rate targeting can be beneficial to other countries, while in others it is not. Regardless, it is difficult to establish whether a misaligned real exchange rate is intentionally manipulated rather than unintentionally caused by other policies or by various distortions in the economy. The paper continues by illustrating the difficulty in measuring real exchange rate misalignment, and provides a critical assessment of existing methodologies. It concludes by proposing a new method for measuring real exchange rate misalignment based on differences in marginal products between producers of tradable and non-tradable goods.

Source: Correcting real exchange rate misalignment : conceptual and practical issues

Should Wall-Street be occupied ? an overlooked price externality of financial intermediation

Does an unregulated financial system absorb too many productive inputs? This paper studies this question in the context of a dynamic model with heterogeneous producers. In the absence of a financial system, the only way to purchase inputs is using internal funds. Producers are subject to idiosyncratic productivity shocks, and will decide to produce only if their productivity is high enough. Otherwise, they will hold money. A financial intermediation technology allows producers to purchase inputs in excess of their internal funds, by borrowing from unproductive agents. However, intermediation requires the use of costly monitoring services. In equilibrium, intermediation increases the money in circulation and raises nominal prices, thereby reducing the value of internal funds and making producers increasingly reliant on costly monitoring services. For this reason, society is better off when intermediation is restricted.

Source: Should Wall-Street be occupied ? an overlooked price externality of financial intermediation

Green industrial policy : trade and theory

This paper studies the reality and the potential for green industrial policy. It provides a summary of the green industrial policies, broadly understood, for five countries. It then considers the relation between green industrial policies and trade disputes, emphasizing the Brazil-United States dispute involving ethanol and the broader United States-China dispute. The theory of public policy provides many lessons for green industrial policy. The authors highlight four of these lessons, involving the Green Paradox, the choice of quantities versus prices with endogenous investment, the coordination issues arising from emissions control, and the ability of green industrial policies to promote cooperation in reducing a global public bad like carbon emissions.

Source: Green industrial policy : trade and theory

The cost of adjustment to green growth policies : lessons from trade adjustment costs

Green growth policies confront firms and workers with adjustments that may create welfare costs for different segments of the population and cause reductions in near-term actual versus potential gross domestic product. There is little evidence on the cost of adjustment to climate change measures, and only limited evidence for more general environmental policies, especially in developing countries. Therefore, this paper canvasses the research on adjustment costs to trade policies to draw analogies and highlight differences compared with the potential impacts of green growth policies. Trade policies affect prices and work directly on technology choice. In the presence of adjustment costs, firms may experience impacts on wages, employment, and incentives to adopt alternative technologies. Both types of trade policy impacts may be amplified by technology availability and credit constraints. Many green growth policies are likely to work via the same mechanisms, that is, taxes on emissions or changes in technology requirements. However, trade liberalization is typically seen as offering higher total incomes, albeit with winners and losers. Green growth policies are thought of as welfare-enhancing at the collective level but may not be income-enhancing at the individual level. This implies much more difficulty in measuring the potential gains associated with green growth policies.

Source: The cost of adjustment to green growth policies : lessons from trade adjustment costs

Self-employment in the developing world

This paper analyzes heterogeneity among the self-employed in 74 developing countries, representing two-thirds of the population of the developing world. After profiling how worker characteristics vary by employment status, it classifies self-employed workers outside agriculture as "successful" or "unsuccessful" entrepreneurs, based on two measures of success: whether the worker is an employer, and whether the worker resides in a non-poor household. Four main findings emerge. First, jobs exhibit a clear pecking order, with household welfare and worker education highest for employers, followed by wage and salaried employees, non-agricultural own-account workers, non-agricultural unpaid family workers, and finally agricultural workers. Second, a substantial minority of own-account workers reside in non-poor households, suggesting that their profits are often a secondary source of household income. Third, as per capita income increases, the structure of employment shifts rapidly, first out of agriculture into unsuccessful non-agricultural self-employment, and then mainly into non-agricultural wage employment. Finally, roughly one-third of the unsuccessful entrepreneurs share similar characteristics with their successful counterparts, suggesting they have the potential to be successful but face constraints to growth. The authors conclude that although interventions such as access to credit can benefit a substantial portion of the self-employed, effectively targeting the minority of self-employed with higher growth potential is important, particularly in low-income contexts. The results also highlight the potential benefits of policies that facilitate shifts in the nature of work, first from agricultural labor into non-agricultural self-employment, and then into wage and salaried jobs.

Source: Self-employment in the developing world

The patterns and determinants of household welfare growth in Jordan : 2002-2010

Jordan's economic growth in the past decade has translated into a significant rise in household consumption and a decline in poverty and inequality indicators. Yet, the sentiment of the overall population seems to point to worsening disparities. Using official household expenditure surveys for 2002, 2008, and 2010, this paper analyzes the patterns and determinants of household welfare growth and examines the extent to which economic growth has been inclusive of the more vulnerable groups. Using counterfactual decompositions, the paper dwells first on the dynamics observed behind the drop in poverty and inequality. It then carries out regression analysis using re-centered influence functions to examine the economic determinants of household welfare growth throughout the decade. The paper finds that welfare growth as opposed to welfare distribution was the main driver behind poverty reduction, and that the drop in inequality was primarily driven by a regional catching-up effect. In addition, the analysis identifies rent, access to human capital services, and more importantly employment in the services sector and the public sector as the major determinants of welfare growth in Jordan. Public hiring in particular was used extensively as a tool for poverty alleviation, especially for residents outside the capital.

Source: The patterns and determinants of household welfare growth in Jordan : 2002-2010

Is better information always good news ? international corporate strategy and regulation

This paper develops a simple model to analyze the interaction between strategic corporate public good provision, international firm location and national regulation. An information-based strategic corporate public good provision mechanism is proposed to shed light on recent firm behavior within different regulatory environments. The main insight derived is that in the presence of firms with geographic flexibility (multinational enterprises) and market provision of an international public credence good, unilateral (non-cooperative) regulatory scope depends on (1) the absolute probabilities to verify firms' corporate public good provision levels within different geographic and institutional environments, and (2) the differential between these probabilities across countries. The relative information asymmetry determines not only the market levels of the public good produced under autarky, but also the relocation incentives of multinational enterprises. A firm trades off lower production costs, which increase its competitiveness in pricing, with higher expected informational price premiums, which decrease its competitiveness. A government's ability to regulate above market (corporate public good provision) levels decreases with the absolute level of foreign transparency, while it increases in the relative (positive) difference between the same transparency at home and abroad. This may not only explain mixed empirical evidence of theoretic propositions such as the Pollution Haven Hypothesis and Regulatory Race to the Bottom dynamics, but also open up interesting policy implications as the international information playing field becomes leveled through development, while existing regulations are rather rigid, and policy coordination remains limited.

Source: Is better information always good news ? international corporate strategy and regulation

Long-term impacts of global food crisis on production decisions : evidence from farm investments in Indonesia

Did the rise in food prices have a long-term impact on agricultural production? Using household-level panel data from seven provinces of Indonesia, this paper finds that the price shock created a forward-looking incentive to invest, which can dynamically enhance productivity in agriculture. It also finds that the impact of the price shock on investment behavior differs by initial wealth. In response to price increases, wealthy farmers invested more in productive assets, while poor farmers increased their financial savings as well as consumption. Price spikes relax liquidity constraints, which increases investments among the richer while do so savings and consumptions among the poor, possibly leading to diverging income inequality in the long run.

Source: Long-term impacts of global food crisis on production decisions : evidence from farm investments in Indonesia

Benchmarking global poverty reduction

Against what standards should we judge the developing world's overall performance against poverty going forward? The paper proposes two measures, each with both "optimistic" and "ambitious" targets for 2022, 10 years from the time of writing. The first measure is absolute consumption poverty, as judged by what "poverty" means in the poorest countries. The second is a new measure of global poverty combining absolute poverty with country-specific social inclusion needs, consistently with national poverty lines. The optimistic benchmark would entail an absolute poverty rate of 9 percent in 2022, and a combined poverty rate of 40 percent, including the allowance for social inclusion. The more ambitious targets would bring the absolute rate down to 3 percent and the combined rate to 33 percent. The optimistic target would maintain the (impressive) progress against poverty of the last 20 years, without global crises to stall that progress. The ambitious target would require about a 1 percentage point higher growth rate for the gross domestic product of the developing world, as long as this did not come with a reduction in the household sector's share or any further increase in overall inequality beyond its level in 2008. Alternatively, the 3 percent target could be reached at currently expected growth rates but at the lower level of inequality found in 1999.

Source: Benchmarking global poverty reduction

Tax capacity and tax effort : extended cross-country analysis from 1994 to 2009

One of the important factors for economic development is the existence of an effective tax system. This paper deals with the concept and empirical estimation of countries' taxable capacity and tax effort. It employs a cross-country study from a sample of 110 developing and developed countries during 1994-2009. Taxable capacity refers to the predicted tax-to-gross domestic product ratio that can be estimated empirically, taking into account a country's specific macroeconomic, demographic, and institutional features, which all change through time. Tax effort is defined as an index of the ratio between the share of the actual tax collection in gross domestic product and taxable capacity. The use of tax effort and actual tax collection benchmarks allows the ranking of countries into four different groups: low tax collection, low tax effort; high tax collection, high tax effort; low tax collection, high tax effort; and high tax collection, low tax effort. The analysis provides broad guidance for tax reforms in countries with various levels of taxable capacity and revenue intake.

Source: Tax capacity and tax effort : extended cross-country analysis from 1994 to 2009

The role of sectoral growth patterns in labor market development

This paper investigates the relationship between sectoral growth patterns and employment outcomes. A broad cross-country analysis reveals that in middle-income countries, employment responds more to growth in less productive and more labor-intensive sectors. Employment in middle-income countries is susceptible to a resource curse, and grows rapidly in response to manufacturing and export manufacturing growth. Within Brazil, Indonesia, and Mexico, the effects of different sectoral growth patterns are context dependent, but differences in sectoral growth effects on employment and wages are substantially reduced in states or provinces with higher measured labor mobility. Consistent with this, aggregate employment and wage effects of growth by sector are close to uniform when examined over longer time horizons, after labor has an opportunity to adjust across sectors. The results reinforce the importance of growth in more labor-intensive sectors, and suggest that job mobility may be an important mechanism to diffuse the benefits of capital-intensive growth.

Source: The role of sectoral growth patterns in labor market development

There goes gravity : how eBay reduces trade costs

This paper compares the impact of distance, a standard proxy for trade costs, on eBay and offline international trade flows. It considers the same set of 62 countries and the same basket of goods for both types of transactions, and finds the effect of distance to be on average 65 percent smaller on the eBay online platform than offline. Using interaction variables, this difference is explained by a reduction of information and trust frictions enabled through online technology. The analysis estimates the welfare gains from a reduction in offline frictions to the level prevailing online at 29 percent on average. Remote countries that are little known, with weak institutions, high levels of income inequality, inefficient ports, and little internet penetration benefit the most, as online markets help overcome government and offline market failures.

Source: There goes gravity : how eBay reduces trade costs

Income risk, income mobility and welfare

This paper develops a framework for the quantitative analysis of individual income dynamics, mobility and welfare. Individual income is assumed to follow a stochastic process with two (unobserved) components, component representing measurement error or transitory income shocks and an Autoregressive (AR(1)) component representing persistent changes in income. The analysis uses a tractable consumption-saving model with labor income risk and incomplete markets to relate income dynamics to consumption and welfare, and derive analytical expressions for income mobility and welfare as a function of the various parameters of the underlying income process.  The empirical application of the framework using data on individual incomes from Mexico provides striking results. Much of measured income mobility is driven by measurement error or transitory income shocks and therefore (almost) welfare-neutral. A smaller part of measured income mobility is due to either welfare-reducing income risk or welfare-enhancing catching-up of low-income individuals with high-income individuals, both of which have economically significant effects on social welfare. Decomposing mobility into its fundamental components is thus seen to be crucial from the standpoint of welfare evaluation.

Source: Income risk, income mobility and welfare

The great recession and the future of cities

This paper describes the serious fiscal crisis faced by cities around the world following the Great Recession of 2008. Five years later, the after-effects of this major crisis continue to be felt and limit economic opportunities in cities. Section 1 summarizes how the crisis was triggered and how it unfolded in the US, then spread to the rest of world -- highlighting the links between financial sector and housing sector. Section 2 discusses the impact of the crisis on urban revenue and expenditure, and the stimulus programs and recovery plans devised as a short term response by cities around the world.  Section 3 then discusses longer term strategies to ensure the financial, social and environmental sustainability of cities. The authors make the point -- and back up our assertions with specific examples -- that urban decision-makers must take a long view and find ways to create opportunities for their citizens, making sure that their decisions are financially sustainable in the long term. Today's decisions should not lock cities out of options tomorrow, and cities must be managed with flexibility so as to adapt to unforeseen new circumstances. The authors also argue that, while there has been a lot of talk about "smart cities" and new technologies among urban specialists and urban planners, it is ultimately the focus on basic economics (sustainable financing, providing good services to consumers and  incentives for providers), good governance and good institutions that will create sustainable, dynamic and livable cities.

Source: The great recession and the future of cities

The surprising effects of the great recession : losers and winners in Thailand in 2008-2009



Source: The surprising effects of the great recession : losers and winners in Thailand in 2008-2009

Global income inequality by the numbers : in history and now --an overview--

The paper presents an overview of calculations of global inequality, recently and over the long-run as well as main controversies and political and philosophical implications of the findings. It focuses in particular on the winners and losers of the most recent episode of globalization, from 1988 to 2008. It suggests that the period might have witnessed the first decline in global inequality between world citizens since the Industrial Revolution. The decline however can be sustained only if countries' mean incomes continue to converge (as they have been doing during the past ten years) and if internal (within-country) inequalities, which are already high, are kept in check. Mean-income convergence would also reduce the huge "citizenship premium" that is enjoyed today by the citizens of rich countries.

Source: Global income inequality by the numbers : in history and now --an overview--

Visualizing Uncertainties, or how Albert Hirschman and the World Bank disagreed on project appraisal and development approaches

Since its birth in 1944, the World Bank has had a strong focus on development projects. Yet, it did not have a project evaluation unit until the early 1970s. An early attempt to conceptualize project appraisal had been made in the 1960s by Albert Hirschman, whose undertaking raised high expectations at the Bank.  Hirschman's conclusions -- published first in internal Bank reports and then, as a book in 1967 -- disappointed many at the Bank, primarily because they found it impractical. Hirschman wanted to offer the Bank a new vision by transforming the Bank's approach to project design, project management and project appraisal. What the Bank expected from Hirschman, HOWEVER, was not a revolution but an examination of the Bank's projects and advice on how to make project design and management more measurable, controllable, and suitable for replication. The history of this failed collaboration provides useful insights on the unstable equilibrium between operations and evaluation within the Bank. In addition, it shows that the Bank actively participated in the development economics debates of the 1960s. This should be of interest for development economists today who reflect on the future of their discipline emphasizing the need for a non-dogmatic approach to development. It should also be of interest for the Bank itself, which is stressing the importance of evaluation for effective development policies. The history of the practice of development economics, using archival material, can bring new perspectives and help better understand the evolution of this discipline.

Source: Visualizing Uncertainties, or how Albert Hirschman and the World Bank disagreed on project appraisal and development approaches

Sri Lanka : from peace dividend to sustained growth acceleration

Following the cessation of hostilities in May 2009, the Government of Sri Lanka has announced a suitably ambitious macroeconomic vision to capitalize on the peace dividend. Its goals include growing at 8 percent or more per year and lowering government indebtedness from around 80 to 60 percent of GDP by 2015. This paper's main finding is that while some post-conflict bounce is only to be expected, sustaining high growth presents significant challenges. A substantial rise in the national investment and savings rates will be needed to sustain growth rates of 8 percent even when accompanied by a significant rise in total factor productivity growth. With the government's balance sheet constrained by its desire to lower public indebtedness, private investment will need to become the engine of growth. This places high priority on better infrastructure, clear signals about the relative roles of the public and private sectors, and hard budget constraints and competition both to strengthen the investment climate and spur technological upgrading in pursuit of faster productivity growth.

Source: Sri Lanka : from peace dividend to sustained growth acceleration

What's new in the new industrial policy in Latin America ?

Latin America was an aggressive practitioner of industrial policies (IP) in the years 1950-1980. During much of the period the general practice was in line with the then mainstream thinking in development economics. Significant growth, industrialization and modernization took place, but serious flaws in concept and execution of the IP caused them to fail as a vehicle for economic catch-up with rich countries in an era of an expansive world economy. A very serious Latin American external debt crisis in the 1980s, coupled with the ascendance in international discourse of arguments for retrenchment of the State in economics and life, contributed to a pendulum swing in the region to the policies of the so-called Washington Consensus. Major structural adjustments and reforms designed to bring the free market forward and push back the market governance of the State dominated the 1980s and 1990s. In recent years, however, countries in Latin America have witnessed a renaissance in the deployment of systematic IP. This paper explains why IP have emerged and why they are a necessary step for the more profound structural change needed to drive sustained high rates of growth. Based on illustrated cases which we think reflect the current state of affairs in the region, the paper highlights the nature of the shift to a more proactive state promotion of industrial and services upgrading, as well as the important new characteristics of the current outbreak of IP which are different from the ones of the past and offer hope for greater success. It also identifies a legacy of some bad habits which linger and need to be addressed with urgency if the new trend is to be successfully consolidated.

Source: What's new in the new industrial policy in Latin America ?

Bancassurance -- a valuable tool for developing insurance in emerging markets

Bancassurance is the process of using a bank's customer relationships to sell life and non-life insurance products. In some developed countries it has had a dramatic impact on developing sales volumes, attaining market shares in excess of 50 percent in life and more than 10 percent in non-life. By contrast, in other developed countries it has had much lower impact. Its strategic benefits to developing countries are wide ranging. This paper discusses the potential of Bancassurance to contribute to the growth and the stability that both life and non-life insurance products can bring to developing countries. The details of how some approaches work better than others, and how regulation and consumer protection issues can impact such development, are reviewed here, together with a discussion of regulatory policy issues and recommendations for best practice. The paper provides a detailed study of the operation of Bancassurance in a major developed market (France). This is contrasted with a further study in a developing market (Mexico). A short summary draws together the key implications for developing countries.

Source: Bancassurance -- a valuable tool for developing insurance in emerging markets

What are we learning from business training and entrepreneurship evaluations around the developing world ?

Business training programs are a popular policy option to try to improve the performance of enterprises around the world. The last few years have seen rapid growth in the number of evaluations of these programs in developing countries. This paper undertakes a critical review of these studies with the goal of synthesizing the emerging lessons and understanding the limitations of the existing research and the areas in which more work is needed. It finds that there is substantial heterogeneity in the length, content, and types of firms participating in the training programs evaluated. Many evaluations suffer from low statistical power, measure impacts only within a year of training, and experience problems with survey attrition and measurement of firm profits and revenues. Over these short time horizons, there are relatively modest impacts of training on survivorship of existing firms, but stronger evidence that training programs help prospective owners launch new businesses more quickly. Most studies find that existing firm owners implement some of the practices taught in training, but the magnitudes of these improvements in practices are often relatively modest. Few studies find significant impacts on profits or sales, although a couple of the studies with more statistical power have done so. Some studies have also found benefits to microfinance organizations of offering training. To date there is little evidence to help guide policymakers as to whether any impacts found come from trained firms competing away sales from other businesses versus through productivity improvements, and little evidence to guide the development of the provision of training at market prices. The paper concludes by summarizing some directions and key questions for future studies.

Source: What are we learning from business training and entrepreneurship evaluations around the developing world ?

Distortions to agriculture and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

To what extent has Sub-Saharan Africa's slow economic growth over the past five decades been due to price and trade policies that discouraged production of agricultural relative to non-agricultural tradables? This paper uses a new set of estimates of policy induced distortions to relative agricultural prices to address this question econometrically. First, the authors test if these policy distortions respond to economic growth, using rainfall and international commodity price shocks as instrumental variables. They find that on impact there is no significant response of relative agricultural price distortions to changes in real GDP per capita growth. Then, the authors test the reverse proposition and find a statistically significant and sizable negative effect of relative agricultural price distortions on the growth rate of Sub-Saharan African countries. The fixed effects estimates yield that, during the 1960-2005 period, a ten percentage points increase in distortions to relative agricultural prices decreased the region's real GDP per capita growth rate by about half a percentage point per annum.

Source: Distortions to agriculture and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

How firms use domestic and international corporate bond markets

This paper provides the first comprehensive documentation of how firms use domestic and international corporate bond markets. Debt issues in domestic and international markets have different characteristics, not explained by differences across firms or countries. International issues tend to be larger, of shorter maturity, denominated in foreign currency, include more fixed rate contracts, and entail lower yields. These patterns remain when analyzing issues by firms from countries with more developed domestic markets and higher financial integration, and even when comparing issues conducted by the same firm in different markets. These findings are consistent with the views that (1) frictions limit the ability of investors and firms to enter into certain contracts in certain markets, (2) domestic and international markets provide distinct financial services and firms use them as complements, and (3) firms with access to domestic and international markets enjoy advantages relative to those that rely solely on domestic markets.

Source: How firms use domestic and international corporate bond markets

Sovereign defaults and expropriations : empirical regularities

This paper uses a large cross-country dataset to empirically examine factors associated with sovereign defaults on external private creditors and expropriation of foreign direct investments in developing countries since the 1970s. In the long run, sovereign defaults and expropriations are likely to occur in the same countries. In the short run, however, these events are uncorrelated. Defaults are more likely to occur following periods of rapid debt accumulation, when growth is low, and in countries with weak policy performance, and defaults are not strongly persistent over time. In contrast, expropriations are not systematically related to the level of foreign direct investment, to growth, or to policy performance. Expropriations are however less likely under right-wing governments, and are strongly persistent over time. There is also little evidence that a history of recent defaults is associated with expropriations, and vice versa. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for models that emphasize retaliation as means for sustaining sovereign borrowing and foreign investment in equilibrium, as well as the implications for political risk insurance against the two types of events.

Source: Sovereign defaults and expropriations : empirical regularities

Demystifying China's fiscal stimulus

China's government economic stimulus package in 2008-09 appears to have worked well. It seems to have been about the right size, included a number of appropriate components, and was well timed. Its subnational component was designed to maximize the impact of the stimulus package on the economy and minimize the potential procyclical elements that are usually built into subnational fiscal mechanisms in federal countries. Moreover, China's massive fiscal stimulus played an important role in the overall recovery of the global economy. Using a simple analytical framework, this paper focuses on two key factors behind the success of the stimulus: investments in bottleneck-easing infrastructure projects and countercyclical nature of subnational spending based on the assumption that well-chosen infrastructure projects could improve business climate and thereby crowd in the private investment. The paper concludes that the expansionary subnational government spending played a key role in strengthening the overall impact of the stimulus and sustaining growth. It also highlights the importance of public investment quality and cautions about the sustainability of local government financing through the domestic banking system and increases in local governments off balance sheet or contingent liabilities. These lessons may be of particular relevance today for China, as well as other countries, in formulating policy response to another global economic slowdown or crisis, possibly as a result of the Eurozone turmoil. For China, investing in urban infrastructure and green economy, as well as in higher quality and better targeted social services, will be crucial for improving income inequality and inducing a more inclusive growth path.

Source: Demystifying China's fiscal stimulus

Determinants of Tanzanian export prices

. This paper uses firm-level data to study the pricing-behavior of Tanzanian exporters. The important question of how exporting firms make pricing decisions has not received significant attention in the trade literature, which is more focused on factors that determine export flows. The results of the paper show that the free on board price of Tanzanian exports is differentiated both across exporters -- within product-destination pairs -- and across markets -- within firm-product pairs. Moreover, contrasting with existing evidence, price differentiation across destinations seems to be mainly relevant for homogenous goods. This result could indicate either that goods classified as homogeneous can potentially be differentiated by their intrinsic quality (such as coffee), or that firms charge different mark-ups in different markets. Although further work is needed to confirm what leads to price dispersion, allowing for the possibility that food products can be vertically differentiable amplifies the spectrum of existing opportunities for developing countries to exploit product differentiation and market niches. The study also discusses the implications of the empirical findings in light of the predictions of price and quality competition models, but finds that the results cannot be explained by a single trade model of quality or price competition.

Source: Determinants of Tanzanian export prices

Innocent bystanders : how foreign uncertainty shocks harm exporters

The failure of trade economists to anticipate the extreme drop in trade post Lehman Brothers bankruptcy suggests that the behavior of trade in exceptional circumstances may still be poorly understood. This paper explores whether uncertainty shocks have explanatory power for movements in trade. VAR estimations on United States data suggest that domestic uncertainty is a strong predictor of movements in imports, but has little effect on exports. Guided by these results, the paper estimates a bilateral model with focus on the impact of importer uncertainty  on foreign suppliers. It finds that there is a strong negative relationship between uncertainty and trade and that this relationship is non-linear. Uncertainty matters most when its levels are exceptionally high. The paper does not find evidence of learning from past turmoils, suggesting that prior experience with major uncertainty shocks does not reduce the effect on trade. In line with the expectations, the negative effect of uncertainty shocks on trade is higher for trade relationships more intensive in durable goods. Surprisingly, however, the effect of durability is non-linear. Supply chain considerations or the possibility that the relationships with the highest durability lead to important compositional effects may have a bearing on the results. The results are robust to excluding the post Lehman shock, suggesting that the trade response during the 2008-2009 crisis has been similar to  past uncertainty events.

Source: Innocent bystanders : how foreign uncertainty shocks harm exporters

The impact of business environment reforms on new firm registration

This paper uses panel data on the number of new firm registrations in 91 countries to study how the ease of registering a business and the magnitude of registration reforms affect new firm registrations. The authors find that the costs, days and procedures required to start a business are important predictors of the number of new firm registrations. However, they find that small reforms, in general less than a 40 percent reduction in procedures or 50 to 60 percent reduction in costs and days, do not have a significant effect on new registrations. They also find important synergies in multiple reforms of two or more business environment indicators. Finally, they show that countries with relatively weaker business environments prior to reforms require relatively larger reforms in order to impact the number of newly registered firms.

Source: The impact of business environment reforms on new firm registration

What explains big gender disparities in India ? local industrial structures and female entrepreneurship

Despite rapid economic growth, gender disparities in women's economic participation have remained deep and persistent in India. What explains these huge gender disparities? Is it poor infrastructure, limited education, and gender composition of the labor force and industries? Or is it deficiencies in social and business networks and a low share of incumbent female entrepreneurs?This paper analyzes the spatial determinants of female entrepreneurship in India in the manufacturing and services sectors. Good infrastructure and education predict higher female entry shares. There are strong agglomeration economies in both manufacturing and services, where higher female ownership among incumbent businesses within a district-industry predicts a greater share of subsequent entrepreneurs will be female. Moreover, higher female ownership of local businesses in related industries (similar labor needs, input-output markets) predicts greater relative female entry rates. Gender networks thus clearly matter for women's economic participation. However, there is a need to develop a better understanding of how gender networks influence aggregate efficiency. There is no doubt that gender empowerment can be the escalator to realizing human potential and for creating a robust platform for growth and job creation.

Source: What explains big gender disparities in India ? local industrial structures and female entrepreneurship

International trade and green growth

This paper reviews the challenges and opportunities raised by international trade for developing countries considering a green growth strategy. A key concern is the effect of environmental policies on international competitiveness. For production-generated pollution, there is evidence that stringent environmental policy reduces some indicators of competitiveness, but the effect is small in most sectors. However, tightening up environmental standards is unlikely to reduce international competitiveness when pollution is generated by consumption. And where depletion of natural capital is a threat, effective environmental policy is an important component of a policy aimed at developing long-run international competitiveness. The effects of trade on environmental policy, the interaction between trade and technology transfer, and the interaction between trade and transboundary environmental problems are also reviewed. An emerging issue is the potential use of border taxes to curtail carbon leakage. The paper discusses some of the possible responses by developing countries. Some work has indicated that export taxes or voluntary export restraints applied to carbon-intensive production in non-coalition countries may be preferable to a carbon tariff regime. The paper concludes by suggesting some topics for further research.

Source: International trade and green growth

Trade in a 'green growth' development strategy : global scale issues and challenges

This paper surveys the state of knowledge about the trade-related environmental consequences of a country's development strategy along three channels: (i) direct trade-environment linkages (overexploitation of natural resources and trade-related transport costs); (ii) 'virtual trade' in emissions resulting from production activities; and (iii) the product mix attributes of a 'green-growth' strategy (environmentally preferable products and goods for environmental management). Trade exacerbates over-exploitation of natural resources in weak institutional environments, but there is little evidence that differences in environmental policies across countries has led to significant 'pollution havens.' Trade policies to 'level the playing field' would be ineffective and result in destructive conflicts in the World Trade Organization. Lack of progress at the Doha Round suggests the need to modify the current system of global policy making.

Source: Trade in a 'green growth' development strategy : global scale issues and challenges