scholarly journals New evidence on corruption and government debt from a global country panel

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 1009-1027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Apergis ◽  
Nicholas Apergis
Keyword(s):  
Public Debt ◽  
Shadow Economy ◽  
Government Debt ◽  
School Enrollment ◽  
Smooth Transition ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tax Revenues ◽  
Non Linear ◽  
Per Capita

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between corruption and government debt through a regime-based approach. Design/methodology/approach The empirical analysis makes use of a panel of 120 countries, spanning the period 1999–2015. The study makes use of the Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR) methodological approach, as well as two alternative measures of corruption. Findings The empirical results document that the relationship between corruption and debt is non-linear, while a strong threshold effect was present as well. Public debt appears to respond faster to a high corruption regime compared to a low corruption regime, while an increase in the size of the shadow economy, government expenses, the inflation rate, interest payments on debt and military expenditure all increased the debt to GDP ratio. By contrast, an increase in GDP per capita, the secondary school enrollment ratio and the ratio of tax revenues to GDP led to a fall in the debt to GDP ratio. The findings survive certain robust checks when the role of the 2008 financial crisis is explicitly considered, as well as when two separate country samples were considered, i.e. developed vs developing countries. Practical implications Governments should aim to control both corruption and the size of the shadow economy if they really wish to reduce any high levels of their public debt. As debt levels respond faster to high corruption regimes, it is necessary that measures to reduce corruption are complemented by higher GDP per capita growth rates, enrolment rates and higher tax revenues. Originality/value The novelty of the paper is that it investigates for the first time, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the presence of non-linearity between corruption and government debt. It proposes non-linear panel cointegration and causality tests, as well as a non-linear panel error correction model that allows for smooth changes between regimes, hence, examining causal relationships in each regime separately.

Fraud abroad

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-275
Author(s):  
Jake David Hoskins ◽  
Ryan Leick
Keyword(s):  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Reviews ◽  
Online Customer Reviews ◽  
Level Of Economic Development ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Developed Nations

Purpose This study aims to investigate a sharing economy context, where vacation rental units that are owned and operated by individuals throughout the world are rented out through a common website: vrbo.com. It is posited that gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, a common indicator of the level of economic development of a nation, will impact the likelihood that prospective travelers will choose to book accommodations in the sharing economy channel (vs traditional hotels). The role of online customer reviews in this process is investigated as well, building upon a significant body of extant research which shows their level of customer decision influence. Design/methodology/approach An empirical analysis is conducted using data from the website Vacation Rentals By Owner on 1,940 rental listings across 97 countries. Findings GDP per capita serves as risk deterrent to prospective travelers, making the sharing economy an acceptable alternative to traditional hotels for the average traveler. It is also found that the total number of online customer reviews (OCR volume) is a signal of popularity to prospective travelers, while the average star rating of those online customer reviews (OCR valence) is instead a signal of accommodation quality. Originality/value This study adds to a growing agenda of research investigating the effect of online customer reviews on consumer decisions, with a particularly focus on the burgeoning sharing economy. The findings help to explain when the sharing economy may serve as a stronger disruptive threat to incumbent offerings. It also provides the following key insights for managers: sharing economy rental units in developed nations are more successful in driving booking activity, managers should look to promote volume of online customer reviews and positive online customer reviews are particularly influential for sharing economy rental booking rates in less developed nations.

The role of EU cohesion policy in promoting smart and sustainable competitiveness in the regions of the Visegrad countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malgorzata Dziembala
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Inclusive Development ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Cohesion Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Visegrad Group ◽  
Visegrád Countries ◽  
Diagnostic Variables

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the competitiveness of the regions of the Visegrad countries (Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) with respect to their sustainability and discuss the role of the EU cohesion policy in promoting regional competitiveness in this dimension. Design/methodology/approach The sustainable competitiveness of Visegrad Group countries was analysed with the use of a taxonomic method, to determine the regions with the highest, middle and low level of the sustainable development (competitiveness). The level of sustainable competitiveness of the Visegrad regions was indicated based on the author’s own set of diagnostic variables which define three dimensions of sustainability. Findings The analysis revealed that the regions of the Visegrad Group countries with high GDP per capita are not necessarily ranked high in terms of sustainable competitiveness. The obtained results confirm the assumption that traditional indicators such as GDP per capita do not capture all aspects of social and environmental sustainability. Thus, the cohesion policy in the Visegrad Group countries should be diversified and adjusted to the special needs of the regions with particular emphasis being laid on sustainability dimension and the level of their economic development. When identifying the directions of support under the cohesion policy, special attention should be paid to the development of modern technologies, including information and communication technology (ICT), that facilitate the transformation of regions towards the smart regions path. Research limitations/implications Because of the data availability, it covers only one year, 2014, where it was possible. Further investigation should focus on the comparison of the changes over a certain period and changes that took place in the ranking. In addition, a detailed analysis of the regions with regard to their development of the “sustainable path” should be considered. It is essential to support less developed regions in the field of the sustainable and inclusive development through cohesion policy which is supported in 2014-2020. However, it is also important to promote the ICT investment in the lagging regions. Practical implications The analysed 35 regions of the Visegrad countries were ranked according to their level of sustainable competitiveness. The three groups of regions were distinguished. The first place in the ranking was occupied by the region which recorded the highest value of the TMC – a taxonomic measure of sustainable competitiveness and the last region – it is the region with the lowest value of the TMC. Originality/value The paper discusses the concept of sustainable competitiveness of regions. The level of sustainable competitiveness of the Visegrad regions was indicated based on the own set of diagnostic variables which define three dimensions of sustainability. The paper makes a contribution to the discussion on the regional smart and sustainable competitiveness and the role of EU cohesion policy in supporting the sustainable competitiveness.

Public debt, corruption and shadow economy in Africa: an empirical analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Owusu-Nantwi ◽  
Gloria Owusu-Nantwi
Keyword(s):  
Public Debt ◽  
Shadow Economy ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Correction Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Vector Error Correction ◽  
Vector Error ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Policies And Programs

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of corruption and shadow economy on public debt in 51 African countries. In addition, the study explores the causal linkage between corruption, shadow economy and public debt.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs vector error correction model and Kao cointegration test to examine the long-run relationship between corruption, shadow economy and public debt in Africa.FindingsThe study finds a positive and statistically significant relationship between corruption and public debt. Further, the study reports a positive and statistically significant effect of shadow economy on public debt. In the short run, the study finds a unidirectional causal relationship between corruption, shadow economy and public debt with the direction of causality running from corruption and shadow economy to public debt, respectively.Practical implicationsThis study recommends that countries should pursue policies and programs that would provide resources to agencies tasked with the responsibility of fighting corruption. This would ensure that countries have effective institutions that curb vulnerabilities to corruption and reduce the size of the shadow economy and public debt.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by showing how corruption and shadow economy affects public debts of African countries. To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first attempt to examine this relationship in the context of Africa.

Zagreb city boss’s death will upend Croatian politics

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
National Average ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Ruling Party

Significance Municipal elections on May 16 will be particularly significant in Zagreb, where Bandic’s death lays wide open Croatia’s third-most-important political contest, after those for parliament and the presidency. His 20-year rule of Croatia’s capital was dogged by accusations of corruption, including a spell in prison awaiting trial. He died with the Agram case and an appeal against acquittal in another case undecided. Impacts Bandic was a key HDZ ally in the capital, where the ruling party has little traction. His well-established network of political and business associates could try to survive under new leadership. Zagreb is a key political prize in Croatia, with GDP per capita twice the national average and one-fifth of the population.

Harnessing foreign aid for the poor: role of institutional democracy

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 1689-1710
Author(s):  
Eric Akobeng
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Ssa Countries

PurposeThis paper examines the relationship between foreign aid, institutional democracy and poverty. The paper explores the direct effect of foreign aid on poverty and quantifies the facilitating role of democracy in harnessing foreign aid for poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).Design/methodology/approachThe paper attempts to address the endogenous relationship between foreign aid and poverty by employing the two-stage least squares instrumental variable (2SLS-IV) estimator by using GDP per capita of the top five Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries sending foreign aid to SSA countries scaled by the inverse of the land area of the SSA countries to stimulate an exogenous variation in foreign aid and its components. The initial level of democracy is interacted with the senders’ GDP per capita to also instrument for the interaction terms of democracy, foreign aid and its components.FindingsThe results suggest that foreign aid reduces poverty and different components of foreign aid have different effects on poverty. In particular, multilateral source and grant type seem to be more significant in reducing poverty than bilateral source and loan type. The study further reveals that democratic attributes of free expression, institutional constraints on the executive, guarantee of civil liberties to citizens and political participation reinforce the poverty-reducing effects of aggregate foreign aid and its components after controlling for mean household income, GDP per capita and inequality.Research limitations/implicationsThe methodological concern related to modeling the effects of foreign aid on poverty is endogeneity bias. To estimate the relationship between foreign aid, democracy and poverty in SSA, this paper relies on a 2SLS-IV estimator with GDP per capita of the top five aid-sending OECD countries scaled by the inverse of land area of the SSA countries as an external instrument for foreign aid. The use of the five top OECD's Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) countries is due to the availability of foreign aid data for these countries. However, non-OECD-DAC countries such as China and South Africa may be important source of foreign aid to some SSA countries.Practical implicationsThe findings further suggest that the marginal effect of foreign aid in reducing poverty is increasing with the level of institutional democracy. In other words, foreign aid contributes more to poverty reduction in countries with democratic dispensation. This investigation has vital implications for future foreign aid policy, because it alerts policymakers that the effectiveness of foreign aid can be strengthened by considering the type and source of aid. Foreign aid and quality political institution may serve as an important mix toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and the Africa Union Agenda 2063.Social implicationsAs the global economy faces economic and social challenges, SSA may not be able to depend heavily on foreign partners to finance the region's budget. There is the need for African governments to also come out with innovative ways to mobilize own resources to develop and confront some of the economic challenges to achieve the required reduction in poverty. This is a vision that every country in Africa must work toward. Africa must think of new ways of generating wealth internally for development so as to complement foreign aid flows and also build strong foundation for welfare improvement, self-reliance and sustainable development.Originality/valueThis existing literature does not consider how democracy enhances the foreign aid and poverty relationship. The existing literature does not explore how democracy enhances grants, loans, multilateral and bilateral aid effectiveness in reducing poverty. This paper provides the first-hand evidence of how institutional democracy enhances the poverty-reducing effects of foreign aid and its components. The paper uses exogenous variation in foreign aid to quantify the direct effect of foreign aid and its components on poverty.

Introduction: Enterprise and State in the Italian “Economic Miracle”

2000 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven W. Tolliday
Keyword(s):  
Gross Domestic Product ◽  
Public Debt ◽  
Gross National Product ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Italian Economy ◽  
Economic Miracle ◽  
Developed Economies ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Better Than

The first two articles in this issue of Enterprise & Society shed new light on the performance of the postwar Italian economy, an intriguing paradox for economic and business historians. Italy has been notorious for its political instability, inflation, massive public debt, and clientelism. Its political and economic institutions are often derided and labeled dysfunctional. Yet, in historical perspective, the country has frequently performed better than its more stable and “efficient” European neighbors and other developed economies. Between 1950 and 1973, for example, Italy’s Gross National Product grew at 6.8 percent per annum and its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita at a rate of 4.8 percent (matching Germany and second only to Japan). Even more remarkably, since 1973 its GDP, manufacturing output, exports, and productivity have all grown faster than that of any other major European economy.

Oil will challenge fragile institutions in Guyana

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Government Spending ◽  
Resource Curse ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Balance Of Payments ◽  
Dutch Disease ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Impact Risk ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
The Government

Significance Guyana, hitherto a non-oil producing state, will produce growing volumes of crude oil. This will bring a range of consequences, potentially both positive and negative. It will see Guyana's GDP per capita soar, its balance of payments improve and the government’s income grow. However, it will also face so-called ‘resource curse’ risks, including economic distortions, corruption, wasteful government spending, ’Dutch disease’ and potentially even geopolitical complications. Impacts The government will struggle to manage expectations and use an unprecedented inflow of revenues to best advantage. Guyana’s new-found wealth could inflame tensions with neighbouring Venezuela, which claims much of its territory. There is a low but potentially high-impact risk that serious confrontation with Venezuela could bring in other players.

The long run impact of immigration on labor market in an advanced economy

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 356-367
Author(s):  
Faridul Islam ◽  
Saleheen Khan
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Advanced Economy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the dynamic relationship among immigration rate, GDP per capita, and and real wage rates in the USA. Design/methodology/approach – The paper implements the Johansen-Juselius (1990, 1992) cointegration technique to test for a long-run relationship; and for short-run dynamics the authors apply Granger causality tests under the vector error-correction model. Findings – The results show that the long-run causality runs from GDP per capita to immigration, not vice versa. Growing economy attracts immigrants. The authors also find that immigration flow depresses average weekly earnings of the natives in the long-run. Originality/value – The authors are not aware of any study on the USA addressing the impact of immigrants on labor market using a tripartite approach by explicitly incorporating economic growth. It is therefore important to pursue a theoretically justified empirical model in search of a relation to resolve on apparent immigration debate.

Cointegration-causality analysis between terrorism and key macroeconomic indicators

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 664-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisha Ismail ◽  
Shehla Amjad
Keyword(s):  
Research Work ◽  
Cointegration Analysis ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Gdp Growth ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Macroeconomic Indicators ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is two folds: first, to analyze the long-run relationship between terrorism and key macroeconomic indicators (GDP growth, GDP per capita, inflation and unemployment) and second, to determine the direction of causality between these variables in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach – The relationship between terrorism and various macroeconomic indicators is analyzed by applying Johansen cointegration analysis. Furthermore, the causality between terrorism and macroeconomic indicators is tested by applying Toda Yamamoto Granger causality test. Findings – The results show that there exists a long-run relationship between terrorism and key macroeconomic indicators. Furthermore, the results suggest that there exists a bi-directional causality between terrorism and inflation. The causality between GDP per capita, unemployment, GDP growth and terrorism is unidirectional. Originality/value – There is a lack of research work conducted to analyze the long-run relationship and direction of causation between terrorism and various macroeconomic indicators specifically for Pakistan. The current paper fills the gap in the literature by using sophisticated econometric techniques and recent data set to provide the evidence of the relationship between terrorism and various macroeconomic indicators.

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