Structural transformation trajectories: Evidence from successful exporting countries

This paper identifies and examines several success criteria for the structural transformation of exports. Some detailed facts for the leading countries in structural transformation are presented, and the paper is the first in social sciences literature to calculate the Fréchet distances between the structural transformation trajectories according to various criteria. The paper introduces the concept of structural transformation trajectory that is defined as the path in the two coordinates — per capita income and one of the success criteria for the structural transformation of exports. Based on the brief review of the literature, four criteria for the empirical research are selected: (i) an increase in the ratio of exports of capital to consumer products, (ii) an enhancement of the export share of high-tech products, (iii) a decrease in export concentration, and (iv) an expansion of export complexity. In most cases, countries leading structural transformation succeed due to a limited number of specific factors, such as foreign direct investment in a limited number of sectors, participation in the assembly of telecom products, automobiles or similar consumer products, and re-export of products from other countries. However, high per capita income growth rates are typically observed in countries with high coherence of the success criteria for the structural transformation of exports, that is, in countries that made progress on a whole range of criteria.

Structural transformation trajectories: Evidence from successful exporting countries

This paper identifies and examines several success criteria for the structural transformation of exports. Some detailed facts for the leading countries in structural transformation are presented, and the paper is the first in social sciences literature to calculate the Fréchet distances between the structural transformation trajectories according to various criteria. The paper introduces the concept of structural transformation trajectory that is defined as the path in the two coordinates — per capita income and one of the success criteria for the structural transformation of exports. Based on the brief review of the literature, four criteria for the empirical research are selected: (i) an increase in the ratio of exports of capital to consumer products, (ii) an enhancement of the export share of high-tech products, (iii) a decrease in export concentration, and (iv) an expansion of export complexity. In most cases, countries leading structural transformation succeed due to a limited number of specific factors, such as foreign direct investment in a limited number of sectors, participation in the assembly of telecom products, automobiles or similar consumer products, and re-export of products from other countries. However, high per capita income growth rates are typically observed in countries with high coherence of the success criteria for the structural transformation of exports, that is, in countries that made progress on a whole range of criteria.

Renewable energy consumption, nonrenewable energy consumption, CO2 emissions and economic growth in Vietnam

PurposeThis study intended to analyze the impact of nonrenewable energy consumption, renewable energy consumption, CO2 emissions on per capita income growth in Vietnam in the period 1990–2019.Design/methodology/approachThe present study adopts the technique of the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) cointegration for the annual data collection of Vietnam.FindingsThe results of the study show that in the long term, nonrenewable energy consumption increases per capita income, but CO2 emissions reduce per capita income. In the short run, changes in nonrenewable energy consumption and renewable energy consumption promote per capita income growth in Vietnam. However, changes in nonrenewable energy consumption in the past have had a negative impact on the current income growth of Vietnamese people.Originality/valueThe current study provides new insights into the growth effect of nonrenewable energy consumption, renewable energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The papers suggests important implications to Vietnam in setting the long-run policies to boost the effect of energy consumption and CO2 emissions on growth in Vietnam in the coming time.

Dynamics of Income Inequality, Investment, and Unemployment in Indonesia

This paper examines the effect of per capita income, investment, and unemployment on income inequality in Indonesia from 2011 to 2019. We use both static and dynamic panel data approaches covering 34 provinces in Indonesia. The results support the Kuznets hypothesis, whereby a more significant per capita income growth is associated with more substantial income inequality in a short period; however, this decreases over time (sign change). Furthermore, a larger real per capita income is associated with lower inequality when accompanied by progress in human capital. Alternatively, foreign direct investment (FDI) and infrastructure expenditure positively relate to income inequality, although FDI eventually helps lower inequality. Similarly, increases in domestic private investment can help to reduce income disparity. Meanwhile, unemployment is negatively associated with income inequality, suggesting that better jobs (rather than more jobs per se) are needed to improve income distribution in the country. Although per capita income, investment, and employment have improved substantially and helped Indonesia raise overall income, economic progress does not seem to have been inclusive. We argue that the panel dynamic model helps to capture the persistence effect of income distribution, suggesting a more precise estimation of income inequality issues than static models.

The Evolution of the Conditional Joint Distribution of Life Expectancy and Per Capita Income Growth

The Evolution of the Conditional Joint Distribution of Life Expectancy and Per Capita Income Growth

The Evolution of the Conditional Joint Distribution of Life Expectancy and Per Capita Income Growth

The Evolution of the Conditional Joint Distribution of Life Expectancy and Per Capita Income Growth

The Efficacy of Democracy and Freedom in Fostering Economic Growth

The relationship between democracy, freedom, and economic development has a multidisciplinary and diverse literature without a settled or concrete answer. Studies that attempt to validate this relationship have a cacophony of diametrically opposed narratives with a degree of dissonance that does not always articulate a complete understanding of the issue. This study attempts to contribute to the existing complex and ever-changing literature by empirically estimating whether democracy, personal and economic freedom affect economic growth. This paper empirically investigates 115 countries over the period 2006–2018 using panel regressions and found that the quality of democracy was significant in explaining the per capita income growth dynamics of a country. Economic freedom also has a statistically significant and positive relationship with per capita income progression. Personal freedom, on the other hand, is detrimental to growth in countries that have low levels of freedom but acts as a catalyst for growth when a society has reached a mature level of personal freedom. Other factors related to development entrapment such as income inequality, unemployment, and urbanization also have a significant impact on economic progression. In line with historical consensus, countries institutionally insulated from democracy fare worse economically than their democratic counterparts.

Convergence of the carbon intensity of the economies of the Asia-Pacific and non-OECD countries to the level of the OECD countries

The global goal of the world community is the transition to a “green” economy, characterized by rational use of electricity, reduction of harmful emissions, and consumption of renewable energy sources. The purpose of the research was to study the convergence of capacity emissions in developing countries to European countries’ level. According to the results, countries striving for a lower emission intensity level to varying degrees. In non-OECD European countries, per capita income growth leads to a 0.26% reduction in emissions intensity. This fact means that economic growth creates additional resources that can be used to develop energy-efficient technologies. In the post-Soviet space and the Asia-Pacific region, a significant effect on reducing emission intensity is provided by environmental policy’s effectiveness to minimize carbon dioxide emissions.

Interplays among R&D spending, patent and income growth: new empirical evidence from the panel of countries and groups

Industrial houses and governments of different countries and groups spend a sizeable amount of their earnings upon research and development activities to create new products and obtain patents for them. The short-run motive is to get patents, and the long-run motive is to influence income growth of the countries. The empirical findings so far are skeptical on the effects of research and development (R&D) spending. The present study further investigates the long-run associations and short-run dynamics among R&D spending, number of patents and per capita income growth in the panel of countries and groups for the period 1996–2017. Using VAR model for the panel data, the study observes that R&D spending, number of patents and per capita income growth have no long-run equilibrium relations but in the short-run, income growth and number of patents make a cause to R&D spending. However, there are weak causation from patents and R&D spending to income growth rates. The study thus recommends for controlling unfair competition on spending on R&D head and getting patents since it increases the magnitudes of social cost.

Determinants of Inclusive Growth in ASEAN

Over the past decades ASEAN countries have experienced rapid economic growth accompanied by a dramatic fall in poverty rates, but income inequality has not retreated. This research aims at identifying factors which could contribute to more equally distributed growth in ASEAN. To measure inclusive growth, we use a variable integrating per capita income growth and an equity index. A cross-country panel analysis of the impact of macro-structural factors on inclusive growth and its two components suggests that fiscal redistribution, female labor force participation, productivity growth, FDI inflows, digitalization, and savings significantly drive inclusive growth. A scenario analysis based on our econometric results suggests that the implementation of fiscal redistribution and labor market-oriented structural reforms could help significantly accelerate inclusive growth in ASEAN.