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Africa Development Indicators 2011 is the most detailed collection of data on Africa. It contains macroeconomic, sectoral, and social indicators for 53 countries. A companion CD-ROM has additional data, with some 1,700 indicators covering 1961-2009.-Basic indicators-National and fiscal accounts-External accounts and exchange rates-Millennium Development Goals-Private sector development-Trade and regional integration-Infrastructure-Human development-Agriculture, rural development, and the environment-Labor, migration, and population-HIV/AIDS and malaria-Capable states and partnership-Paris Decl

The following research report centres upon the notion of creative industry development. Chapter 1 serves as an introduction to the theme of creative industry development and poses two questions: what are creative industries and what is creative industry development? It is stated that creative industries are not traditionally viewed as key tools for achieving economic prosperity. Thus, they have not been at the forefront of political and economic agendas. The importance of creative industry development is demonstrated from the economic opportunities that are realised from embracing creative industry growth, which is increasingly being realised. Globalisation provides exciting challenges and opportunities that bring tremendous pressure from international competitors. Building a creative economy can potentially protect a countries competitive power and furthermore build an international future in the process. Chapter 2 introduces the American academic who is responsible for the international debate on the increased role of creative industries, Richard Florida. In Florida's publication The Rise of the Creative Class, the author states that creative industries are of increasing significance all over the world. Particular emphasis is placed on the economic value that can be realised by facilitating creative industry development within organisations, cities and nations as a whole. Newspaper articles such as a World run by right brainers by Elizabeth Farrelly illustrate the increased media attention to the rise of the creative class and the economic prosperity they have to offer. Additionally, academic leaders such as Charles Leadbeater and Kate Oakley are also in support of Florida's notion about the rise of the creative class. Whilst Florida and his colleagues have their supporters, equally sceptics have voiced concern that Florida is going "overboard" in his statements and they are more speculative, rather than substantiated in nature. However, the cult following of the Florida school of thought does pose an interesting point of debate, which has undoubtedly reached an international audience. The creative city of Hong Kong provides additional insight and inspiration for effectively tapping into creative industry development, building a kaleidoscope of culture within the city. Furthermore, the city of Brisbane is an Australian example of a city that has built creative strength and reaped the benefits. In Creative City, Brisbane City Council's Cultural Strategy for 2003 - 2008, the state government has developed various policies and goals for building the creative strength of the city. At the state level in Queensland, the creative industry sector adds approximately $1.96 billion to the value of the services and manufacturing sectors annually. In regards to formulating policy documents, the Creativity is Big Business -A framework for the future is a leading state-wide economic development strategy for developing creative industry within Queensland. The state of Victoria has similarly developed the policy Creative Capacity -Arts for All Victorians. The Victorian Premier Steve Bracks, has stated that Victoria has an economy driven by innovation. Furthermore, the national capital of Australia, Canberra has also tapped into this idea of creative industry development at the annual Innovation and Ideas Festival (ICAN). At this festival, the city developed a program on how Canberra can use its intelligence and citizens to facilitate creative industry development within the city. Internationally, the economic relationship between Australia and China has also extended to the creative industries by initiates such as working with government departments such as Austrade. In 2005 a three day symposium was held in Beijing called From Made in China, to created in China, hosted by Austrade. This is an effective way to build stronger relationships with the world ' s largest emerging economic superpower, China. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the cultural policies of the . When the Blair Government came to power, it was acclaimed as rebranding Britain as "Cool Britannia", a modem government that was very much in touch with the creative sector. Advised by cultural gurus such as film producer Lord David Puttnam, the Blair administration is believed to have made a very strong contribution to creative industry development within Britain. Although Government expenditure on the arts is still proportionally lower than other areas of government spending, it is undisputed that cultural development has moved from the periphery, to a core role in public debate in Britain. In New Zealand creative sector development and growth is identified as a key tool in improving New Zealand's economic power and innovation. New Zealand has become known as a creative industry development centre by establishing a three-tired policy of connecting, commercialising and enabling. Through various reports conducted by the DEMOS think tank, such as Capturing Cultural Value and Cultural Value and the Crisis of Legitimacy, the role of the creative industries in Britain are further analysed and discussed. Chapter 4 discusses the changing face of funding Australian arts organisations. The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) and the Australian Ballet are significant examples of how Australian arts organisations can embrace market opportunities and build national creative industry, without heavy reliance on government funding. The ACO has developed strong relationships with corporate heavyweights to subsidise operations. The Australian Ballet also has a comparatively low amount of Government assistance as they are largely financed by an endowment fund. Conversely, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra relies on approximately 40% government funding, and in 2004, the Queensland Orchestra faced significant pressure to improve its financial bottom line or face bankruptcy. In 2006, the Macquarie Trio announced it would fold after funding for 2007 had been refused by Macquarie University. In 2005, a report commissioned by the federal government was written on the economic sustainability of orchestras in Australia. Entitled A New Era -Orchestras Review Report 2005, this controversial report outlined the financial importance that contemporary Australian orchestras have in building monetary independence. Government initiates such as Playing the World and Visions Australia are welcomed contributions to the area of arts funding in Australia, nonetheless a greater level of funding across the entire arts sector will be needed to build the strength and success of creative industries within the country. Chapter 5 presents a series of recommendations, suggested as a result of the primary findings of this report. Creative industry development is not an abstract concept, but a method of achieving economic prosperity for governments, communities and individuals. These recommendations propose ways to increase the theme of creative industry development within Australia and to furthermore build the strength of Australian arts organisations in the process. This report contends to provide insight into creative industry development in an accessible manner to all Australians.

Something interesting is happening in the United Kingdom. Some government officials there are pushing for the Bank of England to adopt an NGDP target. From the Independent:

Officials in the UK Treasury are "probably" considering whether to change the Bank of England's inflation-targeting mandate due to the massive economic shock imparted by the coronavirus crisis, according to a former minister.

 Lord Jim O'Neill, who was commercial secretary to the Treasury in 2015, wants the central bank to shift from its current target of keeping inflation at 2 per cent to targeting a steadily rising trend of nominal UK GDP growth instead.

Since the U.K. Treasury determines the monetary policy target for the Bank of England, these rumblings are more than noise. The U.K. Treasury's increased interest in an NGDP target is driven, in part, by the efforts of Jim O'Neil. He has written articles, done interviews, and made a forceful case for this approach to monetary policy. Another prominent voice is Sajid Javid who was recently the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He also has called for NGDP targeting in a new study. They are not alone, as other members of Parliament also talking about an NGDP target and several UK think tanks are promoting it as well. There seems to be, in short, some real momentum for NGDP targeting in the Boris Johnson government.



If the Bank of England were to get an NGDP target, it would be the first central bank to explicitly do so. The Bank of England was an early adopter of inflation targeting, so it would be fitting for it also to be an early adopter of NGDP targeting. Moreover, moving to this monetary policy framework should not be too hard for the British central bank since it already does something that looks a lot like an NGDP target.



Still, this would be seen as a big change for the central bank and many observers are unsettled by its prospects. Again, from the Independent: 

Lord O'Neill conceded that the idea of moving to nominal GDP targeting would  "scare" many people in the Treasury and the Bank who regard the current inflation-targeting regime as a proven success.

To those observers who are worried, I would encourage you to check out my paper from late last year that summarizes the facts and fears of NGDP targeting. It was written with the Fed in mind, but its lessons are applicable to any central bank. Here, I want to make three points that are specifically directed toward the Bank of England adopting an NGDP target.   



Changes in Potential Real GDP: Much Ado About Nothing

My first point is that changes in potential real GDP should not be a practical concern if the Bank of England were to adopt an NGDP target. Changes to potential real GDP is a common objection to NGDP targeting and in principle a legitimate concern. In practice, however, the magnitudes involved make this a moot concern. 



To illustrate this point, imagine that the Bank of England had been credibly targeting NGDP at 4% a year since the mid-1960s. Also assume that the potential real GDP (y*) evolved as it actually did over this period. The difference between this imagined NGDP target and the actual growth rate of y*, would be the counterfactual trend inflation experienced during this time. The figure below shows the outcome. It reveals that trend inflation in the UK would have ranged from about 1% to 3%. The average inflation rate over the whole period would have been just under 2%. Not a lot to see here. Even if we tweaked the NGDP target up a bit, there would still no runaway inflation. Instead, we end up in a world with longrun inflation well-anchored and a stable growth path for nominal income. 







Now to the extent that changes in potential real GDP do matter, it actually favors NGDP targeting over flexible inflation targeting (FIT). Josh Hendrickson and I show this outcome in a JMCB paper (ungated version) last year. The punchline is that a central bank doing FIT needs to know both potential real GDP (y*) and real GDP (y) in realtime to avoid making mistakes. A central bank doing NGDP targeting does not need to know y* or y in realtime. In fact, it intentionally remains agnostic about them over the shortrun and simply aims to stabilize nominal income. As a result, it is less likely to accidentally make matters worse. This is not just a theoretical argument. Athanasios Orphanides, for example, shows that one reason for the Fed's tepid response to rising inflation in the in the 1970s was bad realtime data on the output gap. In more recent times, one see the Fed's talking up of rate hikes in the fist half of 2008 or the ECB's outright tightening of policy in 2008 and 2011 as manifestations of this problem. 



Concerns about changes in potential real GDP, then, are much ado about nothing under an NGDP target and only meaningfully matter for a FIT. 



NGDP Targeting Would Not Be a Radical Change 

My second point is that the Bank of England adopting an NGDP target would not be a radical change. For it is already producing outcomes that closely mimic an NGDP target. This can be seen in the figure below.



This chart shows that prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the Bank of England had grown NGDP about 4% a year along a stable path. This is exactly what an NGDP level target would look like. Interestingly, former Governor Mark Carney actually wanted the Bank of England to follow an NGDP target when he first arrived. The idea was quickly shot down, but nonetheless he got the outcome he was calling for back in 2012. It is almost as if the Bank of England had a stealth NGDP target under his stewardship. 





Prior to the Great Recession, NGDP was also on a relatively stable path, though during this time it was growing closer to 5%. This too looks similar to an NGDP level target. Both of these NGDP targeting-like experiences, however, end in a sustained trend path drop that is not made up. In other words, the Bank of England's implicit NGDP target is actually a version of a growth rate target rather than a level target. And that is where the recent calls for an NGDP level target are different from what the central bank has been doing.



The Real Change Would Be an Explicit Make-Up Policy

My final point is that the real change being called for is the adoption of a level target. That is, the goal is to move the Bank of England from an implicit NGDP growth rate target to an explicit NGDP level target. This would require the central bank to make up for past misses from its target. Put differently, an NGDP level target would empower the central bank to temporarily run the economy hot until NGDP got back up to its trend growth path. In the case of the United Kingdom, that means growing NGDP faster than the trend 4% growth rate. This faster-than-normal catch-up growth is sometimes called 'make-up' policy and is illustrated below: 







What an NGDP Level Target Might Look Like in the United Kingdom

If the UK Treasury were to announce an NGDP level target for the Bank of England, it could be as simple as restoring NGDP to its trend growth path that existed under Mark Carney. That is, temporarily run NGDP hot to make up for shortfalls below its trend path that occurred during the COVID-19 crisis. After that, simply grow NGDP at 4%. As seen in the first figure, a 4% level target would probably be fine given likely changes in potential real GDP in the United Kingdom. More complicated versions of an NGDP level target are possible, but I would start simple.



In closing, it is worth noting that NGDP targeting is not a new idea. It was highly talked about in the 1980s, but gave way to inflation targeting in the 1990s. The United Kingdom's adoption of an NGDP level target would simply put monetary policy in advanced economies back on its original journey. Bon voyage to the Bank of England!



Related Links

The Financial Stability Case for NGDP Targeting

NGDP Targeting in the United Kingdom - Scott Sumner

During 2015, and in the span of six-months, Nepal was hit by two major shocks. The first one was the April 2015 earthquakes that caused a huge loss of life and assets. The second shock has come in the form of a near complete disruption of external trade following the adoption of the new Constitution. Reflecting both the earthquake and trade related disruptions, inflation spiked to over 12 percent (y/ y) by mid-January rising 5 percentage points in just four months from mid-September 2015. This was the highest inflation level since FY2009, with increases in food and non-food prices contributing equally to the spike. As the trade disruptions ended, inflation has eased to back to single digits.

The objective of this policy note is to identify likely factors driving rice prices and suggest options to manage rice price volatility in the future. It also provides a snapshot of recent developments in the rice sector, and describes rice and food price trends and their implications. Based on these findings, the note discusses policy options. The policy brief has six chapters, including this introduction. Chapter two provides a brief outline of the rice sector. Chapter three describes recent trends in world and Lao food prices. It also provides insights into likely macroeconomic and household welfare impacts of rice price inflation. Chapter four discusses the potential causes of rice price inflation, as suggested by other reports and people interviewed. Chapter five analyzes the role of the regional rice market in determining prices, which this policy brief identifies as the primary cause of the glutinous rice price hike. Chapter six concludes by presenting recommendations.

A general equilibrium modeling approach is used to estimate the effects within Indonesia of unilateral and global trade liberalization, including effects on poverty incidence. It is concluded that global reform of trade policy in all commodities is a significant potential source of poverty reduction for Indonesia. The poor rural and urban have a strong interest in global trade policy reform. If Indonesia were to liberalize unilaterally, poverty incidence also will decline but the effect is small. If liberalization is confined to agricultural products, the effects are similar but the declines in poverty incidence within Indonesia are much smaller.

This paper studies likely macroeconomic impacts and social consequences of devaluation of the Seychelles rupee. Analyzing potential welfare impacts of devaluation ex ante is crucial for policy making, since information obtained from such analyses would allow policy makers to design cost-effective, well-targeted policy measures, with the aim of mitigating negative social consequences of devaluation. Based on the estimated welfare impact of devaluation, the paper considers mitigation policy options, and discusses their effectiveness and associated budgetary costs. The focus of this study is the likely impacts of devaluation on the prices, economy and social welfare. The reminder of the paper is structured as follows. Section two first analyzes Seychelles' household expenditure survey data and presents the incidence of poverty and inequality in Seychelles. Section three then discusses how the Seychelles economy would adjust to an initial devaluation of the US dollar value of the rupee by 45 percent, followed by a gradual move to an equilibrium level. Projected macroeconomic variables and prices are applied to the household survey data to estimate possible impacts on the incidence of poverty. Section four discusses a variety of policy measures designed to alleviate the adverse impacts on the poor. Fiscal viability of these measures is also discussed in this section. Section five concludes the paper.

The relevance of applying family stress theory in research practice is a consequence of increasingly varied stressful events occurring in the context of the evolution and transformation of such institutions as marriage and parenthood, as well as the unpredictable events taking place in the world. The main purpose of the review is to identify those subject areas of family sociology where the concepts of family stress theory (stressor, stress, crisis, resources, event perception, and strategies for coping with a stressful situation) are most often used or where empirical results are interpreted using this theory.
Analysis was based on articles published in leading journals over the last decade: the Journal of Marriage and Family, the Journal of Family Issues, the Journal of Comparative Family Studies, as well as in open sources. Such papers were selected that contained the results of quantitative research and of using qualitative methods such as interviews with family members.
Two main directions were identified. The first is the impact of pandemic–related stressors on families. The second is the stresses experienced by members of cross-border families and strategies for coping with stressful situations at the individual and family level. A large number of research articles on cross-border families are a result of the topic being relevant in many countries, on both the sending and receiving end. In turn, there is the possibility that cross-border families are more likely than others (depending on the criterion of typology) to be subject to various kinds of stressors.
It is shown that in different countries, social groups and families the results of coping with the stressful events associated with the pandemic were both positive and negative. In some families the mental health of children and adolescents declined during the pandemic, there was a marked increase in parental stress, marital conflicts, frequency of alcohol consumption and domestic violence. The positive consequences of isolation for other families included an increase in the duration of family communication, accelerated development of new technologies in the household sphere, optimization of household financial management, a more equitable distribution of family roles. For example, more fathers became involved in child care and classes with schoolchildren, in helping their wives with household chores. Even studies conducted during the 20th century showed that husbands and fathers become active as soon as difficult situations arise and are removed from family responsibilities when there is no more urgent need for their participation, something that was once again confirmed by the whole pandemic situation.
The analysis allowed identifying the main strategies transnational families use to cope with the stress of separation from family members. You see men and women changing their roles, generally accepted expectations about maternal/paternal roles, creating new families in the host country through cohabitation or marriage, mastering remote skills of coordinating services at home for the care of the elderly and/or children.
These two main areas of application of family stress theory do not exclude others. Such as— families where one of the members is disabled, suffers from various kinds of addictions (alcoholism, workaholism, drug addiction, gambling addiction), adult children have changed their gender, a family member has learned about a partner's infidelity, families in various difficult economic situations (salary cut, job loss), etc.
One of the more promising areas of this theory's application is the study of the increasingly more common family structures of two types in which family members are permanently in a stressful situation. The first is "apart– together" (Living Apart Together– LAT), when one of the spouses works/studies in another city or country, is serving a sentence, is serving in the army, etc., or the second is "together– apart" (Living Apart– LTA), when spouses or adult children/parents are forced to live in the same household.
One practical way of applying the theory is obtaining information about constructive and destructive strategies for coping with stress in various types of families and life situations. At both the individual and family levels it is important to form the correct perception of stress and the use of resources, to promote resilience and flexibility for the successful adaptation of families in a changing social context.

PurposeThis paper, a case study, aims to consider whether the income ratio and rental ratio tracks the formation of residential housing price spikes and their collapse. The ratios are measuring the risk associated with house price stability. They may signal whether a real estate investor should consider purchasing real property, continue holding it or consider selling it. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (Dallas Fed) calculates and publishes income ratios for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries to measure "irrational exuberance," which is a measure of housing price risk for a given country's housing market. The USA is a member of the organization. The income ratio idea is being repurposed to act as a buy/sell signal for real estate investors.Design/methodology/approachThe income ratio calculated by the Dallas Fed and this case study's ratio were date-stamped and graphed to determine whether the 2006–2008 housing "bubble and burst" could be visually detected. An ordinary least squares regression with the data transformed into logs and a regression with structural data breaks for the years 1990 through 2019 were modeled using the independent variables income ratio, rent ratio and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. The descriptive statistics show a gradual increase in the ratios prior to exposure to an unexpected, exogenous financial shock, which took several months to grow and collapse. The regression analysis with breaks indicates that the income ratio can predict changes in housing prices using a lead of 2 months.FindingsThe gradual increases in the ratios with predetermine limits set by the real estate investor may trigger a sell decision when a specified rate is reached for the ratios even when housing prices are still rising. The independent variables were significant, but the rent ratio had the correct sign only with the regression with time breaks model was used. The housing spike using the Dallas Fed's income ratio and this study's income ratio indicated that the housing boom and collapse occurred rapidly. The boom does not appear to be a continuous housing price increase followed by a sudden price drop when ratio analysis is used. The income ratio is significant through time, but the rental ratio and Consumer Sentiment Index are insignificant for multiple-time breaks.Research limitations/implicationsInvestors should consider the relative prices of residential housing in a neighborhood when purchasing a property coupled with income and rental ratio trends that are taking place in the local market. High relative income ratios may signal that when an unexpected adverse event occurs the housing market may enter a state of crisis. The relative housing prices to income ratio indicates there is rising housing price stability risk. Aggregate data for the country are used, whereas real estate prices are also significantly impacted by local conditions.Practical implicationsRatio trends might enable real estate investors and homeowners to determine when to sell real estate investments prior to a price collapse and preserve wealth, which would otherwise result in the loss of equity. Higher exuberance ratios should result in an increase in the discount rate, which results in lower valuations as measured by the formula net operating income dividend by the discount rate. It can also signal when to start reinvesting in real estate, because real estate prices are rising, and the ratios are relative low compared to income.Social implicationsThe graphical descriptive depictions seem to suggest that government intervention into the housing market while a spike is forming may not be possible due to the speed with which a spike forms and collapses. Expected income declines would cause the income ratios to change and signal that housing prices will start declining. Both the income and rental ratios in the US housing market have continued to increase since 2008.Originality/valueA consumer sentiment variable was added to the analysis. Prior researchers have suggested adding a consumer sentiment explanatory variable to the model. The results generated for this variable were counterintuitive. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) price index results signaled a change during a different year than when the S&P/Case–Shiller Home Price Index is used. Many prior studies used the FHFA price index. They emphasized regulatory issues associated with changing exuberance ratio levels. This case study applies these ideas to measure relative increases in risk, which should impact the discount rate used to estimate the intrinsic value of a residential property.

Problem setting. Urban revitalization is a complex process of overcoming spatial, economic, social, cultural, ecological crisis phenomena of degraded urban territories functioning. Despite the growing attention in the development of urban policy on sustainable development, substantiation in this context of the goals and effective tools for revitalization of degraded urban areas remains an urgent task of theory and practice in public administration at the present stage. Recent research and publications analysis. Among native scientists engaged in research of various aspects in public management of sustainable territories development, it is necessary to point out: M. Averkin, V. Babayev, Z. Buryk, M. Voychuk, Z. Gerasimchuk, I. Degtyarev, V. Kuybid, O. Matveyev, O. Petroe, O. Sych, D. Tarasenko, V. Udovychenko, A. Chechel. In general, scientists have developed theoretical and methodological principles of the public policy impact on sustainable development in regions and cities. Highlighting previously unsettled parts of the general problem. However, the further development of the public administration science requires the disclosure of methodological tools for specific local policies to ensure sustainable development, particularly the revitalization of the city. This problem has not yet been covered in native science. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the goals and identify effective tools for sustainable development of the degraded territory, which should be used by urban governments in developing a policy of urban revitalization, based on the analysis of the evolution of the concept for world's sustainable development. Paper main body. Since the end of the twentieth century the concept of sustainable development is reflected at the local level, emphasizing the responsibility of local authorities implementing its goals. In the adopted Agenda for the XXI century (2015) the territorial dimension of sustainable development was emphasized, particularly the importance of endogenous factors and mechanisms of development "from the bottom up". At the same time, rapid urbanization in the world has highlighted the role of cities in which there is an urgent need to balance development. Thus, in economically developed countries, the revitalization of degraded urban areas is becoming widespread as an instrument of sustainable development policy at the local level. Given the inevitability of urbanization and the growing importance of cities in the global economy, for the first time a separate sustainable development goal – "11. Sustainable development of cities and communities" was identified. Therefore, the actions of public authorities should be aimed to ensure the openness, security and sustainability of cities. In turn, the revitalization of cities should contribute to the achievement of 11 global goals, as well as ensure the implementation of other goals of the Global Agenda. There are many tools to ensure the sustainable development of the degraded area in the process of the city revitalization. In countries, they differ according to their historical, legal, spatial and other conditions. Conclusions of the research and prospects for further studies. Local governments are key players in the implementation of the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development until 2030, including the Sustainable Development Goals. They must develop effective measures to address socially significant issues that hamper sustainable development, including overcoming the degradation of urban areas. The guidelines for the formation of the city's revitalization policy should be 17 Sustainable Development Goals, as they contain the main tasks of economic, social and environmental nature for the territory development. All Sustainable Development Goals in the process of revitalization of degraded urban areas can be achieved using the following groups of tools: planning, support, market, financial, tax and other legal instruments. Further research should focus on the study of tools for public participation in the development of policies for the city revitalization, which in modern conditions belong to the basic methodological foundations of urban management. ; Проведено аналіз еволюції становлення концепції сталого розвитку в світі та її значення для розроблення політики ревіталізації міста. Встановлено, що, з погляду на сталий розвиток, ревіталізація стосується трансформації здеградованих міських територій одночасно у економічній (покращення ділової активності, створення нових робочих місць), соціальній (поліпшення рівня життя мешканців) та інфраструктурно-просторовій (збереження культурної спадщини, покращення природного середовища тощо) сферах. Обґрунтовано локальне спрямування глобальних 17 Цілей сталого розвитку, а також визначено основні завдання ревіталізації міста за кожною ціллю. Узагальнено 6 груп інструментів ревіталізації міста (інструменти планування, ринкові інструменти, фінансові інструменти, податкові інструменти, інструменти підтримки та інші правові інструменти), які необхідно застосовувати міськими органами публічного управління для забезпечення сталого розвитку території.