Suchergebnisse

Purpose
– The author aims to analyze the effect of statistical capacity on government effectiveness/efficiency using cross-sectional from a sample of 48 African countries for the period 2003-2008.


Design/methodology/approach
– The estimation technique used is a two-stage least squares instrumental variable methodology and ordinary least square.


Findings
– The results show that statistical capacity positively affects government effectiveness/efficiency. It follows that countries with higher statistical capacity levels enjoy institutions of better quality than countries with low levels of statistical capacity.


Practical implications
– As a policy implication, if Africa does not have effective governments, it is partly because it has a very weak statistical capacity. In such an environment, access to information for effective governance is compromised.


Originality/value
– This paper contributes to existing literature on the determinants of institution by focusing on the distribution of the dependent variable (government effectiveness). The author stressed the importance of information and statistics capabilities.

PurposeThis paper aims to assess the role of foreign aid in reducing the hypothetically negative impact of terrorism on trade using a panel of 78 developing countries with data for the period 1984-2008.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical evidence is based on interactive generalised method of moment estimations with forward orthogonal deviations. Bilateral, multilateral and total aid dynamics are used, whereas terrorism entails domestic, transnational, unclear and total terrorism dynamics.FindingsThe following findings have been established. First, while bilateral aid has no significant effect on trade, multilateral aid and total aid have positive impacts. Second total terrorism, domestic terrorism and transnational terrorism increase trade with increasing order of magnitude. Third, corresponding negative marginal effects on the interaction between foreign aid (bilateral and total) and terrorism display thresholds that are within range. Fourth, there is scant evidence of positive net effects. Overall, the findings broadly indicate that foreign aid is a necessary but not a sufficient policy tool for completely dampening the effects of terrorism on trade.Originality/valueThere is a growing policy interest in the relationship between terrorism and international development outcomes.

This study assesses the relationship between tribalism (the tribalism index) and government effectiveness (per the World Bank) in 60 countries using cross-sectional data. This study finds that countries with high tribal populations generally enjoy bad governance in terms of government ineffectiveness. Government ineffectiveness and tribalism are found to mutually reinforce each other in a robust relationship.

This article complements existing literature by assessing determinants of property rights protection with particular emphasis on history, geography and institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The empirical evidence is based on a sample of 47 countries for the period 2000-2007. Random effects GLS regressions are employed using property rights measurements from the Mo Ibrahim and Heritage foundations. The results broadly show that ethnic fractionalisation, Polity IV and GDP per capita have positive effects on property rights institutions while the following have negative effects: military rule, the Protestant religion, maturity from colonial independence and population density. The findings have relevant policy implications for countries in the sub-region currently on the path to knowledge-based economies.

The paper argues that Thailand's economic and social development from the late 19th century to the early 21st century presents a puzzle. For much of the period from 1870 to 1940, the country's economic growth was slow, and the economy remained agricultural, with little diversification into modern industry or services. It was the only Southeast Asian country to escape direct colonization, and yet it did not use its relative freedom from colonial control to embark on a programme of accelerated economic, social and political modernization. The contrast with Meiji Japan has been made by several Thai and foreign scholars, but Thailand's growth was also slow in comparison with several neighbouring countries under colonial control. Only in the late 1950s did economic growth start to accelerate and by 1996, per capita GDP was well ahead of other ASEAN countries except Malaysia and Singapore. The paper explores the reasons for the accelerated growth, looking particularly at the role of government. The paper also examines the reasons for the growth collapse of 1997/1998, and the slower economic growth since then.