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How Politics Hinder Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Development and What to Do about It
No full textThe motivations and benefits of issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) are well known but the challenges faced by central banks in developing and issuing a CBDC have received less attention. To fill this gap, this article provides a succinct understanding of how politics hinder CBDC development. It presents the common arguments used by politicians to stifle CBDC development. It also suggests some ways to reduce political resistance towards CBDC development
The Pharmaceutical Industry in Nigeria: Drug Accessibility, Affordability and Competitiveness in the Economy.
No full textThe study focuses on reviewing factors that influence accessibility, affordability, efficiency in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry and its impact on healthcare delivery. Despite the Nigeria’s increasing population coupled with a high disease burden, it imports most of its drugs from India and China since its own pharmaceutical sector is not self-sufficient. The study noted certain difficulties such as poor infrastructure, inflation, exchange rate volatility, poverty and weak regulatory structure in the health sector made it tough for people to get access and afford basic medicines. The study deployed a semi-log regression to see how accessibility and affordability of medicines interact with the capacity of pharmaceutical sector in the Nigerian economy. Findings from the study revealed significant interrelatedness between level of access to essential medicines and the pharmaceutical industry contribution to GDP; other variables, such as costs of Malaria treatments, minimum wage, and inflation, showed weak or no statistical impact on the response variable. In conclusion, the study suggests that the federal government should discontinue the NHIS program to allow the private sector takeover this programme, this can free up resource and strengthen local pharmaceutical production, it also recommends applying regulatory measures to ensure medications are accessible and affordable for better health outcomes and a stronger economy
The Conventional System of Zakah versus the Holy Quran: An Econometric Model of Payers and Receivers
No full textZakah is the obligatory socio-economic act of worship most often mentioned in the Holy Qur'an, along with Salah. The rules given by Almighty Allah, especially regarding the obligatory acts, have been changed from the beginning by the plot of Satan (Devil). This article examines whether Muslim countries have Zakah management according to the principles and regulations mentioned in the Holy Quran. Contemporary data from forty Muslim-majority countries were collected and analysed to achieve this objective. A thorough review revealed that the conventional system of Zakah has a Nisab (minimum amount) and a rate of 2.5%. These two basic elements are not mentioned anywhere in the Holy Quran. Moreover, it appears that all forms of management of Zakah have been developed purely on economic considerations; that is, the social aspect has been completely rejected. In addition, some countries collect this Zakah officially, which is spent in unauthorised ways contrary to the Holy Quran. Although the principle of harvest, excess and Khumus (one-fifth) of the Holy Quran identifies the Zakah receiving class, there is no such distribution system among those classes either by Zakah or otherwise. Therefore, this paper humbly requests a more in-depth study on Zakah based on the Holy Quran
Economic Complexity and Robot Adoption
No full textThis paper examines the relationship between economic complexity and industrial robot adoption. Using panel data for 61 countries from 1996 to 2022, we find that higher robot density is significantly associated with greater economic complexity. This positive relationship remains robust after controlling for per capita
income, human capital, institutional quality, and other relevant factors. Notably, the complexity-enhancing effect of robots is stronger in countries with a larger share
of low-skilled workers
Impacto de la legislación en la distribución de la riqueza: Evidencia global de las herencias y el ahorro
No full textCurrently, intergenerational and intragenerational economic inequality has gained significant relevance due to the recent growing concentration of wealth, largely driven by the inheritance system and the accumulation of family assets. The Inheritance Tax, which is delegated to the Autonomous Communities, has generated significant fiscal disparities among citizens from different regions. These differences have led some heirs to renounce their inheritance due to the inability to afford the tax burden imposed in their respective communities. Furthermore, wealth accumulation occurs not only through inheritances but also through personal savings, pension plans, and financial investments, further exacerbating inequality within the same generation. This situation has fuelled debates on tax fairness and sparked social movements demanding the harmonization of the tax at the national level. Experts argue that a regulatory reform is necessary to ensure a fairer distribution of inherited and accumulated wealth, preventing fiscal decentralization from deepening intergenerational and intragenerational inequalities
Theories of Sustainable Development
No full textThis article presents new theories of sustainable development. The need for new theories of sustainable development arises from the need to explain the attitudes and various dispositions towards the sustainable development agenda. Five theories of sustainable development are presented, namely, the extinction avoidance theory of sustainable development, the collective stewardship theory of sustainable development, the rogue agent theory of sustainable development, the divine intervention and providence theory of sustainable development, and the resource-resilient world theory of sustainable development. These theories articulate the unspoken philosophy or paradigms regarding the need for sustainable development and who should be responsible for achieving sustainable development. These unspoken philosophy or paradigms have the power to move people to take action towards sustainable development or to do nothing about it, or to oppose the sustainable development agenda. Scholars, policy makers and researchers will find these theories useful in their work in sustainable development
Economic possibilities for our grandchildren reloaded
No full textNearly one hundred years ago, John M. Keynes envisioned a future where material concerns would fade, allowing individuals to focus on leisure and well-being. Similar expectations were common in Keynes' days, when industrial progress promised to yield productivity gains, which would increase wages and lift workers out of poverty. Freed from material constraints, individuals would devote more attention to personal interests, relationships, and quality of life. One hundred years later, history proved that Keynes was right about economic growth, but individuals remain focused on material concerns at the expense of quality of life and of the environment. Why did economic activity deliver affluent, but socially and environmentally unsustainable societies? What possibilities are there for our future, the one of our grandchildren? In this article, we first review the evidence on the unsustainability of the current economic model. We discuss the role of economic growth for well-being, providing new evidence on defensive consumption, and illustrating a new explanation of unsustainability. We then discuss Neo-humanism, an evidence-based narrative to promote sustainable quality of life, ensures thriving lives in socially and environmentally sustainable societies. A shift towards sustainable quality of life is possible thanks to the insights from decades of research in this field
Who Gains the Most from Trade Wars? Evidence from U.S. Import Shifting to Third Countries During the U.S.-China Trade Conflict
No full textI study the impact of Section 301 tariffs, focusing on how the reduction in Chinese exports was distributed between U.S. domestic suppliers and other foreign exporters. Using fixed effects regressions, I find that exports of tariffed goods increased significantly for third-country exporters that already held substantial U.S. market shares. This suggests that the benefits of the tariffs were concentrated among large foreign suppliers rather than small exporters or domestic producers. To explain this pattern, I develop a theoretical model based on the Ramsey-Cass-Koopmans framework while incorporating investment efficiency in the capital accumulation process. The model shows that high capital endowments and low input prices allow large exporters to capture the majority of gains from the tariffs. This result has clear policy implications: Section 301 tariffs could be ineffective at revitalizing U.S. industries. Instead, the gains were likely to be concentrated on large foreign exporters in both the short and long run. The model also implies that foreign governments might find wage restraint strategically advantageous in sustaining their export competitiveness
Markowitz Variance May Vastly Undervalue or Overestimate Portfolio Variance and Risks
No full textWe consider the investor who doesn’t trade shares of his portfolio. The investor only observes the current trades made in the market with his securities to estimate the current return, variance, and risks of his unchanged portfolio. We show how the time series of consecutive trades made in the market with the securities of the portfolio can determine the time series that model the trades with the portfolio as with a single security. That establishes the equal description of the market-based variance of the securities and of the portfolio composed of these securities that account for the fluctuations of the volumes of the consecutive trades. We show that Markowitz’s (1952) variance describes only the approximation when all volumes of the consecutive trades with securities are assumed constant. The market-based variance depends on the coefficient of variation of fluctuations of volumes of trades. To emphasize this dependence and to estimate possible deviation from Markowitz variance, we derive the Taylor series of the market-based variance up to the 2nd term by the coefficient of variation, taking Markowitz variance as a zero approximation. We consider three limiting cases with low and high fluctuations of the portfolio returns, and with a zero covariance of trade values and volumes and show that the impact of the coefficient of variation of trade volume fluctuations can cause Markowitz’s assessment to highly undervalue or overestimate the market-based variance of the portfolio. Incorrect assessments of the variances of securities and of the portfolio cause wrong risk estimates, disturb optimal portfolio selection, and result in unexpected losses. The major investors, portfolio managers, and developers of macroeconomic models like BlackRock, JP Morgan, and the U.S. Fed should use market-based variance to adjust their predictions to the randomness of market trades
Financial Inclusion and Digital Financial Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced Persons: Strategies and Challenges
No full textForced displacement poses a challenge to development. It displaces men, women, and children from their places of residence, making them strangers in another community and country. In the host country, they often lack legal identity. As a result, they cannot access basic formal financial services because financial service providers won’t serve them without formal legal identification. This puts forcibly displaced persons in a vulnerable situation. Financial inclusion for forcibly displaced persons, if it can be achieved, can give them access to basic financial services, which they can use to build resilience and cope with the humanitarian crises that accompany forced displacement. This study identifies some strategies to increase financial inclusion for forcibly displaced persons. It also highlights some challenges that may be encountered in advancing financial inclusion for forcibly displaced persons. The insights offered in this article are useful for development policymaking. It is also useful to academics, policymakers, and practitioners involved in activities, projects, or programs that are aimed at restoring the livelihoods of vulnerable people