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Business groups in Emerging Economies: Introduction to the Special Issue
Full text linkThe �existence, �ubiquity �and �remarkable �dynamics �of �business �groups �in � emerging �markets �has �stimulated �a �large �amount �of �research, �which �has �investigated �the � reasons �for �the �emergence �of �groups, �their �ownership �structure, �their �differentiation � and �vertical �integration �patterns, �and �their �economic �performance. �However, �there �is � still �more �limited �evidence �about �business �groups� �strategies, �i.e. �how �groups �organize � their �business �activities �and �what �makes �them �more � (or �less) �successful �than � independent �enterprises. �This �Special �Issue �collects �new �research �on �economic �groups � network �and �internationalization �strategies
Democracy and income inequality: revisiting the long- and short-term relationship
Full text linkThis paper studies the relationship between democracy andincome inequality in long- and short/medium-run. Using appropriate econometrictechniques on both, averaged and panel data for the period 1962-2006, we findno evidence that democracy is associated with tighter income distribution. Ourresults are robust to different specification techniques, to exclusion ofdeveloped as well as the transition countries. We speculate that the different(and opposing) transmission mechanisms, as well as the nature and thedefinition of the democracy variables (both Polity IV and Freedom House)influence our results. Improvement of conceptualization and measurement of democracycould shed further light onto the democracy-inequality nexus
Business Groups in Emerging Markets: Paragons or Parasites?
Full text linkDiversified �business �groups, �consisting �of �legally �independent �firms �operating � across �diverse �industries, �are �ubiquitous �in �emerging �markets. �Groups �around �the �world � share �certain �attributes �but �also �vary �substantially �in �structure, �ownership, �and �other � dimensions. �This �paper �proposes �a �business �group �taxonomy, �which �is �used �to �formu-�? � late �hypotheses �and �present �evidence �about �the �reasons �for �the �formation, �prevalence, � and �evolution �of �groups �in �different �environments. �In �interpreting �the �evidence, �the � authors �pay �particular �attention �to �two �aspects �neglected �in �much �of �the �literature: �the � circumstances �under �which �groups �emerge �and �the �historical �evidence �on �some �of �the � questions �addressed �by �recent �studies. �They �argue �that �business �groups �are �responses � to �different �economic �conditions �and �that, �from �a �welfare �standpoint, �they �can �some-�? � times �be ��paragons� �and, �at �other �times, ��parasites.� �The �authors �conclude �with �an � agenda �for �future �research.
Infrastructure Spending as Fiscal Stimulus: Assessing the Evidence
Full text linkTransportation spending often plays a prominent role in government efforts to stimulate the economy during downturns. Yet, despite the frequent use of transportation spending as a form of fiscal stimulus, there is little known about its short- or medium-run effectiveness. Does it translate quickly into higher employment and economic activity or does it impact the economy only slowly over time? �This paper reviews the empirical findings in the literature for the United States and other developed economies and compares the effects of transportation spending to those of other types of government spending
Ownership Structure and Literacy: Evidence Across Spanish Districts in Late 19th Century
Full text linkThis paper studies the association between ownership structure and�literacy across Spanish districts in the late 19th century. We nd a positive�correlation between the ownership rate of the type of livestock mostly used in�agriculture (i.e. cattle) and the literacy rate, which is robust to controlling for a�large set of factors including spatial correlation. We observe a similar association�also for the second type of livestock mostly used in agriculture (i.e. mules). This�result suggests that the structure of livestock ownership, which is used as a proxy�for land ownership, played a role in shaping literacy rates. We use a province-level�analysis to assess the importance of demand and supply channels in determining�this correlation
Transitional Forces in a Resource Based Economy: Phases of Economic and Institutional Development in Hawaii
Full text linkWe illuminate several important aspects of the nature and causes of growth and institutional change. To do this, we focus on the role resource pressures have played in the historic development of Hawaii�s institutions. We discuss the Hawaiian story in the context of the natural co-evolution of production systems, organizational forms and authority structures in a resource dependent economy. We model the resource dependency as a multi-trophic ecologically based system. Productivity is a dynamic function of the available resource, human populations of laborers and wealth (capital) accumulation that funds management and governance through a non-productive elite class. We use both archeological and historical evidence from natural resource use during the settlement and modernization of the Hawaiian economy. Hawaii�s resources are first controlled by hierarchy, which intensifies over time. Decentralization occurs after Western contact (1778), though not immediately. Unlike many existing analyses of primitive economic development, there does not exist a monotonic relationship between population and resource pressure. In a model of second-best resource management, optimal governance changes as the balance between sustenance and other resource uses shifts.
Institutions, Natural Resources and Economic Growth in the Modern Age, the Case of Dogana delle Pecore in the Kingdom of Naples (XV-XVIII Centuries).
Full text linkThe trade of wheat and wool has been one of the economic pillars of the Kingdom of Naples during Modern Age. Since Romans times the production of these commodities � in the continental part of the Kingdom � has been regulated by the trashumance system that coordinated the flow of sheep on Puglia�s Tavoliere lands. We would highlight the role exercised by the institutions as development agents. In particular, the paper would demonstrate that the new institutions introduced by the king Alfonso I of Aragon were the main driver not only of trashumance but of the entire economic framework of the kingdom. A simple analytical model based on the complementary dynamics of pasturing and wheat production shows the results of the functioning of the new system. The results challenges the negative interpretation of the trashumance led on by the Neapolitan Reformers (illuministi) at the end of XVIII Century and widely absorbed by historians in the XX Century.
Historical Ethnic Homelands and Income Convergence in Africa
Full text linkThis paper tests the cross-sectional income convergence in historical African ethnic homelands proxied by per capita CO2 emissions between 1850 and 2005 using both parametric and non parametric tests of cross-sectional income distribution modality. We report that the cross- sectional income distribution in historical African ethnic homelands exhibits two very persistent steady states: one very low and one medium-to-high. Excluding from the analysis those areas that had no CO2 emissions throughout the sample period � although they were inhabited � we find that ethnic homeland areas still share two distinct steady states after the 1940s. Our study contributes to the literature on income convergence in ethnically divergent�areas and more specifically in the historical ethnic homelands in the African continent
Institutions and Financial Deepening
Full text linkThis study investigates the extent to which institutional characteristics are related to countries' level of credit depth. The findings suggest that the development of formal property rights, contracting, and competition institutions is positively related to an increase in credit to the private sector as a ratio of GDP. This result remains robust when controlling for the effect of financial policy. The relation between institutional characteristics and banks' lending capacity and investment is mixed. However, overall, institutional development is positively related to credit deepening and investment
Introduction to the REI Special Issue: "The Role of History, Biogeography, and Institutions for Comparative Development"
Full text linkThe importance of history, culture, and biogeography in shaping current institutions and the long-run process of economic development is the subject of an important and growing field of research, attracting prominent scholars from different backgrounds. This special issue brings together contributions that investigate both theoretically and empirically the potential mechanisms that mediate the link between institutional and economic development. �