N°
300
07 June 2011
"Stay With Us?" The Impact of Emigration on Wages in Honduras Jason Gagnon
While the econometric literature on the impact of immigration on labour markets is well developed, there is a striking gap with regards to the impact of emigration on sending countries. Building on the established literature measuring the impact of immigration, this paper attempts to narrow...
N°
90
01 Nov 1993
A Detailed Input-Output Table for Morocco, 1990 Maurizio Bussolo, David Roland-Holst
This paper reports on the construction of an Input-Output table for the economy of Morocco. The table is calibrated to the year 1990 and details the interactions between 133 primary, manufacturing, and service sectors, relying on a combination of a more aggregate table estimated by the Moroccan...
N°
10
01 Feb 1990
A Financial Computable General Equilibrium Model for the Analysis of Ecuador's Stabilization Programs André Fargeix, Elisabeth Sadoulet
This paper presents an application to Ecuador of a computable general equilibrium model with a financial component, following the lead of F. Bourguignon, W. Branson and J. de Melo. Their macro-micro model was introduced in Technical Paper No.1 "Macroeconomic Adjustment and Income Distribution....
N°
213
01 Nov 2003
A Multi-Region Social Accounting Matrix (1995) and Regional Environmental General Equilibrium Model for India (REGEMI) Maurizio Bussolo, Mohamed Chemingui, David O’Connor
This technical paper presents the complete technical specification of the current version of the RE-GEM (Regional and Environmental General Equilibrium Model) for India. The document lists all the key structural and behavioural equations, providing a justification for the chosen model...
N°
137
01 Aug 1998
A Simulation Model of Global Pension Investment Landis MacKellar, Helmut Reisen
How and to what extent can a high degree of global financial integration help the fast-ageing OECD benefit from the delayed ageing process in the non-OECD area? The question is being raised with increasing urgency as it is slowly understood that even fully funded pension schemes will not escape...
N°
50
01 Dec 1991
Aggregation by Industry in General Equilibrium Models with International Trade Peter J. Lloyd
Models of trading economies have become very large in dimensions and complex in structure. This paper seeks conditions under which it is possible to aggregate the production and consumption of groups of commodities in "industries": commodity groups sharing some common characteristics and...
N°
13
01 Apr 1990
Agricultural Growth and Economic Development Naved Hamid, Wouter Tims
This study examines the role of public investment in determining the pattern of agricultural development in Pakistan. The focus is on investment in irrigation, which is seen to be the key to providing food self-sufficiency and allowing Pakistan to sustain a flows of net agricultural exports....
N°
75
01 Aug 1992
Agricultural Productivity and Economic Policies Yair Mundlak
This study develops a conceptual framework for analysing the ways in which changes in the economic environment modify factor productivity. It focuses on the technology actually used in production — implemented technology — rather than the generation of technology. Implementation reflects the...
N°
206
01 Mar 2003
Agricultural and Human Health Impacts of Climate Policy in China David O’Connor, Fan Zhai, Kristin Aunan, Terje Berntsen, Haakon Vennemo
China’s climate policy over the coming decades will be crucial to efforts to slow global warming. While CO2 emissions growth slowed in the 1990s, it is too early to know if this represents the beginning of a long-term downward trend in the carbon intensity of China’s economy.Climate...
N°
15
01 June 1990
Agriculture and the Economic Cycle Florence Contré, Ian Goldin
This study provides an economic and econometric analysis of agriculture in the economic cycle, with special reference to the recent experience of Brazil. Part One of the paper discusses the economic theory and points to the relevance of classical texts for analysis of agriculture's role in the...
N°
74
01 July 1992
Agriculture and the Policy Environment Doris J. Jansen, Andrew Rukovo
The paper examines the effect of differing policies in the post-independence period on the agricultural and overall economic performance of Zambia and Zimbabwe. It focuses on the interaction between macroeconomic and agricultural policy reforms. It shows that macro and micro reforms need to be...
N°
273
01 Nov 2008
Aid Volatility and Macro Risks in Low-Income Countries Eduardo Borensztein, Julia Cagé, Daniel Cohen, Cécile Valadier
The report argues that aid volatility is an important source of volatility for the poorest countries. Following a method already applied by the Agence Française de Développement, the report argues that loans to LICs should incorporate a floating grace period, which the country could draw upon...
N°
87
01 Aug 1993
Alternative Explanations of the Trade-Output Correlation in the East Asian Economies Colin I. Bradford Jr., Naomi Chakwin
A number of Asian countries have been able to follow the example of Japan and develop sophisticated industrial economies in a relatively short time. Specifically, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan have become known as the "Four Tigers" of Asia due to their strength and importance in...
N°
67
01 May 1992
An Assessment of the Brady Plan Agreements Jean-Claude Berthélemy, Robert Lensink
This paper presents an assessment of the results of Brady plans for debtor countries which have implemented such agreements (Costa Rica, Mexico, the Philippines, Uruguay and Venezuela). First, we show that the relatively successful Mexican case cannot be generalized, due to the great diversity...
N°
252
29 June 2006
Angel or Devil? China's Trade Impact on Latin American Emerging Markets Jorge Blázquez-Lidoy, Javier Rodríguez, Javier Santiso
China’s economy has expanded by leaps and bounds, with dazzling progress since it first opened to foreign investment and reform in 1978. Over the last 25 years and after a long period of economic autarky, the country has emerged as a major player in world trade. Its accession to the World Trade...
N°
283
03 Jan 2010
Are Sovereign Wealth Funds' Investments Politically Biased? Rolando Avendaño, Javier Santiso
Global allocation of capital and fluctuations in asset prices are increasingly influenced
by the activities of Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs). The Santiago Principles called for higher
transparency, stressing that SWFs should exhibit clearer governance standards and sound
portfolio management...
N°
282
09 Oct 2009
Are Workers' Remittances Relevant for Credit Rating Agencies? Rolando Avendaño, Norbert Gaillard, Sebastián Nieto Parra
Remittance flows are an important source of financing for developing countries. In
addition to the microeconomic impact at the household level, remittances have grown into an
important pillar of macroeconomic stability, reducing volatility of external flows, lessening the
probability of current...
N°
278
30 June 2009
Are all Migrants Really Worse off in Urban Labour Markets? Jason Gagnon, Theodora Xenogiani, Chunbing Xing
The rapid and massive increase in rural-to-urban worker flows to the coast of China has drawn recent attention to the welfare of migrants working in urban regions, particularly to their working conditions and pay; serious concern is raised regarding pay discrimination against rural migrants....
N°
297
01 Mar 2011
Ascendance by Descendants? Christian Daude
This paper studies intergenerational social mobility in Latin America. We show that persistence in educational achievements across generations is high compared to other parts of the world. That is, not only is the income distribution in Latin America highly unequal, but profound differences in...
N°
259
01 Mar 2007
Banking on Democracy Javier Rodríguez, Javier Santiso
Private capital movements have risen in recent decades, and bank flows have been part of
this story. Some empirical studies have analysed the political drivers of private international
liquidity, but paradoxically very few have looked at the political economy of bank flows. Even
less research...
N°
263
01 Nov 2007
Banking on Development Javier Rodríguez, Javier Santiso
Over the past decade we have witnessed a double convergence. Aid donors have
developed a growing interest in the private sector while private banks have set about creating
corporate social responsibility programs, sustainable lending and microfinance programmes. As
a consequence, the dialogue...
N°
305
20 Oct 2011
Being "Middle-Class" in Latin America Francesca Castellani, Gwenn Parent
This paper joins the debate on the size of the middle class in Latin America, analysing its structure and characteristics. The paper investigates inter-class mobility potential and its evolution over time in the case of selected countries. As a result of the estimations, we find that Latin...
N°
20
01 July 1990
Biotechnology and Developing Country Agriculture Suthad Setboonsarng
Maize is a relatively new crop in Thailand, but since commercial production began in the 1950s it has become the second most important crop in terms of planted area and one of the country's top four agricultural exports. Major changes are occurring in the maize market in Thailand. On the supply...
N°
17
01 June 1990
Biotechnology and Developing Country Agriculture Bernardo Sorj, John Wilkinson
With annual production averaging over 20 million metric tons, Brazil is the second largest developing country producer of maize (after China) and the third largest in the world. This report analyses development and dissemination of maize research and technology in Brazil from a socio-economic...
N°
19
01 June 1990
Biotechnology and Developing Country Agriculture Jaime A. Matus Gardea, Puente Gonzalez, Cristina López Peralta
Maize has been a staple food in Mexico since pre-Hispanic times and is still an important source of calories and protein in daily consumption, especially for poor families. The pattern of consumption is nevertheless changing; with the share of food consumption declining and feed utilisation...
N°
34
01 Jan 1991
Biotechnology and Developing Country Agriculture Hidjat Nataatmadja
After rice, maize is the second most important staple food in Indonesia, and is cultivated under a diversity of agro-ecological conditions. While food accounts for more than half total maize utilisation, demand for maize as livestock feed - particularly for poultry - has been growing rapidly in...
N°
105
01 Jan 1995
Biotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture José Luis Solleiro Rebolledo
This case study of Mexico examines developments in agricultural biotechnology against the background of recent changes in macro-economic, environmental and agricultural policies as well as in the regulation of the seeds industry, intellectual property protection and biosafety. It also...
N°
103
01 Dec 1994
Biotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture Ghayur Alam
India's self-sufficiency in food production has been achieved by the adoption of chemicals-intensive farming methods which have contributed to serious deterioration of the environment. New evironmentally-friendly technologies, which maintain (or increase) current levels of productivity, are...
N°
109
01 Dec 1995
Biotechnology and Sustainable Crop Production in Zimbabwe John J. Woodend
This case study of Zimbabwe has examined developments in biotechnology against the background of a welldeveloped national agricultural research, plant breeding and seeds system. It has then assessed the constraints to biotechnology research, technology development and diffusion in the light of...
N°
72
01 July 1992
Biotechnology and the Changing Public/Private Sector Balance Carliene Brenner
This study examines the potential impact of changes in the public/private sector balance for biotechnology development and diffusion in developing country agriculture. It focuses on biotechnology related to two important developing country crops: rice and cocoa.The study highlights the...
N°
148
01 Mar 1999
Boom and Bust and Sovereign Ratings Helmut Reisen, Julia von Maltzan
The 1990s have witnessed pronounced boom-bust cycles in emerging-markets lending, culminating in the Asian financial and currency crisis of 1997-98. By examining the links between sovereign credit ratings and dollar bond yield spreads over 1989-97, this paper aims at broad empirical content for...
N°
223
01 Nov 2003
Building Capacity to Trade Henri-Bernard Solignac Lecomte
The Doha Declaration stresses the "important role" of "well targeted, sustainably financed technical assistance and capacity-building programmes". It dedicates a whole section to them, and reiterates the commitment of its membership to help the weakest among them participate effectively in the...
N°
39
01 July 1991
Buybacks of LDC Debt and the Scope for Forgiveness Béatriz Armendariz de Aghion
This paper explains why a debtor country may be eager to spend foreign exchange reserves on the retirement of its cross-border obligations at market prices. A simple two-period framework shows that such spending can be profitable to both the debtor countries and their foreign creditors, and...
N°
160
01 July 2000
Capital Flows and Growth in Developing Countries Marcelo Soto
Are capital inflows associated with faster income growth? There are a large number of empirical studies that identify the most relevant determinants of a country’s growth rate. However, this literature has not explored the growth impact of the various types of capital inflows. The present study...
N°
36
01 July 1991
Capital Flows and the External Financing of Turkey's Imports (Special Series on Mixed Credits, in Collaboration with ICEPS) Ziya Önis, Süleyman Özmucur
Subsidized capital flows have made a major contribution to the recovery of the Turkish economy from the acute balance of payments crisis of the late 1970s. The inflow of foreign capital on a substantial scale has facilitated rapid growth in imports of essential raw materials and investment...
N°
212
01 July 2003
Central Asia Since 1991 Richard Pomfret
The five former Soviet republics have become separate states, developing at different rates and in different directions, and with different political and economic regimes. As a result, the cohesion of the region has broken down and economic development is hampered by internal and regional...
N°
35
01 Mar 1991
Changing Comparative Advantage in Thai Agriculture Ammar Siamwalla, Suthad Setboonsarng, Prasong Werakarnjanapongs
Two key developments affected Thai agriculture in the last decade: the precipitous decline (until 1988) in world prices for the major agricultural items exported by Thailand, and the decline in the amount of cultivable land available for each agricultural worker.During this same period the Thai...
N°
89
01 Nov 1993
China as a Leading Pacific Economy Kiichiro Fukasaku, Mingyuan Wu
China is emerging as a leading Pacific economy in the 1990s. This paper examines the implications of China's entry into the world market for the OECD countries as well as for the regional economies of Asia and the Pacific. It argues that the shares of Asian countries in the OECD countries'...
N°
205
01 Feb 2003
China's Software Industry and Its Implications for India Ted Tschang
The Chinese software industry is small and underdeveloped, compared with its computer and other information technology (IT) hardware industry and compared with India’s software industry. Yet, current status is not necessarily a good guide to future prospects, as China’s recent history amply...
N°
147
01 Mar 1999
China's Unfinished Open-Economy Reforms Kiichiro Fukasaku, Yu Ma, Qiumei Yang
During the 1990s, China has experienced a surge in imports of services, particularly those of communication, insurance and other business services, despite the fact that the authorities have maintained a plethora of restrictive measures limiting access to the service sector. Not only does this...
N°
113
01 July 1996
Chinese Outward Investment in Hong Kong Yun-Wing Sung
Over the last decade, China has been the leading investor among developing countries and Hong Kong is the foremost destination of Chinese investment. However, China’s outward investment has been grossly understated in official statistics due to avoidance of China’s foreign exchange controls....
N°
198
01 Oct 2002
Choice of an Exchange-Rate Arrangement, Institutional Setting and Inflation Andreas Freytag
The debate about whether fixed or flexible exchange-rate regimes are better suited to guaranteeing stability has received added stimulus from the macroeconomic crisis in Argentina. This paper argues that it is misleading solely to concentrate on exchange-rate policy to assess the preconditions...
N°
182
01 Nov 2001
Clearing the Air in India Maurizio Bussolo, David O’Connor
With the aid of a computable general equilibrium model, this paper estimates for India the magnitude of spillovers from limiting growth of greenhouse gas emissions to local air quality and the health of the urban population. The most important spillovers are reductions in emissions of...
N°
156
01 Nov 1999
Climate Policy Without Tears Sébastien Dessus, David O’Connor
What interest do developing countries have in limiting the growth of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions? Answering this question is crucial to moving international climate policy negotiations forward. The primary benefits for individual countries of GHG abatement remain highly uncertain and,...
N°
78
01 Oct 1992
Co-Financing Transactions between Multilateral Institutions and International Banks Michel Bouchet, Amit Ghose
The last decade has exemplified a retrenchment of bank lending in developing countries. International banks strive to boost capital ratios, thereby raising equity, reducing their less profitable assets and rebalancing portfolios towards less risky claims. In that context of underfinanced...
N°
280
30 July 2009
Coherence of Development Policies Iliana Olivié
This study provides a general analysis of economic relations between Spain, as a donor of
official development assistance (ODA), and Ecuador, as a partner and recipient of development
aid. It seeks to assess the potential (in)coherence between Spain’s foreign economic activities and
the goals...
N°
16
01 June 1990
Comparative Advantage Ian Goldin
This paper investigates the application of the principle of comparative advantage to policy analysis and policy formulation. It is concerned with both the theory and the measurement of comparative advantage. Despite its central role in economics, the theory is found to be at an impasse, with...
N°
31
01 Oct 1990
Comparative Advantage in Agriculture in Ghana James Pickett, E. Shaeeldin
In 1957, when independence came, Ghana was one of the most advanced economies in sub-Saharan Africa. It seemed well placed to make rapid and substantial progress. In the event, economic performance was dismal, and by 1982 the economy was all but in ruins. External conditions and the weather can...
N°
57
01 Mar 1992
Conflict or Indifference Louis T. Wells Jr.
Managers of US multinational corporations generally respond with a "big yawn" to warnings that the world trading system might evolve into a set of protectionist
regional blocs.Their lack of fear is justified, since both their past strategies and their more recent, supposedly global strategies...
N°
299
01 May 2011
Continental vs. Intercontinental Migration Fleur Wouterse
This working paper uses an agricultural household model to explore the impact of potential immigration policy reforms on the welfare of rural households in Burkina Faso. Simulation results demonstrate that, in contrast to continental migration, increased intercontinental migration has strong...
