Download or read book Development strategy reconsidered Mexico 1960 1994 written by Toru Yanagihara and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Development Strategy Reconsidered written by T?ru Yanagihara and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 63 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: March 1998 In developing strategy, the Mexican government has been politically inclined to favor agricultural or rural states over nonagricultural states--and less productive rural states--although its focus on the subsistence sector seems to have diminished recently. Different ways of discussing development strategy often reflect different definitions of development. Analysts who emphasize income or production as indicators of development may focus on macroeconomics or sectors. Other analysts may focus on distribution and social aspects as development. Economists tend to see development strategy from the normative, technocratic perspective of welfare economics. Political scientists may see development as a process of political interaction between different interests. Using Mexico as a case, the authors examine macroeconomic conditions and policies (based on flow of funds tables) and estimates of resource transfers between sectors and regions, to relate them to development strategies. They find that: - Macroeconomic conditions and policies have exerted a strong impact on resource transfers between the productive sector and the financial and fiscal sectors. - Because of the strong impact of macroeconomic conditions and policies, resource transfers between productive sectors were not necessarily evident for either financial or fiscal transfers. But combined transfers from nonagricultural states to agricultural states were significant in three out of four periods examined. - The government more effectively controls fiscal transfers because it is directly involved in decisionmaking about public investment and federal participation. Figures on fiscal transfers suggest that the government favored agricultural states in the quarter century studies. - Fiscal transfers dominated financial transfers--hence the general transfer from nonagricultural states to agricultural states. The Mexican government maintained a strong interventionist stance toward the rural and agricultural sector even as it espoused reducing the government's role in economic management. - During the era of shared development, the government favored less productive agricultural states over highly productive agricultural states. As agrarian reform was reformed, this favoritism diminished and eventually disappeared. - The study results reflect the Mexican government's political inclination to favor agricultural or rural states in coping with macroeconomic turmoil. In terms of development strategy, the federal government may have maintained that preference in securing resource flows, but that focus on the subsistence sector seems to have diminished recently. This paper--a product of the Development Research Group--is part of a larger study of the political economy of rural development strategies.

Download or read book Development Expenditures and the Local Financing Constraint written by Albert D. K. Agbonyitor and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 23 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: April 1998 The inadequacy of local funds is a major financing problem in most low-income economies. It is undercutting the absorption of aid and the sustainability of development projects. Focusing on the local financing constraint sheds new light on issues of aid, fiscal reform, and the management of public spending. The fungibility of aid need not translate into resource flows to fill the local financing gap. Indeed, project aid can widen the local financing gap. To augment direct local financing of development, aid must be nonproject aid that can generate local currency. In the longer term, project aid's effect on local financing lies in its impact on growth and on expanding the base for tax revenues, seigniorage, and borrowing. When inadequate local financing limits project implementation and effective use of aid, local currency funds are more valuable than project aid, at the margin-and it becomes important to reallocate local funds, to leverage project aid, and to raise the quality of investment projects. A persistent gap in local financing complicates programs of fiscal reform. For such programs to be effective, the local financing gap has to be confronted directly by matching planned local fund expenditures against expected local fund receipts. This requires a transparent database to develop indicators and to monitor the allocation and use of local resources. This paper-a product of the Macroeconomics Division II, Eastern Africa Department-is part of a larger effort in the department to understand the effectiveness of development expenditures.

Download or read book Development of Natural Gas and Pipeline Capacity Markets in the United States written by Andrej Juris and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Developing countries Participation in the World Trade Organization written by Constantine Michalopoulos and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: March 1998 Many developing countries are not participating in the World Trade Organization as much as they should. What can be done about it? In the 1960s and 1970s developing countries viewed UNCTAD rather than the GATT as the main institution through which to promote their interests in international trade. But beginning with the Uruguay Round in the mid-1980s, their attitude changed, many more of them became members of the GATT, and a significant number played an active role in negotiations. Michalopoulos analyzes developing countries' representation and participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO) as of mid-1997 to determine how developing countries can effectively promote their interests and discharge their responsibilities under the rules and agreements of the new organization. He concludes that although many developing countries are actively participating in the new process, more than half of the developing countries that are members of the WTO participate little more than they did in the early 1980s and have not increased their staffing, despite the vastly greater complexity of issues and obligations. Institutional weaknesses at home are the main constraints to effective participation and representation of their interests at the WTO. To make their participation more effective, Michalopoulos recommends that the developing countries establish adequately staffed WTO missions based in Geneva; failing that, pooling their resources and representation in Geneva; and being sure to pay their dues, which are typically small. He recommends that the international community place higher priority on programs of assistance in support of institutional development of poorer countries aimed at enhancing their capacity to participate in the international trading system and the WTO-and that the WTO review its internal rules and procedures to ensure that inadvertently they do not make developing countries participation more difficult. This paper is part of a larger effort by the World Bank to collaborate with the World Trade Organization in developing approaches for the more effective integration of the developing countries in the international trading system. The author may be contacted at [email protected].

Download or read book Capital Market Responses to Environmental Performance in Developing Countries written by Susmita Dasgupta and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Policy Research Working Paper 1896 Congestion Pricing and Network Expansion written by and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Internationalization of Financial Services in Asia written by Stijn Claessens and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: April 1998 Asian countries should consider the benefits of opening their financial service sectors more quickly-at the same time that they are liberalizing capital accounts and deregulating domestic financial markets. The internationalization of financial services-eliminating discrimination between the treatment of foreign and domestic providers of financial services and removing barriers to the cross-border provision of financial services-is of global interest, especially in Asia. Most of Asia limits the entry of foreign financial firms much more than otherwise comparable countries do. Empirical evidence for Asia and elsewhere suggests that this slows down institutional development and that, as a result, it costs more to provide financial services. Asian countries could benefit from accelerating the opening of the financial services sector, in conjunction with the further liberalization of capital accounts and domestic deregulation of financial markets. Apart from other benefits, internationalization helps build more robust, efficient financial systems by introducing international practices and standards; by improving the quality, efficiency, and breadth of financial services; and by allowing more stable sources of funds. The ongoing WTO negotiation of financial services under GATS gives countries the opportunity to commit to opening their financial sectors. Safeguards can be built into the process, and the liberalization can be phased in gradually. This paper-a product of the Economic Policy Division, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network-is part of a larger effort in the network to study financial reform in developing countries. The paper was written during the summer of 1997, before the East Asia financial crisis and before the conclusion of the WTO negotiations in December 1997.

Download or read book Market Development in the United Kingdom s Natural Gas Industry written by Andrej Juris and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 55 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Process of Economic Development written by James M. Cypher and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-01-31 with total page 777 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Download or read book International Labour Documentation written by International Labour Office. Central Library and Documentation Branch and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 634 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Does Membership in a Regional Preferential Trade Arrangement Make a Country More Or Less Protectionist written by Faezeh Foroutan and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: March 1998 It seems participation in a regional trade agreement does not necessarily lead to a more liberal import regime. Foroutan explores whether a systematic relationship exists between a developing country's participation in a preferential regional trade agreement (RTA) and the restrictiveness of its trade regime. The motivation for her study is provided by the current debate about whether regional trading blocs are a stepping-stone toward a more liberal global trading system and whether these blocs have changed over time so that the new blocs differ meaningfully from the old ones in terms of openness to the rest of the world. She restricts analysis to reciprocal RTAs involving developing countries in partnership either with industrial countries (North-South RTAs) or with other developing countries (South-South RTAs). Nearly every developing country belongs to one or more RTAs, so Foroutan develops criteria for distinguishing effective from noneffective regional blocs. She then taps into many sources of data to compare levels of restrictiveness. She finds no evidence that participation in a regional trade agreement necessarily leads to a more liberal import regime. This paper-a product of International Trade, Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the group to study preferential trade issues. The author may be contacted at [email protected].

Download or read book Capital Outflow from the Agriculture Sector in Thailand written by Junichi Yamada and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Regulatory Controversies of Private Pension Funds written by Dimitri Vittas and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: March 1998 Although controversial, investment and other draconian regulations for private pension funds are suitable for countries with weak capital markets and little tradition of private pension provision. But regulations should be relaxed as private pension funds gain in maturity. Like other financial institutions, private pension funds require a panoply of prudential and protective regulations to ensure their soundness and safeguard the interests of affiliated workers. These regulations include authorization criteria (such as minimum capital, fit and proper, and business plan requirements), asset segregation and external custody, professional asset management, external audits and actuarial reviews, extensive information disclosure, and effective supervision. These regulations resemble those applied to banks and insurance companies and are not particularly controversial. But private pension funds in developing countries are often subject to structural and operational controls that are more controversial. Such controls include special authorizations and market segmentation, one account per worker and one fund per company rules, nondiscrimination provisions, regulations on fees and commissions, investment limits, minimum profitability rules, and state guarantees. Vittas discusses the use of such regulations in developing countries that have implemented systemic pension reforms. He draws a distinction between this approach and the more relaxed regulatory regime that relies on the prudent person rule found in more advanced countries. He argues that the draconian regulatory approach can be justified on several grounds, but especially by the compulsory nature of the pension system, the absence of strong and transparent capital markets, and the lack of a long tradition of private pension funds. But the regulations should be progressively relaxed as private pension funds and their affiliated workers gain in experience, sophistication, and maturity. This paper-a product of the Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the group to study pension funds and institutional investors.

Download or read book Reaching Poor Areas in a Federal System written by Martin Ravallion and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Determinants of Commercial Bank Interest Margins and Profitability written by Asl? Demirgüç-Kunt and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: March 1998 Differences in interest margins reflect differences in bank characteristics, macroeconomic conditions, existing financial structure and taxation, regulation, and other institutional factors. Using bank data for 80 countries for 1988-95, Demirgüç-Kunt and Huizinga show that differences in interest margins and bank profitability reflect various determinants: * Bank characteristics. * Macroeconomic conditions. * Explicit and implicit bank taxes. * Regulation of deposit insurance. * General financial structure. * Several underlying legal and institutional indicators. Controlling for differences in bank activity, leverage, and the macroeconomic environment, they find (among other things) that: * Banks in countries with a more competitive banking sector-where banking assets constitute a larger share of GDP-have smaller margins and are less profitable. The bank concentration ratio also affects bank profitability; larger banks tend to have higher margins. * Well-capitalized banks have higher net interest margins and are more profitable. This is consistent with the fact that banks with higher capital ratios have a lower cost of funding because of lower prospective bankruptcy costs. * Differences in a bank's activity mix affect spread and profitability. Banks with relatively high noninterest-earning assets are less profitable. Also, banks that rely largely on deposits for their funding are less profitable, as deposits require more branching and other expenses. Similarly, variations in overhead and other operating costs are reflected in variations in bank interest margins, as banks pass their operating costs (including the corporate tax burden) on to their depositors and lenders. * In developing countries foreign banks have greater margins and profits than domestic banks. In industrial countries, the opposite is true. * Macroeconomic factors also explain variation in interest margins. Inflation is associated with higher realized interest margins and greater profitability. Inflation brings higher costs-more transactions and generally more extensive branch networks-and also more income from bank float. Bank income increases more with inflation than bank costs do. * There is evidence that the corporate tax burden is fully passed on to bank customers in poor and rich countries alike. * Legal and institutional differences matter. Indicators of better contract enforcement, efficiency in the legal system, and lack of corruption are associated with lower realized interest margins and lower profitability. This paper-a product of the Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the group to study bank efficiency.

Download or read book Determinants of Emerging Market Bond Spread written by Hong G. Min and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: March 1998 Macroeconomic variables matter and so does liquidity. External shocks (international interest rates) appear not to matter. In the 1990s international bond issues from developing countries surged dramatically, becoming one of the fastest-growing devices for financing external development. Their terms have improved as institutional investors have become more interested in emerging market securities and better economic prospects in a number of developing countries. But little is known about what determines the pricing and thus the yield spreads of new emerging market bond issues. Min investigates what determines bond spreads in emerging markets in the 1990s. He finds that strong macroeconomic fundamentals in a country-such as low domestic inflation rates, improved terms of trade, and increased foreign assets-are associated with lower yield spreads. By contrast, higher yield spreads are associated with weak liquidity variables in a country, such as a high debt-to-GDP ratio, a low ratio of foreign reserves to GDP, a low (high) export (import) growth rate, and a high debt-service ratio. At the same time, external shocks-as measured by the international interest rate-matter little in the determination of bond spreads. In the aggregate, Latin American countries have a negative yield curve. This paper-a product of the Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the group to study international transmission of financial crises in emerging economies.