As mentioned in the class, it would be a good idea to share some resources that we find on the web with the rest of the class. You choose any of the topics related to development we have touched upon in class. In the comments to this post, please share what you think is valuable for others to know.
(This brings up a question: Will this create an externality, and if so, is there a mechanism for internalizing this externality?)
Econ171 Economic Development 2011 
HELLO:
As the professor Atanu said the underdevelopment markets are incomplete markets so they do not have the capacity to improve the economy. In the under development economies the most common incomplete market is the financial. Here is one paper that talks about the importance of the financial market for the growth and also development.
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.12.4723&rep=rep1&type=pdf
EMMANUEL GUTIERREZ
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-dakotah/women-in-power-susan-hock_b_881881.html
The above link is a general report of MIT’s president, Susan Hockfield’s opinions and observations about the United State’s current situation in the technology field. I found this article interesting when compared to DeLong’s suggestions that US policies must accommodate and adjust to nurture the booming technology innovations. Apparently, the current US policies and fundings have been primarily directed to (excluding military technology purposes) towards social, financial, and environmental efforts. For example, past governmental policies have been tailored towards the recession and conflicts overseas. Current legislation and funds have been directed towards improving health and insurance for average Americans. It seems like there is a trade off between investments in human capital versus investments in future innovation.
An externality that the fickle government policies might cause is a big drop in US’s lead as the center of technology innovation and product creativity in the fields of computer science and future energy sources. One way I see to internalize this externality is to take risks and fund these necessary research right now. And should these innovations (as promising as Hockfield claims) pay off in the future in the form of technological breakthroughs and the rise of new products/industries, the government can participate in sharing these revenues either through tax or legislation. But of course, there is the possibility that a future tax will hinder present innovation, but I guess this is a risk that the government will have to take for the sake of a “Long Boom” economy.
Interesting article in the economist talking about the great improvements to the country of India through an ever growing telecom market. However on the flip side are the issues of nepotism, corruption, unclear regulations and rules and other impediments that will not let this market function properly. Interesting in the sense that here is this great new product which is helping out the consumer but with the new advent comes a new set of problems.
http://www.economist.com/node/18836120
Interesting article in the economist about the emerging telecom market in India and how it is helping the country. However on the flip side it discusses nepotism, corruption unclear rules and regulations and other impediments into a smoothly running market. It seems the negative externality is being encompassed by the corporations who are entering India’s market and trying to stay (despite losses) as growth bets for the long run. Almost seems as if economies of scale are being impeded.
http://www.economist.com/node/18836120
The link below is an article entitled “productivity growth, convergence and welfare: comment” written by Bradford De Long and published in the American Economic Review.
J. B. De Long shows that convergence of per capita incomes cannot be observed in a large cross-section of countries; it is limited to samples of currently industrialized countries or countries with high literacy rates. He showed that in groups of ex ante rich nations income dispersion has failed to decline.
Click to access Baumol_Convergence.JSTOR.pdf
I recently read an article about a report by the Brookings Institute about the geography of immigration in the US and that highly skilled immigrant now outnumber low skilled immigrants. In the link there is a map that allows you
to click on each metropolitan area in the United States for stats of that region’s immigrant profile.
http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2011/06_immigrants_singer.aspx
This is a short video clip that talks about Africa’s economic development and what is inhibiting its growth. I think this clip is very interesting and informative and could be very beneficial to every economists.
This resource is focused on the emerging economy, China. The link below shows an article that have 5 charts that show the growth of China and it also explains and predicts the future growth stats of China. These 5 charts clearly show how much China’s GDP has changed over the years. These charts also explain briefly China’s economic problems and how it would impact China’s economic growth.
http://www.businessinsider.com/five-charts-of-chinas-growth-conundrum-2011-6
There is strong evidence when looking at the case of Botswana, a resource rich country, that strong macroeconomic fundamentals and strong institutions may be the key components to overcoming a “resource curse”. Here is a link to a paper by The World Bank that takes an in-depth look at this case: http://go.worldbank.org/Q0GSFDZA41.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/06/17/saudi.women.drivers/index.html
This is an article from CNN about how women in Saudi Arabia are culturally prevented from driving and their current protest. Although there are no specific laws against it, the cultural norm forces women to hire expensive private drivers or taxis. In addition, women aren’t allowed to open their own bank accounts or own passports because of religious principles. These cultural norms in Saudi Arabia pose barriers to development, especially in regards to equality and women’s rights.
Hi everyone,
I found this great clip, that pretty much summerizes what we learned in class last week. Unfortunally it cuts off and cant finish seeing the rest, but it is still worth the watch!
Enjoy,
Oscar
Hi everyone,
I found an interesting paper about the economic development of South Korea. In 1960 South Korea was one of the poorest countries on Earth, with a GDP of $ 82. In 2010 the GDP has reached up to $ 17.000 and South Korea belongs now to the high-income countries. Investment in education has been one of the key factors of success. So share knowledge !
Click to access harvie-pahlavani.pdf
What is wrong with our economy? Robert Reich, a Cal professor at the school of public policy will answer this question in 2 minutes and 15 minutes.
Arash T. L.
Arash T.L.
Hi everyone,
I found an interesting paper about the economic development of South Korea. In 1960 South Korea was one of the poorest countries on Earth, with a GDP of $ 82. In 2010 the GDP reached up to $ 17.000 and belongs now to the high-income countries. As one of the key factors of the success is the investment in education. So if we want to help poor countries the best way is to share knowledge and improve the human capital.
Here is the link.
Click to access harvie-pahlavani.pdf
Here is an update on our book order. Amazon shipped 21 copies in 3 shipments (10, 10, 1). Here are the USPS tracking numbers: 9102901001302238707201, 9102901001301525892088, and 9102901001301526858434.
Cheers,
~Matt
We learned in class that technology transfer would lead to catch-up of living standards in poor countries. Considering the increasing number of foreign-invested firms in China due to manufacturing offshore, I am thinking about whether Chinese firms can gain advanced technology from foreign firms and thus increase the sophistication of their products over time or not. However, the model built by the paper “Please pass the catch-up” by Blonigen & Ma shows that overall, Chinese firms are losing export share and relative sophistication, i.e. unit value, over the period. For details, please go to: http://www.nber.org/books_in_progress/china07/blonigen-ma8-22-07.pdf
The Vertical specialization model might give a possible explanation to Blonigen & Ma’s conclusion. Imbs, Wacziarg(2003) tells us that countries first diversify and at a later point in the development process, they will start specializing again. On the other hand, Amiti, Freund(2008) finds that despite Gini coefficient for 1992 to 2005 for the whole sample of products in China kept the same, Gini coefficient of top 100 products which accounts for 45% in 1992 and 50% in 2005 increased from 0.35 to 0.50. Thus, we can say the bundle of exported goods has specified. However, in a flat world, advanced foreign countries might push Chinese domestic firms to a lower stage in a vertically integrated production process because of diverse comparative advantages of different countries as well as the ideas of differentiated goods. If such a vertical specialization model is fixed, then developed countries will occupy the high-end of product spectrum with higher value-added, while on the contrary, developing countries, like China, might gain some petty profits through producing goods with lower unit values. Therefore, there is no significant evidence that exhibits the increases in the sophistication, say, unit value of Chinese products over time, and even worse, unit value might be decreasing based on the broad trends described by Blonigen & Ma’s model.
This paper leaves us a question: is it really impossible for any country to catch up instead of passively keeping up, specifically, with respect to the unit value of their products or technology progress if possible, in the globally vertical production process?
Hey everyone,
In class we talked about how the world is facing a Technological Revolution and how so many users are now on the internet. The video explores how big of an impact social media has on the world and how people are now even able to find jobs through this tool. Hope you enjoy it!
Here is the link: