10 | NOVEMBER 2018
by Chiara Candelise, Università di Torino e OEET
The next two issues of the newsletter “Emerging Economies” will present contributions from the latest XXth Scientific Conference of the Italian Association for the Study of Comparative Economic Systems (AISSEC), held in October 2018 at the Collegio Carlo Alberto, Turin.
The conference focus has been on the mission of the association (AISSEC): the comparison of economic systems. It hosted a range of national and international research papers dealing with both theoretical and applied research work on several topics ranging from macroeconomics and sustainable development in emerging and developing countries, to comparative studies of advanced economies. For the purpose of the next two newsletter contributions have been selected among those dealing more explicitly with emerging and developing countries. They have been grouped along two themes: 1. A macroeconomic perspective with contributions addressing growth, inequality and sustainable development; 2. A microeconomic theme with focus on gender issues and human development.
By Antonio Savoia, Global Development Institute and Effective States and Inclusive Development Centre, University of Manchester; M Niaz Asadullah, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya; Global Development Institute, University of Manchester
Can poverty be eradicated is the biggest question for development. Progress in poverty reduction was a central success with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): Estimates suggest that as many as one billion people were lifted out of poverty. Since poverty reduction remains important for the more ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it seems that the time is right to identify why poverty has been reduced so much and why some countries have seen a greater reduction than others.
by Michele Boario, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
Evidence suggests some level of convergence in economic growth within Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The newer members are catching-up to the economic conditions prevailing in ASEAN founder countries. Myanmar is not an exception; the country is one of the fastest growing economy in the region. Despite a significant economic slowdown in 2017, the IMF considers the country as an emerging market, and many investors continue looking at Myanmar as Asia’s final frontier. Should we conclude that Myanmar is an emerging economy? The answer depends on how an emerging economy is defined. To the extent that irreversibility of growth is part of the definition, the presence in Myanmar of growing inequality and polarization compounded with a conflict trap, make it problematic to include this country into the group of the emerging economies.
By Stephan Klasen, University of Goettingen; Maria C. Lo Bue, University of Goettingen; Vincenzo Prete University of Goettingen
Sustained economic growth and substantial progress in reducing poverty have taken place in many parts of the developing world over recent decades. Yet, large parts of the population in many countries continue to be highly vulnerable to poverty. A key challenge to establishing a development strategy for reducing vulnerability to poverty lies in the interplay between distribution and growth.
This paper considers how shocks can affect the distributional pattern of growth and thus poverty reduction, thereby bringing together the literature on the distributional pattern of growth with the literature on shocks and their impacts.
By Marta Marson, Univerity of Insubria; Ivan Savin, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Over the last few decades China has become an important source of aid and other official funding for African countries. Nevertheless, its coordination with other development partners into the global coordination of aid assistance to Africa remains very limited both in the countries where they operate and at the global level. Moreover, the contribution of China to Africa’s development has been severely criticised. While there have been recently studies demonstrating that funding from China and traditional donors are driven by similar determinants, little has been done to compare the impact of this funding on development.
The present work aims to close this gap, by comparing impacts on governance, infrastructure development, countries’ dependence on natural resources and external debt sustainability. Furthermore, we explore whether African countries experience some (dis)advantage from the presence of both donors.
by Olga Demidova, Higher School of Economics, National Research University, Moscow
Issues concerning Russian regions’ economic growth, convergence or divergence attract the interest of researchers and has continued to be relevant for more than 20 years. Russian regions are very heterogeneous in terms of geography, climate, and endowment with natural resources. Many researchers note that there are huge differences between the Russian regions. This leads to a difference in their economic development.
Our activities
-
10th Workshop OEET - Program
10 years of the Turin Centre on Emerging Economies: lessons learned and perspectives for the...