The Tyranny of Concepts

The Tyranny of Concepts PDF Author: Lant Pritchett
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 46

Get Book Here

Book Description
Using the word capital to represent two different concepts is not such a problem when government is responsible for only a small fraction of national investment and is reasonably effective (as in the United States). But when government is a major investor and is ineffective, the gap between capital and cumulative, depreciated investment effort (CUDIE) may be enormous. A public sector steel mill may absorb billions as an investment, but if it cannot produce steel it has zero value as capital. The cost of public investment is not the value of public capital. Unlike for private investors, there is no remotely plausible behavioral model of the government as investor that suggests that every dollar the public sector spends as investment creates capital in an economic sense. This seemingly obvious point has so far been uniformly ignored in the voluminous empirical literature on economic growth, which uses, at best, cumulated, depreciated investment effort (CUDIE) to estimate capital stocks.But in developing countries especially, the difference between investment cumulated at cost and capital value is of primary empirical importance: government investment is half or more of total investment. And perhaps as much as half or more of government investment spending has not created equivalent capital. This suggests that nearly everything empirical written in three broad areas is misguided.First, none of the estimates of the impact of public spending identify the productivity of public capital. Even where public capital could be very productive, regressions and evaluations may suggest that public investment spending has little impact.Second, everything currently said about total factor productivity in developing countries is deeply suspect, as there is no way empirically to distinguish between low output (or growth) attributable to investments that created no factors and low output (or growth) attributable to low (or slow growth in) productivity in using accumulated factors.Third, multivariate growth regressions to date have not, in fact, controlled for the growth of capital stock, so spurious interpretations have emerged.This paper - a product of Poverty and Human Resources, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the importance of public sector actions for economic growth.

The Tyranny of Concepts

The Tyranny of Concepts PDF Author: Lant Pritchett
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 46

Get Book Here

Book Description
Using the word capital to represent two different concepts is not such a problem when government is responsible for only a small fraction of national investment and is reasonably effective (as in the United States). But when government is a major investor and is ineffective, the gap between capital and cumulative, depreciated investment effort (CUDIE) may be enormous. A public sector steel mill may absorb billions as an investment, but if it cannot produce steel it has zero value as capital. The cost of public investment is not the value of public capital. Unlike for private investors, there is no remotely plausible behavioral model of the government as investor that suggests that every dollar the public sector spends as investment creates capital in an economic sense. This seemingly obvious point has so far been uniformly ignored in the voluminous empirical literature on economic growth, which uses, at best, cumulated, depreciated investment effort (CUDIE) to estimate capital stocks.But in developing countries especially, the difference between investment cumulated at cost and capital value is of primary empirical importance: government investment is half or more of total investment. And perhaps as much as half or more of government investment spending has not created equivalent capital. This suggests that nearly everything empirical written in three broad areas is misguided.First, none of the estimates of the impact of public spending identify the productivity of public capital. Even where public capital could be very productive, regressions and evaluations may suggest that public investment spending has little impact.Second, everything currently said about total factor productivity in developing countries is deeply suspect, as there is no way empirically to distinguish between low output (or growth) attributable to investments that created no factors and low output (or growth) attributable to low (or slow growth in) productivity in using accumulated factors.Third, multivariate growth regressions to date have not, in fact, controlled for the growth of capital stock, so spurious interpretations have emerged.This paper - a product of Poverty and Human Resources, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the importance of public sector actions for economic growth.

The Tyranny of Concepts:CUDIE (Cumulated, Depreciated, Investment Effort) is Not Captial

The Tyranny of Concepts:CUDIE (Cumulated, Depreciated, Investment Effort) is Not Captial PDF Author: Lant Pritchett
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 6010532299
Category : Capital
Languages : en
Pages : 46

Get Book Here

Book Description
May 2000 - Using the word capital to represent two different concepts is not such a problem when government is responsible for only a small fraction of national investment and is reasonably effective (as in the United States). But when government is a major investor and is ineffective, the gap between capital and cumulative, depreciated investment effort (CUDIE) may be enormous. A public sector steel mill may absorb billions as an investment, but if it cannot produce steel it has zero value as capital. The cost of public investment is not the value of public capital. Unlike for private investors, there is no remotely plausible behavioral model of the government as investor that suggests that every dollar the public sector spends as investment creates capital in an economic sense. This seemingly obvious point has so far been uniformly ignored in the voluminous empirical literature on economic growth, which uses, at best, cumulated, depreciated investment effort (CUDIE) to estimate capital stocks. But in developing countries especially, the difference between investment cumulated at cost and capital value is of primary empirical importance: government investment is half or more of total investment. And perhaps as much as half or more of government investment spending has not created equivalent capital. This suggests that nearly everything empirical written in three broad areas is misguided. First, none of the estimates of the impact of public spending identify the productivity of public capital. Even where public capital could be very productive, regressions and evaluations may suggest that public investment spending has little impact. Second, everything currently said about total factor productivity in developing countries is deeply suspect, as there is no way empirically to distinguish between low output (or growth) attributable to investments that created no factors and low output (or growth) attributable to low (or slow growth in) productivity in using accumulated factors. Third, multivariate growth regressions to date have not, in fact, controlled for the growth of capital stock, so spurious interpretations have emerged. This paper - a product of Poverty and Human Resources, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the importance of public sector actions for economic growth.

Surging Investment and Declining Aid

Surging Investment and Declining Aid PDF Author: Mr.John Clark JR
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1475519141
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 23

Get Book Here

Book Description
Rwanda is a unique case among its Sub-Saharan African peers in that it has already undergone a large scaling-up of public investment. The Rwandan government has made clear its desire to lower its reliance on foreign aid while still maintaining high public investment levels. We use the model of public investment, growth, and debt sustainability in Buffie et al. (2012) to evaluate the macroeconomic consequences of a possible scaling-down of investment in Rwanda. Using the model, we can gauge the consequences of different financing mechanisms and investment efficiency levels on the economy. We find that with some commercial borrowing and a modest tax adjustment, the authorities may be able to retain their high investment spending while still reducing their reliance on foreign aid.

The Limits of Stabilization

The Limits of Stabilization PDF Author: William Easterly
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821383442
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 232

Get Book Here

Book Description
Over the 1980s and 1990s, most Latin American countries witnessed a retrenchment of the public sector away from infrastructure provision and an opening up of infrastructure activities to the private sector. This book analyzes the consequences of these policy changes from two perspectives. First, it reviews in a comparative framework the major trends in infrastructure provision in Latin America over the last two decades. Second, it evaluates the implication of these trends for economic growth and public deficits in the region. The book shows that in most countries private participation did not fully offset the public sector retreat. The result was a slowdown in infrastructure accumulation, which entailed a significant growth cost and weakened the intended impact of the infrastructure spending cuts on public sector insolvency.

Decentralization and Infrastructure in the Global Economy

Decentralization and Infrastructure in the Global Economy PDF Author: Jonas Frank
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317438574
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 522

Get Book Here

Book Description
The subnational dimension of infrastructure has emerged as one of the greatest challenges in contemporary public finance policy and management. Ensuring the efficient provision of infrastructure represents a challenge for all countries irrespective of their level of centralization or decentralization. This book proposes an innovative approach for the strengthening of decentralized public investment and infrastructure management. Decentralization and Infrastructure in the Global Economy: From Gaps to Solutions covers the most important aspects of infrastructure investment in a decentralized setting. It discusses infrastructure gaps and the quality of subnational spending; how functional responsibilities, financing and equalization can be designed; sector-specific arrangements in high expenditure areas, such as health, education and roads; key steps of the public investment cycle and management; and analyses the political economy and corruption challenges that typically accompany decentralized infrastructure projects. This book challenges some of the well-accepted principles of intergovernmental fiscal relations and will be useful to researchers and practitioners of public finance policy and management.

Building Global Infrastructure

Building Global Infrastructure PDF Author: Dale S. Rothman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317262956
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 391

Get Book Here

Book Description
Building Global Infrastructure is the fourth in a series of volumes-Patterns of Potential Human Progress-that uses the International Futures (IFs) simulation model to explore prospects for human development: how development appears to be unfolding globally and locally, how we would like it to evolve, and how better to assure that we move it in desired directions. Earlier volumes addressed the reduction of global poverty, the advance of global education, and the improvement of global health. Volume 4 sets out to tell the story of the future of global infrastructure. The approach used in this book focuses on the question of whether individual societies will be able to meet future infrastructure demands. Related questions include the following: * What is the range of realistically conceivable futures for infrastructure, considering both demand and supply? * How are the demands for infrastructure balanced with the ability to meet these demands, thereby linking the physical and financial treatment of infrastructure? * What are the effects of providing for infrastructure on issues such as economic productivity and health?

Financing Africa’s Development

Financing Africa’s Development PDF Author: Diery Seck
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030464822
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 251

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book examines the impact of financing on Africa’s economic development. By exploring various financial instruments including the role of alternative sources of funding like migrant remittances and illicit flows, it analyses the role of financing for Africa’s macroeconomic development and other development indicators such as infrastructure, transport, global trade, industrialisation, social services, external indebtedness and governance. By presenting and examining case studies on various African countries and regions, the respective contributions investigate the capacity of institutions to facilitate and structure the economy’s funding activities, and to strengthen the ties between finance and development. Furthermore, they discuss various regional aspects, such as the integration of infrastructure, harmonization of fiscal policy, integration of financial markets, and the facilitation of intra-regional trade and movement of capital. Given its scope, the book will appeal to scholars of economics and development studies with an interest in the economic development of Africa.

Sovereign Wealth Funds in Resource Economies

Sovereign Wealth Funds in Resource Economies PDF Author: Khalid Alsweilem
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231544995
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 191

Get Book Here

Book Description
Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have reached a transitional moment. Created as a way to direct excess wealth toward economic development and long-term financial returns, some countries are now seeing a decline in revenue from sources such as oil. Many SWFs are now facing a new challenge—how to spend sustainably without depleting the funds. Sovereign Wealth Funds in Resource Economies explains the fiscal rules and institutional structures that can make SWFs thrive, providing a practical and theoretical guide to their optimal use in resource-revenue management. Khalid Alsweilem and Malan Rietveld put forward an institutional perspective of SWFs as quasi-independent political and economic entities charged with managing national resource wealth, examining both investment and disbursement strategies. They advance a systematic, rule-based approach, suggesting when to accumulate and when to begin countercyclical spending based on concrete case studies. More than a mere financial portfolio, SWFs must be embedded in a credible fiscal and institutional framework if they are to contribute to improved economic performance. Alsweilem and Rietveld consider the variety of relationships that exist between SWFs and their governments, exploring the legal and policy side of the institutional approach. Their rule-based description of SWFs, since it allows tailoring and adjustment and invokes rules of thumb and best practices, is intended to be widely applicable across the diverse spectrum of global SWFs. Bringing together the practitioner perspective and scholarly expertise, this book will be invaluable for global policy makers and scholars working with sovereign wealth funds.

Portfolio Inflows and Real Effective Exchange Rates

Portfolio Inflows and Real Effective Exchange Rates PDF Author: Rasmané Ouedraogo
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1484301323
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 32

Get Book Here

Book Description
It has been well-established in the literature that portfolio inflows appreciate the real effective exchange rate. However, the literature lacks a systematic empirical analysis of the impact of portfolio inflows by institutional sector or borrower type. This paper fills this gap by exploring the impact of the inflows of portfolio capital into three institutional sectors (government, banks and corporates) on the real effective exchange rate. Using a large sample of 73 countries, it shows that the effect of portfolio inflows on the real effective exchange rate depends on the sector the investment flows in. The findings are robust to different econometric methods, additional variables in the model, and various indicators of real effective exchange rates.

External Sector Report, July 2019

External Sector Report, July 2019 PDF Author: International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1498322751
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 116

Get Book Here

Book Description
The IMF’s 2019 External Sector Report shows that global current account balances stand at about 3 percent of global GDP. Of this, about 35–45 percent are now deemed excessive. Meanwhile, net credit and debtor positions are at historical peaks and about four times larger than in the early 1990s. Short-term financing risks from the current configuration of external imbalances are generally contained, as debtor positions are concentrated in reserve-currency-issuing advanced economies. An intensification of trade tensions or a disorderly Brexit outcome—with further repercussions for global growth and risk aversion—could, however, affect other economies that are highly dependent on foreign demand and external financing. With output near potential in most systemic economies, a well-calibrated macroeconomic and structural policy mix is necessary to support rebalancing. Recent trade policy actions are weighing on global trade flows, investment, and growth, including through confidence effects and the disruption of global supply chains, with no discernible impact on external imbalances thus far.