Institutions and Economic growth

This paper studies the structural transformation of Russia in 1885-1940 from an agrarian to an industrial economy through the lens of a two-sector neoclassical growth model. We construct a dataset that covers Tsarist Russia during 1885-1913 and Soviet Union during 1928-1940. We develop a methodology that allows us to identify the types of frictions and economic mechanisms that had the largest quantitative impact on Russian economic development. We nd that entry barriers and monopoly power in the non-agricultural sector were the most important reason for Tsarist Russia's failure to industrialize before World War I. Soviet industrial transformation after 1928 was achieved primarily by reducing such frictions, albeit coinciding with a signicantly lower performance of productivity in both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. We nd no evidence that Tsarist agricultural institutions were a signicant barrier to labor reallocation to manufacturing, or that Big Push mechanisms were a major driver of

Dissecting complex institutional webs and the roles they play (or should play) in development is an ongoing endeavor. To better understand the relationships between local and external institutions in small communities—specifically, whether these two sets of institutions act as complements or substitutes—we analyze subjective assessments of organizations and development indicators in nine rural Costa Rican towns. We expect to find that attitudes toward both local and external institutions are positively related to perceptions of development indicators. While the regression model we present yields a relationship between the perceived strength of local institutions and development indicators, we fail to find such a relationship with the importance respondents place on the presence of external organizations in their community. The results of a second regression model suggest that individuals may link the importance of external institutions with the specific services they provide. We con...

The aim of this paper is to provide a unified approach to institutional convergence in Central- and Eastern European countries towards EU norms (related to the acquis communautaire) and how it relates to growth. It consists of two complementary parts. First, we conduct a cluster analysis of the institutional settings of the Central and Eastern European states on the basis of transition indicators developed and published by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As institutional variables usually exhibit inertia, our analysis is based on time spans of several years, with the appropriate selection related to the significant changes in institutional settings towards European norms, e.g. dates of association agreements, EU accession dates and the like. Second, attention is especially drawn to the connection between the institutional environment and economic growth that diverges significantly between different CEE countries. For the empirical relation between institutional convergence to EU norms and growth, we make use of non-parametric methods that allow consideration of short time series and comparatively low numbers of countries. We found that apart from the first years of transition there is a little evidence for institutional convergence between CEECs and from 1999 the EBRD transition indicators are not significant for growth.

What happens to informal institutions and practices when political actors decide to implement democratic institutional reforms aimed at relieving formal institutions of informal constraints? Does informality disappear, or do the elites and affected populations continue to apply and abide by informal rules? What do we know about the relationship between institutional reforms and informal institutions? This book seeks to improve our understanding of how, when, and under which conditions democratic institutional reforms affect informal institutions and practices in countries transitioning to democracy, also known as hybrid regimes. With an empirical focus on three transitional post-Soviet regimes—Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine—this book aims to explain the contentious relationship between democratic institutional reforms and informality in the broader post-Soviet context. These findings have implications not only for hybrid regimes, but also for the majority of other post-Soviet, as well as other post-communist, countries. This book engages with a large and growing body of literature on informal institutions and practices and offers theoretical insights relevant to comparative politics, democratization and institutional development studies, political sociology, human geography and political economy.

SINOPSIS
El manejo del dinero y de las crisis cambiarias y monetarias está vinculado por un factor común: la confianza en el valor del dinero establecido como moneda de curso legal en un país, así como en la confianza de que el Estado adoptará las medidas monetarias, además de preservar la adecuada responsabilidad fiscal en cuanto al gasto público, para asegurar que ésta sea preservada, con el fin de evitar cualquier crisis. En medio de todas estas variables se encuentra inserta la política cambiaria de un país y el consecuente manejo del régimen cambiario. 
Si por políticas públicas podemos entender las respuestas que el Estado o poder público otorga a las necesidades de los gobernados, en forma de normas, instituciones, prestaciones, bienes públicos o servicios, entonces el Derecho y la economía, como ciencias sociales que son, tienen una injerencia particular en la articulación adecuada de dichas políticas públicas.
La pregunta fundamental de este trabajo de investigación, con base en el análisis económico del Derecho y otras tendencias doctrinarias aplicables, consiste en determinar: ¿pueden las leyes y demás disposiciones normativas, que incorporen ciertas variables, promover desarrollo económico sustentable dentro de un marco regulatorio racional y, si las variables identificadas en el caso del régimen de control cambiario vigente en Venezuela a partir del año 2003, permiten extrapolar un modelo aplicable para determinar qué disposiciones normativas son económicamente eficientes y predecir cuáles deberían ser promulgadas?
Nuestro análisis pretende determinar, con base principalmente en el marco teórico propuesto y aplicando un método deductivo en la interrelación de la economía y el Derecho, los efectos del régimen de control cambiario vigente en Venezuela desde el año 2003, e igualmente configurar un modelo de predicción sobre las variables que determinan disposiciones normativas y su incidencia en el desarrollo económico, y progreso social de una nación.  

This paper approaches the value added method for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measurement that explains the interrelationship between the expenditure approach and the income approach. The economic growth model is also proposed with three key elements of capital accumulation, technological innovation, and institutional reform. Although capital accumulation and technological innovation are two integrated elements in driving economic growth, institutional reforms play a key role in creating incentives that effect the transitional and steady state growth rate in the real world economy. The paper provides a theoretical insight on economic growth to understand incentives and driving forces in economic growth model.

The dramatic events of Maidan in February 2014 shone a spotlight on the immense problems facing Ukraine. At the same time that Ukraine was undergoing turmoil, its western neighbor Poland was celebrating twenty-five years of post-communism with a rosy economic outlook and projections of continued growth. How could two countries who shared similar linguistic, cultural, economic and political heritages diverge so wildly in economic performance in such a short span of time? The main argument of this book is that institutions, and more specifically the evolution or neglect of the particular institutions needed for a market economy, explain the economic divergence between Ukraine and Poland. This book discusses the evolution of key institutions such as property rights, trade, and the role of the executive branch of government to explain the recent relative performance of the two countries.

Nel suo percorso millenario il nostro paese ha conosciuto fasi alterne di prosperità e di declino. Dopo i successi del Novecento, da anni sembra arenato nelle secche di una lunga stagnazione, che non trova paragoni nel resto dell’Occidente. Come è stato possibile passare da una realtà economica tra le più floride all’attuale declino? Alla luce delle più aggiornate ricerche sul reddito e sulla disuguaglianza, sul divario Nord-Sud e sulla performance delle imprese, il libro mostra come l’origine dei successi e dei fallimenti italiani sia da ricercarsi nell’assetto politico e istituzionale del paese, nelle sue classi dirigenti e nel modo in cui esse hanno inciso, nel bene o nel male, sulle condizioni profonde della crescita.

«Se la storia dell’economia italiana può insegnarci qualcosa, la strada per evitare il declino non può che essere una: dotarsi degli stessi fondamentali su cui poggiano le economie forti del continente. È la strada più difficile da seguire per la classe dirigente − politica e imprenditoriale − e per questo è ancora più importante che l’opinione pubblica ne sia consapevole»

Is the neoliberal economic policy applicable in East and Central Europe after the breakdown of communism in 1989? The first part of the article defines neoliberalism as a system of market allocation of resources, the domination of private property, personal initiative for exchange, and the minimal state. This definition is derived from the two cases of neoliberal reforms in the US and the UK in the 1980s. The second part discusses market imperfections by considering the government solution for the principal-agent problem created by information asymmerty. Since the state intevention itself suffers from political failures resulting
in inefficient allocation, it can be justified only if it offers an institutional design that solves the principal-agent problem and political failures.

Keywords: neoliberalism; market failures; political failures; principal-agent model; supply-side economics

Bringing together classic defense of liberty and democracy, the political economy of hierarchy, endogenous growth theory, and the new institutional economics on growth, we propose a new institutional theory that identifies democracy’s unique advantage in prompting economic growth. We contend that the channel of liberty-to-innovation is the most critical channel in which democracy holds a unique advantage over autocracy in promoting growth, especially during the stage of growth via innovation. Because all human societies are hierarchical and hierarchy facilitates growth by bringing stability and order yet harms innovation and growth by demanding obedience to authority, an economy must strike a balance between maintaining stability and facilitating innovation. Democracy achieves this balance by protecting liberty whereas autocracy sacrifices innovation for stability. Democracy thus does hold a unique advantage in promoting growth over autocracy, but this advantage is indirect, channel-specific, and conditional. Evidences from three historical cases demonstrate that although key scientific breakthroughs can indeed pop up under autocracies, democracy is a necessary, though insufficient, condition for protecting major scientific breakthroughs that may challenge orthodoxies.

The article is devoted to theoretical and practical aspects of the participation of foreign companies in the Russian PPP projects. The author analyzes the attractiveness of  the Russian PPP market for foreign investors and companies-subcontractors. The article discusses possible forms of foreign participation in PPP projects and describes the experience of foreign participation in PPP projects in the Russian Federation (in the field of transport infrastructure).
The author identified the main barriers to entry in the PPP market and the major risks of foreign participants in the project, as well as the main directions of activity of the Russian authorities and business - to improve the attractiveness of PPP projects for the community of foreign partners.

Many parts of the world have been written off as resistant to development. We may think of most of Africa, parts of Latin America, the Middle East, and a few of the countries in Southeast Asia. Then there is the Pacific, which has shown disappointing economic growth rates over the past decade or two (Francis & Hezel, 2009).
Of course, many of these countries still lack the reliable institutions, beginning with stable government and the rule of law, that are clearly a requisite for development. That is why according to today’s canon, differences in economic performance can only be explained by different economic institutions and public policies.
On the other hand, considerable cultural differences do still exist and even today cultural diversity remains definitely significant among different continents, states and even regions and we believe it is must be taken into account, despite the processes of globalization and immigration.
Thus, in our work we are going to critically analyze the limits of the traditional theory about economic development and - by describing what culture is and which are the prior beliefs and values shaped by it- we are going to study the channels through which culture had and has an impact on the economic growth of countries.

Institutional change explains the change of institutions considered as rules and expectations that govern human interactions and paths of development in society. This conceptual paper describes, with an historical perspective, the most important definitions of institution and of institutional change and shows some theories that analyze these critical topics in economics to assess similarities and differences. The future challenge of institutional scholars concludes this study.

This article demonstrates historically and statistically that conversionary Protestants (CPs) heavily influenced the rise and spread of stable democracy around the world. It argues that CPs were a crucial catalyst initiating the development and spread of religious liberty, mass education, mass printing, newspapers, voluntary organizations, and colonial reforms, thereby creating the conditions that made stable democracy more likely. Statistically, the historic prevalence of Protestant missionaries explains about half the variation in democracy in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania and removes the impact of most variables that dominate current statistical research about democracy. The association between Protestant missions and democracy is consistent in different continents and subsamples, and it is robust to more than 50 controls and to instrumental variable analyses.

A way to diagnose the economic structure of a nation is to look at its institutions. Following Douglass North, a Nobel laureate in economics, “institutions determine the performance of economies” (North, 1990, p.137). Although Moldova has struggled
to achieve similar economic performance to the European continent for about twenty years, the results are still mediocre. The level of the country’s economic development, expressed as GDP per capita, is less than it was in 1990, at the beginning of the process. The goal of this paper is to conduct an exploration of the main causes that hinder economic growth in Moldova and of the possibilities to gain a fair level of economic development in Moldova in the near future.

The Seventeen Contradictions is an x-ray of tensions, trends and tendencies in capital and capitalism that empowers us to look forward. Taking the still ongoing 2008 economic crisis as a starting point, Harvey investigates how the capitalist economy that produces such crises is embedded in contradictions. Seventeen of these are discussed throughout the book.

В статье анализируются новейшие историографические тренды, рассматриваются вопросы о том, как соотносятся эти теоретические концепции и как они используются в исследова-ниях по истории России. Автор отмечает, что начало XXI в. характеризуется ростом внима-ния к возможностям компаративного анализа исторических процессов нового и новейшего времени. Теоретико-методологическую базу для исследований дают современные подходы, связанные с изучением долговременных трансформаций политических, экономических, со-циально-культурных структур и институтов в тех или иных странах. Заметное место в ряду этих подходов занимают теории модернизации и модерности, возникшие в различных усло-виях глобального развития и отражающие различные аспекты общественной эволюции. Если в зарубежном россиеведении больше внимания уделяется концепции модерности, то в работах российских историков чаще применяется неомодернизационный подход (боль-ше внимания уделяется вопросу о множественности путей модернизации, ее циклической природе, роли исторической случайности, что актуализирует методологию синергетики). Автор отмечает недостаточное внимание в развитии неомодернизационного подхода к роли институтов, необходимости их модификации, адаптации к изменяющимся реалиям в ходе трансформационных процессов, а также к роли элит в процессах модернизации. В этой связи он обращается к концепции Асемоглу-Робинсона, в основе которой лежит представление о ведущей роли двух типов экономических и политических институтов в развитии различ-ных стран (инклюзивные и экстрактивные институты).

The existence of high unemployment and underinvestment in socially relevant 'wage goods' in modern economies (e.g. efficient public housing, the availability of clean energy sources at affordable prices, functioning local transports and many others) highlights that there is room for significant improvements in social productivity. This paper discusses the possibility to increase the latter through a policy mix which is able to guarantee full employment to everyone who is willing and able to work and at the same time provide opportunities for research in technological advancements and productivity improvements in the aforementioned social sectors. Building on such an intuition, the paper illustrates a multisectorial model of an economy in which a policy mix composed of public investment in R&D and EGS is implemented.

Como sugiere el título, el núcleo central de este ensayo surge de la lectura del libro “Governing the Commons. The Evolution of Institutions of Collective Action”, publicado en 1990.  Pero el subtítulo exige una aclaración urgente: la mirada introductoria de la primera aproximación refiere a lo que se pretende desarrollar en estas páginas. Jamás podría aludir a los textos de Elinor Ostrom, en particular a los textos consultados. Al mismo tiempo, involucrar el problema de la naturaleza humana no implica que la autora, y mucho menos lo que aquí se desarrolle, agote la discusión sobre el tema. Se intenta mostrar que, en la discusión de mecanismos de acción colectiva, el investigador enfrenta aspectos complejos de la naturaleza humana. La mayoría de esos aspectos quedan al margen del tratamiento habitual del homo economicus propio de la literatura de la corriente principal del pensamiento económico. Aunque, debe notarse, sin producir una ruptura definitiva con el paradigma sino complementado con nuevos horizontes de investigación.
El objetivo general que aquí se persigue puede identificarse con el análisis de un libro particular. Para ello, se lo introduce en el contexto del programa de investigación al que corresponde, se muestra un mapa de la obra, se realizan comentarios siempre parciales de cada capítulo y se intenta resaltar el concepto que otorga consistencia al texto.
El texto se divide en cinco secciones. Comienza con una discusión sobre el institucionalismo para introducir el contexto del pensamiento de la autora. Luego, se critican las soluciones habituales propuestas para problemas de acción colectiva y tragedia de los bienes comunes. A continuación, en la tercera sección, se presentan las características salientes de los recursos de uso común y los supuestos sobre racionalidad que se desarrollan en la obra analizada. Sigue un conjunto de notas sobre el trabajo de campo realizado por Elinor Ostrom, los principios de diseño propuestos para instituciones duraderas de recursos de uso común y un análisis de las posibilidades de cambio institucional robusto. La sección cinco se reserva para un conjunto de reflexiones de cierre.

pasillo estrecho: Estados, sociedades y cómo alcanzar la libertad. Barcelona, Deusto, 2019, 688 págs. ISBN-10: 8423430812. ¿Cómo y por qué algunas sociedades han alcanzado la liber-tad y otras no? ¿Cuáles son las consecuencias de no alcanzar-la? Estas son las preguntas en torno a las cuales gira el último libro de Acemoglu y Robinson. Para ofrecer una respuesta, los autores teorizan sobre la idea de la construcción del Estado propuesta en la segunda mitad del siglo xvii por Thomas Hob-bes. Este filósofo, que vivió la anarquía de las guerras civiles inglesas, sugirió que para alcanzar la paz era necesario esta-blecer un poder común y centralizado, capaz de ostentar el monopolio de la violencia para ofrecer seguridad y protección a la sociedad civil. Esta propuesta de poder común que permi-tiese superar el estado de la naturaleza fue denominada Levia-tán. Según la visión de los autores, la teoría de Hobbes pone sobre la mesa la disyuntiva de escoger entre un tipo de Estado y la libertad, sin que puedan ser compatibles. En la propuesta de Hobbes el establecimiento de normas sociales acaba en una imposición de restricciones a la libertad de los más débiles. Frente a este dilema, los autores de este libro sugieren una tercera vía: la libertad solo puede surgir allí donde hay un Le-viatán encadenado. El Leviatán encadenado se mueve en «un pasillo estrecho» entre los poderes del Estado y el poder de la sociedad. Cuando la sociedad tiene mucho poder, la jaula de las normas acapara las dinámicas sociales y las élites controlan el monopolio de la violencia, lo que conlleva la creación de un Leviatán ausente. Por el contrario, un Estado muy poderoso tiende a apoderarse de la sociedad sumisa, generándose un Leviatán despótico. Y en un punto intermedio están los Leviatanes de papel, con lo peor del ausente y del despótico. Para entrar en el pasillo es nece-sario que se establezcan varias condiciones, pero la más im-portante es lo que los autores denominan el efecto de la Reina Roja, haciendo referencia a la obra Alicia en el país de las mara-villas de Lewis Carroll. La Reina Roja no es más que la capacidad de la sociedad para limitar, controlar y enfrentarse al Estado y a las élites políticas; una capacidad que solo se consigue a través de la movilización social. Este proceso no es estático ya que la relación de fuerza entre Estado y sociedad cambian constantemente. Por tanto, no se espera que los países tiendan hacia el estado de libertad, sino todo lo contrario, que se pro-duzca un efecto de dispersión, lo que genera diversidad de experiencias en la construcción de los Estados modernos. A partir de la exposición de la tesis principal, los autores se cuestionan por qué algunos Estados logran desarrollar Levia-tanes encadenados y otros no. La respuesta que proponen está relacionada con el tipo de instituciones que se forman con la creación del Estado, la eliminación de la jaula de las normas, tanto sociales como religiosas, y el surgimiento de un lideraz-go jerarquizado. Según los autores, Europa fue la parte del mundo que desarrolló verdaderos leviatanes encadenados. El principal rasgo diferencial se debe a la fusión de dos modelos de leviatanes que se entrelazaron como las dos hojas de una tijera (capítulo 6). Por una parte, está la herencia de los pueblos francos, cuya organización social era bastante horizontal; por la otra, las instituciones burocráticas romanas jerarquizadas. La fusión de estos dos modelos permitió desarrollar distintos sistemas políticos que lograron entrar en el denominado «pa-sillo estrecho». Estos sistemas siguieron evolucionando y au-mentando la capacidad de sus Estados y sociedades con toda la fuerza de la Reina Roja, generando grandes oportunidades y libertades, así como permitiendo un gran desarrollo económi-co, tecnológico y social. A diferencia de lo que ocurrió en Europa, China encaja completamente en la idea del Leviatán despótico. A pesar de que el Estado chino tiene grandes similitudes con Europa en el origen (capítulo 7), rápidamente se erradicó la moviliza-ción social y la participación política. El Estado se formó sobre una base de funcionarios fieles, en su mayoría de procedencia aristócrata, que se mantuvieron en el poder a través de linajes de muy largo plazo, generando relaciones de conveniencia y concentración del control del poder en unos pocos. A pesar de que en la historia de China ha habido varios intentos de generar resistencia social, no ha sido posible transitar hacia a un Estado libre porque si antes primaba la jaula de las nor-mas, hoy en día lo que coarta la libertad es la supervisión extrema del Partido. En un punto diametralmente opuesto, los autores ilustran el Leviatán ausente a partir de la experiencia en la India (capí-tulo 8). A pesar de tener un inicio histórico de gran participa-ción asamblearia, la sociedad india se ha aferrado a las tradi-ciones milenarias con las que se jerarquizó la sociedad y el Estado ha sido incapaz de romperlas a pesar de los esfuerzos por instaurar una democracia real. En la India, la Reina Roja está rota, lo que ha arrastrado a la sociedad a una gran des-igualdad y resignación, y donde las castas de la élite no tienen interés en hacer que las cosas cambien. Por último, están los Leviatanes de papel (capítulo 11). En esta categoría encajan los Estados latinoamericanos, como Colombia y Argentina, y algunos africanos. Estos leviatanes tienen apariencia de Estado, pero su poder es hueco, y solo son capaces de ejercer su dominio en algunas áreas. Tienen lo peor de los despóticos y ausentes. Asimismo, se caracterizan por la arbitrariedad de sus funcionarios y la poca transparencia en su designación. Donde están presentes tienden a saquear a las clases sociales más bajas, y en otras zonas son inexistentes. Estos Estados generan todas las condiciones para el surgimien-to del conflicto descontrolado y la guerra civil, ya que la socie-dad no controla al Estado y este, a su vez, intenta mantener a la sociedad débil y desorganizada.

Anii 1990 au adus în prim planul atenţiei aşa numitele pieţe emergente, ţări care s-au reorientat, şi-au schimbat modelul de dezvoltare şi parcurg o perioadă de tranziţie la economia de piaţă. Perioada de emergenţă, diferită temporar şi structural de la o
economie la alta, are sinonimii pentru grupul de pieţe în curs de dezvoltare al căror obiectiv este industrializarea. Principalul punct de interes al statelor emergente constă în reducerea decalajului de dezvoltare economico-socială faţă de economiile
industrializate ale lumii.
Teritoriile emergente sunt vaste: Asia de Est şi Sud, Europa de Est, America Latină, Africa şi lumea musulmană, dintre care se detaşează grupul BRICS (Brazilia, Rusia, India, China şi Africa de Sud). În perioada pre-criză, mulţi au pariat pe succesul economic al statelor emergente. Ratele de creştere economică înregistrate au uimit întreaga lume. Creşterea economică, cu două cifre, a Chinei a împins-o în vârful ierarhiilor previzionate pentru deceniile viitoare. Întregul secol XXI a fost rezervat, de
fapt, statelor emergente, în frunte cu grupul BRICS, mizându-se pe rocada între hard
power şi soft power.
Criza financiară a finalului de an 2007 a deturnat oarecum previziunile, speculative sau judicios demonstrate prin metode moderne de cercetare în domeniul economic, precum cele matematice, statistice şi econometrice. Anticipările raţionale ar
trebui, pentru a-şi demonstra valabilitatea, să fie omnisciente, transparente şi optimale.
În realitate, nu fac altceva decât să speculeze, în cel mai fericit caz să demonstreze, lucruri de mult ştiute şi probate. În marea majoritate a cazurilor, anticipările raţionale
direcţionează premeditat anumite informaţii către public sau grupuri de interese pentru a influenţa situaţii şi decizii, informaţii cu rol mai mult manipulativ decât bine
intenţionat, de multe ori fără un fundament ideologic solid. Dezinformarea premeditată
– sau, mai corect, informarea intenţionat greşită – şi optimismul exagerat al susţinătorilor globalizării au dus, în anii 1990, la emergenţa unor idei false şi periculoase, precum cea a caducităţii ciclicităţii sau ideea sfârşitului crizelor odată cu
cea din '29-'33.
Cupiditatea (setea de bani câştigaţi uşor) şi inovaţiile financiare sunt doar o parte dintre cauzele primei crize a secolului XXI. O criză financiară izolată, americană, s-a extins cu rapiditate în întreaga lume şi a devenit mondială. La jumătatea celui de al
doilea deceniu al acestui secol, criza este, statistic, depăşită mai peste tot în lume. Cu toate acestea, riscurile rămân ridicate şi, din nefericire, se externalizează economicului şi socialului.

Guilds ruled many European crafts and trades from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution. Each guild regulated entry to its occupation, requiring any practitioner to become a guild member and then limiting admission to the guild. Guilds intervened in the markets for their members’ products, striving to keep prices high, limit output, suppress competition, and block innovations that might disrupt the status quo. Guilds also acted in input markets, seeking to control access to raw materials, keep wages low, hinder employers from competing for workers, and prevent workers from agitating for better conditions. Guilds treated women particularly severely, usually excluding them from apprenticeship and forbidding any female other than a guild member’s widow from running a workshop. Guilds invested large sums in lobbying governments and political elites to grant, maintain, and extend these privileges.
Guilds had the potential to compensate for their cartellistic activities by creating countervailing benefits. Guild quality certification was one possible solution to information asymmetries between producers and consumers, which could have made markets work better. Guild apprenticeship had the potential to solve imperfections in markets for skilled training, and thus to encourage human capital investment. The cartel profits generated by guilds could in theory have encouraged technological innovation by enabling guild masters to appropriate more of the social benefits of their innovations, while guild journeymanship and spatial clustering could diffuse new technical knowledge. A rich scholarship on European guilds makes it possible to assess the degree to which guilds created such benefits, outweighing the harm they caused.
After about 1500, guild strength diverged across Europe, declining gradually in Flanders, the Netherlands, and England, surviving in France and Italy, and intensifying across large tracts of Iberia, Scandinavia, and the German-speaking lands. The activities of guilds contributed to variations across Europe in economic performance, urban growth, and inequality. Guilds interacted significantly with both markets and states, which helps explain why European economies diverged in the crucial centuries before industrialization.

This conceptual paper describes some characteristics of revolution and evolution. Revolution here is an historical process that generates a rapid and structural change in society. Instead, evolution is a progressive growth and change, generating a transition from simple to complex systems. Overall, then, this study suggests that revolution and evolution are a result of human activity in society originated to satisfy specific needs and/or to cope with and adapt in the presence of environmental threats and changing contexts.

This paper examines the incidence and consequences
of financialization in the industrialized countries of the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD). Using the latest panel data from the OECD and the
ILO, the paper first documents the extent of financialization in
OECD countries and then analyzes the relationships between
financialization and three other variables: inequality, growth and
unemployment. There is strong empirical evidence for
considerable financialization across the OECD, with significant
and negative impacts on all three variables.

This paper aims to understand why some natural resource rich developing countries have been able to diversify their economies while others have failed in this. Unlike much of the extant research in this area, this study develops and tests several hypotheses on political and institutional, rather than purely economic and geographic, factors enabling or hindering export diversification in the resource-rich developing world between 1962 and 2010. Among other things, it suggests that international institutions designed to help these countries overcome their “resource curse” through diversification can be effective only when they are alert to the different political and
institutional terrains.

Simandan D (2009) Industrialization, In R Kitchin & N Thrift, (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Human Geography , Oxford: Elsevier, volume 5, pp. 419-425.
ABSTRACT: This article (1) defines industrialisation and indicates ways in which it can be measured, (2) highlights the importance of the timing of industrialisation and the inherent limits to the proper scientific explanation of this phenomenon, (3) disentangles the often confused conceptual relation between industrialisation and capitalism, (4) explicates the causal links between industrialisation and modernisation, (5) undertakes a brief assessment of the relative costs and benefits of industrialisation, and (6) discloses the defining contours of scholarship on industrialisation in Anglo-American human geography and illustrates it with a recent attempt to integrate the field with the help of a master metaphor called ‘recursive cartographies’. Its portrayal of economic reality as interplay of legacies, rhythms, and events conveys the usefulness of spatial thinking in industrialisation research.

While the Great Recession and ensuing “Arab Spring” have taken a heavy toll on many nations in North Africa and the Middle East, yielding unprecedented volatility in country risk metrics, GCC member-states, with the exception of Bahrain, seemed relatively immune to economic decline. But the 2014 Saudi-Qatari Rift, which can be interpreted as a fight between the world’s leading oil and natural gas producers, could have deeper and longer lasting consequences than previous crises....

Liquid Telecom is the leading independent data, voice and IP provider in eastern, central and southern Africa. It supplies fiber optic, satellite and international carrier services to Africa’s largest mobile network operators, ISPs, financial institutions and businesses of all sizes. Liquid Telecom has built Africa’s largest independent fiber network which runs from the north of Uganda to Cape Town, currently spanning over 18,000km across borders and covering Africa’s fastest-growing economies, where no fixed network has existed before. Liquid Telecom’s network provides connectivity onto the five main subsea cable systems landing in Africa; WACS, EASSY, SEACOM, SAT3 and TEAMs. Working under various brands, the Liquid Telecom Group has operating entities in Botswana, DRC, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, UK, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The company has been named Best African Wholesale Carrier for the last two years running at the annual Global Carrier Awards.

Why Local Economies Differ
The Dynamics of Rural Areas in Europe

Edited by John Bryden and Keith Hart


Prepublication extracts from:

J. Bryden and K. Hart Editors. 2004. A New Approach to Rural Development in Europe: Germany, Greece, Scotland, Sweden, Mellen Studies in Geography Volume 9, Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston NY, xxvii, 403p.

Chapters 1, 6, 7 and back matter by the Editors







Table of Contents       

      Foreword by Walter Stohr

Chapter 1: The DORA Project 
The Aims of DORA
Theoretical Considerations in the Choice of Factors
From Factors to Variables
The Research Design

Chapter 2: Scotland
2.1 Context
2.2 The Highlands and Islands
2.3 Dumfries and Galloway
2.4 Comparison, Synthesis and Research Implications
2.5 Policy Implications
   
Chapter 3: Germany
3.1 Context
3.2 Niedersachsen
3.3 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
3.4 Comparison, Synthesis and Research Implications
3.5 Policy Implications

Chapter 4: Greece
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Context
4.3 Plains Areas
4.4 Mountain Areas
4.5 Regional Comparison and Synthesis
4.6 Conclusions and Recommendations

Chapter 5: Sweden
5.1. Context
5.2. North Sweden
5.3. Southeast Sweden
5.4. Comparison, Synthesis and research implications
5.5. Policy Implications

Chapter 6: The International Comparison
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Contextual Issues
6.3 Explaining Differential Economic Performance

Chapter 7: Reflections and Recommendations
7.1 What DORA has shown: winners and losers
7.2 Key questions for policy
7.3 Policy recommendations
7.4 Conclusion

Annex                                                                                                                             
References
 

‫بوودجە‬ ‫پەرلەمانی‬ ‫دیپلۆماسیی‬ ‫پێشەكی‬ ‫دەزگای‬ ‫كاتێكدا‬ ‫لە‬ ‫كەمە،‬ ‫پەرلەمان‬ ‫دەزگای‬ ‫لەمەڕ‬ ‫سیاسی‬ ‫ئەدەبیاتی‬ ‫مێژوویە‬ ‫خاوەن‬ ‫پەرلەمان‬ ‫دەوڵەمەندە‬ ‫فیكریی‬ ‫بوارێكی‬ ‫و‬ ‫قووڵ‬ ‫كی‬. ‫پەرلەمان‬ ‫هاتووە‬ ‫ئێمە‬ ‫بۆ‬ ‫ترەوە‬ ‫كەلتوورێكی‬ ‫لە‬ ‫دیارە،‬ ‫ناوەكەیدا‬ ‫لە‬ ‫وەك‬. ‫ناوە‬ ‫ئەم‬ ‫لە‬ ‫جیاوازە‬ ‫كە‬ ‫سیستەم،‬ ‫وەك‬ ‫دەگرێت،‬ ‫خۆی‬ ‫لە‬ ‫جیاواز‬ ‫بواری‬ ‫چەندین‬ ‫تری‬ ‫شێوازەكانی‬ ‫لە‬ ‫جیاوازە‬ ‫كە‬ ‫سیاسی‬ ‫پیادەكردنی‬ ‫وەك‬ ‫تر،‬ ‫سیستەمەكانی‬ ‫سیا‬ ‫پیادەكردنی‬ ‫سی‬. ‫پەرلەمان‬ ‫كە‬ ‫سیاسییەی‬ ‫ئامرازە‬ ‫ئەو‬ ‫كاتدا،‬ ‫هەمان‬ ‫لە‬ ‫تر‬ ‫سیاسییەكانی‬ ‫ئامرازە‬ ‫لە‬ ‫جیاوازە‬ ‫دەبات،‬ ‫بەكاری‬. ‫جێگایەك‬ ‫وەك‬ ‫پەرلەمان‬ ‫هەروەها‬ ‫و‬ ‫جەماوەر‬ ‫خواستی‬ ‫وەاڵمدەرەوەی‬ ‫دەبێت‬ ‫یاسا،‬ ‫بەرهەمهێنانی‬ ‫بۆ‬ ‫بێت‬ ‫حوكمڕانی‬ ‫پرۆسەی‬ ‫بەڕێوەچوونی‬ ‫زەمینەسازی‬. ‫دەربار‬ ‫سیاسی‬ ‫ئەدەبیاتی‬ ‫ڕاستەوخۆ‬ ‫كە‬ ‫نییە‬ ‫ئەوانە‬ ‫بۆ‬ ‫تەنها‬ ‫پەرلەمان‬ ‫ەی‬ ‫كۆمەڵگایە؛‬ ‫ئەندامانی‬ ‫هەموو‬ ‫بۆ‬ ‫بەڵكو‬ ‫پەرلەمانەوە،‬ ‫بە‬ ‫پەیوەستن‬ ‫چونك‬ ‫ە‬ ‫نوێنەرایەتیكردنە،‬ ‫پەرلەمان‬ ‫دەزگای‬ ‫سەرەكییەكانی‬ ‫هەرە‬ ‫كارە‬ ‫لە‬ ‫یەكێك‬ ‫نوێنەرایەتی‬ ‫كە‬ ‫دەزگایە‬ ‫ئەم‬ ‫ئایا‬ ‫كە‬ ‫ئەوەی‬ ‫لەسەر‬ ‫مەعریفە‬ ‫هەبوونی‬ ‫بۆیە‬ ‫چیی‬ ‫دەكات،‬ ‫دەچێت،‬ ‫ڕێوە‬ ‫بە‬ ‫تر‬ ‫جێگاكانی‬ ‫لە‬ ‫چۆن‬ ‫هەیە،‬ ‫مێژوویەكی‬ ‫چ‬ ‫ە،‬ ‫گرنگە‬ ‫لەڕادەبەدەر‬. ‫الی‬ ‫دەبێت‬ ‫بەاڵم‬ ‫نوێنەرایەتیكردنە،‬ ‫پەرلەمان‬ ‫سەرەكیی‬ ‫كاری‬ ‫كاتێكدا‬ ‫لە‬ ‫لە‬ ‫تەنها‬ ‫كە‬ ‫هەبێت،‬ ‫ڕوون‬ ‫وێنایەكی‬ ‫دەكات،‬ ‫نوێنەرایەتییان‬ ‫كە‬ ‫ئەوانەی‬ ‫ئاراوە‬ ‫دێتە‬ ‫مەعریفەوە‬ ‫بوونی‬. ‫وێنا‬ ‫ئەم‬ ‫بوونی‬ ‫بەبێ‬ ‫هاوواڵتی،‬ ‫الی‬ ‫ڕوونە‬ ‫دەبێت‬ ‫ئەستەم‬ ‫نوێنەرایەتیكراو‬ ‫و‬ ‫نوێنەر‬ ‫نێوان‬ ‫پەیوەندیی‬ .

As a Don Quixote of the 20th Century, Roger Garaudy’s “Crusade Against the god of Growth” is studied in the paper. He sees “Cruel god of the Growth” and “False god of the Growth”  in the “Widowmaker Disease” and other tragic scenes. Garaudy says in a discussion with the boss of Fiat: “like Funeral Costs, the GDP includes our misfortunes/ calamities to asset account. For example, tomorrow, if one million Fiat (automobile) collide to the other one million Fiat: expenses of carriage bodies, expenses of clinics, funeral costs, expenses of debris removal..these expenses will raise the GDP.” Garaudy adds: “It is not sufficient to say: ‘No Growth!’. Because, even “zero growth” does not mean that we will not do in the next year more extravagance than this year.” As an old communist, he mentiones that a revolutionist that can not change himself/herself, how he/she will change the world and points harms of hedonist emotions of the capitalist culture and how man can resist his/her animal spirits and emphasizes that economics and politics are non-integral parts of the religion and the belief

This paper surveys alternative approaches to European serfdom in the light of the evidence for early modern Germany. Traditional ‘manorial dominance’ views prove to be inconsistent with micro-studies of serf decision-making. But nor does the evidence support ‘revisionist’ views which argue that peasant unfreedom was rare, serf choices largely unconstrained, and serfdom harmless for economic growth. The paper proposes an ‘institutional’ approach that analyzes serfdom in terms of the entire framework of constraints within which rural people made decisions. It applies this approach to three key elements of German serfdom: the manor, the community, and the state.

This paper analyses the causal relationship between institutional quality and economic growth to investigate whether institutional quality is the outcome or the cause of economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. It uses annual panel data of 27 countries for the period spanning 1996 to 2014 by employing Pedroni panel co-integration, Wald panel causality, and the system GMM techniques. The co-integration test results show that there is a long-run relationship between institutional quality and economic growth. Also, the causality test results show a unidirectional causality from economic growth to institutional quality but not the other way round. Furthermore, the study found that institutional quality, trade openness, financial development, and debt positively affect economic growth. Also, economic growth and freedom are found to be important determinants of institutional quality. However, debt servicing and dependence on natural resources negatively affect economic growth and institutional quality respectively. It is, therefore, recommended that enhancement of institutional quality, openness, and financial development; while downsizing of debt servicing is crucial in achieving desired level economic growth in the region.