Rising Inequality in Mexico: Household Characteristics and Regional Effects

We use an empirical framework to identify the contributions of microeconomic factors to the sharp rise in household (per capita) income inequality in Mexico between 1984 and 1994. Results indicate that changes in returns to household characteristics, in particular changes in returns to education, are responsible for about half of the increase in the Gini coefficient. The deteriorating conditions in rural areas relative to the urban areas and of the southern region relative to other regions account for another fourth of the increase in the Gini.     

Widening Inter-County Inequality in Jiangsu Province,China, 1950-95

Scholars have heatedly debated the change of regional inequality in China and policies for intervention. However, most studies on China are based on macro regions and provinces, and have paid less attention to trends and mechanisms of regional inequality within provinces. This paper uses time-series county data to examine inter-county inequality in Jiangsu from 1950 to 1995. We find that inter-county inequality in Jiangsu did not change much under Mao and during the rural reform period (1978-84), but dramatically intensified in the urban-based comprehensive reform period (since 1984). Regression analysis reveals that the institutional structure, agglomeration effects, and human capital are important factors underlying the divergence of inter-county inequality in Jiangsu.     

Economic Reform and Social Change in China: Past, Present, and Future of the Economic State

China's socioeconomic crisis before 1978 and its success over the past two decades can be viewed as a zigzag process of politicization and depoliticization of the economic state. By summarizing the Chinese experience, this article shows the importance of a specific pattern of general public policy (GPP) in determining the nature of a policy system. China's economic and serialized reforms since 1978 are reviewed in order to illuminate the current situation and future direction of the nation. The changes have undermined the economic state by creating a trend of de-economicization in the Chinese government. If economic reform and social change are to continue smoothly, another transfer of state emphasis to more balanced development is required.     

Economic Growth and Convergence in Latin America

Little is known about the convergence process among developing countries in general and in Latin America in particular. For the period as a whole there is no evidence of a narrowing in the cross-country dispersion of income (sigma convergence). But there is evidence of convergence to different steady state income levels at a speed that is common to all countries (conditional beta convergence). The article also shows that the estimates of convergence are sensitive to the way in which GDP per capita is measured.     

From London to Beijing: Training and Development as an Agent of Policy Learning in Public Management

The education and training of international public managers is a powerful mechanism for policy learning and transfer. In a way similar to the globalization of MBA studies, which has contributed to the international diffusion of Western derived management concepts, a number of countries are investing in overseas training programs for their public servants to bring back international “know how” and good practice. Although this practice has been coterminous with the expansion of relatively easier and affordable international travel, policy learning activity in the area of administrative reform appears to have intensified.

Though largely undocumented, the UK has witnessed a sharp increase in the number of cohorts of Chinese civil servants arriving to enroll in short courses. Many of these courses are conducted outside the University system and are arranged and hosted by independent organizations. Despite this being a growth industry, the impacts are unclear and raise a number of questions, such as, what is being learned about UK public administration and how much of it is being transferred back to China? What is it about UK public administration that has particular appeal to China? Although training and development may have a multiple agenda, the assumption is that its primary purpose is to facilitate knowledge transfer. This article sets out to understand whether this recent trend constitutes an agent of international policy transfer between Britain and China. To do this, the article analyses the nature of policy learning from the UK within a cohort of senior Chinese public servants.     

How Does Globalisation Affect Regional Inequality within A Developing Country? Evidence from China

Developing countries are increasingly concerned about effects of globalisation on regional inequality. This paper develops an empirical method for decomposing the contributions of two major driving forces of globalisation, foreign trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), on regional inequality and applies it to China. Even after controlling for many other factors, globalisation is still found to be an important factor contributing to the widening regional inequality. The paper ends by investigating the role of factor market segmentations in aggravating the distributional effect of changing regional comparative advantages in the process of globalisation.     

Economic Transition in Latin American and Post-Communist Countries: A Comparison of Multilateral Development Banks

This article examines regional development banks and their relationship with the World Bank. Specifically, the article analyzes the roles of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the factors that have influenced the creation of these international financial institutions. Most of the literature examines regional development banking practices and development strategies as if all regional banks were the same. However, the missions of the IDB and the EBRD are quite distinct. While the IDB primarily provides social sector loans to nation-states, the EBRD primarily provides private sector loans for finance and business development. Given that Latin America and the former Soviet Union share many of the same economic, political and social problems, it is surprising that these institutions are so different. What accounts for the different missions of these regional banks? We find that the influence of borrowing and non-borrowing member states in the creation of these banks can help explain some of the differences between the IDB and the EBRD.     

The Role of FDI,Exports and Spillover Effects in the Regional Development of China

The objective of this analysis is to assess the impacts of export expansion, inward FDI, domestic investment and labour on the growth of China's Eastern, Central and Western regions using panel data over the period 1984 to 1998. A major contribution of the study is its tests for the presence of interregional spillover effects. The study indicates that both inward FDI and domestic investment stimulate growth in all three regions and for the PRC as a whole and that export expansion stimulates the growth of the PRC, Eastern and Central China, but not the West. Labour enhances the growth of the more traditional Western region, but not the more capital intensive Eastern seaboard or the PRC in its entirety. Finally, output growth spills over from the East to Western and Central China and from the Central area to Western China. These results are fully explained in the text.     

Poverty and Inequality in a Rapid Growth Economy: Chile 1990-96

Using parametric and non-parametric methods this article examines the evolution of poverty and inequality in Chile between 1990 and 1996. This period is interesting because of the rapid growth exhibited by the Chilean economy. Using the Datt-Ravallion decomposition economic growth accounts for over 85 per cent of poverty reduction. The evidence suggests that the sustained level of high inequality is not necessarily associated with a lower welfare level. By comparing the evolution of poverty and inequality over time, we observe a continuous decrease in poverty, while inequality remains stable. This pattern has left everyone (both poor and rich individuals) better off.     

China’s development: a new development paradigm?

The emergence of China as a development actor across the global South has raised significant questions regarding the extent to which the country presents new development opportunities to its compatriots in the South. My aim is to reflect on and parse out the experiences and policies that have shaped China’s development to assess how it can inform the field of development studies. I argue that we need to critically engage in China’s development process, as China’s own development has led to the emergence of many more problems than solutions, ranging from increasing inequality to exclusionary development practices pertaining to ethnic minorities.     

Posttraumatic Growth in Latina Immigrants

Abstract

This study used a Spanish version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory to examine the extent to which Latinas report post-traumatic growth (PTG) following the stressful experiences of immigration and explored demographic, stress-related and social context correlates of this growth (N = 100). Findings indicate a moderate level of stress and a high level of PTG but no association between stress and growth variables. Level of stressfulness was related to type of separation and to participation in counseling. Overall, posttraumatic growth was related to participation in counseling and the Philosophy of Life factor was related to the importance of religion. Findings support using a strength perspective to study and service Latina immigrants.     

Regional Modernization in China: Project Concept and Organization

Abstract

During the May Fourth Culture Movement, Chen Duxiu from New Youth and Du Yaquan of Eastern Miscellany engaged in a series of heated exchanges in their common search for a solution to the Republican crisis and an understanding of World War I. Du argued that nation-states are founded on the cultural and civilizational orientation of its people, therefore the essence of war and the source of political conflict are functions of the thoughts of the people. This insight shifted the debate from the political to the cultural arena, and allowed the May Fourth intellectuals to examine the attributes of Eastern and Western civilizations as a way to counter the threats of Hongxian monarchism, China’s political and social fragmentation, as well as the inadequacies of Western nation-statehood. Du predicted that the future master of the twentieth century would be a scientific laborer with a cultural outlook derived from the mediation of the traditional Chinese and twentieth-century European civilizations.¹     

Discussion: Building the Developmental State: Achieving Economic Growth Through Co-operative Solutions: A Comment on Bringing Politics Back I

Drawing on the insights of game theory and East Asian experience, this short note argues the importance of co-operative solutions in achieving economic development. To realise these, even genuine developmental states must convince a sceptical private sector of their commitment to economic development. Because of this, credibility should be added to the mix of ingredients necessary for a successful developmental state.     

Economic Fluctuations and Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Importance of Import Instability

The traditional thesis that export instability (XI) is deleterious to economic growth in developing economies has received mixed empirical results. For African countries, recent research suggests that the effect of XI is weak, but that capital (investment) instability (KI) adversely influences economic growth. The current study argues that in many of these nations, imports are likely to be critical to the growth process, while exports represent only one of the various sources of investment resources. Hence, import instability (MI) may pose a more serious problem than XI in hindering economic growth. Employing 1968-1986 World Bank data for 33 sub-Saharan African countries, XI, KI and MI variables are calculated for each country as the standard errors around the respective 'best-fitted' trends over the sample period. These instability measures and additional World Bank data are then used to estimate an augmented production function that controls for the effects of labour, capital, and exports. The study finds that although KI is still a relevant argument of the production function, MI appears to be even more important, while XI is extraneous.