On the Empirics of Institutions and Quality of Growth: Evidence for Developing Countries

We explore a newly available dataset on quality of growth to investigate the effect of institutions on growth quality in 93 developing countries for the period 1990 to 2011. Quality of institutions is measured in term of political risk. The empirical evidence is based on: (i) Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Two Stage Least Squares (2SLS) and (ii) cross-sectional and panel data structures. In order to avail room for more policy implications, the dataset is further disaggregated into income levels, namely: Lower middle income (LMIC), low income (LI) and upper middle income (UMIC). Three main findings are established. First, institutions are positively related to the quality of growth. Second, institutions have significantly contributed to growth quality in increasing order during the following time intervals: 2005-2011, 1995-1999 and 2000-2004. Third, the positive nexus between institutions and growth quality is fundamentally driven by LMIC. Policy implications are discussed

A Development Consensus reconciling the Beijing Model and Washington Consensus: Views and Agenda

Reconciling the two dominant development models of the Washington Consensus (WC) and Beijing Model (BM) remains a critical challenge in the literature. The challenge is even more demanding when emerging development paradigms like the Liberal Institutional Pluralism (LIP) and New Structural Economics (NSE) schools have to be integrated. While the latter has recognized both State and market failures but failed to provide a unified theory, the former has left the challenging concern of how institutional diversity matter in the development process. We synthesize perspectives from over 150 recently published papers on development and Sino-African relations in order to present the relevance of both the WC and BM in the long-term and short-run respectively. While the paper provides a unified theory by reconciling the WC and the BM to complement the NSE, it at the same time presents a case for economic rights and political rights as short-run and long-run development priorities respectively. By reconciling the WC with the BM, the study contributes at the same to macroeconomic NSE literature of unifying a development theory and to the LIP literature on institutional preferences with stages of development. Hence, the proposed reconciliation takes into account the structural and institutional realities of nations at difference stages of the process of development

Inhibition of Plasmodium berghei growth by alkaloid extract of Phyllanthus amarus in mice increased haem level and stabilized erythrocyte membrane

Objectives: The Plasmodium parasite is known for its ability to destabilize the red cell membrane causing the release of free haem which is converted to haemozoin as haem is toxic to parasite. In combination with other factors, accumulation of haemozoin is associated with anaemia which manifest in severe malaria. Compounds directed at preventing erythrocyte attack and increasing haem concentrations could serve as new sources of antimalarials. Therefore, this study assessed the ability of Phyllanthus (P.) amarus alkaloid extract, a phytochemical, already reported to possess antimalarial activity, in reducing erythrocyte deformity and preventing parasite multiplication by increasing haem concentrations. Methods: The study involved measurement of parasite clearance, changes in haematological indices and degree of erythrocyte membrane stabilization (using heat-induced and hypotonic-solution induced destabilization assays) in Plasmodium (P.) berghei infected mice treated with alkaloid extract of P. amarus using documented methods. Results: Infection of experimental mice with Plasmodium berghei, induced malaria with evidence of anaemia (reduced PCV and Hb), reduction in haematological indices (RBC, WBC, platelets, lymphocytes, and eosinophil), increased serum haemozoin and haem concentration and destabilization of erythrocyte membrane