Openness and economic performance in sub-Saharan Africa : evidence from time-series cross-country analysis

In a cross-country study for 1967-87, the author tests whether the finding that increased openness improves performance holds true for sub-Saharan Africa as a subgroup among developing countries. Econometric analysis - based on the augmented production function that includes labor, capital stock, and a measure of openness - shows that openness exerts a significant positive impact on economic performance of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The relationship is especially strong in fixed-effect estimates that use annual panel data with country dummies to capture unobserved country-specific differences. The author finds the evidence of a positive link between openness and performance surprisingly robust to different measures of openness, to different periods, and to the inclusion of other policy variables. All four measures of openness, for example, are significant for 1967-87. For the shorter period, 1980-87, three are significant. Also, the size and significance of the openness coefficients do not change when one controls for macroeconomic policy.TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Achieving Shared Growth,Inequality

The Expansionist View of Systematic Testimonial Injustice: South Asian Context

In this paper, I offer an expansionist view of the Frickerian central case of testimonial injustice, citing examples from the South Asian context. To defend this expansionist position, I provide an argument in three parts. First, I argue that credibility deficit and credibility excess are entangled with each other in such a way that often, one produces the other. Secondly, I contend that we should not say that systematic testimonial injustice is a consequence of credibility deficit only because of the entanglement between them. I also contend that for being the central case of testimonial injustice, identity prejudice should not be necessarily negative; it can be positive as well. Propounding a twofold condition of the status of a knower, the last part claims that testimonial injustice occurs when one of the two conditions remains unmet

The Motivation Problem, Future Generations, and the Idea of “Leaving the Earth No Worse”

The author examines the problem of motivation about future generations. He argues that though many philosophers think that direct motivations are problematic for future generations only, they are not unproblematic for the current generations too, and that the motivation problem can be solved if we consider the idea of “leaving the earth no worse.” He also shows why such an idea should be promoted and can motivate us to work in the best interests of current and future generations. The author also contends that prioritizing the idea of “leaving the earth no worse” is not exclusively anthropocentric

Adjustment and private investment in Kenya

The authors use an accelerator model to assess the determinants of private investment and to analyze how adjustment policies affect those determinants. Their model emphasizes the effect of resource constraints on private investment behavior, including that arising from foreign exchange rationing. Econometric estimation of the investment model with Kenyan data for 1968-88 suggests that Kenya's failure to implement adjustment policies after the collapse of the coffee boom and the breakup of the East African common market reduced private investment sharply in the 1980s. The authors argue that inadequate fiscal adjustment was a key failure of policy. With direct competition between public and private sectors for limited financial resources, fiscal deficits preempted funds and restricted private investor's access to them. In addition, when cuts in government spending were undertaken to contain deficits, they fell disproportionately on capital expenditure, especially on physical infrastructure. Though real depreciation is found to have a direct negative impact on investment, the authors use simulations to show that it has a positive indirect effect on private investment in the medium term because such depreciation relaxes the foreign exchange constraint on imports. They conclude that efficient fiscal adjustment and liberalization of imports will be critical for the recovery of private investment in Kenya.Trade and Regional Integration,Economic Theory&Research,Economic Stabilization,Environmental Economics&Policies,Macroeconomic Management

Hip-Hop Scholar: A New Model of Design for Music Discussion Forums

This research project reviews the current structure of message boards as well as online music discussion and analyzes the current communication flaws in the system while introducing a new system. This study gives a design review of Hip-Hop message board sites and conducts interviews with users of music message boards. The review and the interviews show indicates that comment filtering and receiving feedback on post were most important. The study then proposes a original alternative message board layout that uses topics that are relevant for longer periods of time than many of the current events topics that are used in current message board systems, as well as offers new structure to comment filtering and feedback systems. The proposed message board has a Hip-Hop Music theme, however the layout of the site is capable to be used in multiple different genres

Effective communication process in the Aristocrat Ltd.

This internship report is submitted in a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration,2010.Cataloged from PDF version of Internship report.The report is about the effective communication in the different business sector of an organization. To get the most practical and ensure the quality of the report I have chosen “The Aristocrat Ltd.” - the organization I have been working with. At first I have introduced different Strategic Units of the main organization. I have briefly described the functions of the organizations. After that I have described the different theories and functions of effective communication process in the business organization. In this course I have prepared a questionnaire to find out if the communication process of the strategic business unites of the Aristocrat Ltd. are maintained by the theories of effective communication process in the business organization. I have taken 100 sample questionnaires and analyzed the trends and found out the problems of the communication method of these SBU’s. In the end of the report I have recommended some effective communication process so that SBU’s of The Aristocrat Ltd. can be benefited by our observation.Kazi M NoorB. Business Administratio