Corruption and financial intermediation in a panel of regions: cross-border effects of corruption

The importance of financial market reforms in combating corruption has been highlighted in the theoretical literature but has not been systemically tested empirically. In this study we provide a first pass at testing this relationship using both linear and non-monotonic forms of the relationship between corruption and financial intermediation. Our study finds a negative and statistically significant impact of financial intermediation on corruption. Specifically, the results imply that a one standard deviation increase in financial intermediation is associated with a decrease in corruption of 0.20 points, or 16 percent of the standard deviation in the corruption index and this relationship is shown to be robust to a variety of specification changes, including: (i) different sets of control variables; (ii) different econometrics techniques; (iii) different sample sizes; (iv) alternative corruption indices; (v) removal of outliers; (vi) different sets of panels; and (vii) allowing for cross country interdependence, contagion effects, of corruption.corruption; contagion effects; financial Intermediation; panel data

Corruption and the military in politics: theory and evidence from around the world

Recent theoretical developments and case study evidence suggests a relationship between the military in politics and corruption. This study contributes to this literature by analyzing theoretically and empirically the role of the military in politics and corruption for the first time. By drawing on a cross sectional and panel data set covering a large number of countries, over the period 1984-2007, and using a variety of econometric methods substantial empirical support is found for a positive relationship between the military in politics and corruption. In sum, our results reveal that a one standard deviation increase in the military in politics leads to a 0.22 unit increase in corruption index. This relationship is shown to be robust to a variety of specification changes, different econometric techniques, different sample sizes, alternative corruption indices and the exclusion of outliers. This study suggests that the explanatory power of the military in politics is at least as important as the conventionally accepted causes of corruption, such as economic development.corruption; military in politics; cross sectional; panel data

Financial Sector, Democracy and Economic Growth: A Panel Data Analysis

Economic growth depends on many factors like the traditional factors of capital, labour and technological advancement and the somewhat novel factors of financial development and the nature of political regime. The relationship between the nature of political structure and economic growth is quite complicated. There may be direct and indirect impacts of the nature of political set up on economic growth. However, these channels remain un-explored to larger extent. The present study is conducted to analyse economic growth under democracy and dictatorship for a considerably larger set of countries from 1974 to 2013. The indirect impact of democracy on economic growth is analysed through an unexplored channel of financial sector performance, which is expected to be sensitive to regime type. The direct impact of democracy is found to be positively significant on economic growth. Likewise, direct impact of financial sector performance on economic growth is also found to be positive and significant. However, democracy had negative indirect impact on economic growth through financial sector but the magnitude of this indirect negative impact is minute enough to be ignored as compared to large individual direct effects of democracy and financial sector. JEL Classification: O40, O43, O16 Keywords: Economic Growth, Democracy, Dictatorship, Financial Sector Performanc

The Impact of Trade Liberalization on Health: Evidence from Pakistan

The literature predicts both positive and negative health outcomes in developing economies as a result of increasing trade. Does openness to trade help to improve health indicators in the case of Pakistan? This study attempts to answer this question using data from 1975 to 2016. This study uses life expectancy and infant mortality as health indicators while trade to GDP ratio as trade openness indicator. For robustness analysis, the study uses international trade taxes, exports to GDP ratio and imports to GDP ratio. The empirical results of the study show that 1% increase in trade to GDP ratio significantly decreases life expectancy by 0.05 years and significantly increases infant mortality by 0.47 deaths. Thus, trade causes adverse effects on health indicators in the case of Pakistan

FDI and Exports in Developing Countries: Theory and Evidence

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) not only generate global flows of foreign direct investment, but are also extremely for global trade flows. UNCTAD (2004) estimates that MNEs account for around two-thirds of world exports. Since MNEs are responsible for a large proportion of world trade, one may infer that there is a close relationship between flows of FDI and trade. An MNE network, consisting of a parent and a network of affiliates, generates simultaneous flows of goods and investments. In this context the pool of knowledge and associated models, which explain international trade, has grown substantially in the recent past, but there is less theoretical consensus about the relationship between trade flows and FDI. The fact that exporting and local production are alternative ways for an MNE to serve the demand in a foreign market suggests a substitutability relationship between FDI and trade. MNE production in the host country implies that local production is a substitute for exports from the home country. On the other hand, MNE affiliates’ production in a host country can generate a demand for intermediate goods from the parent, resulting in a complementary relationship between flows of FDI and trade (exports). Theoretical reasoning therefore supports both these possibilities, providing a strong incentive for empirical analysi

An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between International Trade and Quality of Life

Ever increasing trade restrictions have severe consequences for the quality of human life. Since improving the quality of life (QoL) is the core of economic development, therefore, it is important to investigate the factors affecting it. International trade is an important factor which affects QoL. Therefore, the current study is an attempt to analyze the nexus of international trade and QoL in the member countries of the United Nation Development Program (UNDP). Since QoL is a subjective measure, therefore, human development index (HDI) was used to empirically measure it. Data of 184 UNDP member countries for a period of 28 years (1990-2017) was analyzed in the current study. Both cross-sectional and panel data analysis techniques were used. The results indicated that international trade positively affects QoL. Hence, it was concluded that instead of remaining a closed economy, countries should promote international trade to improve the QoL of their people

A Panel Data Analysis of Globalization, Peace and Stability: Implications for Governance and the Global Knowledge Economy

This study attempts to explore the relationship between globalization and the knowledge economy via governance. It intends to explain the channel of their relationship through peace and stability. Knowledge economy pillars (Education and Information and communication technology) are used as the dependent variable and globalization is used as an independent variable. To obtain the objectives of the study, the panel data set of 198 countries is used for the period of 1996-2016. The study has employed econometric techniques of panel data set such as the Fixed Effect Model (FEM), Random Effect Model (REM), and Hausman test. The results reveal that globalization has a significant and positive impact on the knowledge economy. Hence the study recommends that the country should execute such reforms that help enhance the globalization and increase the development of the knowledge economy. JEL Classification Codes: F6

Does social development increase the happiness level? Evidence from global panel data

Abctract. This study attempts to examine the links between social development and happiness. Social development plays a very important role in increasing the level of happiness. Social development leads to better education, health and more economic growth. The analysis is captured by employing panel data of 125 countries over the period 2014-2018. The empirical analysis is based on Fixed Effects Method (FEM), Random Effects Method (REM), Instrumental Variable Fixed Effects Method (IVFE), Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) and Driscoll-Kraay Standard Errors. The empirical analysis demonstrates that social development has a positive impact on happiness. The study suggests that government should encourage such projects, which enhance the level of social development.Keywords. Happiness, Social development.JEL. D63, I30, I31