Vani K Borooah & Colin Knox, The Economics of Schooling in a Divided Society: The Case for Shared Education

Abstract. Our identity is defined by the stories we tell about the past and the stories that we suppress. Segregation in schooling by religion at an early age inculcates a narrative of identity that excludes the other. That is not helpful for either peace or prosperity. This book discusses one aspect of the peace process in a conflict society, Northern Ireland, which is attempting to break the circle of violence. The authors examine the potential benefits of integrated education.Keywords. Majoritarian Democracy; School Quality; Ulster.JEL. D72; I2; P16

Do credit markets have faith in IMF imprimatur?

This paper examines the effect of the IMF imprimatur on the cost of borrowing in the international capital markets by investigating over 2600 loan contracts issued to public and private sector borrowers located in countries experiencing balance of payments problems between 1993 and 2001. The data are grouped into two samples. Both the samples comprise countries characterised by similar balance of payments problems, but only one of them comprise countries that have availed of IMF assistance. The IMF assisted countries paid more for short term loans and had obtained fewer long term loans compared to their non-IMF peers for the financing of similar purpose projects

Banking industry liberalisation in Ghana

Economic liberalisation is characterised by the entry of foreign companies and the emergence of new domestic institutions to compete with the existing institutions of lending, and there is a view that the process leads to greater efficiency, especially because foreign banks bring new expertise. Extracting information from accounts lodged with Ghana Central Bank, this paper ranks the cost efficiency of banks, Theil decomposition of the cost efficiency scores allows for a comparison of performance between banks under different types of ownership. There is pronounced differences in efficiency scores within and between groups by type of ownership, but foreign ownership, per se, is not the determining factor

Ethnic nationalism and income distribution in Malaysia

The need for the social inclusion of all ethnic groups is highlighted in discussions on development.That is an important point, but this paper urges caution about placing an exclusive focus on ethnicity in the formulation of policy.This argument is illustrated by way of an examination of the income distribution policies promulgated in Malaysia to improve the economic conditions of the Malay community after a series of race riots in 1969

Inequality adjusted growth rates in Latin America

Doubts have been raised about the benefits to an economy with high rates of GDP growth without at the same time accounting for distributional effects. This difference arises from the emphasis by some on the mean income, while others are concerned with the distribution around the mean. This paper assesses the per capita income that would be needed, if income were equally distributed to reach the same level of welfare, which is available from current distribution of the per capita GDP. This approach allows for the combination of both growth and distribution in ranking the success of some Latin American countries in their attempt to raise the living standard of the population. Copyright 2010, Oxford University Press.