164 research outputs found
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
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
The Determinants of Renewable Energy Production– A Global Study on Panel Data
Objective: Due to the environmental concerns as a result of the utilization of dirty fuel, globally the nations are actively pursuing the transition toward Renewable Energy (RE). Therefore, to mitigate the CO2 emissions and address the energy security, the deployment of RE is the ultimate solution, hence identifying the drivers of RE is imperative.
Research Gap: However, the focus of the earlier studies was on the determinants of RE consumption (REC) whereas the focus of this study is on the determinants of RE production (REP). The REP represents the supply side of economics and excludes the energy import, transmission and distribution losses
Design/Methodology/Approach:. The study is based on global panel data of 133 countries from 1990 to 2020 and applies panel data estimation techniques.
The Main Findings: The study revealed that economic variables such as GDP per capita and trade openness, as well as demographic (urban population), drive the REP. Conversely, energy-related variables, i.e., electricity generation from coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear sources slow down the adoption of RE. Similarly, the relationship between REP and CO2 emissions per capita, used as a proxy for the environment is negative, which is interesting and it can inferred that the lobby elements for favoring the utilization of fossil fuel bars the deployment of RE.
Theoretical / Practical Implications of the Findings: This study is helpful for policymakers and researchers in understanding the dynamics of the determinants and making an informed decision while devising energy policies.  
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
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