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Blog post
Who are William Nordhaus and Paul Romer? And why did they win the Nobel prize in economics?
The latest on the Nobel prize in economics. The basics: Who are they? William Nordhaus of Yale University is a pioneer in the economics of climate change. He won for his work on integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic models. Paul Romer of NYU Stern won for his work on the endogenous growth model and his emphasis on the integration of technological...
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Blog post
World’s first development impact bond
About three years ago, an experiment in the financing and delivery of a programme aimed at increasing girls’ school enrollment and achievement began in Rajasthan, India. In this rural area, where agriculture is the main form of subsistence, one in 10 girls aged 11-14 are kept out of school, for reasons such as contributing to the family income or caring for siblings. A...
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Revisiting the balance of payments and the fiscal deficit
Countries left-and-right are battling fiscal crises. Have we been too stringent, or not enough? This last blog in a series thinks about how fiscal policy might look different in unorthodox times. A prudent fiscal stance and a healthy balance of payments have been standard prescriptions for emerging economies. Manageable debts and a slim deficit keep macroeconomic crises...
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IGC Quick Click: On trade wars and the aftermath of the financial crisis
With so many interesting and important economic events happening in the world, we, at the IGC, thought we would have a go at summarising the debate on key interesting (yes, they exist) and topical economic issues. We aim to put together links to enlightening blogs and papers from a diversity of sources that will explain the various aspects of a topic/event or the different...
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Blog post
Incentivising school attendance in Mozambique: Reports or cash transfers?
An enormous effort has been made by governments the world over to incentivise parents to ensure that their children attend school regularly. In developing countries, in particular, arguably the most significant innovation in social policy in the past few decades has been the introduction of conditional cash transfers made to parents to incentivise a number of prescribed...
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Rethinking traditional structural transformation
How much will the old patterns of economic growth explain the experience of tomorrow’s growing economies? While the evolution of an economy into different sectors is a natural process of development, the fourth blog in this series examines how the composition of growth could look very different in the future. The shift of labour from the countryside into higher...
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Adjusting the export-for-growth model
Trade brings numerous benefits, chief among them competition, yet today’s outlook for trade remains uncertain. Is it time to re-think the primacy of exporting for growth? This third blog in a series explores the issue. A successful development model in the last few decades has been for developing countries with low labour costs to jump on the lowest rung of the value...
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Blog post
The new international geography of deindustrialisation
The problem with Donald Trump’s trade narrative is that it ignores the simple fact that deindustrialisation in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa has been more severe than it has been in the US and Europe. Trump seems intent on starting a global trade war. His recent imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminium is consistent with his rambling inaugural address about...
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Are we living in unorthodox times?
How different is today’s environment for developing countries compared to a few decades ago? The second blog in this series examines four trends that will shape how countries grow and develop in the future. The most admired development strategies of the last few decades were deployed at a time of historically unprecedented global integration. Driven by both increasingly...
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Blog post
Non-price energy conservation and household energy consumption: Experimental evidence from Bangladesh
Research in Bangladesh shows that non-price energy conservation programmes can help support achieving energy efficiency especially regarding residential electricity usage. Household electricity consumption accounts for 40% of global energy related CO2 emissions and this is expected to grow globally by 58% by 2030 if no measures are introduced (Rasul & Hollywood 2012). ...
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Reforming Pakistan’s tax system: Evidence-based suggestions
As Pakistan fails to collect a decent proportion of own-source revenue, it has little choice than to take on debt or depend on more creative means, such as a recent crowdfunding campaign, to fund public projects. Where does Pakistan stand? Pakistan tax-to-GDP ratio is about 12% . In comparison, OECD countries raise taxes equivalent to about 34% of their GDP. This limits...