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Business and Economics > Finance: General

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 11 items for :

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Cover IMF Working Papers
The Pitfalls of Protectionism: Import Substitution vs. Export-Oriented Industrial Policy
Reda Cherif
and
Fuad Hasanov
Industrial policies pursued in many developing countries in the 1950s-1970s largely failed while the industrial policies of the Asian Miracles succeeded. We argue that a key factor of success is industrial policy with export orientation in contrast to import substitution. Exporting encouraged competition, economies of scale, innovation, and local integration and provided market signals to policymakers. Even in a large market such as India, import substitution policies in the automotive industry failed because of micromanagement and misaligned incentives. We also analyze the risk tradeoffs involved in various industrial policy strategies and their implications on the 21st century industrial policies. While state interventions may be needed to develop some new capabilities and industries, trade protectionism is neither a necessary nor a sufficient tool and will most likely be counterproductive.
Keywords:
Industrial policy; export orientation; import substitution; growth; diversification; innovation; technology; import substitution policy; D. export orientation; risk tradeoff; policies in India; Policy strategy; Exports; Manufacturing; Imports; Tariffs; Competition; Global; Caribbean; North America
Cover IMF Working Papers
Market Power and Monetary Policy Transmission
Mr. Romain A Duval
,
Davide Furceri
,
Raphael Lee
, and
Marina M. Tavares
We show that firms’ market power dampens the response of their output to monetary policy shocks, using firm-level data for the United States and a large cross-country firm-level dataset for 14 advanced economies. The estimated impact of a firm’s markup on its response to a monetary policy shock is large enough to materially affect monetary policy transmission. We also find some evidence that the role of markup in monetary policy transmission, while independent from other channels, is greater for firms whose characteristics — notably size and age — are likely to be associated with greater financial constraints. We rationalize these findings through a simple partial equilibrium model in which borrowing constraints amplify disproportionately low-markup firms’ responses to changes in interest rates.
Keywords:
Monetary policy; interest rates; imperfect competition; market power; markups; monetary policy transmission; monetary policy shock; responses to change; firms' market power; firms' response; Central bank policy rate; Competition; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Trade, Jobs, and Inequality
Ms. Kimberly Beaton
,
Ms. Valerie Cerra
, and
Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov
This paper examines the impact of trade on employment, wages, and other outcomes across countries and explores the conditions and policies that help spread the gains from trade more evenly throughout the population. We exploit a large global firm-level dataset to examine the impact of import competition on employment, wages, and firm performance, as well as the firm, industry, and country factors that mitigate any negative impact of an import shock. In contrast to the results of some well-known single-country studies, we find limited adverse impact of import competition. In some countries and industries, import competition actually strengthens employment growth. In addition, import competition tends to improve average wages, investment, and firm profitability. Country characteristics, such as educational attainment, can also improve employment prospects in response to trade shocks. Finally, we find that firms experiencing greater import competition start with higher average wages; thus any relatively slower employment growth in this group of firms could lead to lower inequality.
Keywords:
import competition; employment growth; import shock; firm investment; firm profitability; Imports; Employment; Competition; Wages; Income inequality; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Changing Times for Frontier Markets: A Perspective from Portfolio Investment Flows and Financial Integration
Nordine Abidi
,
Ms. Burcu Hacibedel
, and
Ms. Mwanza Nkusu
This paper investigates to what extent low-income developing countries (LIDCs) characterized as frontier markets (FMs) have begun to be subject to capital flows dynamics typically associated with emerging markets (EMs). Using a sample of developing countries covering the period 2000–14, we show that: (i) average annual portfolio flows to FMs as a share of GDP outstripped those to EMs by about 0.6 percentage points of GDP; (ii) during years of heightened stress in global financial markets, portfolio flows to FMs dried up like those to EMs; and that (iii) FMs have become more integrated into international financial markets. Our findings confirm that, in terms of portfolio flows, FMs have become more similar to EMs than to the rest of LIDCs and are therefore more vulnerable to swings in global financial markets conditions. Accordingly, it is important to have in place frameworks to strengthen FMs’ resilience to adverse capital flows shocks.
Keywords:
WP; global bond; portfolio flow; market beta; crisis dummy; Frontier Markets; Portfolio flows; Financial Integration; Balance of Payments Needs; FM group; qualification criteria; integration Hypothesis; FM bond; segmentation hypothesis; FMS relative; Capital flows; Private capital flows; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Impact of Product Market Reforms on Firm Productivity in Italy
Mr. Sergi Lanau
and
Petia Topalova
This paper examines the role of removing obstacles to competition in product markets in raising growth and productivity. Using firm-level data from Italy during 2003–13 and OECD measures of product market regulation, we estimate the effect of deregulation in network sectors on value added and productivity of firms in these sectors, as well as firms using these intermediates in their production processes. We find evidence of a significant positive impact. These effects are more pronounced in Italian provinces with more efficient public administration, underscoring the complementarities of advancing public administration and product market reforms simultaneously.
Keywords:
WP; firm; firm performance; productivity; growth; structural reforms; product markets; firm data; performance metrics; downstream firm; firm size variable; firms exit; performance variable; Commodity markets; Public expenditure review; Total factor productivity; Competition; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Identifying Constraints to Financial Inclusion and Their Impact on GDP and Inequality: A Structural Framework for Policy
Ms. Era Dabla-Norris
,
Yan Ji
,
Robert M. Townsend
, and
Ms. Filiz D Unsal
We develop a micro-founded general equilibrium model with heterogeneous agents to identify pertinent constraints to financial inclusion. We evaluate quantitatively the policy impacts of relaxing each of these constraints separately, and in combination, on GDP and inequality. We focus on three dimensions of financial inclusion: access (determined by the size of participation costs), depth (determined by the size of collateral constraints resulting from limited commitment), and intermediation efficiency (determined by the size of interest rate spreads and default possibilities due to costly monitoring). We take the model to a firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey for six countries at varying degrees of economic development—three low-income countries (Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique), and three emerging market countries (Malaysia, the Philippines, and Egypt). The results suggest that alleviating different financial frictions have a differential impact across countries, with country-specific characteristics playing a central role in determining the linkages and tradeoffs between inclusion, GDP, inequality, and the distribution of gains and losses.
Keywords:
WP; participation cost; Gini coefficient; cost of capital; intermediation cost; Financial inclusion; inequality; income distribution; hetergenous agents; optimal contract; credit regime; lending interest rate; Self-employment; Credit; Income inequality; Collateral
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Pacific Speed of Growth: How Fast Can It Be and What Determines It?
Yongzheng Yang
,
Hong Chen
,
Shiu raj Singh
, and
Baljeet Singh
This study aims to test within a relatively homogeneous group of small states what differentiates the growth performance of Pacific island countries (PICs) from their peers. We find that PICs are disadvantaged by distance and hampered by lower investment and exports compared with other small island states, but greater political stability, catch-up effects from lower initial incomes, and slower population growth have helped offset some of these disadvantages. On balance, policy-related factors, together with geography-related disadvantages, have led to growth rates in PICs that are much lower than in other small states. We also examine how real exchange rate appreciation, unfavorable developments in the external trade environment, and rising international transport costs may have contributed to PICs’ slower growth over the past decade.
Keywords:
WP; financial crisis; PIC economy; economic recovery; PIC government; small states; Pacific island countries; growth; convergence; remoteness; volatility; aid; investment exports; trade pattern; growth rebound; growth performance; PIC growth rebound; PIC export; visitor arrival; Exports; Transportation; Real exchange rates; Imports; Competition; Global; Australia and New Zealand; Pacific Islands; Asia and Pacific
Cover IMF Working Papers
Searching for the Finance-Growth Nexus in Libya
Mr. Serhan Cevik
and
Mr. Mohammad Rahmati
This paper investigates the causal relationship between financial development and economic growth in Libya during the period 1970–2010. The empirical results vary with estimation methodology and model specification, but indicate the lack of long-run relationship between financial intermediation and nonhydrocarbon output growth. The OLS estimation shows that financial development has a statistically significant negative effect on real nonhydrocarbon GDP per capita growth. However, the VAR-based estimations present statistically insignificant results, albeit still attaching a negative coefficient to financial intermediation. It appears that nonhydrocarbon economic activity depends largely on government spending, which is in turn determined by the country’s hydrocarbon earnings.
Keywords:
WP; hydrocarbon GDP; GDP growth; finance-growth nexus; rate of change; well-functioning financial system; Financial development; economic growth; cointegration; causality; VAR models; Financial sector development; Credit; Commercial banks; Oil prices
Cover IMF Working Papers
Assessing Competitiveness and Real Exchange Rate Misalignment in Low-Income Countries
Mr. Mark W Lewis
,
Ms. Aurelie Martin
, and
Gabriel Di Bella
Assessing a country's competitiveness routinely starts with an analysis of the real exchange rate. However, in low-income countries, empirical analysis of the real exchange rate is often subject to important limitations that seriously weaken the results. This paper summarizes the methodologies used to assess real exchange rate misalignments and discusses the range of obstacles common to low-income countries. Recognizing the importance of using a wide range of indicators for assessing competitiveness in low-income countries, the paper discusses alternative competitive measures and then proposes a template of indicators to allow for a systematic assessment of competitiveness in low-income countries. The template is then used to rank countries according to their competitiveness performance in 2006.
Keywords:
WP; cost; CPI; exchange rate; competitiveness; competitiveness assessment; Equilibrium Exchange Rates; Low-Income Countries; RER chg; RER misalignment; equilibrium RERS; RER depreciation; RER indicator; RER equilibrium; RER assessment; RER adjustment; RER appreciation; Competition; Real exchange rates; Exports; Exchange rates; Terms of trade; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Impact of Structural Reformson Productivity Growth in Industrial Countries
Mr. Ranil M Salgado
This paper investigates the impact of structural reforms on productivity growth. A panel analysis of 20 OECD countries finds that the impact of structural reforms on productivity growth may be weak or negative in the short run, possibly due to adjustment costs and the need for firms to learn how to operate in a less regulated and more competitive environment. In the long run, however, structural reforms are found to have significantly positive effects on productivity growth.
Keywords:
WP; product market; average cost; markup; Productivity; Growth; Structural reforms; Trade; Product markets; product market reform; price-average cost markup; log productivity level; productivity leader; labor productivity growth; Total factor productivity; Commodity markets