Working Papers
January 1, 0001
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January 1, 0001
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January 1, 0001
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January 1, 0001
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January 1, 0001
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January 1, 0001
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1999
March 1, 1999
Institutions, innovations, and Growth
Description: The fundamental importance of economic institutions for economic growth through their impact on technological change has been argued, reconfirmed by recent empirical studies, but not examined theoretically. This paper tries to fill that gap. In the model proposed, economic growth is affected by the efficiency and riskiness of research and development (R&D), which are endogenized through financial institutions. The theory and its results shed lights on the debate of convergence versus divergence; the “East Asia miracle” versus the East Asia financial crisis; and the rise and fall of centralized economies.
March 1, 1999
Capital Controls and Trade Liberalization in a Monetary Economy
Description: This paper reexamines Aizenman’s (1985) results on the effects of capital controls during unanticipated trade liberalization using an intertemporal optimizing monetary model. Unlike in Aizenman’s model, which is based on the currency substitution model, foreign money is an interest-bearing asset in this paper, and its major role is to smooth intertemporal consumption. With this modification, Aizenman’s results are reversed, thus showing that the effects of capital controls during trade liberalization would vary greatly depending on the role of foreign money in a country. The effects of an anticipated trade liberalization are also studied.
March 1, 1999
Growth Gains from Trade and Education
Description: This paper presents a multisector growth model where education enhances general human capital, which is essential for increasing or maintaining the mobility of workers across industries. The paper shows that education, combined with international trade, can affect growth positively in the long run by raising workers’ ability to adapt and move easily to industries with the greatest productivity in each period. Depending on the initial ratio of general-to-specific human capital stock, multiple equilibrium growth paths can exist, including a poverty trap. If the ratio is not substantially low, trade liberalization can allow an economy in a poverty trap to transform into one with continuous education and higher output growth.