This paper develops a spatial theoretical growth model in order to study the impact of physical and human capital relocations on the growth of open economies. Analytical and simulation results show how the respective neighbours determine an economy's development, why convergence and divergence may alternate in the medium-run, and that interregional migration as a consequence of wage inequalities causes disparities to prevail in the long-run. The empirical part applies spatial econometric specifications for European regions on the NUTS2 level for the observation period 2000-2010. The estimations underline the importance of human capital endowments and its relation with spatial location. (author's abstract) / Series: Working Papers in Regional Science

This thesis consists of three essays on macroeconomic aspects of climate change. Technological Trends and the Intertemporal Incentives For Fossil-Fuel Use analyzes how (the expectations about) the future developments of different kinds of technology affect the intertemporal incentives for fossil-fuel use. I find that improvements in the future state of technologies for alternative-energy generation, energy efficiency and total factor productivity all increase fossil-fuel use before the change takes place. The effect of changes in the efficiency of non-energy inputs is the reverse, while the effect of changes in fossil-fuel based energy technology is ambiguous. These conclusions are robust to a number of variations of the assumptions made. The Role of the Nature of Damages considers to what extent the choice of modeling climate impacts as affecting productivity, utility or the depreciation of capital affects the behavior of integrated assessment models. I carry out my analysis in two different ways. Firstly, under some simplifying assumptions, I derive a simple formula for the optimal tax on fossil-fuel use that adds up the three different types of climate effects. Secondly, I use a two-period model with exogenous climate to analyze how the allocation of fossil-fuel use over time is affected by the effects of climate change. I find that this is sensitive to the assumptions made. Indirect Effects of Climate Change investigates how direct effects of climate change in some countries have indirect effects on other countries going through changing world market prices of goods and financial instruments. When calculating the total effects of climate change, these indirect effects must also be taken into account. I first derive these indirect effects in a many-country model. Reaching agreements about reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases is made difficult by the negative correlation there seems to be between emissions of greenhouse gases and the vulnerability to climate change. I argue, based on a stylized two country example, that trade in goods will tend to make the countries' interests more aligned while trade in financial instruments will tend to make the countries' interests less aligned.

In endogenous growth models, in contrast to the neoclassical growth models, government expenditure and taxation have an effect on the long run growth rate. In this thesis I examine whether the empirical evidence support the predictions of endogenous growth models or the neoclassical growth models in relation to fiscal policy. For this purpose I use panel data for fifteen European Union (EU) member and thirty-three developing countries between the years 1970 and 1999. I specifically test the following two propositions. The first proposition states that distortionary taxation decreases growth while non-distortionary taxation does not. The second, states that productive government expenditure increases growth while non-productive expenditure does not. The empirical results are quite different between European Union countries and developing countries. The results do not support endogenous growth especially for developing countries.

Within a panel data context with fixed effects method, using data on a sample of 40 lower- middle income economies, this paper investigates whether and to what extent FDI stimulates economic growth over the period 2007-2017. The main finding of this paper highlights the complementary effects between FDI and education, suggesting that a certain level of education must be reached in order for FDI to contribute positively on economic growth. Further, the level of education in this sample set is below the level that is considered as adequate in order to spur economic growth and thus this affects the absorptive capacity. This paper can only confirm that there is a certain association between FDI and economic growth and cannot confirm the widespread belief that FDI stimulates economic growth due to that the estimated models more often than not provided insignificant results.

Considering 91 countries with seaports, this study conducted an empirical inquiry into the broader economic contribution of seaborne trade, from a port infrastructure quality and logistics performance perspective. Investment in quality improvement of port infrastructure and its contribution to economy are often questioned by politicians, investors and general public. A structural equation model (SEM) is used to provide empirical evidence of significant economic impacts of port infrastructure quality and logistics performance. Furthermore, analysis of a multi-group SEM is performed by dividing countries into developed and developing economy groups. The results reveal that it is vital for developing countries to continuously improve the quality of port infrastructure as it contributes to better logistics performance, leading to higher seaborne trade, yielding higher economic growth. However, this association weakens as the developing countries become richer.

This dissertation examines from a comparative perspective the growth experience for a sample of twelve countries of the former Soviet Union over the period from 1991 to 2008. Two meth- ods of econometric analysis are applied: cross-section regressions and dynamic panel data esti- mation techniques. The main focus of the study has been to empirically establish whether coun- tries in the region are converging or diverging in terms of their income per capita and to find important sources of cross-country differences which determine the shape of this process. I did not find statistically significant support for conditional convergence in any cross-section period. It is partly supported by the increased dispersion of per capita income levels during the sample period. Meanwhile, panel data fixed-effects and GMM methods provide strong support for con- ditional convergence hypothesis. The first-differenced GMM estimator indicates a rate of con- vergence of around 2 per cent a year, which is surprisingly similar to the standard cross-section findings in empirical literature. However, it could be the result of the cyclical behaviour of out- put during transition. In general, results indicate that structural transformation is not yet over in most of the countries. Therefore progress in market-oriented reforms and...

The evolution of the U.S. skill premium over the past century has been characterized by a U-shaped pattern. The previous literature has attributed this observation mainly to the existence of exogenous, unexpected technological shocks or changes in institutional factors. In contrast, this paper demonstrates that a U-shaped evolution of the skill premium can also be obtained using a simple two-sector growth model that comprises both variants of skill-biased technological change (SBTC): technological change (TC) that is favorable to high-skilled labor and capital-skill complementarity (CSC). Within this framework, we derive the conditions necessary to achieve a non-monotonic evolution of relative wages and analyze the dynamics of such a case. We show that in the short run for various parameter constellations an educational, a relative substitutability, and a factor intensity effect can induce a decrease in the skill premium despite moderate growth in the relative productivity of high-skilled labor. In the long run, as the difference in labor productivity increases, the skill premium also rises. To underpin our theoretical results, we conduct a comprehensive simulation study.

A maioria dos trabalhos sobre o impacto macroeconômico da abertura da conta de capital não encontra nenhum efeito da liberalização sobre as variáveis reais. No entanto, uma leitura cuidadosa desta literatura revela que a maioria destes estudos não trata realmente da teoria que se propõe a testar. Aqueles que defendem um impacto positivo da liberalização financeira sobre o crescimento econômico aceitam as previsões do modelo de crescimento neoclássico de redução permanente no custo do capital e aumento temporário no investimento nos mercados emergentes, quando estes liberalizam suas contas de capital. A maior parte dos artigos que não encontram efeitos da liberalização sobre as variáveis reais não testa estas previsões. Uma ramificação pequena, mas crescente, desta literatura sobre a relação entre liberalização da conta de capital e crescimento econômico, que leva em conta a natureza temporal das previsões do modelo neoclássico (os artigos que adotam o chamado enfoque do experimento de política), encontra evidências de que a abertura da conta de capital em um país emergente gera efeitos significativos sobre o investimento e crescimento econômico. A desagregação dos dados, ou seja, a aplicação do enfoque do experimento de política a dados de firmas, fornece uma ligação mais forte com a teoria e graus de liberdade suficientes para se adotar uma nova estratégia de identificação que permite testar a eficiência na alocação dos recursos dentro do país em desenvolvimento que abriu sua conta de capital. O objetivo desta dissertação é tratar das teorias e evidências do impacto da liberalização da conta de capital nos países emergentes sobre o crescimento de suas economias, analisando-se as metodologias empíricas existentes aplicadas no teste desta relação, enfatizando as teorias que dão suporte a seus testes empíricos, bem como suas principais descobertas. Os efeitos da abertura da conta de capital no Brasil, na década de 90, serão analisados, utilizando-se uma estratégia de identificação recente a partir de dados de firmas, para se checar a validade empírica das previsões do modelo de crescimento neoclássico nesta situação. / Most writings on the macroeconomic impact of capital account openness find no effects of liberalization on real variables. However, a critical reading of this literature reveals that most of these studies do not really address the theory they set out to test. Those who defend a positive impact of financial liberalization on economic growth accept the neoclassical growth model’s predictions of permanent reduction on the cost of capital and temporary increase in investment in emerging markets when they liberalize their capital account. The lion’s share of papers that find no effect of liberalization on real variables do not test these predictions. A small but growing branch of this literature on the relationship between capital account liberalization and economic growth that takes the time series nature of the neoclassical model’s predictions seriously (papers that adopt the policy-experiment approach) find that opening the capital account within an emerging country generates significant effects on investment and economic growth. Disaggregating the data, that is to say, applying the policy-experiment approach to firm-level data, provides a tighter link to the theory than aggregate data and enough degrees of freedom to adopt a new identification strategy that allows of the test on the efficiency of capital allocation within the developing country that opened its capital account. The objective of this dissertation is to address the theories and evidences of the impact of capital account liberalization in emerging countries on their economic growth, analyzing the existing empirical methodologies applied to test this relationship, emphasizing the theories that support their empirical tests as well as their main findings. The effects of capital account opening in Brazil, in the 90’s, will be analyzed, using the recent firm-level data identification strategy, to check the empirical validity of the neoclassical growth model’s predictions in this situation.

Nous étudions les liens entre commerce international et soutenabilité. D’un point de vue théorique, la soutenabilitéest l’application de la théorie utilitariste à la théorie du capital. La soutenabilité se définit par unegestion équitable des moyens du développement. Il s’agit de préserver un certain niveau de consommation etde richesse tout en développant l’équité inter- et intragénérationnelle sous la contrainte du niveau socialementdéfini de substituabilité en valeur monétire des composants de la richesse. Les gains à l’échange issus du commerceinternational doivent être épargnés et réinvestis dans la mesure où ils sont le fruit d’une réallocationdes ressources au sein du pays considéré. La nature du commerce international a également un impact sur lessentiers de développement. La présence de rendements d’échelle croissants dans la division internationale desprocessus productifs a également un impact sur la soutenabilité. Nous montrons la façon dont les incitationsvenant du commerce international ont un impact joint sur la gestion des dotations dans les pays riches enressources naturelles. Un commerce inter-industries dans les secteurs des biens intensifs en ressources naturellesest un signe probable d’un sentier de développement insoutenable. Nous proposons d’étudier les pays issus del’Union Soviétique pour mieux comprendre les interactions entre institutions et soutenabilité. l’Epargne NetteAjustée (ENA) en Russie évolue de concert avec celle des pays voisins, sans lien avec celle d’autre pays ayantune même dotation en ressources naturelles. Nous préconisons d’utiliser des études contrefactuelles pour évaluerles trajectoires de développement dans un contexte d’uncertitude sur les niveaux réels de richesse globale.L’ensemble de ces éléments nous conduit à revisiter les logiques d’intégration économique dans une optique desoutenabilité. / We endeavour to explore the many ways by which international trade has an impact on sustainability.From a theoretical perspective, sustainability is the application of the utilitarian theory of value on capitaltheory, used to define the interactions between human-being and their environment. We show how sustainabilitycan be understood as sound and equitable management of the means of development, preserving consumptionand wealth over time while fostering intragenerational and intergenerational equity and controlling for moneyvaluesubstitutability. We use Adjusted Net Savings (ANS) to assess how opening economies to trade altersdevelopment paths. We then show how international trade should lead to additional savings, as gains fromtrade resulting from resources reallocation should be reinvested and not consumed. We explore how the natureof trade impacts development paths, showing how increasing returns to scale in the international division of theproduction processes changes factor prices. This should lead to more gains from trade saved and reinvested.We investigate how institutions and trade incentives interact in hindering sustainable management of naturalcapital in resource abundant countries. We show how inter-industry trade in natural resources intensive goodsmight be a sign for unsustainable development paths. To better understand interactions between institutionsand sustainability, we suggest the dislocation of the Soviet Union as a natural experiment. We show how theevolution of ANS in the Russian Federation is closely correlated with the neighbouring countries, regardless ofresources abundance. Counterfactual studies should be used to monitor sustainable development in the wakeof uncertainty and scarce data on comprehensive wealth depreciation. Those elements lead us to conclude onthe necessity to reconsider the rationale for economic integration on sustainability lines.

Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka om utbildningens kvalitet har en signifikant påverkan på ekonomisk tillväxt. I uppsatsen tillämpas en regressionsanalys baserad på sekundärdata. Den beroende variabeln är real BNP per capita tillväxt vilken används för att mäta ekonomisk tillväxt. Den oberoende variabeln i fokus är testresultat från internationella prov och används som mått för utbildningens kvalitet. Kontrollvariabler i uppsatsen är initial BNP per capita, genomsnittlig utbildningstid, fertilitet, investeringar och graden av handelsöppenhet. I studien ingår data för 49 länder och omfattar åren från 2000 till och med 2010. I regressionsmodellen som inkluderar samtliga kontrollvariabler visar testresultatvariabeln en signifikant positiv relation till ekonomisk tillväxt. Det här betyder alltså att utbildningens kvalitet har en påverkan på ekonomisk tillväxt. Utifrån detta går det att härleda ett antal teoretiska förklarningar till hur utbildningens kvalitet har kunnat påverka ekonomisk tillväxt. I och med innovationer i informationsteknik samt den generella teknologiutvecklingen som präglat 2000-talet, dras slutsatsen att utbildningens kvalitet troligtvis har påverkat utvecklandet av färdigheter relaterade till innovationsförmåga och anpassningsbarhet till ny teknologi hos individer. Det här i följd har påverkat den ekonomiska tillväxten i ett land. / The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the quality of education has a significant impact on economic growth. This paper applied a regression analysis based on secondary data. The dependent variable is real GDP per capita growth, which is used to measure economic growth. The independent variable in focus is test results from international tests and is used as a measure of educational quality. Control variables in the paper are initial GDP per capita, average years of schooling, fertility, investments and the degree of trade openness. The study includes data for 49 countries and covers the years from 2000 to 2010. The regression model that includes all control variables shows that the test result variable has a significant positive relationship to economic growth. This means that the quality of education has an impact on economic growth. Based on this it is possible to derive a number of theoretical explanations of how the quality of education has been able to influence economic growth. With innovations in information technology, as well as the general technology trend that characterized the 2000s, it’s concluded that the quality of education is likely to have influenced the development of skills related to innovation and adaptability to new technologies in individuals. Consequently, this affects the economic growth of a country.