This dissertation is a collection of three independent essays in empirical development economics using data from China. In the first two chapters, I examine the determinants of choices within the household. In the first chapter, I estimate the causal effects of total income, relative female and relative male income on sex imbalance. The second chapter studies the effects of relaxations in the One Child Policy on sex ratios and family size and then exploits the exogenous variation in family size caused by the relaxations to estimate the causal effect of family size on school enrollment. The third chapter is a descriptive study of income inequality for top income earners in China during 1986-2002 and the potential redistributive effectiveness of progressive income taxation.; by Nancy Qian.; Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics, 2005.; Includes bibliographical references.

The Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) brings together the world s leading scholars and development practitioners for a lively debate on state-of-the-art thinking in development policy and the implications for the global economy. The 17th conference was held in Dakar, Senegal, on January 27, 2005. The theme of the conference was growth and integration, which was divided into five topics: growth and integration, financial reforms, economic development, trade and development, and investment climate.

Development economics in its early years created the image of a fierce fight between advocates of contrasting theories or approaches- "balanced growth" vs. "unbalanced growth" or "program loans" vs. "project loans." This view has the merit to highlight such conflicts in great detail; yet it fails to take into account the reality of development economics as it was practiced in the field. This paper reassesses these old conflicts by complementing the traditional focus on theoretical debates with an emphasis on the practice of development economics.A particularly interesting example is the debate between Albert Hirschman, one of the fathers of the "unbalanced growth" approach, and Lauchlin Currie, among the advocates of "balanced growth" on how to foster iron production in Colombia in the 1950s. An analysis of the positions held by these two economists shows that they were in fact much less antithetical than is usually held and, indeed, were in some fundamental aspects surprisingly similar. Debates among development economists during the 1950s thus must be explained-at least partially-as the natural dynamics of an emerging discipline that took shape when different groups tried to achieve supremacy-or at least legitimacy-through the creation of mutually delegitimizing systemic theories.

"Twelve years ago, when I was chief economist of the World Bank, I suggested that the major challenge to development economics was learning the lessons of the previous several decades: a small group of countries, mostly in Asia, but a few in other regions, had had phenomenal success, beyond anything that had been anticipated by economists; while many other countries had experienced slow growth, or even worse, stagnation and decline—inconsistent with the standard models in economics which predicted convergence. The successful countries had followed policies that were markedly different from those of the Washington Consensus, though they shared some elements in common; those policies had not brought high growth, stability, or poverty reduction. Shortly after I left the World Bank, the crisis in Argentina—which had been held up as the poster child of the country that had followed Washington Consensus policies—reinforced the doubts about that strategy. The global financial crisis, too, has cast doubt over the neoclassical paradigm in advanced industrial countries, and rightly so. Much of development economics had been viewed as asking how developing countries could successfully transition toward the kinds of market-oriented policy frameworks that came to be called “American style capitalism.” The debate was not about the goal...

The 1999 Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics, the eleventh anniversary, was held at the Bank on April 28-30, 1999. The discussions focused on three trends of development: 1) the emerging international financial architecture; 2) challenges to social development; and 3) lessons from a decade of transition. Twelve papers were presented on a variety of topics including corporate governance, short-term capital flows, and the relationships between crime, violence, and inequitable development. The keynote addresses by Noble Laureate Kenneth Arrow, Secretary of the US Treasury Lawrence Summers, and Joseph E. Stiglitz, senior vice president, Development Economics and chief economist at the World Bank and former chair of the US Council of Economic Advisors, broach many of the topics that were central to the conference. They examine technological knowledge and innovation and global integration and look back at the arduous process of transition in the former Soviet Union.

The Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics is a forum for discussion, and debate of important policy issues facing developing countries. This report for 2001-2002 focuses on two main themes, based on papers presented, and discussions that followed: 1) globalization and inequality, drawing on historical trends, through the human capital nexus, and the role of foreign trade and investment, to the geographic and international inequalities of globalization, and how the impact of technological change affected the developing world; and, 2) health and development, focused on the role of nongovernmental organizations in the provision of health care, with a special look at the patent policy proposal for global diseases. Health, income, and economic development are emphasized, so as to highlight the world inequality, and the growing concerns on the rising longevity.

"Twelve years ago, when I was chief economist of the World Bank, I suggested that the major challenge to development economics was learning the lessons of the previous several decades: a small group of countries, mostly in Asia, but a few in other regions, had had phenomenal success, beyond anything that had been anticipated by economists; while many other countries had experienced slow growth, or even worse, stagnation and decline—inconsistent with the standard models in economics which predicted convergence. The successful countries had followed policies that were markedly different from those of the Washington Consensus, though they shared some elements in common; those policies had not brought high growth, stability, or poverty reduction. Shortly after I left the World Bank, the crisis in Argentina—which had been held up as the poster child of the country that had followed Washington Consensus policies—reinforced the doubts about that strategy. The global financial crisis, too, has cast doubt over the neoclassical paradigm in advanced industrial countries, and rightly so. Much of development economics had been viewed as asking how developing countries could successfully transition toward the kinds of market-oriented policy frameworks that came to be called “American style capitalism.” The debate was not about the goal...

The Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) is a forum for discussion and debate of important policy issues facing developing countries. The conferences emphasize the contribution that empirical economic research can make to understanding development processes and to formulating sound development policies. Conference papers are written by researchers in and outside the World Bank. This year's ABCDE included sessions on the following themes: industrial policy and development; social capital, institutions, and development; financial crisis and regulation; the road to a sustainable global economic system; and innovation and competition. In light of the global financial crisis, speakers touched on fundamental questions: what caused the current crisis, and how can the world economy recover?Are the standard prescriptions of development economics adequate to the task? Should developing countries alter their basic growth strategies? What is the proper role of the state? Should developing countries reexamine their commitment to free trade? How can global imbalances be rectified (especially between China and the United States)? Within the globalized financial system...

The World Development Report (WDR) has become such a fixture that it is easy to forget the circumstances under which it was born and the Bank's motivation for producing such a report at that time. In the first chapter of this essay, the authors provide a brief background on the circumstances of newly independent developing countries and summarize some of the main strands of the emerging field of development economics. This backdrop to the genesis of the WDR accounts for the orientation of the earlier reports. The thinking on development in the 1960s and 1970s also provides a baseline from which to view the evolution that has occurred since. From the coverage in the second chapter, the authors isolate a number of key issues common to several or all of the WDRs, and the author examine these issues individually at greater length in third chapter. The discussion in third chapter, which builds on the material in the WDRs, presents some views about how far development thinking and, relatedly, policy making have advanced relative to 30 years ago. It asks whether promoting growth...

These are the proceedings of the Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics, which gathers the global perspective of scholars, and practitioners of development policy from academic life, government, and the private sector. The selected topics seek to include new areas of concern, and current research, as well as areas believed to benefit from exposure to recent knowledge, and experience. This year's conference focused on new development thinking, crises and recovery, corporate governance and restructuring, and, social security, public and private savings. The opening address outlines challenges for development, that include the intransigence of poverty in Africa, and ways to establish public-private partnerships at the country, and global levels, while the keynote address identifies equilibrium, and change as the focus of development economics: long-term sustainable growth requires development of a consensus behind the reform policies. Discussions varied from crises and recovery, through perspectives on the recent history of transition economies...

This paper provides an overview of the history of development research at the World Bank and points to new future directions in both what we research and how we research. Six main messages emerge. First, research and data have long been essential elements of the Bank's country programs and its contributions to global public goods, and this will remain the case. Second, development thinking is in a state of flux and uncertainty; it is time to reconsider both the Bank's research priorities and how it does research. Third, a more open and strategic approach to research is needed -- an approach that is firmly grounded in the key knowledge gaps for development policy emerging from the experiences of developing countries, including the questions that policy makers in those countries ask. Fourth, four major sets of problems merit high priority for our future research: (i) securing economic transformation; (ii) broadening opportunities to participate in the benefits of, and contribute to, such transformation; (iii) dealing with emerging risks at all levels; and (iv) assessing the results of development efforts...

The Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics seeks to expand the flow of ideas among development policy researchers, academics, and practitioners from around the world. It is a premier forum for World Bank and other experts to exchange ideas, challenge one another's findings, and expand theoretical and practical knowledge of development. Each year the topics selected for the conference represent new matters of concern or areas that will benefit from a review of what we know and from the identification of what still needs to be explored and expanded. This year's conference, held at the World Bank on April 29-30, 2002, addressed four themes: trade and poverty, Africa's future in terms of industrial and/or agricultural development, education and empowerment, and investment climate and productivity, with Andrew Berg and Anne Krueger, Paul Collier, Simeon Djankov, Rafael La Porta, Florencio Lopez-De-Silanes, and Andrei Schleifer, Ravi Kanbur, Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff, L. Alan Winters...

The Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) is one of the best-known conferences for the presentation and discussion of new knowledge on development. It is an opportunity for many of the world's finest development thinkers to present their ideas. The 2007 ABCDE -- held in Tokyo on May 29-30, 2006, and cosponsored by the Government of Japan -- was devoted to "Rethinking Infrastructure for Development." The conference opened with remarks by Sadakazu Tanigaki, Japan's Minister of Finance, and Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank. Their remarks were followed by keynote addresses by Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank; Sadako Ogata, President of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); and Joseph Stiglitz, University Professor at Columbia University. Six papers were presented addressing the issues of infrastructure for growth, sustainable development and infrastructure, rural infrastructure and agricultural development, and infrastructure and regional cooperation. François Bourguignon...

The Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) is one of the world's best-known series of conferences for the presentation and discussion of new knowledge on development. It is an opportunity for many of the world's finest development thinkers to present their ideas. In 1999, in recognition of Europe's pivotal role in the provision of development assistance and to bring the World Bank's research on development into close contact with European perspectives, the World Bank created a distinctively European platform for debate on development issues. The seventh Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics in Europe was held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, May 23-24, 2005. The conference was co-organized by the Government of the Netherlands. The theme of the conference was "Securing Development in an Unstable World." The conference opened with remarks by Jean-François Rischard, the World Bank's Vice President for Europe, and Agnes van Ardenne-van der Hoeven, Minister for Development Cooperation...

This book helps us to understand development economics in light of the past half-century's experience of development thought and practice. This volume is an outgrowth of an intergenerational symposium on "the Future of Development Economics," held in Dubrovnik in May 1999. It collects the papers presented at Dubrovnik by the representatives of the first and second generations of development economists. They look toward the unsettled issues that will confront the next generation. About 15 discussants comment on the main papers. At the end, two appendixes offer reflections on the future by several Nobel laureates and first-generation pioneers.

This Sixth Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics, one of the world's best-known series of conferences, aims at the presentation, and discussion of new knowledge on development. The theme of the conference was "Doha, Monterrey, and Johannesburg: Are We on Track to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)?" The conference provides a forum for the world's leading development thinkers to share new knowledge, and ideas. This Conference was designed to look at how four flows (flows of people, capital, aid, and trade) link developed and developing countries. Discussions show not only where some of the main opportunities are in each of these four areas, but also where the main blockages are, and what the real risks are-both when flows accelerate, and when flows dry up. Notably, it was argued that developed countries should have the courage to push globalization further: Europe, like the United States, is protectionist, and as long as it stays that way, there can be no real free trade on the global level. It was proposed a political counterpart to what exists on the economic level be created...

To address these broad questions: How to analyze the impact of globalization? What is the effect of rich countries' policies on developing ones? How to redefine the development agenda and scale-up the aid effort? The European Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE-Europe) focused on some of the problematic features of globalization and discussed the global impact of developed countries' policies in a number of crucial areas for developing countries, such as farm trade, migrations, the protection of intellectual property, and capital flows. It also highlighted the role and responsibilities of the private sector. This volume, organized in twelve chapters, opens with the five plenary session papers that were at the core of the discussion and focuses on five crucial issues and policy challenges: agricultural trade, migration flows, intellectual property rights, the costs and benefits of international capital flows, and options for sovereign debt restructuring. The seven remaining chapters offer a collection of selected papers discussed in the parallel workshops held during the conference. They cover a wider range of issues...

The Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) is a leading forum for advanced, forward-looking research on important development issues. Each year, the ABCDE brings policy makers and politicians together with researchers from academe, international organizations, and think tanks. The diverse perspectives of the international development community mingle and coalesce through in-depth debates on important themes on the development agenda. The 2008 ABCDE was devoted to the theme 'the private sector and development' and highlighted such issues as financial inclusion, key factors in the business climate, and the provision of public services by non-state actors.

Comunicação apresentada em International Conference “New Challenges of Economic and Business Development" - 2012, Riga; Development economics centres its analysis on the specific problems of less developed countries. Its main goal is to find answers to the following question: 'how can low-income economies in the world today be set on the track to sustained economic development for the immediate goal of reducing poverty and the long-run goal of catching up on the wealth of developed economies?' (Hayami and Godo, 2005: 2 [1]). Many answers to this fundamental question have been presented. We survey the central elements that characterize four important theoretical approaches in Development Economics, namely : (i) modernization theories; (ii) dependency theories ; (iii) world-system theory; (iv) neoclassical counter-revolution. However, the "old" notion of economic development, which considers as its main goal the reduction of inequality in terms of per capita income, seems to be insufficient to cover the amplitude and complexity of development problems. Therefore, it is not surprising that the notion of development has been expanded through the consideration of new dimensions, with the adding of many adjectives to the word "development" - "human"...

the terms of Albert Hirschman, a discipline in the interior of theeconomics known as Development Economics, was born in the postwar period.However, if “economic development” emerged as a theme of extreme success, in arelatively short period of time it has faded. Absent from economic debate for sometime, economic development came back in the 1980s, incorporating new issues byrescuing the historical mutations of development economics into a fragmentedquarrel and analyzing the nature of this process. The present article aims to debate whether New Development Economics exists or not.; Nos termos de Albert Hirschman, nasce no período do pós-guerra umadisciplina no interior da ciência econômica conhecida como Economia do Desenvolvimento.Entretanto, se por um lado o “desenvolvimento econômico” emergiucomo uma temática de extremo sucesso no campo da economia, por outro, em umperíodo relativamente curto de tempo, assiste-se ao seu declínio. Após alguns anosde ausência, o desenvolvimento econômico volta a ser debatido nos anos de 1980,incorporando novas temáticas. Nesse sentido, o presente artigo busca, através de umresgate da transmutação histórica da discussão de desenvolvimento econômico numadiscussão fragmentada e de uma análise da natureza mesma dessa fragmentação...