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Papers by Elias Shukralla

Research paper thumbnail of Do Overseas Capital Flows Promote Labor Rights? A Cross-Country Empirical Investigation

Research paper thumbnail of Remittances, Institutions, and Economic Growth

Research paper thumbnail of Aid, Policies, and Growth in Developing Countries: A New Look at the Empirics

Southern Economic Journal, 2008

The relationship between foreign aid and economic growth has been the subject of much controversy... more The relationship between foreign aid and economic growth has been the subject of much controversy. A recent theme suggesting that aid promotes growth, but only in a good policy environment has ratcheted up that debate. In this paper, we assess the importance of policy and aid in generating growth when the aid, policy, and growth relationship is nonlinear. This allows us to examine the varying effects of aid and policy in different data segments, which we do without imposing any particular structure on the underlying relationship. We find that policy is an important determinant of growth. We also find partial corroboration of the view that aid is growth enhancing in a good policy environment, and some evidence of diminishing returns to aid. These findings suggest that nonlinearities if not appropriately addressed fail to capture the detailed underlying dynamics and thereby mask some key features of the aid‐policy‐growth relationship.

Research paper thumbnail of Remittances, Institutions and Growth: A Panel Semi-Parametric Approach

International Economic Journal, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Foreign Aid, Growth, Policy And Reform

Economics Bulletin, 2008

Whether good macroeconomic policy facilitates aid effectiveness in generating growth is a highly ... more Whether good macroeconomic policy facilitates aid effectiveness in generating growth is a highly debated topic. In this paper we investigate if economic reform has a favorable effect on the aid-growth relation-specifically, if reform enhances the effect of aid on growth. In doing so, we also construct a new policy index and examine the robustness of the Burnside and Dollar (2000) 'policy view'. The results indicate that although our new policy index and reform are both growth enhancing, they do not increase aid-effectiveness and aid seem to play no positive role in the picture.

Research paper thumbnail of Foreign Aid, women in parliament and corruption: empirical evidence from the 2000s

Using data for the 2000s, this paper explores the impact of foreign aid and the percentage of wom... more Using data for the 2000s, this paper explores the impact of foreign aid and the percentage of women in parliament on corruption. In doing so, it combines the aidcorruption literature with the literature that addresses the impact of gender on corruption. We also inquire if aid is more effective in countries with a larger participation of women in parliament. We find that neither aid nor the percentage of women in parliament affects perceived corruption in a significant way. Moreover, the impact of aid on corruption does not seem to be affected by the share of women in parliament.On the other hand,a long-established democracy is consistently found to be significant in affecting corruption.Our results are robust to various specifications, alternative measures of corruption and use of estimation techniques. The authors would like to thank an anonymous referee for valuable comments.

Research paper thumbnail of Aid effectiveness, policies and reform

Abstract: The effectiveness of foreign aid in developing countries is one of the most controversi... more Abstract: The effectiveness of foreign aid in developing countries is one of the most controversial topics in the development literature. In particular, issues relating to the link between aid and growth, and whether aid works better when good policies and reforms are undertaken, ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Impact of Aid for Trade on Trade Costs Facing African Economies

Research paper thumbnail of Infrastructure, Trade Costs, and Aid for Trade: The Imperatives for African Economies

Journal of African Development, 2021

Using comprehensive bilateral trade costs data and a new index of infrastructure spanning from th... more Using comprehensive bilateral trade costs data and a new index of infrastructure spanning from the 2002–11 period, we (1) examine the impact of aid-for-trade (AFT) from bilateral (BLT) and multilateral (MLT) sources on trade costs facing AFT recipient countries and (2) identify the role that improvements in infrastructure may play on the effectiveness of AFT inflows. Our results from a multilevel mixed-effects model indicate that increased AFT inflows from both sources reduce bilateral trade costs of the AFT recipient countries. Our results also indicate that infrastructure endowment promotes the bilateral (BLT) trade costs reduction effects of AFT inflows even much larger, hinting important policy implications relevant for strengthening the effectiveness of aid-for-trade and further aid extensions in general, especially targeted toward infrastructure improvements.

Research paper thumbnail of Institutional quality and the effectiveness of aid for trade

Applied Economics, 2019

Trade policy barriers and high transaction costs hinder developing countries from taking the full... more Trade policy barriers and high transaction costs hinder developing countries from taking the full advantages of the global trading system. In order to help developing countries overcome the problem, the World Trade Organization (WTO) launched the Aid for Trade (AFT) initiatives in its Ministerial Conference held in Hong Kong in 2005. We examine the effects of AFT inflows on bilateral trade costs facing 133 developing countries while accounting for differences in their location on the contours of various measures of institutional quality. Our results from the estimation of a mixed effects (random-intercept and random-coefficient) model indicate that institutional quality significantly affects the extent to which AFT reduces bilateral trade costs. An important policy implication of our findings is that an economically robust and sustainable reduction in bilateral trade costs facing developing countries requires the presence of both promulgated and effectively functioning institutions such as regulatory power and the rule of law.

Research paper thumbnail of Production Efficiency and the Extensive Margins of U.S. Exporters: An Industry-level Analysis

Open Economies Review, 2015

Using data from 85 NAICS 4 digit-level industry classifications that span the years 2004-2008, we... more Using data from 85 NAICS 4 digit-level industry classifications that span the years 2004-2008, we evaluate whether productivity differentials, which have been shown to determine the decision of firms to export, affect the extensive margins of trade at the industry-level (i.e., the number of firms within an industry that engage in exporting). We use a stochastic frontier production function to derive a time-varying, industry-specific measure of technical efficiency. Employing a multi-level mixed effects model and accounting for the variance structure of the data (i.e., destination markets, industries, and time), we examine the average effect of an increase in industryspecific technical efficiency on the number of firms involved in exporting and the corresponding industry-specific deviations. Our results show that higher levels of industry-specific technical efficiency correspond with larger numbers of firms involved in exporting implying the importance of giving due consideration to approaches that focus on improving technical efficiency. Additionally, a much larger increase is observed among small-sized firms than for medium-or large-sized firms. We discuss the implications of the observed deviations, particularly for policy makers interested in increasing the extensive margins of their nations' trade.

Research paper thumbnail of The impact of foreign direct investment on horizontal export diversification: empirical evidence

Research paper thumbnail of Are bilateral and multilateral aid‐for‐trade complementary?

The World Economy, 2017

Using the first comprehensive estimates of ad valorem tariff equivalent bilateral trade costs spa... more Using the first comprehensive estimates of ad valorem tariff equivalent bilateral trade costs spanning the time period 2002–10, we examine whether the aid‐for‐trade (AFT) inflows reduce bilateral trade costs facing aid recipients. If so, we ask whether the trade costs reduction effects of AFT from bilateral and multilateral sources are complementary. By showing the extent to which the observed trade cost reduction effects of AFT from bilateral (multilateral) sources correlate with the magnitudes of AFT disbursements from multilateral (bilateral) sources, we present plausible explanation for the cross‐country variations in the extent to which AFT promotes trade flows. Our findings have, thus, important policy implications for shaping future discourses on the coordination of disbursements for enhancing the effectiveness of AFT.

Research paper thumbnail of Remittances, Institutions and Growth: A Semiparametric Study

International Economic Journal, 2009

In this article we re-examine the relationship between remittances and economic growth placing sp... more In this article we re-examine the relationship between remittances and economic growth placing special attention on the nonlinearity of this relationship. Previous studies have ignored the non-linearity of the relationship between remittances and economic growth or ...

Research paper thumbnail of Do Overseas Capital Flows Promote Labor Rights? A Cross-Country Empirical Investigation

Research paper thumbnail of Remittances, Institutions, and Economic Growth

Research paper thumbnail of Aid, Policies, and Growth in Developing Countries: A New Look at the Empirics

Southern Economic Journal, 2008

The relationship between foreign aid and economic growth has been the subject of much controversy... more The relationship between foreign aid and economic growth has been the subject of much controversy. A recent theme suggesting that aid promotes growth, but only in a good policy environment has ratcheted up that debate. In this paper, we assess the importance of policy and aid in generating growth when the aid, policy, and growth relationship is nonlinear. This allows us to examine the varying effects of aid and policy in different data segments, which we do without imposing any particular structure on the underlying relationship. We find that policy is an important determinant of growth. We also find partial corroboration of the view that aid is growth enhancing in a good policy environment, and some evidence of diminishing returns to aid. These findings suggest that nonlinearities if not appropriately addressed fail to capture the detailed underlying dynamics and thereby mask some key features of the aid‐policy‐growth relationship.

Research paper thumbnail of Remittances, Institutions and Growth: A Panel Semi-Parametric Approach

International Economic Journal, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Foreign Aid, Growth, Policy And Reform

Economics Bulletin, 2008

Whether good macroeconomic policy facilitates aid effectiveness in generating growth is a highly ... more Whether good macroeconomic policy facilitates aid effectiveness in generating growth is a highly debated topic. In this paper we investigate if economic reform has a favorable effect on the aid-growth relation-specifically, if reform enhances the effect of aid on growth. In doing so, we also construct a new policy index and examine the robustness of the Burnside and Dollar (2000) 'policy view'. The results indicate that although our new policy index and reform are both growth enhancing, they do not increase aid-effectiveness and aid seem to play no positive role in the picture.

Research paper thumbnail of Foreign Aid, women in parliament and corruption: empirical evidence from the 2000s

Using data for the 2000s, this paper explores the impact of foreign aid and the percentage of wom... more Using data for the 2000s, this paper explores the impact of foreign aid and the percentage of women in parliament on corruption. In doing so, it combines the aidcorruption literature with the literature that addresses the impact of gender on corruption. We also inquire if aid is more effective in countries with a larger participation of women in parliament. We find that neither aid nor the percentage of women in parliament affects perceived corruption in a significant way. Moreover, the impact of aid on corruption does not seem to be affected by the share of women in parliament.On the other hand,a long-established democracy is consistently found to be significant in affecting corruption.Our results are robust to various specifications, alternative measures of corruption and use of estimation techniques. The authors would like to thank an anonymous referee for valuable comments.

Research paper thumbnail of Aid effectiveness, policies and reform

Abstract: The effectiveness of foreign aid in developing countries is one of the most controversi... more Abstract: The effectiveness of foreign aid in developing countries is one of the most controversial topics in the development literature. In particular, issues relating to the link between aid and growth, and whether aid works better when good policies and reforms are undertaken, ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Impact of Aid for Trade on Trade Costs Facing African Economies

Research paper thumbnail of Infrastructure, Trade Costs, and Aid for Trade: The Imperatives for African Economies

Journal of African Development, 2021

Using comprehensive bilateral trade costs data and a new index of infrastructure spanning from th... more Using comprehensive bilateral trade costs data and a new index of infrastructure spanning from the 2002–11 period, we (1) examine the impact of aid-for-trade (AFT) from bilateral (BLT) and multilateral (MLT) sources on trade costs facing AFT recipient countries and (2) identify the role that improvements in infrastructure may play on the effectiveness of AFT inflows. Our results from a multilevel mixed-effects model indicate that increased AFT inflows from both sources reduce bilateral trade costs of the AFT recipient countries. Our results also indicate that infrastructure endowment promotes the bilateral (BLT) trade costs reduction effects of AFT inflows even much larger, hinting important policy implications relevant for strengthening the effectiveness of aid-for-trade and further aid extensions in general, especially targeted toward infrastructure improvements.

Research paper thumbnail of Institutional quality and the effectiveness of aid for trade

Applied Economics, 2019

Trade policy barriers and high transaction costs hinder developing countries from taking the full... more Trade policy barriers and high transaction costs hinder developing countries from taking the full advantages of the global trading system. In order to help developing countries overcome the problem, the World Trade Organization (WTO) launched the Aid for Trade (AFT) initiatives in its Ministerial Conference held in Hong Kong in 2005. We examine the effects of AFT inflows on bilateral trade costs facing 133 developing countries while accounting for differences in their location on the contours of various measures of institutional quality. Our results from the estimation of a mixed effects (random-intercept and random-coefficient) model indicate that institutional quality significantly affects the extent to which AFT reduces bilateral trade costs. An important policy implication of our findings is that an economically robust and sustainable reduction in bilateral trade costs facing developing countries requires the presence of both promulgated and effectively functioning institutions such as regulatory power and the rule of law.

Research paper thumbnail of Production Efficiency and the Extensive Margins of U.S. Exporters: An Industry-level Analysis

Open Economies Review, 2015

Using data from 85 NAICS 4 digit-level industry classifications that span the years 2004-2008, we... more Using data from 85 NAICS 4 digit-level industry classifications that span the years 2004-2008, we evaluate whether productivity differentials, which have been shown to determine the decision of firms to export, affect the extensive margins of trade at the industry-level (i.e., the number of firms within an industry that engage in exporting). We use a stochastic frontier production function to derive a time-varying, industry-specific measure of technical efficiency. Employing a multi-level mixed effects model and accounting for the variance structure of the data (i.e., destination markets, industries, and time), we examine the average effect of an increase in industryspecific technical efficiency on the number of firms involved in exporting and the corresponding industry-specific deviations. Our results show that higher levels of industry-specific technical efficiency correspond with larger numbers of firms involved in exporting implying the importance of giving due consideration to approaches that focus on improving technical efficiency. Additionally, a much larger increase is observed among small-sized firms than for medium-or large-sized firms. We discuss the implications of the observed deviations, particularly for policy makers interested in increasing the extensive margins of their nations' trade.

Research paper thumbnail of The impact of foreign direct investment on horizontal export diversification: empirical evidence

Research paper thumbnail of Are bilateral and multilateral aid‐for‐trade complementary?

The World Economy, 2017

Using the first comprehensive estimates of ad valorem tariff equivalent bilateral trade costs spa... more Using the first comprehensive estimates of ad valorem tariff equivalent bilateral trade costs spanning the time period 2002–10, we examine whether the aid‐for‐trade (AFT) inflows reduce bilateral trade costs facing aid recipients. If so, we ask whether the trade costs reduction effects of AFT from bilateral and multilateral sources are complementary. By showing the extent to which the observed trade cost reduction effects of AFT from bilateral (multilateral) sources correlate with the magnitudes of AFT disbursements from multilateral (bilateral) sources, we present plausible explanation for the cross‐country variations in the extent to which AFT promotes trade flows. Our findings have, thus, important policy implications for shaping future discourses on the coordination of disbursements for enhancing the effectiveness of AFT.

Research paper thumbnail of Remittances, Institutions and Growth: A Semiparametric Study

International Economic Journal, 2009

In this article we re-examine the relationship between remittances and economic growth placing sp... more In this article we re-examine the relationship between remittances and economic growth placing special attention on the nonlinearity of this relationship. Previous studies have ignored the non-linearity of the relationship between remittances and economic growth or ...