Economic Reforms Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

It has been a quarter century since India had embarked on the phase of globalisation through a series of macroeconomic reforms started in 1991. In this paper we have analysed the extent and trends of India’s economic integration and discussed the channels through which the process of economic integration has been spread and the factors that have facilitated the integration process in the country. The results show that the pace of economic integration in India has accelerated only in the post-2001 period and international trade in goods and services has played a significant role in the integration process. The paper also unveils that India still continues to maintain significant restrictions in international trade and capital flows, which limits its economic integration with the world.

- by Dilip Saikia
- •
- International Trade, Capital Flows, Trade Openness, Economic Reforms

The idea of jugaad, or frugal innovation, has gained wide popularity within policy circles and business schools as a breakthrough formula – from a quick-fix solution grown in adverse conditions to a six-point business principle – for economic growth generation. I argue that the new jugaad innovation narrative offers an uplifting, potentially emancipatory discourse of mobility in a setting where even after two decades of economic reforms wealth gap and poverty stubbornly persists. Central to this shift are two processes. First, a dramatic re-signification of the aam aadmi, within a new conceptual scaffolding of India in relation to modern science and technology where the ability to innovate is portrayed as a natural gift, a deeply ingrained collective Indian trait that even the unlettered common man possesses. Second, the conditions of adversity and absence of public services for Indian citizens is turned on its head to position India as an ideal laboratory condition within which a culture of innovation takes birth. In short, jugaad enables dramatic transformation of what was once considered unchanging, static and immobile mass into a source of innovation, inspiration and ultimately socioeconomic mobility.

- by Ravinder Kaur
- •
- History, Anthropology, Development Studies, Social Sciences

This article takes a look at the main results of the economic reforms in Azerbaijan since the country gained its state independence. The most important result is the country’s economic sovereignty, which is expressed, first, in sufficient independence to choose its own model of economic development, second, in the financial self-sufficiency of the national economy, and, third, in the state’s (in the form of the government and private companies) retention of its right to own most of the country’s economic potential. The transfer to mainly market methods of economic regulation is analyzed from the viewpoint of forms of ownership, the establishment of free price formation and fair competition, and the liberalization of foreign economic interactions. All of these problems are viewed in the context of interstate comparisons. The economic progress of recent years is analyzed separately.
The authors show that the main factors directly or indirectly hindering the country’s efficient economic development are related to regional political contradictions and primarily to Armenia’s occupation of part of Azerbaijan’s territory. In the immediate future, the main efforts will be put into gradually moving away from competitive advantages based on material factors of production and transferring to competitiveness based on investments and efficiency; reducing the size of the informal economy; and enhancing the sectoral and territorial make-up of the economy.

- by Nazim Muzaffarli (Imanov)
- •
- Political Economy, Independence, Azerbaijan, Economic Reforms

Political connection between the state and firms in the context of China’s corporate restructuring has been little explored. Using the clientelist framework and unpacking the incentives of both firms and the state, we analyse political connection as repeated patron-client exchanges where the politically connected firms can help the state fulfil its revenue imperative, serving as a failsafe for local authorities to ensure that upper-level tax quotas are met. Leveraging original surveys of the same Chinese firms over an eleven-year period and the variations in their post-restructuring board composition, we find that restructured state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with political connection pay more tax than assessed, independent of profits, in exchange for more preferential access to key inputs and policy opportunities controlled by the state. Examining taxes rather than profits also offers a new interpretation for why China continues to favour its remaining SOEs even when they are less profitable.

- by Xiaojun Li and +1
- •
- Comparative Politics, Political Economy, Taxation, Business Economics

With the commencement of the New Economic Policy, 1991, developing countries, particularly those in Asia, have been observing an immense efflux of FDI inflows during the past two decades. The developing and the underdeveloped economies do not have the suf icient level of savings and income in order to meet the required level of investment needed to assist the growth of the economy. In such cases, FDI plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between the available resources and the required resources. FDI provides a boost to the working of the economy. FDI is considered as a development tool in India which helps in attaining self-reliance in various sectors and also in the overall development of the economy. This paper aims to examine the impact of FDI on the Indian economy, particularly after the economic reforms.

- by IAEME Publication
- •
- Economic Development, Economic Reforms, New Economic Policy, FDI
- by Dr Gaurav Sushant
- •
- Argentina History, Privatization, Economic Crisis, Economic Reforms

Adoptând o perspectivă teoretică și epistemologică instituționalistă, care spune că în economie instituțiile sau regulile contează (institutions matter), in acest articol este analizat procesul de transformare post-socialistă din anii 1990, din Republica Moldova. În loc să compare sistemul post-socialist moldovenesc cu un model abstract și universal valabil – cel al „economiei de piață”, promovat de curentul dominant neoclasic din economie –, pentru a spune dacă a obținut sau nu a obținut Republica Moldova o „economie de piață”, autoarea încearcă mai degrabă să analizeze principalele reforme post-socialiste modovenești, în scopul de a înțelege diferențele și continuitățile dintre sistemul socialist și cel post-socialist, precum și felul în care a fost construit un sistem economic mixt moldovenesc.

A deeper logic underlies President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s Consultative Commission’s Proposed Revision of the 1987 Constitution launched in late 2005, the so-called Charter Change project. Its proposals provide for the fundamental institutional ensemble, with constitutional effect, that guarantees the global and domestic rights of capital. At the heart of this project is an effort to mobilize support for the constitutionalization of “authoritarian liberalism” as the de facto state form. In doing so, it seeks the promotion of a (neo)liberal economy embedded in an authoritarian political framework.

Across many developing countries, the power sector persistently underperforms despite years of market reform efforts. India, where de facto responsibility for the power sector rests with subnational (state) governments, provides a useful laboratory to examine why. The state of West Bengal provides an example of public sector reform as an alternative to the so-called " World Bank template " for electricity liberalization, and a lens on the political preconditions for reform success. Drawing on 30 elite interviews in 2016 alongside comparative evidence from other Indian states, this article documents the reform design and assesses its success. West Bengal's reforms aimed at internally strengthening the utility against political interference. The study finds that this reform model delivered initial performance among the best of any Indian utility, and that successful reforms in several other states were also more statist than often recognized. However, longer-term sustainability remains challenging. While weak rural lobbies had some effect, the study explains this trajectory as the result of the transition from one-party dominance to intensified party-political competition, a finding that resonates with evidence from other Indian states. In contrast to influential political theories developed in the Global North, this suggests that party-political competition does not make Indian politicians more likely to deliver public services, but rather leads to short-termism and political capture of utilities. Conversely, under some conditions one-party dominance can encourage longer-term reforms. The study thus assesses the promise and limits of public sector reforms as an alternative to liberalization, and suggests how electoral competition can influence development priorities in Indian states.

- by Elizabeth Chatterjee
- •
- Energy Policy, Subnational Politics, Electoral Competition, India

Written by scholars at the Institute of South Asian Studies, this Special Report covers various aspects of India’s latest round of the economic reform process thus far, analysing the pros and cons of these initiatives. The papers reflect on the economic significance of the policies and their political undertones as well as the regulatory and administrative challenges that need to be overcome to make the reforms meaningful and sustainable.

- by Institute of South Asian Studies NUS
- •
- India, Economic Reforms

Depuis son lancement en 1999 le marché financier en Algérie est immobile. Rien que quatre entreprises publiques ont fait « l’aventure » d’introduire leur titres en bourse. Le secteur privé, reste sceptique envers ce mode de financement qui requiert une plus grande transparence dans les comptes de l’entreprise. Pour quoi, les entreprises algériennes continuent d’ignorer cet instrument de financement, très fiable, dans les autres pays. ? Doit-on cette situation à un manque d’une culture boursière chez ces entreprises, ou bien d’un manque de transparence dans leurs comptes ? Comment réconcilier les entreprises algériennes avec le marché des capitaux en Algérie ? Nous essayons dans ce papier, d’esquisser la situation actuelle de la bourse d’Alger, les difficultés que rencontrent les entreprises pour introduire leurs titres, et les voies possibles pour rendre le financement via la bourse plus attractif qu’il est maintenant.

- by Khaled MENNA
- •
- Financial Markets, Algeria, Economic Reforms

India’s economic reform since 1991 has been catalyst in shaping the performance of the economy. No doubt the economy has been brought to a higher growth trajectory and minimized many of the apparent inefficiencies that were persistent before the reform; however, there are new challenges in the process and backlashes in various areas. This volume highlights the post-reform performance of Indian economy in various sectors and the growth and development challenges thereof. In particular, the book addresses the performance and challenges in agriculture, industry and service sectors; and the development issues such as poverty and human development in the context of the economic reform. This book is an authoritative guide to India’s growth and development after economic reform and challenges thereof. This book will interest the students of economics and development studies, academics, researchers, policymakers, analysts and general readers.

- by Dilip Saikia
- •
- Poverty, Economic Growth, Migration, Rural Development

Global integration of China and India has had quite different effects on the structural pattern of their economic growth. Manufacturing became the engine of economic growth in the former whereas the latter thrived due to the rapid growth of services sector. The implications of their present patterns of growth seem to be very favourable for long-term development. However, employment effects of their integration into the global economy are quite similar, and are evident in fast growth of labour, migration of skilled labour force to developed countries, decline of employment in formal sector and slow growth of regular wage employment. In this context, sustainability of the fast economic growth of China and India depends largely on the extent to which they are able to generate a process for steady expansion of regular wage employment and productivity of low skilled labour force.

- by Mazhar Siraj
- •
- Development Economics, Services, Globalization, Manufacturing
- by Dr Naseer Ahmed
- •
- International Relations, Chinese Studies, Sinology, Indian studies

Public Private Dialogue (PPD) should produce outcomes that stimulate #economicgrowth. Building the mechanism to achieve results can be challenging. Yusuf Mansur and James Brew prepared a handbook for the Government of Jordan and the Jordan Chamber of Industry to provide standard procedures, establish principles and offer practical advice to implement sector PPDs. This handbook harnessed practical experience on PPD working across regions, organizations e.g. The World Bank, IFC - International Finance Corporation, Department for International Development (DFID), USAID and others. Although targeted for Jordan, the essence of the work can be applied to other economies and PPD requirements.

- by Yusuf Mansur
- •
- Business Economics, World Bank, Jordan, Economic Reforms

Ce travail traite la tenue de la politique budgétaire en Algérie durant la période des réformes depuis 1990. Cette thématique est analysée sous l’angle des réformes économiques et la transition vers l’économie de marché, la tenue de la politique budgétaire et l’Etat rentier, qui caractérise l’économie algérienne. Il s’est avéré que les dépenses publiques, principale levier d la politique budgétaire, ont un faible impact sur le PIB et la croissance économique. Ce qui explique le faible résultat de la politique budgétaire expansionniste pratiquée depuis plus d’une décennie. La mauvaise qualité des institutions, l’absence de transparence dans la gestion des finances publiques ont contribué largement à ce résultat. La politique budgétaire pro-cyclique de type keynésien pratiquée par les pouvoir publiques à travers l’augmentation de la dépense publique dans le but d’augmenter l’offre de la production nationale et l’amélioration des conditions d’investissement n’ont eu aucun effet.

- by Khaled MENNA
- •
- Algeria, Politique Budgétaire, Economic Reforms, Rentier State and Politics

Meiji Japan - Economic Modernization/Reforms

- by Ramita Udayashankar
- •
- Japanese History, Japan, Japanese History - Meiji era, Meiji Japan

By comparing the current reform process under President Raúl Castro to Cuba’s opening to market capitalism during the 1990s Special Period crisis, Everyday Adjustments in Havana: Economic Reforms, Mobility, and Emerging Inequalities highlights the differences and continuities between adjustments in both periods and their social impacts. It explores the impacts of specific policies such as the expansion of self-employment and the recreation of a private housing market, examining how changes in domestic and international policies after 2011 have modified the post-Special Period status quo and contributed to the formation of new social groups that did not previously exist in Cuba’s Socialist society.

- by Hope Bastian
- •
- Social Capital, Housing Policies, Capital social, Economic Reforms

La mutation du système bancaire algérien dans la dernière décennie (2000-2010) semble obéir à deux objectifs : préservation de la solidité du système bancaire et intensification de l’utilisation des nouvelles technologies de... more

- by Khaled MENNA
- •
- Banking, Algeria, Economic Reforms
- by Jonckheere Jan
- •
- Economics, Services, Globalization, China

The economic reforms under Gorbachev's perestroika, in Moldova, resurrected some old forms of market, giving rise to a rudimentary "private" sector. The latter relies on a new social contract, which marked a break with the politics of equal wages (especially in the merchant enterprises) and transformed the ancient bureaucratic regime of allocation and distribution of the resources of these enterprises into one taking into account the enterprise's profit. At the same time, in the non-merchant enterprises (such as cultural organizations, hospitals, schools), the bureaucratic form of allocation and distribution of the resources - in other words, the Soviet social contract, based on the politico-administrative hierarchy's competence - remain dominant.
At the same time of the perestroika, the tensions raised by these two models of allocation and distribution of resources gave birth to a new societal cleavage, which was called by the Moldavian academics, experts, or analytics, "private/public cleavage". The originality of this new cleavage occurs from its building not on the tensions between the private and public forms of ownership, but on the coexistence of the two wage regimes under perestroika. So, by an abuse of terminology, the private sector contains the merchant enterprises, and the public sector includes the non-merchant enterprises. This terminology was perpetrated and applied in the same way to the new post-communist realities in Moldova.
Thus, I discuss in this paper the origins and the content of the "private/public cleavage" in Moldova, under perestroika, and I examine the terminological adaptation under the post-communist era.

- by Dorina Rosca
- •
- Resource Allocation, Perestroika, Economic Reforms, Economy of Moldova

ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION «NEP – RESULTS AND PROSPECTS FOR STUDY» V.M. RYNKOV, V.A. IL’INYKH, V.V. KONDRASHIN, L.I. BORODKIN, V.I. KLISTORIN, I.V. POBEREZHNIKOV, V.P. ZINOVIEV, G.E. KORNILOV, A.A. NIKOLAEV, A.P. KILIN, V.S. PUSHKAREV The... more

- by Leonid Borodkin
- •
- Soviet History, Alternative Economies, Nikolai Bukharin, Economic Reforms

This thesis is dedicated to the analysis of the results of neoliberal socio-economic policy applied in years 1983-2003 in Australia by governments of formally different political orientations as a part of broader macro and microeconomic reform, which was designed in order to improve competitiveness of Australian economy. I will analyse mostly results of this transformation in such areas as labour market (mainly unemployment), inflation, dynamics of GDP and real wages. My argument is that the American model followed by Australia and also New Zealand has not the real chances to prove it in the Australian conditions and thus had to fail.
In this thesis I also analyse usefulness of solutions characteristic for the American model of the 1980s for Australia and New Zealand. To estimate the success of reforms, having in view the improvement of the competitiveness of economy of a given country, one should at the beginning specify understanding of such key terms as competitiveness of economy, her determinants as well as the ways of her measurement. One should also distinguish the idea of competitive ability from the results of its implementation, that is position, which given economy occupies in a given moment of time, i.e. competitive position. The first is determined by natural resources: human, infrastructure, technology, know how, capital and position of a given economy among the other countries. The second is usually measured using total GNP (or GDP) and GNP (GDP) per capita, share in world trade, the efficiency of work (wider: the productiveness of a given economy).
Estimating the competitiveness of economies of Australia and NZ, I have concentrated on such “classic” measures as: for competitive position - GDP and GDP per capita, efficiency (productivity) of work as well as widely understood conditions of work and pay, including the condition of labour market, and for competitive ability - the broadly understood indicators of economic growth. I have also analysed the social results of reforms, as well as, generally, the usefulness of American model of reforms for different countries (national economies).
On the basis of analysis of statistical data and literature of the subject, I came to conclusion, that the growth of efficiency (productivity) in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s, caused, among other things, by the mentioned reforms, was unstable, and partially broke down in the late part of the 20th century, when according to many estimates the level of that efficiency returned to the level of the 1970s, and so from before the reforms. According to some experts, it even returned to the level lower than in the 1960s.
The neo-liberal reforms in Australia and New Zealand improved, without any doubts, competitiveness of economies of those countries, especially their competitive position as measured by such indicators as GDP and GDP per capita and official unemployment rate, as well as their competitive ability as measured by such indicators as dynamics of GDP and GDP per capita. However, those reforms caused also a number of negative phenomena, such as the chronic deficits of current account balance, and for this reason very serious growth of foreign debts, which in turn negatively influences (by the way of high interest rates) the economic growth of those countries. The analysed reforms brought also enlarged levels of social stratification, and thus increased level of social tensions. Therefore, exact specification of their influence on quality of life seems to be difficult.

- by Lech J Keller
- •
- Public Economics, Macroeconomics, Australian Studies, Economic Reforms

International Investment Agreements (IIAs) ranging from Bilateral Investment Treaties to Preferential Trade and Investment Agreements have become a dominant phenomenon in the global economic order in the wake of the inability to establish a unified mulitilateral investment legal system. Current literature has shown inconclusive results on how IIAs promote Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and mitigate political risk. Moreover, there is a need to examine other variables beyond FDI in terms of evaluating the efficacy of these agreements. As Investment Treaty Arbitrations have sharply risen since the 1990s, this dissertation examines the role of IIAs and their investment chapters in promoting FDI flows to host countries after ITA dispute outcomes. Further, this document aims to show, through an analytical model, how the presence of these IIAs and the resulting outcomes impact host country political risk and competitiveness rankings. The analysis focuses on Latin America, given its relatively high political risk, through three key economies: Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil; and their extractive and infrastructure sectors, given their higher vulnerability to these risks. The project will produce three main research outputs: 1) a comprehensive literature review of the role of IIAs and investment chapters on foreign investment 2) a correlative analysis of ITA outcomes in the extractive and infrastructure sectors and the resulting FDI flows on the one hand, and political risk and country competitiveness indicators on the other; and, 3) an analysis of other factors within and beyond IIAs that may inform policy makers and investors on investment protection, political risk, and competitiveness.

- by Quintin V. Pastrana
- •
- Latin American Studies, Integration, Economic Reforms, Competitiveness

This paper studies the politics of market-oriented reforms in Korea since the 1997/98 financial crisis. It focuses on the capacity of the state to implement these reforms, and challenges the view that successfully implemented market reforms follow a technocratic ‘best practice’ approach. On the contrary, this paper argues that reforms in Korea were relatively successful because they were political projects that went beyond ownership concepts of the IMF and World Bank. The temporary weakness of big business (chaebol) and the formation of reform coalitions by the government created a balance of power between societal interest groups that opened a political space for the government. The state regained some of the autonomy it had lost during the ‘Chaebol Republic’ from 1987 to 1997 and was able to implement reforms in a temporary corporatist framework. However, the chaebol adapted to the new situation and used the market-friendly reforms in their favour. The re-emergence of the chaebol undermined state autonomy and with the inauguration of the new President and former chaebol CEO Lee Myung Bak in 2008, Korea is arguably entering the second Chaebol Republic.

- by Thomas Kalinowski
- •
- East Asia, Neoliberalism, IMF, Democracy

Introducción y presentación Andrés Serbin La crítica coyuntura cubana en tiempos de pandemia: los desafíos sociales, económicos, políticos e internacionales Carlos Alzugaray Apuntes sobre la política exterior de Cuba en los últimos tiempos Antonio Romero La transformación económica en un nuevo escenario Ricardo Torres Los desafíos de las finanzas externas de Cuba en el nuevo escenario del COVID Marlén Sánchez Cuba y el enfrentamiento multidimensional a la pandemia:

With the commencement of the New Economic Policy, 1991, developing countries, particularly those in Asia, have been observing an immense efflux of FDI inflows during the past two decades. The developing and the underdeveloped economies do not have the sufficient level of savings and income in order to meet the required level of investment needed to assist the growth of the economy. In such cases, FDI plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between the available resources and the required resources. FDI provides a boost to the working of the economy. FDI is considered as a development tool in India which helps in attaining self-reliance in various sectors and also in the overall development of the economy. This paper aims to examine the impact of FDI on the Indian economy, particularly after the economic reforms.

- by IAEME Publication
- •
- Economic Development, Economic Reforms, New Economic Policy, FDI

This article examines issues of migrancy and socioeconomic disadvantage in present-day China with references to two cases involving the celebritization of migrant beggars and buskers. The first concerns Cheng Guorong, a 34-year-old vagrant beggar with mental health issues who became an international fashion icon known as “Brother Sharp” in 2010 after an amateur photographer posted candid photographs of him walking down a street on an internet forum. The second case involves two migrant buskers in Beijing who performed to an audience of around 1 billion viewers worldwide on China Central Television Station's annual Spring Festival Gala in 2011, after a friend posted a mobile phone video clip of them singing on his microblog. These cases show how the mediated contexts provided by the World Wide Web, combined with the corollary growth of a young digital-technology–savvy population, are generating new entertainment-orientated communities and celebrity-making practices in China. It also shows how these seemingly apolitical entertainment practices are refashioning public debates about the politics of prosperity and equality.

- by Elaine Jeffreys
- •
- Rural-to-urban Migration, Migration, China, Economic Reforms

Despite the recognition that institutions matter for international development, the debates over institutional reforms tend to obscure the role of power. Neoliberal models of development are often promoted in terms of their technical merits and efficiency gains and rarely account for the multiple ways that social, economic and political power shape institutional design and institutional change. Even recent efforts to address power tend to conceptualize it too narrowly. This special issue seeks to rethink the role of power in institutional creation and change in the context of persistent neoliberalism. In the introduction, we synthesize the literature on the nature of power to develop a new conceptual framework – a power in institutions matrix – that highlights the multiple dimensions of power involved in institutional development and change. We argue that such a theoretically-informed mapping of power in institutions will enable scholars, practitioners, and citizen groups to go beyond the standard critiques in order to analyze the multifaceted effects of neoliberal institutional change. Our introduction draws on an extensive literature review as well as the special issue contributors who examine institutional change in a variety of policy sectors in Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and North America.
We find that a range of diverse local, national and transnational actors, with disparate access to power, negotiate institutional changes from above and below through overt imposition of and resistance to new rules, influence of agendas, and promotion of discourses. Neoliberalism thus creates a new distributive politics. The special issue thus offers a theoretically-grounded approach for linking international and domestic power differences to the process of institutional change, with a specific focus on equity and sustainability. In a departure from the current literature’s focus on elite bargains, we showcase the efforts by less powerful groups to gain a foothold in decision-making processes.

- by Prakash Kashwan and +2
- •
- Institutional Economics, Political Economy, Development Studies, International Development

La dictadura militar que tomó el poder en marzo de 1976 impuso un nuevo modelo de acumulación basado en la valorización financiera, que puso fin a más de cuarenta años de industrialización por sustitución de importaciones. Dicho modelo procuraba mediante la apertura externa, comercial, y de capitales, sumado al disciplinamiento social, restablecer la hegemonía del mercado en la asignación de recursos y desplazar al Estado como planificador del proceso de desarrollo. Este drástica transformación del país, tuvo como uno de sus pilares a la reforma del sector financiero llevada adelante en 1977 que implicó la consolidación y dominio de las finanzas especulativas por sobre la producción.
El propósito de este trabajo es revisar brevemente el contenido, aplicación y principales implicancias económicas que tuvo la reforma financiera de 1977, para lo primero revisaremos las características salientes del sistema financiero previo a la llegada de la dictadura, la reforma implementada por los militares y por último sus principales impactos en la economía real.

- by Juan E Santarcángelo
- •
- Finance, Economics, Financial Economics, Development Studies

The chapter reflects the evolution, institutionalisation and functioning of the local self-governing institutions in the tribal areas of India in the context of the emergence of Globalised Model of development. The decentralised self-governing institutions, otherwise known as Panchayats have been functioning since a long period of time in the country. However, the functioning of these institutions since the last three decades has passed through the era of reforms in which the so called economic reforms under the canopy of globalisation influenced their functioning. Such scenario created implicit and explicit impacts on the functioning of these institutions. Further, the tribal self-governance system, cultural practices, livelihood pattern and above all socioeconomic development programmes also pass through the phase of transition, which creates hope as well as challenges for the tribals.

India was a latecomer to economic reforms, embarking on the process in earnest only in 1991, in the wake of an exceptionally severe balance of payments crisis. The need for a policy shift had become evident much earlier, as many countries in east Asia achieved high growth and poverty reduction through policies which emphasized greater export orientation and encouragement of the private sector. India took some steps in this direction in the 1980s, but it was not until 1991 that the government signaled a systemic shift to a more open economy with greater reliance upon market forces, a larger role for the private sector including foreign investment, and a restructuring of the role of government.
India’s economic performance in the post-reforms period has many positive features. The average growth rate in the ten year period from 1992-93 to 2001-02 was around 6.0 percent, as shown in Table 1, which puts India among the fastest growing developing countries in the 1990s. This growth record is only slightly better than the annual average of 5.7 percent in the 1980s, but it can be argued that the 1980s growth was unsustainable, fuelled by a buildup of external debt which culminated in the crisis of 1991. In sharp contrast, growth in the 1990s was accompanied by remarkable external stability despite the east Asian crisis. In addition, the annual average growth rate for the periods 2002-03 to 2011-12 is 7.97 percent. Poverty also declined significantly in the post-reform period, and at a faster rate than in the 1980s and 1990s, 2000s decades according to studies.

- by Tilak Naidu
- •
- Banking, Economic Reforms

Pointing out some more recent critical perspectives on India's post-Independence economic development that have been formulated within the latest body of academic work, Corbridge makes an argument for a more realistic assessment of the relevance and the impact of the economic reforms of the 1990s. These have often been referred to, and not infrequently worshiped, equally in India and in the West, as The Reforms that have opened-up and restructured Indian economy, enabling its high economic growth and elevation of millions out of poverty. One would not be wrong to assert that these words of praise have to a large extent been coming from a particular, ideologically based standpoint, which favours neoliberal economic and political concepts and often, somewhat uncritically, merits them for all the economic growth occurring worldwide in the past two decades.

- by Ivana Garic
- •
- Political Economy, Rural Development, Industrialization, Neoliberal reforms

The Vietnamese economic and political Renovation, or Đổi Mới, of 1986 was in first instance an effort by the Communist Party to halt the economic downward spiral and the help the population out of extreme poverty. To tackle this problem, a series of new economic and political goals were formulated to implement them as soon as possible. The ambition of this dissertation is to gain insight in the varying ways societal associations can exert influence on the government policy in a political context where the official mechanisms for advocacy are very scarce. More specifically, it is the intention to research the interaction between state and society in their mutual influencing toward the creation of conditions for socio-political transformation. The focus lies on the Đổi Mới policy of 1986 as a very significant socio-political turnover in recent Vietnamese history. Its causes by and consequences for the relation between state and society will be considered in detail. The institutional and dialectic approach serve as means to create a theoretical framework for the discussion. After the elaboration of the theory, some practical examples will be used to test the theoretical skeleton as an approach to thoroughly understand socio-political change. The conclusion of this research is that the Renovation of 1986 altered Vietnamese state-society relations to a large extent. In the years following the meaningful policy, a wide range of new policies have been created. This has meant the proliferation of independent social organisations. Although criticising government policy is still restricted in the country, also the number of social organisations with a clear political programme increased. This analysis carries the necessary capacity to suppose that, also in authoritarian regimes, there can be a remarkable political force exerted by the society.

In February 2014, Ukraine grabbed the world’s attention with its second revolution in a decade. The corrupt and increasingly authoritarian administration of President Viktor Yanukovych was overthrown. After the revolution, Ukraine embarked upon a wideranging series of economic and governance reforms. In this volume, we assess the progress of these reforms and analyze the main factors that explain the successes and failures we see. Rather than attempt a comprehensive review of all areas of reform, we focus on a number of key areas—economic reform, governance and anti-corruption, security and criminal justice and language policy. Each of these areas is of fundamental importance for the development of Ukraine as a prosperous, independent and democratic state and so is worthy of attention in its own right. However, by focusing on these areas in particular, we also observe variation in the extent of the progress that has been made, allowing us to understand the key factors that have either driven reform forward or hindered it.
We discuss the progress and challenges in each area. In each policy domain, there have been difficulties that reformers have struggled to overcome and many challenges remain. In no single policy domain that we analyze here has the promise of the revolution been fully and irreversibly realized. Nevertheless, there are areas, notably in economic reforms and governance and anti-corruption, where substantial progress has undeniably been made and the environment has been transformed compared to before the revolution. However, progress in the areas of security and criminal justice and language policy is much less clear.
The key to understanding patterns of relative success and failure, we argue, lies in understanding the interaction between Ukrainian civil society and the international community. We develop the idea of the “sandwich model” in which domestic civil society plays a crucial role in elaborating policy ideas and in policing progress in implementation, while the international community presses an often reluctant political elite into adopting reforms. The most progress in reforms has been made where cooperation between domestic civil society and international actors has been close and well-coordinated. In other areas, progress has been more limited. The “sandwich model” represents a new way of understanding how international and domestic actors can contribute to reform in a context where neither the government nor the opposition are unambiguously supportive of essential reforms. Unfortunately, the conditions for success of the “sandwich” are rather stringent and rare. As a result, the battle for reform in Ukraine goes on and is far from won.

- by Silviya Nitsova
- •
- Public Opinion, Ukrainian Politics, Judicial Reform, Police Reform

After a long term of experiencing imbalances in the economy mainly due to the
deterioration in debt, Turkey managed to solve its structural macroeconomic problems with
the support of strong reforms, political stability and regulatory improvements regarding the
financial system after 2002. This dissertation aims to illustrate the 2003 fiscal consolidation
programme in Turkey by using Miller and Zhang’s basic dynamic fiscal consolidation model.
The basic model is used to simulate the convergence path of debt to the target for high/low
inflation and changing real interest rate scenarios. The impacts of high inflation on fiscal
consolidation have been underlined. Then, banking system regulations, macro structural
reforms and the role of Bretton Woods institutions are discussed. Furthermore, under the
light of Turkish experiences, policy recommendations are provided for the other nations that
are suffering from very high debt levels.

- by Erdem Atas
- •
- Political Institutions, World Bank, IMF, Fiscal policy

All you want to know about BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) is covered in this single resource. 'Competitiveness and Complementarities in BRICS Trade' is a well researched book on Trade among BRICS nations. Recognizing the fact that this bloc is not a natural fit, how BRICS nations have managed and will manage their trade relations, is one of the main discussion area in this book. This unique resource, available in paperback and eBook format, covers almost everything about BRICS Trade like Growth and Composition of their imports and exports, Gains from Trade, Instability, Competitiveness and Comparative Advantage of their Exports, potentialities of trade and much more to discover as you read it. Go ahead and Grab One! Worth Reading and worth spending!
Please direct your questions or concerns to kaurkj16@gmail.com.

- by Kiranjot Kaur
- •
- Economics, International Trade, Competitiveness (Economics), Brazil

Foreign trade policies of any country secure the utilization of internal and external resources. By
accepting this fact in India protected inward oriented strategy (import substitution and related
policy) had been adopted by the policy makers. Under the inward oriented strategy so that
intense industrialization, independency and stabilization could be achieved, which has been
being helpful in achieving various dimensions of development. India till 1985 followed the
strictness of inward oriented strategy. This strategy in effect failed the industrial growth, rapid
escalation import bill and balance of payment deficits. Therefore, the strictness of this strategy
generated the huge economic crisis in past era which affected the Indian economy in the
beginning of 1991.

Institutionalization in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states is proceeding within the financial sector in many ways as a result of economic growth, rather than as a precursor or foundation of economic growth. This paper gives an overview of the archi- tecture of financial governance in the GCC states, situating financial governance in the context of domestic state-building, global capital flows and energy markets. The paper argues that demand for new financial services often originates in the global business and finance communities, while domestic financial institutions dominated by state and ruling family interests may prefer less diversity and range (and requisite regulation). When GCC states do regulate markets, they are able to move quickly, which often priv- ileges state priorities over market depth and diversification. As Gulf states create new economic institutions to govern their markets, they are also creating a framework that enables broader political goals of financial and economic statecraft.

- by Karen Young
- •
- Financial Regulation, MENA region, Economic Reforms, GCC