Global Capitalism and Economic Growth
Paper Session
Friday, Jan. 5, 2024 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM (CST)
- Chair: Giuliano Toshiro Yajima, Levy Institute of Bard College
Growth Regimes in Central and Peripheral Countries: An Econometric Analysis with Dynamic Panel Models, 1980-2018
Abstract
This article explores the structural differences in growth patterns and income distribution between central and peripheral countries. Throughout the article we try to study how the dimensions of dependency provoked tensions on the peripheral economies. Particularly, those Latin America economies have a subordinated relation to global capital and this cause differential results on the interactions between growth and income distribution. Returning to the debates about growth regimes at a national scale, the implications of commercial and financial globalization on the wage-led and profit-led logics, our work aims to provide dimensions that account for the structural limitations that dependent positions provoke in the peripheries and semi-peripheries of the world. In this sense, it is not only necessary to analyse the dynamic relationships between growth and income distribution, but, in our opinion, the dependent location of Latin American countries in the global economy, causes limitations in the growth regimes on a national scale that are expressed in the instability of these regimes and in the constant tendency to prevail profit-led models.To carry out this study, we conducted an analysis through different estimates of dynamic panel data models for 35 central and peripheral countries for the period 1980-2018. In particular, in addition to making the usual estimates of the components of aggregate demand and the most relevant variables that account for the financialization process, we include three variables that we consider to be representative of the dependent dynamics that capital accumulation takes in the periphery: participation in global value chains, levels of foreignization of economies and labour productivity differentials.
Seven Unsustainable Sectoral Processes; U.S. Trade and Industry in the Last Two Decades
Abstract
We argue that the US trade and industry sector has experienced several unsustainablesectoral processes, including a (i) fall in the trade balance in machinery and equipment and HT
industries, (ii) a rise in import multipliers in machinery and equipment and HT industries, (iii)
a fall in manufacturing share of GDP in machinery and equipment and HT industries, (iv) a
rise in commodities share of GDP, (v) a fall in the wage share, (vi) structural shifts in the
consumption share of wages, and (vii) a fall in employment multipliers for the US, particularly
in manufacturing. To address these issues, the US must shift towards a more sustainable and
value-added economy, with a focus on innovation and investment in high-tech industries,
renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture. Additionally, policies must be put in place to
address the negative impacts of resource extraction and to promote a more equitable
distribution of income and wealth.
From Raw to Unrefined: Reimagining African Development
Abstract
This paper examines post-independence development strategies in Africa, critiquing the strong form of dependency theory and the new institutional economics form of analysis. Simultaneously, it affirms the agency of African nations, while acknowledging the lingering global power dynamics rooted in colonial history.Three core components of the colonial matrix of power—path-dependent extractive structures, enduring neocolonial influence, and internalized colonial supremacy—are explored in depth. These components, while interconnected, are scrutinized individually to emphasize their distinct influences on development strategies.
The paper incorporates sector-specific examples from multiple countries across the continent, chosen from mining, agriculture, industry, and service sectors. These examples, while primarily shaped by one form of coloniality, acknowledge secondary influences, providing a nuanced understanding of the post-colonial African economic landscape.
Despite the constraints of global power dynamics, the paper underscores the potential for African nations to strategically shape their economic destinies. Examples of industrial policy reforms that have resulted in growth rates surpassing national averages in select sectors do exist, illustrating a promising trajectory for future development. An assessment tool for future policies is introduced as a means to guide policy-making.
The study aims not for an exhaustive account but for a reimagined understanding of African development—one that transcends the binary of dependency and agency, working towards a form of real-economics cognizant of the contours of the playing field.
JEL Classifications
- E3 - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles
- B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches