THE IMPACT OF REGULATION ON ECONOMIC GROWTH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A CROSS-COUNTRY ANALYSIS
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ABSTRACT
The role of an effective regulatory regime in promoting economic growth and development has generated considerable interest among researchers and practitioners in recent years. In particular, building effective regulatory structures in developing countries is not simply an issue of the technical design of the most appropriate regulatory instruments, it is also concerned with the quality of supporting regulatory institutions and capacity. This paper explores the role of state regulation using an econometric model of the impact of regulation on growth. The results based on two different techniques of estimation suggest a
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The rest of the paper is organised as follows. Section 2 reviews issues in the literature pertinent to the debate on the role of regulation in economic growth, before turning to regulatory measures and proxies for the quality of regulation. In section 3 the models used are presented. Section 4 deals with a descriptive analysis of the data and reports the
regression results. The results confirm that the quality of state regulation impacts positively on economic growth. development policy. Finally, section 5 provides conclusions and the implications for
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2.
LITERATURE REVIEW (a) Regulation Theory
The theory of economic regulation developed from the nineteenth century and the literature is now vast (for recent reviews, see Laffont and Tirole, 1993, 2000; Levy and Spiller, 1994; Newbery, 1999). The case for economic regulation is premised on the existence of
significant market failure resulting from economies of scale and scope in production, from information imperfections in market transactions, from the existence of incomplete markets and externalities, and from resulting income and wealth distribution effects. It has been suggested that market failures may be more pronounced, and therefore the case for public regulation is stronger, in developing countries (Stiglitz 1998). More recent theoretical contributions to the regulation literature have provided a model of regulation for network industries that recognises the
“For example, the federal government regulates the quality of food and water, the safety of workplaces and airspaces, and the integrity of the banking and finance system.” (Bianco, Canon 2011, p 582) Regulations find out if the product is a market failure. There are two types of regulations, which are economic and social. “Economic regulations sets prices or conditions on entry of firms into an industry, where as social regulation address issues of quality and safety.” (Bianco, Canon 2011, p 582) Economic regulations are concerned with the price regulation of monopolies.
The purpose of this paper is to assess different types of government regulations, how those
As a nation that is expanding and growing in pursuit of its Manifest Destiny, Government has a divine responsibility to assure wealth is spread and distributed equitably in order to foster our continued growth and progress. Stringent, yet fair, economic regulation is paramount to creating and maintaining growth and prosperity.
The scope of this paper is to break down and define social regulation, industrial regulation, and natural monopolies by explaining how they have impacted society and why they exist. It is also the intent to summarize the Antitrust Laws, explain the major functions of the five primary federal regulatory commissions that govern social regulation, and identify three main regulatory commissions of industrial regulation.
Market regulation is a microcosm of normative economics, both in value and judgement. The primary purpose in a regulated market is ensuring fair services to customers and labourers. This lays parallel to Marx’s criticism of capitalist businessmen and their lack of enforcement, which starkly contrasts
Regulation is a major activity at all levels of government. As society becomes more complex, regulations must grow and evolved to meet the demands of a developing society. Concentrating more on the role of regulation, it can be noted that it is a system that helps protect individuals from one another. So from buyers to sellers; from employee to employer; tenants to landlords, and so on. Regulations is also implemented to alleviate human suffering and promote overall welfare. For instance, aid in the form of Social Security and to Veterans, natural disaster relief, regulation of pollution and toxins, as well as temporary assistance for the unemployed. Last, and most importantly regulation is implemented to minimize and eliminate corruption and abuse of power by government agencies or officials. (Book Source) Taking into account the terms and ideologies stated above, it is easily understood why, we as individuals have decided for so many years, to abide by this social contract with our government. We gain the most benefit from this quid pro quo relationship.
“A regulation is a rule or law intended on governing the conduct of people. The term economic regulation refers to taxes, subsidies as well as the explicit legislative and administrative controls over rates, entry, and many other facets of economic activity.” (Posner, R.A. “Theories of Economic Regulation”, Bell Journal of Economics, 1974).
Regulation can be seen as an interference with innovation and creativity. Rather than ensuring that a firm does not disobey the Acts, regulation may be responsible for the inefficiency of a firm. For example, the only individuals capable of determining the most effective and efficient methods of managing an industry are those who are active participants in it, not individuals who are not “in the loop” of managing a successful international business such as the lawmakers and politicians who enforce these acts. The only possible and sound way to determine the best move for a firm is through the wisdom gained with experience and intimate knowledge on the subject. Only then would competition within the free market be
The importance of government regulation on the destruction and industrialization of the environment in immense. If companies could develop as they please, we would be in a very different world compared to where we are now. These strict,
Failure in reforming and adopting proper government policies have caused the world economy to face severe financial crises over a long period of time. The problems started to arise in the more recent period and they were not repaired by the regulatory responses. In retrospect, some of these regulatory failures then were responsible for the crisis today, likewise the poor regulatory practices today might be responsible for the crises
government regulation was defined by Grajzl & Murrell (2007) as the study of “comparative regulatory design,” a topic rarely discussed amongst academics, economists, or politicians alike. While government regulation is discussed broadly across many different fields, rarely is it analyzed in direct comparison to self-regulation. However, some academic papers have discussed this topic of “comparative regulatory design”: Gehrig & Jost (1995), Segerson & Miceli (1998), and Stefan's (2003), to name a few. These articles have all taken a different perspective of analysis and in the end concluded that self-regulation, when applied properly, can be far more effective than any form of government regulation. In their paper titled “Quacks, Lemons, and Self-Regulation: A Welfare Analysis,” Gehrig & Jost (1995) make the observation that if the information regarding an environmental issue is relatively simple and widespread, it may be best to leave the regulatory powers up to the government. If, on the other hand, the science and knowledge behind the issue is complex and limited, a self-regulatory body within the industry would be far better suited in resolving the environmental damage. In other words, the decision regarding which political body should be placed in charge of resolving an environmental issue should be determined by whichever body holds the most knowledge regarding the issue. Following these guidelines, the self-regulatory bodies should
Government regulation in an economy is essential and very important. Without this type of intervention everyday life would present very difficult. Some disadvantages of using a laissez- faire approach would include; Distrust of financial institutions, appearance of more frauds, interference of basic safety precautions in the workplace, home, vehicles and medical institutions, and loss of regulations within the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA regulates a range from drug companies, to hair salons with basic safety and health concerns when dealing with the public.
Porket, J. L. “The Pros and Cons of Government Regulation.” Institute of Economic Affairs. 23 Jan. 2003, pp. 1–20., iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/upldbook341pdf.pdf. Accessed 10 Apr. 2017.
In order to increase confidence in the government’s regulatory role in the economy, efforts should be made to: simplify government regulations and inspections; systematize and unify the work of inspection agencies and the procedures for conducting inspections; publicize clear and understandable information on inspections and the rights and duties of inspection agencies, and make taxation bodies liable for unfounded verifications, or establish an agency that registers inspections and limits the number of inspections. Many businessmen believe this would discourage frequent inspections.
The purpose of this paper is to show that the “regulatory capture” has played a role not easily measurable in causing the global financial crisis. To illustrate this, the first step will to describe the “regulatory capture” in its three possible qualifications; then, I will explain, providing some examples, how each of these categories played a possible role in posing the basis for the financial crisis. While illustrating the different forms of capture I will present some questions that leave space to different answers. Finally, I will conclude that the regulatory capture have surely played a role in generating the crisis, but it is not possible to evaluate the effective role it had in causing it.