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Growth and governance: A nonparametric analysis

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  • Huynh, Kim P.
  • Jacho-Chávez, David T.

Abstract

According to conventional wisdom, a positive relationship exists between governance and growth. This paper reexamines this empirical relationship using nonparametric methods. We use different governance measures, as defined in World Governance Indicators provided by the World Bank. The findings show that only three of the six measures: voice and accountability, political stability, and rule of law are significantly correlated with economic growth. Regulatory control, control of corruption, and government effectiveness were found to be insignificant. The concept of growth profile curves are introduced as a visual device to interpret the results of the nonparametric analysis. We find that the empirical relationship between voice and accountability, political stability, and growth are highly nonlinear. These effects demonstrate heterogeneity across indicators, regions, and time. These empirical results are complementary to the literature on growth diagnostics in demonstrating that specific, targeted reforms to improve governance may be a more effective policy lever to encourage economic growth rather than wholesale reform. Finally, they provide a cautionary tale to practitioners using parametric methods. Journal of Comparative Economics 37 (1) (2009) 121-143.

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Bibliographic Info

Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Comparative Economics.

Volume (Year): 37 (2009)
Issue (Month): 1 (March)
Pages: 121-143

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Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:37:y:2009:i:1:p:121-143

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Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622864

Related research

Keywords: Governance Growth Kernel smoothing Growth profiles curves;

References

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  1. Robert E. Hall & Charles I. Jones, 1999. "Why Do Some Countries Produce So Much More Output per Worker than Others?," NBER Working Papers 6564, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  2. Emmanuel Flachaire, 2001. "The Wild Bootstrap, Tamed at Last," STICERD - Distributional Analysis Research Programme Papers 58, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
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  4. Whitney K. Newey & James L. Powell & Francis Vella, 1999. "Nonparametric Estimation of Triangular Simultaneous Equations Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(3), pages 565-604, May.
  5. Quah, Danny, 1993. "Empirical cross-section dynamics in economic growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(2-3), pages 426-434, April.
  6. Kim Huynh & David Jacho-Chavez, 2007. "Conditional density estimation: an application to the Ecuadorian manufacturing sector," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 3(62), pages 1-6.
  7. Klapper, Leora & Amit, Raphael & Guillen, Mauro F. & Quesada, Juan Manuel, 2007. "Entrepreneurship and firm formation across countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4313, The World Bank.
  8. Daniel Kaufmann & Aart Kraay, 2002. "Growth without Governance," Journal of LACEA Economia, LACEA - LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION.
  9. Racine, Jeff, 1997. "Consistent Significance Testing for Nonparametric Regression," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 15(3), pages 369-78, July.
  10. Qi Li & Jeffrey Scott Racine, 2006. "Nonparametric Econometrics: Theory and Practice," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 8355, March.
  11. Edward L. Glaeser & Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2004. "Do Institutions Cause Growth?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 271-303, 09.
  12. Dani Rodrik, 2006. "Goodbye Washington Consensus, Hello Washington Confusion? A Review of the World Bank's Economic Growth in the 1990s: Learning from a Decade of Reform," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 44(4), pages 973-987, December.
  13. Li, Qi & Racine, Jeff, 2003. "Nonparametric estimation of distributions with categorical and continuous data," Journal of Multivariate Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 266-292, August.
  14. Acemoglu,Daron & Robinson,James A., 2006. "Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521855266.
  15. Mauro, Paolo, 1995. "Corruption and Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 110(3), pages 681-712, August.
  16. Hsiao, Cheng & Li, Qi & Racine, Jeffrey S., 2007. "A consistent model specification test with mixed discrete and continuous data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 140(2), pages 802-826, October.
  17. Jeffery Racine & Jeffrey Hart & Qi Li, 2006. "Testing the Significance of Categorical Predictor Variables in Nonparametric Regression Models," Econometric Reviews, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 25(4), pages 523-544.
  18. Ricardo Hausmann & Bailey Klinger, 2008. "Growth Diagnostics: Perú," Research Department Publications 2005, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
  19. G. S. Maddala, 1999. "On the Use of Panel Data Methods with Cross-Country Data," Annales d'Economie et de Statistique, ENSAE, issue 55-56, pages 429-448.
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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Evrensel, Ayse Y., 2010. "Corruption, growth, and growth volatility," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 501-514, June.
  2. Alexander Libman, 2012. "Democracy and Growth: Is The Effect Non-Linear?," The Economic Research Guardian, Weissberg Publishing, vol. 2(1), pages 99-120, May.
  3. Crombrugghe, Denis de & Farla, Kristine, 2012. "Preliminary conclusions on institutions and economic performance," UNU-MERIT Working Paper Series 035, United Nations University, Maastricht Economic and social Research and training centre on Innovation and Technology.
  4. Yulia Kotlyarova & Marcia M Schafgans & Victoria Zinde-Walsh, 2011. "Adapting Kernel Estimation to Uncertain Smoothness," STICERD - Econometrics Paper Series /2011/557, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
  5. Halkos, George & Tzeremes, Nickolaos, 2012. "Carbon dioxide emissions and governance: A nonparametric analysis for the G-20," MPRA Paper 40387, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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