JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH
Year:2015 | Volume:5 | Issue:1 (17)|Papers Count:8

In recent years, the impact of non-economic incentives such as life satisfaction and beliefs of community has been examined on economic behavior, such as growth and per capita income. The purpose of this study is to identify the correlation between life satisfaction index and per capita income with the intensity of religious beliefs. To this end, 2SLS estimator and cross-sectional data in 88 countries in 2010 were used. The results showed that the index of per capita income has a significant positive impact on life satisfaction. Also higher religious restrictions in communities were associated with less life satisfaction, and this shows government involvement in religious beliefs and consequently loss of life satisfaction. In addition, investment, government expenditure and trade variables have a positive and significant relationship with per capita income. Also, life satisfaction has a significant and positive effect on per capita income. Based on the used data in this study, there is a mutual relationship between life satisfaction and percapita income.

In recent decades, the process of globalization and its effects have resulted in movements on the side of ethnic minorities, called ethnic conflicts and ethnic tensions in developing countries particularly in those with ethnic varieties. On the other hand, increase in social and political awareness leads to reinforced morale and solidarity towards common national preferences and interests besides an increased plea for pacifism and social and political equilibrium on the side of minorities. As a consequence, this new stable and peaceful status will pave the path for economic growth as a results of which access to social and economic rights will be facilitated and injustice will decrease. Finally, the foregoing results will lead to decreased violence and conflicts and the provision of more facilities under this new air of mutual understanding. In this study, we examined the effect of economic –social variables on ethnic tensions in selected 11 countries of the MENA (Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates) by using panel data for (1984- 2009) period. Results show that economic – social variables (unemployment, inflation, income inequality) have positive significant effects on ethnic conflicts. On the other side, economic growth has negative significant effect on ethnic conflict.

Infrastructure development is one of the important requirements of economic growth and increasing welfare. Direct investment on infrastructure causes providing the manufacturing facilities, stimulate economic activities and improve competitiveness by decreasing the costs of trade and transfer and finally facilitate the economic growth of Iran. In this study, we had attempted to examine the effect of physical infrastructure as an important infrastructure on economic growth. For this purpose; we used the production function model and we have used three types of variables including physical, social and ICT infrastructures, to identify the effect of infrastructure on economic growth. We’ve introduced the physical infrastructure by using 4 variables which via factor analysis method becomes one indicator. Also, we have used the health expenditure and ICT capital stock as social and ICT infrastructures respectively. For estimating the model, we were used the auto regressive distributed lag (ARDL) method in the period 1976 to 2012. Results showed that in the period under review, the impact of physical, social and ICT infrastructures on economic growth has been positive and significant.

Migration of highly talented people (brain drain) has increased sharply in recent decades. In the past, it was supposed that brain drain just had negative effects on the origin countries. But, it is confirmed now that migration might have positive effects on those countries, too. We examine the effects of the brain drain on the formation of human capital and economic growth of the origin countries (developing countries) during 1975 to 2000 by using panel data method. Our results show that the prospect of migration has a positive and significant effect on the formation of human capital via the incentive mechanism. On the other hand, the direct effect of migration of highly educated people on human capital accumulation of the country of origin is negative. Our findings imply that those opposite effects cancel out each other. Therefore, the net effect of migration on human capital accumulation is zero. Also, we examine the effect of brain drain on economic growth in the country of origin. Our findings indicate that migration of skilled or highly educated people has a negative and significant effect on the economic growth of those countries. So, our results do not imply a brain gain for sending countries.

The main aim of this study is estimation of hidden economy and its relationship whit tax burden in Iran during the period 1966-2011. In the first stage: size of the hidden economy is estimated using Lisrel software concerning multiple indicators - multiple causes approach. The tax burden, natural sources of income, unemployment rate, trade restriction, per capita income, inflation and size of the government are regarded as the cause variables while the real GDP growth rate and demand for money in circulation are used as the indicator variables. So, the hidden economy is calculated using extra information and calibration; the time series of absolute and relative size of the hidden economy is obtained on in term of the based price in 1997. In the second stage we have estimated the effect of the tax burden on the size of the hidden economy. The first stage results show that tax burden, size of the government and trade restrictions, are the main reason generating the hidden economy in Iran while the per capita income does not have any significant effect. The results from the second stage indicate that: increase in tax burden on imports increases the size of the hidden economy and the growth of the total tax burden (definition1) decreases the size of the hidden economy. In general, the final effect of the tax burden on the size of the hidden economy is positive and significant.

Research and development (RdD) has been considered as the most important method for a rapid advancement of technology and manufacturing competitiveness and innovation. This study aims to assess RdD spillovers on the total productivity factors (TFP) of Iranian manufacturing industries in the period 2000-2008. This study employing two-stage GMM method uses statistical data of domestic RdD accumulation of industries in nineteen code of the two-digit ISIC, foreign RdD and imports of fifteen trading partners of Iran to measure the effect of RdD spillovers on the TFP of Iranian manufacturing industries. Results indicate that the interaction between human capital and foreign RdD accumulation, the interaction between import and foreign RdD accumulation, effects of external RdD accumulation and internal RdD have most positive impact on total factor productivity of Iranian manufacturing industries respectively. Internal expenditures on RdD in the chosen period have failed to provide new products and services and imperove competitiveness, technology and increasing TFP growth.

According to the new growth theories, human capital is considered as one of the main variables affecting growth and development. Therefore, with providing and creation of appropriate context for it, we will see an increase in the production and development of GDP. Human development index can have a significant contribution to economic development with considering the fundamental factors such as health, education and labor income that have been mentioned as parts of growth software in some text. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of human development index on Iranian GDP over the period of 1971-2011. This study aims to answer the question that what is the equilibrium relationship (long run and short run) within these variables. To do so, firstly the effects of human development index on the GDP were tested by using ARDL. Then, to determine the exact effects, the impact of components of human development index on GDP were tested. The results showed that in the short-run human development effect on GDP was small and insignificant. But, this effect is stronger in the long run. The second model results showed that the impact of each component of human development in the long run is stronger in comparison to the short run.