This paper addresses the limitations of Modern Money Theory (MMT) as a guide to development policy. We explore two central questions on this topic: whether MMT policies 1) ought to be implemented in low- and middle-income economies and 2) can be implemented. In relation to the first question, we...

Schumpeterian development is characterised by the simultaneous interplay of growth and qualitative transformations of the economic system. At the sectoral level, such qualitative transformations become manifest as variations in the sectoral composition of production. Following the implementation...

We add to recent evidence on deindustrialization and document a new pattern: increasing industry polarization over time. We assess whether these new features of structural change can be explained by a dynamic open economy model with two primary driving forces, sector-biased productivity growth...

The process of economic development is characterized by substantial rural-urban migrations and a decreasing share of agriculture in output and employment. The literature highlights two main engines behind this process of structural change: (i) improvements in agricultural technology combined...

Unlike in Asia, the manufacturing sector has not (yet) become a driver of structural change in Africa. One common explanation is that the natural resource-focus of many African economies leads to Dutch disease effects. To test this argument for the case of newly found oil in Ghana we develop a...

This paper explores macroeconomic policies that can sustain structural change in China and India. A two-sector open-economy model with endogenous productivity growth, demand driven output and income distribution as an important determinant of economic activity is calibrated to a 2000 SAM for...

Schumpeterian development is characterised by the simultaneous interplay of growth and qualitative transformations of the economic system. At the sectoral level, such qualitative transformations become manifest as variations in the sectoral composition of production. Following the implementation...

The process of economic development is characterized by substantial rural-urban migrations and a decreasing share of agriculture in output and employment. The literature highlights two main engines behind this process of structural change: (i) improvements in agricultural technology combined...

The paper presents a human capital based theory of the sectoral transformation along the balanced growth path equilibrium. Allowing a small upward trend in the productivity of the human capital sector, combined with differential human capital intensity and constant productivity across sectors,...

Market frictions prevent the efficient allocation of factors of production, slow down structural transformation and lead to costs in terms of lower output and aggregate total factor productivity (TFP). We use a theoretical framework developed by Aoki (2012) featuring sector-specific frictions on...