Ona’ah is a Hebrew word indicating the Jewish Talmudic law which, according to various interpretations, proscribes both fraud and over‐charging. The present essay sharply distinguishes between these two concepts, accepting the former as legitimate but rejecting the latter on grounds of...

Using the United Nations’ definition of least developed nations, examines the socioeconomic situation of the least developed Pacific island nations, namely the Melanesian countries – the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, the Polynesian countries – Samoa and Tuvalu, and the Micronesian country...

To maximize society's welfare, economists should be concerned with the efficient use of the stock of natural resources. The stock of natural resources is a gift of nature. The usefulness of this stock comes from its alternative uses, e.g. existence, exploitation and bequest. Therefore, the...

This paper examines the effects of foreign aid type on human well being. Cross‐country regressions revealed aid for education and water to be positively correlated with human well being in low‐income countries while aid for education and health are positively correlated with human well being...

Trade liberalization policies pursued by the Pacific Forum Island Countries (FICs) have been further cemented as an appropriate strategy for economic growth through the recently adopted trade agreements. Proponents of trade liberalization also argue that free trade leads to improvements in...

While several studies in regional economics and development economics have repeatedly suggested that selected regions are capable of exerting powerful growth impulses on national growth and development, there are studies in the literature which have raised doubts about the existence of...

It is widely recognised that the human development index (HDI) does not totally capture the rich content of the human development concept, necessitating a more adequate measure of human development. This paper introduces an ethics‐augmented human development index (E‐HDI) as a new indicator...

Purpose – As ethnic diversity is regarded as a determinant of growth, this study engages in an analysis of diversity as the forte behind better economic performance and where social stability of a nation is necessary to achieve growth. While these factors alone may not be sufficient to achieve...

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of income inequality on economic growth in the US. Design/methodology/approach – This paper applies the endogenous growth model including human capital and technological progress. The generalized autoregressive conditional...