This article proposes a framework for conceptualizing the finance-growth theory in developing economies. The study investigates how the influence of the character of a state may inadvertently define the trajectory of financial development of the state and its resultant effect on economic growth....

This article investigates whether female political representation affects economic growth. Panel estimates for 119 democracies using fixed-effects specifications and a system generalized method of moments approach suggest that, over recent decades, countries with higher shares of women in...

The problem faced by many of the economies making up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is whether they can avoid the middle-income trap and advance to the high-income level. What is needed for them to avoid the middle-income trap? This paper attempts to answer this question by...

The “middle-income trap” is the phenomenon of hitherto rapidly growing economies stagnating at middle-income levels and failing to graduate into the ranks of high-income countries. In this study we examine the middle-income trap as a special case of growth slowdowns, which are identified as...

Both institutional quality and institutional stability have been argued to stimulate economic growth. But to improve institutional quality, a country must endure a period of institutional change, which implies at least a little and possibly a lot of institutional instability. We investigate the...

This paper presents a survey of the literature on property rights and economic growth. It discusses different theoretical mechanisms that relate property rights to economic development. Lack of protection of property rights can result in slow economic growth through different channels:...

I review the literature on the effects of inequality on growth and development in the developing world. Two stylized facts emerge from empirical studies: inequality is more likely to harm growth in countries at low levels of income (below about $3200 per capita in 2000 dollars); and it is at...

A growing body of theoretical and empirical literature analyses the relationship between finance and economic growth. The relationship has been strongly supported by many empirical analyses. However, Global Financial Crisis, 2008 and significantly improved econometric techniques made scholars to...

I examine how economic institutions which exhibit a socio-cultural bias against women may reduce the wealth of a nation and undermine its economic wellbeing. In particular, I explore the origin of various types of gender gaps in a society and their impact on its economic welfare. My hypothesis...

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Belize grew faster than its regional peers. By the mid-2000s, however, economic growth had slowed down to the regional average. A vicious circle of low growth and increasing public debt has been clouding Belize's outlook. This paper applies a growth diagnostic...