Do Democratic Economies Grow Faster? The Case of Asia vs. the EU

Abstract

The dynamics of the five fastest growing GDP per capita economies in Asia and the EU are studied between 2010 and 2014. This time frame was selected in order to avoid the height of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, but to include the stimulus and recovery periods which occurred afterward. The intent was not to compare the recoveries or the impact of the stimulus programs. The intent was to compare the economic growth rates of the two groups and also the absolute per capita income along with five topic areas on economies including: configuration, utilization, investments, demographics, and outcomes. A total of twenty measurements are used for assessment from the World Bank databank website. The findings are that the Asian economies grew faster while the EU economies had a higher per capita income. The workforces of the Asia economies are also younger and more flexible whereas the workforces of the EU economies are older, but more educated. Discussions include the links between effective governments and economic development and the links between democracy and economic levels.

Do Sub-Saharan Countries in Africa Have the Dutch Disease?

“…To evaluate the performance of the two groups, two sections are created which provide insight into the two groups. The component measurements included in this study are a combination from two comparative studies using country assessments on related topics (Davis, 1995;Barrows, 2018). The two sections are: economic configuration and money flows.…”

“…There have been numerous studies on the Dutch disease in the world at large, and in Africa specifically. This study fills a research gap on the Dutch disease in Africa using the some of the comparative methodologies from a widely heralded global ranking report on this topic with baseline years of 1970 and 1991 (Davis, 1995) and another study comparing economies of Asia and the EU (Barrows, 2018). The study then incorporates ideas from studies on the Dutch disease as well (Corden & Neary, 1982;Davis, 1995;Sachs & Wagner, 1995;DeKorne, 2011;Makhlouf & Mughal, 2013;Mahama & Gakpe, 2015;Siakwah, 2017).…”

NAFTA Country Impacts: 25 Years After Implementation

“…These investments can change the game for developing economies because utilizing "vastly different cost structures and capabilities, low cost manufacturing in economies staffed by younger, less-expensive workers has benefits that are hard to match" (Barrows, 2018). As a result, the need for skilled workers contributes to different wage scales within a country based on various levels of work skills with migrating workers among the winners from the increased trade (Arends-Kuenning et al, 2018).…”