Oxford Development Studies 

About: Oxford Development Studies is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Poverty & Politics. It has an ISSN identifier of 1360-0818. Over the lifetime, 678 publications have been published receiving 25516 citations.

The Technological Structure and Performance of Developing Country Manufactured Exports, 1985‐98

Abstract: This paper maps out the recent manufactured export patterns of developing countries, using a new and detailed classification by technological levels. It argues that export structures, being path-dependent and difficult to change, have important implications for growth and development. Low-technology products (which have the least beneficial learning and spillover effects) tend to grow the slowest, and technology-intensive products (which have the most beneficial effects) the fastest in world trade. East Asia dominates the developing country scene, with 70% of total manufactured exports, and its role rises over time. There is also high and rising concentration at the national level. The technological specialization of different regions and the leading exporters differ greatly, as do the strategies used to achieve competitiveness. Received trade theory cannot explain these patterns without considering learning processes and the policies used to promote them.

Does it Matter that we do not Agree on the Definition of Poverty? A Comparison of Four Approaches

Abstract: While there is world-wide agreement on poverty reduction as an overriding goal of development policy, there is little agreement on the definition of poverty. Four approaches to the definition and measurement of poverty are reviewed in this paper: the monetary, capability, social exclusion and participatory approaches. The theoretical underpinnings of the various measures and problems of operationalizing them are pointed out. It is argued that each is a construction of reality, involving numerous judgements, which are often not transparent. The different methods have different implications for policy, and also, to the extent that they point to different people as being poor, for targeting. Empirical work in Peru and India shows that there is significant lack of overlap between the methods with, for example, nearly half the population identified as in poverty according to monetary poverty but not in capability poverty, and conversely. This confirms similar findings elsewhere. Hence, the definition of povert...

Economic vulnerability and resilience : concepts and measurements

Abstract: In this paper, economic vulnerability is defined as the exposure of an economy to exogenous shocks, arising out of economic openness, while economic resilience is defined as the policy-induced ability of an economy to withstand or recover from the effects of such shocks. The paper briefly reviews the work already carried out on economic vulnerability and extends the research towards the development of a conceptual and methodological framework for the definition and measurement of economic resilience. Towards this end, the paper proposes an index of economic resilience gauging the adequacy of policy in four broad areas, namely macroeconomic stability, microeconomic market efficiency, good governance and social development. The analysis of economic resilience explains how small economies can attain a relatively high level of gross domestic product per capita if they adopt appropriate policy stances. In other words, the relatively good economic performance of a number of small states is not because, but in s...

Foreign Investment in Developing Countries: Does it Crowd in Domestic Investment?

Abstract: This paper assesses the extent to which foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries crowds in or crowds out domestic investment. The core of the paper is the development of a theoretical model for investment that includes a FDI variable and its estimation and testing with panel data for the period 1971–2000 and the three decades involved. The model is run for 12 countries in each of three developing regions (Africa, Asia and Latin America). The results indicate that, in all three developing regions, FDI has, at best, left domestic investment unchanged, and that there are several sub-periods for specific regions where FDI displaces domestic investment. In particular, there seems to be crowding out of domestic investment by FDI in Latin America. If these results are in fact correct, they suggests the need for policies to make FDI more effective in enhancing domestic investment in developing countries. The conclusion is that the effects of FDI on domestic investment are by no means always favoura...

Industrial Development, Globalization and Multinational Enterprises: New Realities for Developing Countries

Abstract: Globalization has changed economic realities. First, the competences of multinational enterprises (MNEs) are becoming increasingly mobile and knowledge-intensive. MNEs thus give more attention to the availability and quality of the created assets of alternative locations. Second, among developing countries there are now considerable differences between the catching-up countries (e.g. newly industrialized countries) and falling behind , less developed countries. These developments have helped change the opportunity sets of both MNEs and host countries. Foreign direct investment (FDI)-based development strategies are now commonplace among less developed countries, but there is also increased competition for the right kinds of investment. In general, the balance in bargaining power has shifted in favour of the MNE, and less developed countries increasingly need to provide unique, non-replicable created assets to maintain a successful FDI-assisted development strategy.