Shahdad Naghshpour

Residential demand for energy commodities: A household production function approach

Abstract This paper formulates a demand model for energy commodities using a household production function approach. The model is stated in a utility maximization framework where utility is assumed to be a function of two composite commodities directly yielding utility. Electricity and natural gas are used as inputs along with a capital stock to produce one of the utility-yielding commodities. The other utility-yielding commodity is assumed to be produced with two non-energy goods and capital stock which are purchased on the market. The Kuhn-Tucker conditions are then used to characterize the optimal time paths for input purchases and investments by the household.

Are exports an engine of growth

Economic growth seems to be out of the reach of many countries in spite of all the efforts of governments, international agencies and economic theories. Investment is necessary, but not sufficient for economic growth. The debate on sufficient condition continues. The present study focuses on where the limited funds of poor countries should be invested. This study provides ample evidence in support of exports as the engine of growth. Thus, the recommendation is that the main investment efforts of a nation must be focused on the exports sector.

Absolute beta convergence in liberated communist countries of Europe

It was not possible to test the neoclassical convergence theory on communist countries until the collapse of communism. The method of beta convergence indicates divergence among the liberated countries of Southeast Europe from 1980-2006. A more advanced quantile regression also indicates divergence of growth rates among these countries. However, when the study period is divided into communist period, transition period, and democracy era some evidence of convergence during democratic period becomes evident. This supports the neoclassical growth theory, which indicates poorer countries grow much faster than richer nations resulting in smaller gap among them.

The cyclical nature of family income distribution in the united states: An empirical note

This note utilizes a cubic polynomial to model the cyclical behaviour of income inequality in the U.S. from 1947 to 2000. Linear and quadratic models have been used to explain the pattern, but they are not capable of detecting more than one extreme point. The simplest model capable of detecting a cycle is a cubic polynomial. By detecting the inflection points, the model can “predict” the turning points, from convergence to divergence. The model performs better with nominal data than with real data. (JEL 015, 040)

Connecting corruption to ethnic polarization and religious fractionalization

Purpose – The paper aims to investigate the connection between corruption and ethnic polarization and religious fractionalization. Design/methodology/approach – Analysis of variance and regression expectation models were used to identify groups of countries for their similarities and differences. Findings – Results show that significant statistical differences exist between the countries grouped by human development, income and developing countries. Countries with expectations higher or lower than the norm in corruption were identified. Originality/value – The paper highlights the connection between corruption and ethnicity for some 127 countries.

Exports and Economic Growth of East European Economies, 1996–2007

The argument whether export causes growth dates back to Ricardo and the comparative advantage. According to this theory, free trade increases the production of traded goods due to lower costs for each country. The assumption that the goods are ‘normal goods’ ensures that lower prices induced by increased production increase the utility of the citizens of each trading partner. Of course, in order to increase production in the export sector, the production of other sector(s) must be reduced. The ‘logical’ choice is therefore the production of imported goods. Needless to say, in order for trade to occur, the trading countries must engage in both the import and export of goods. The net effect of increased exports and imports is positive, resulting in increased production, which is defined as growth.

World trade indicators and a new approach to measure globalisation and countries' openness

Since mid-1980s, globalisation has been increasingly the centre of discussion. Especially, trade globalisation has taken the centre stage. However, there are no measures for determining globalisation. This paper provides some alternative globalisation indicators. In particular, we use the concept of Z-score to divide countries into six categories of globalisation, from unglobalised to fully globalised. Although numerous studies use the sum of imports and exports for trade studies, equally as many use the imports and exports as percentages of GDP for their research. This paper demonstrates the advantages and disadvantages of each and how they affect globalisation indicators. This paper is the first attempt to create a meaningful and statistically sound globalisation index. A reliable globalisation index is the first step towards objective study of this complex phenomenon.

Evidence of convergence in Eastern Europe: a quantile regression approach

The change of regimes in former Soviet Bloc provides an opportunity to study the neoclassical growth theory in a region of the world that was excluded before because of the presence of centrally planned economies. A concern is whether these newly formed economies are converging to a unique steady state or are diverging. A common approach to the study of neoclassical growth theory is the use of beta-convergence. However, the approach suffers from several malaises, most notably the regression to the mean. An alternative approach relies on quantile regression to overcome this problem. Different quantile regressions controlling the customary factors are utilised to determine the patterns of growth rates of the former communist countries.

Electricity demand studies revisited: Problems of using aggregate data

Abstract Use of annual data instead of monthly data distorts the regression results. The problem arises from the existence of seasonal variation in electricity consumption, rate schedules, and fuel adjustment rates.

The Impact of Commercial Banking Development on Russian Economic Growth

Abstract This chapter measures the contribution of financial development to economic growth in Russia. The expansion of banking system causes institutional improvement in the economy, which results in extended and sustained economic growth due to changes in financial institutions. This chapter proposes the novel idea of principal component analysis (PCA) to overcome these problems. Then, the PCA method provides loading factors that condense financial information into a few orthogonal factors, which are used as explanatory variables. The study indicates that financial development explains both per capita GDP and its growth rate. The explanatory power of the models improves by adding control variables and econometric safeguards such as correcting for nonstationarity and multicolinerity. However, utilizing the PCA method to obtain an orthogonal set of variables to represent financial development, deepening, and concentration improves the performance of the model even further.