The Effects of Institutional Quality on Economic Development

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K13740
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Economic policy
• Research Institution: Kansai University
• Principal Investigator: OKADA Keisuke 関西大学, 経済学部, 准教授 (70633064)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 経済発展 / 制度 / 政治体制 / 汚職

Outline of Final Research Achievements

It is well-known that institutional quality has an important role in economic development. We have focused on the roles of political regimes and international initiatives and have mainly investigated the following three research topics. First, we have empirically studied how political regimes affect health conditions such as infant mortality, child mortality, and life expectancy. Second, resource-rich countries have seemed to achieve economic prosperity, but in reality, many of them have not achieved. This paradoxical phenomenon is known as the “resource curse.” We have theoretically and empirically researched the roles of international initiatives to alleviate the resource curse. Finally, we have investigated the effects of trade liberalization on productivity.

Free Research Field

経済学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

経済発展における制度的要因の重要性は近年、注目されている。その一方で、制度とは慣習や法、政治体制、社会への信頼など多岐にわたっており、理論的・実証的に検証するべき課題は依然として多い。本研究課題では、制度の質と経済発展の関係に関して、政治体制が健康水準に与える影響や「資源の呪い」を軽減する国際的な枠組みの役割について研究を進めてきた。これらの研究を通して、経済発展における制度の多面的な役割を明らかにした。