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This paper develops a simple model to analyze the interaction between strategic corporate public good provision, international firm location and national regulation. An information-based strategic corporate public good provision mechanism is proposed to shed light on recent firm behavior within different regulatory environments. The main insight derived is that in the presence of firms with geographic flexibility (multinational enterprises) and market provision of an international public credence good, unilateral (non-cooperative) regulatory scope depends on (1) the absolute probabilities to verify firms' corporate public good provision levels within different geographic and institutional environments, and (2) the differential between these probabilities across countries. The relative information asymmetry determines not only the market levels of the public good produced under autarky, but also the relocation incentives of multinational enterprises. A firm trades off lower production costs, which increase its competitiveness in pricing, with higher expected informational price premiums, which decrease its competitiveness. A government's ability to regulate above market (corporate public good provision) levels decreases with the absolute level of foreign transparency, while it increases in the relative (positive) difference between the same transparency at home and abroad. This may not only explain mixed empirical evidence of theoretic propositions such as the Pollution Haven Hypothesis and Regulatory Race to the Bottom dynamics, but also open up interesting policy implications as the international information playing field becomes leveled through development, while existing regulations are rather rigid, and policy coordination remains limited.

Corporate Strategy --- Debt Markets --- Economic Theory & Research --- Environmental Economics & Policies --- Information Asymmetry --- International Firm Location --- Labor Policies --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Markets and Market Access --- Private Sector Development --- Public Goods Provision --- Regulation

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South Asia is regaining its economic momentum, but the recovery in the world's region with the largest number of poor people could falter in the absence of a stronger investment climate. The combined growth of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka was just 4.7% in 2012, substantially below pre-crisis levels. Much of the recent slowdown in economic growth can be attributed to stagnating investment. Total fixed investment grew by 2.6% in 2012, down from a high of 16.7% in 2010. The performance varies widely across the region. At the same time, the region is now more vulnerable because current account balances have widened, foreign direct investment has slowed, and persistently high inflation has limited the ability for central banks to use monetary policy to counter any economic downturn. Because of rising imports, countries in South Asia are also more vulnerable to increases in commodity prices. Therefore, the outlook remains cautiously optimistic with a relatively large downside risk. A pick-up of growth to 5.5% can be expected in 2013 dependent on ongoing efforts to rebuild policy buffers and boost private investment.

Economic Growth --- Economic Indicators --- Economic Policy --- Economic Risks --- Foreign Direct Investment --- International Economics and Trade --- Investment --- Macroeconomic Developments and Outlook --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- World Bank

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Oil resources usually play a significant role in oil-rich countries, in gross domestic product and government revenues. High dependence of government revenues on oil can contribute to severe recession following an adverse commodity price shock, such as in 2014. This paper examines the extent to which a fiscal rule or stabilization fund could translate into a less pro-cyclical fiscal policy, with the government saving part of its oil revenues during periods of high prices and drawing down on the savings during difficult periods. Using the macro-structural model MFMod, the paper presents, evaluates, and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of different oil revenue management mechanisms applied to the specific case of Chad. The scenarios demonstrate that a well-designed management rule can successfully insulate the public budget from the oil price cycle, resulting in a significant reduction in the volatility of the economy.

Economic Modeling --- Energy Policies and Economics --- Fiscal and Monetary Policy --- Fiscal Policy --- Fiscal Rules --- Macroeconomic Management --- Oil and Gas --- Oil Prices --- Oil Revenue Management --- Procyclical Policy