Author : Dani Rodrik
Release : 1989
Genre : Developing countries
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : /5 ( reviews)
Book Synopsis Policy Uncertainty and Private Investment in Developing Countries by : Dani Rodrik
Download or read book Policy Uncertainty and Private Investment in Developing Countries written by Dani Rodrik. This book was released on 1989. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A resurgence in private investment is a necessary ingredient of a sustainable recovery in heavily-indebted developing countries. Policy reforms in these countries involve a serious dilemma, especially when they include structural and microeconomic features. On the one hand, entrepreneurs, workers, and farmers must respond to the signals generated by the reform for the new policies to be successful. On the other hand, rational behavior by the private sector calls for withholding investment until much of the residual uncertainty regarding the eventual success of the reform is eliminated. This paper shows that even moderate amounts of policy uncertainty can act as a hefty tax on investment, and that otherwise sensible reforms may prove damaging if they induce doubts as to their permanence. A simple model is developed to link policy uncertainty to the private investment response.