E6 - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General OutlookReturn

Towards the acceleration of the attainment of sustainable growth, most countries have focused on agricultural exports as a means of driving their economy. Developing countries of Africa are highly dependent on the agricultural sector and agricultural exports are a major determinant of economic growth of these countries. However, the impact of agricultural exports on economic growth of ECOWAS countries remains unclear. This study therefore evaluates the impact of agricultural exports on the economic growth of fifteen ECOWAS countries using panel data for the period 1980-2013. Variables employed are labour force participation rate, capital stock, agricultural exports, non-agricultural exports, inflation and economic growth. The results of the fixed-effect model show that agricultural exports have not impacted significantly on the economic growth of ECOWAS countries such as Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria with respect to the Republic of Benin, which is the selected baseline. The study also analysed the country combined effect of the agricultural exports and found that it was significant but the rate of impact was weak. The study recommends, among others, that even though agricultural exports had a significant impact on economic growth, there is still a need for ECOWAS governments to improve their agricultural sector as its significance is more noticeable in some countries such as Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria.

After a sharp contraction in the economic activity in 2008-2009 (the biggest economic slump in Japan after World War II), the Japanese economy started to recover in 2010. The Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 2011 brought Japan's recovery to a halt. It ruined vast parts of Japan's north-eastern coastal areas and damaged key infrastructure. It was one of the most destructive earthquakes in all of the Japanese history. This article focuses on the Japanese economy and its development in 2010-2012. It pays special attention to the economic impact of the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011 (damage to private capital and public infrastructure, electricity shortages, supply chain disruptions, decline in production and exports, etc.). The aim of this study is to recapitulate and analyse the development of the Japanese economy in 2010-2012 and to analyse both the immediate and long-term impacts of the Great East Japan Earthquake on the Japanese economy. It focuses on the government countermeasures and new economic strategies with respect to the latest natural disaster.

This article focuses on the Japanese economy and its development in 2007-2010. It pays special attention to the deep economic crisis in 2008-2009 (the biggest economic slump in Japan after World War II). Factors of this crisis were mostly external (strong decline in Japanese exports and foreign inward investment due to the falling external demand, instability and strong uncertainty in the world economy during the financial crisis in the USA and other developed countries). Nevertheless, the economic slump in Japan was fuelled by low domestic demand and investment as well. The aim of this study is to remind of and analyse the most important trends, achievements and problems of the Japanese economy in 2007-2010. It focuses especially on the economic crisis in 2008-2009, development of Japanese external trade during the crisis and the governmental countermeasures, both fiscal and monetary. The study outlines the development of the Japanese economy both before and after the crisis.