Start
July 15, 2022 - 3:30 pm
End
July 15, 2022 - 5:00 pm
Topic: Regional Differences in Intersectoral Linkages and Diverse Patterns of Structural Transformation
Speaker: Dr. Saumik Paul, Assistant Professor, University of Newcastle
Moderator: Dr.M.Parameswaran
Abstract: Intersectoral linkages function as shock propagation channels and shape the pattern of structural transformation. To our knowledge, the implications of subnational regional differences in intersectoral linkages for such spillover effects appear to be unexamined. We hypothesize that regional differences in intersectoral linkages diversify the spillover effects from local economic shocks. Consequently, they produce divergent patterns of structural transformation across regions. Using novel regional input-output tables and available enterprise censuses for Ghana, we test and find support for four predictions related to this hypothesis: (1) a recent, large mining output shock that occurred in the south of Ghana leads to growing differences in production networks between the north and the south of the country, (2) the effect of the mining output shock on output and productivity growth in other sectors differs across regions in line with regional differences in production networks, (3) the elasticity of employment in other sectors with respect to the change in employment in mining closely follows the regional differences in production networks, and (4) the variation in the mining employment shock across time and space explains the variation in the rate of firm entry and average firm-level employment in sectors (such as heavy manufacturing) that largely depend on mining for intermediate inputs.
Saumik Paul is Assistant Professor at University of Newcastle. Prior to joining University of Newcastle, he held academic positions at Hitotsubashi University, Osaka University, University of Nottingham and worked in international organizations including the Asian Development Bank Institute (Tokyo), and the World Bank (Washington, DC).
Saumik’s research interests are inequality (labor income share), political economy of development (land reforms), and structural transformation.
His books include Kuznets Beyond Kuznets: Structural Transformation and Income Distribution in the Era of Globalization in Asia (ADBI Pess, 2018); Labor Income Share in Asia: Measurement, Drivers and Policy (Springer, 2019)[with Gary Fields]; Land Acquisition in Asia: Towards a Sustainable Policy (Palrgave Macmillan, 2019)[with Naoyuki Yoshino]; and Labor Income Share: Explaining The drivers of the Global Decline (Palrgave Macmillan, 2020). Saumik has published in the Economic History Review, Journal of International Money and Finance, World Development, Journal of Development Studies, Journal of African Economies, and Economics of Transition, among others.