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This thesis assesses the applicability of the neoclassical "Solow" growth model to the recent experience of the countries within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The Solow growth model carries an implication that some key macroeconomic aggregates will grow at the same rate indicating a "balanced growth". Stochastic versions. of the model interpret balanced growth as stationarity of some so-called "great ratios". They include consumption/income and investment/income ratios, considered in Kuznets' seminal contribution (1942) for the US economy in the early twentieth century. Although Kuznet dismissed international trade as being of negligible consequence, the set of ratios examined here in the case of SAARC countries, are extended to include a trade/income ratio, in recognition of the significant role now played by international trade. The Johansen (1988) and Johansen and Jusilius (1990) maximum likelihood method has been used for estimating and testing long-run steady-state relations in multivariate vector autoregressive models. The empirical support for the balanced growth hypothesis is very limited. Econometric methods that accommodate the impact of structural reforms on economic growth still find only weak evidence for the one-sector neoclassical growth model. The study also investigates the extent of "growth convergence"- a property of the Solow model, within SAARC, by examining the stationarity of relative per capita incomes assessed by unit root tests and permitting structural breaks. It additionally employs Phillips and SuI (2007, 2009) two-factor growth model and the "flexible Fourier trend" method developed by Enders and Lee (2012). The study makes an assessment of regional convergence in the SAARC countries and identifies the consequences of non-convergence and hence draws policy implications for economic integration in South Asia. The results based on data from 1960-2011 reveal that the per capita output is not converging. The key methodologies employed developed from Carlino and Mills (1993) with modification made to them by Li and Papell (1999); Philips and SuI (2007, 2009); Ender and Lee (2012). With or without structural breaks, analyses of the SAARC5 data suggest that per capita output is not converging in these countries.

The aim of this thesis is to explore and study the interaction between the size of government and economic growth in Iran over the 1971-2008 periods. To achieve this aim, the thesis is designed to examine three models. In the first model which is based on Barro’s endogenous growth theory, we investigate the interaction between economic growth and government expenditures simultaneously by using Three Stage Least Squares (3SLS). In the second model, we investigate the impacts of government expenditures and the sources of finance of government expenditures on economic growth. This analysis is based on Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. In model three, we investigate the effect of the government budget deficit, liquidity (M2) and official exchange rate on price level in Iran. Over all, the major contribution of this thesis is to show that total government expenditures and current expenditures have a negative and significant impact on economic growth, but that investment expenditures have a positive and insignificant impact on economic growth. In the short run current expenditure have a negative and significant impact but, investment expenditures have positive and significant effect on economic growth. In the long run, investment expenditures have a positive and significant effect but the current expenditures have a negative and insignificant effect on economic growth. In the short run the interaction term for financing government spending through oil revenues is positive and significant. The impact of tax revenues is positive but insignificant and the impact of borrowing from central bank on economic growth is negative. In the long run the interaction term for financing government spending through oil revenues is positive and significant. The impact of tax revenues is positive and significant and the impact of borrowing from central bank on economic growth is negative. There is a stable long-run relation between inflation, budget deficit, money supply and exchange rate. Increase in budget deficit has a positive effect on the inflation rate in long run, but in short run increase in budget deficit does not have a positive effect on the inflation rate. Increase in liquidity (M2) has a positive effect on the inflation rate in long run and increase in official exchange rate has a positive effect on the inflation rate in long run.

This thesis is motivated by the over-arching question “what economic contribution do immigrants make to the UK”? The question invites several perspectives from which to answer and the thesis offers a survey of the literature relevant to these, with particular emphasis on empirical studies focussed on the UK economy. There is also a brief historical summary of the contemporary UK experience and policies regarding immigration. Comparative profiles of the UK immigrant and native populations are constructed from primary source data, namely various issues of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). From this contextualising foundation, the thesis moves to examine two particular aspects of immigrants’ economic activity in the UK, using QLFS data as an evidence base. These aspects are a) the change in the average real wages of low-skilled immigrant workers, with native workers as a comparator and b) factors influencing the rate of immigrant entrepreneurship. The empirical investigation of changes in average real wages amongst low-skilled immigrants discovers a noticeable decline relative to the native peer group, particularly for males; proximate causes are identified. The investigation of entrepreneurial activity confirms a number of influential factors noted within the literature and adds to these some significant drivers that have not previously been identified.

This thesis empirically investigates two important aspects of the benefits of currency (monetary) union - the beneficial impact of eliminating exchange rate volatility on trade and the possibility of consequent economic growth - in the context of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Researchers on the GCC monetary union have mostly been busy in analyzing the viability of the proposed GCC monetary union and they focus on convergence criteria. In contrast to those studies, empirical estimates obtained in this study would provide valuable information to the policy makers who have been working towards the realization of the GCC monetary union. As such this study provides significant contribution to the literature of the GCC monetary union. Chapter 2 thoroughly reviews the optimum currency areas (OCA) literature (both theoretical and empirical) starting with the theories advocated by the pioneers of the OCA. Literature on the European Monetary Union (EMU), monetary unions and integration from African, Latin America, Asian and the prospects from the GCC countries are also reviewed. Chapter 3 empirically investigates convergence criteria and shock synchronization of the GCC countries. Results show positive correlation of the structural shocks (synchronized shocks) among the countries except Qatar. Chapter 4 estimates the impact of exchange rate volatility on bilateral trade between the GCC countries. Results obtained using the panel Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator indicates that the bilateral trade among the GCC countries will increase about 6.2 - 8.7 percent (depending on the volatility measure used) with the elimination of the exchange rate volatility. In the second part of the chapter 4 discusses the role of trade on economic growth (income) of a country and estimates the impact of trade on per capita growth rates of the GCC countries. Results based on the preferred sample period and using the panel GMM estimator indicate that a one-standard deviation increase in the trade (or openness) ratio would increase the growth rate per capita on impact by 2 - 3%. Based on these results we may conclude that the monetary union of the GCC countries would enhance trade which in turn would promote economic growth of the region.