Saving investment and trade in the third world

Macro-economic analysis of development process has received considerable attention both in theory and practice. The major macro variables considered in this context are gross domestic product, consumption, savings, investment, exports and imports. The performance of an economy can be gauged by studying the behaviour of these macro entities over time and by analysing their inter-relationships.

The objective of the study is to understand the comparative picture in the behaviour of select macro-economic variables in the developing countries. An attempt is made to estimate some macro-economic structural parameters like marginal propensity to consume, marginal propensity to save, capital-output ratio, marginal propensity to export and import, etc. for about 100 developing countries on a comparable basis. The study also analyses the growth performance, savings and investment patterns, determinants of the savings behaviour and the factors influencing capital-output ratio, and openness and its relationship with other macro parameters in the developing world.