Sweis, R J (1999) A model to assess alternative policies to promote the construction industry in developing countries. PhD thesis, Northwestern University, USA.
Abstract
Construction plays a major role in the economic development of any country. It is largely responsible for the generation of basic infrastructure, which is the backbone of a prosperous economy, and is a major contributor to the gross domestic product and employment. Therefore, an indigenous construction industry is a most important component in the economic development of a developing country. However, the political and economic volatility of developing countries provides a challenging environment for fostering this growth. In particular, it is difficult to forecast with any degree of confidence the rate of growth of the economy or to assess the effect of governmental policies in stimulating the growth of indigenous construction firms. The objective of this study is to synthesize input-output analysis and a consensus forming-technique to develop a methodology for investigating and evaluating policies to promote the establishment of indigenous construction industries in developing countries. Input-output analysis provides a method for forecasting both the impact of future economic growth on construction activity and the total impact of increases in construction activity on the economy. Consensus-building offers a means for using expert opinion both to establish final demand growth estimates and to rank construction stimulant policies. The usefulness of this methodology is demonstrated by applying it to the country of Jordan. Jordan recently embarked on a peace process with Israel, and, as a result, tremendous overall economic growth is expected. This condition makes Jordan a good case study for assessing the effectiveness of stimulus policies to promote the growth of an indigenous construction industry. Based upon an analysis of this case, it is determined that past stimulus policies are not specifically targeted to foster growth in the indigenous construction industry and they do little to reduce market volatility for indigenous firms. The result is that extensive effort must be directed by government officials to identify clearly defined objectives, evaluate stimulus programs, and implement relevant stimulus policies.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Krizek, R J |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction activity; economic development; economic growth; market; construction firms; developing countries; developing country; employment; forecasting; government; Israel; Jordan; gross domestic product; case study |
| Index terms: | methodology, program, economic development, developing country, construction firm, Israel, effectiveness, estimate, construction industry, economic growth, Jordan, input-output analysis, case study, gross domestic product, forecasting, indigenous construction firm, construction activity, employment |
| Subjects: | construction operations, data analysis and analytics, financial and cost management, economic analysis, prediction and forecasting, data collection methods, organization, industry analysis, economic development, management, software systems, research methods, performance management, Geography, development economics |
| Topics: | Cost Management, Business Strategy, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Sustainability, Digital Applications, International Construction, Human Resources, Quality Management, Site Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here