|
on Central and Western Asia |
| By: | Jyrki Ali-Yrkkö; Anthony de Carvalho; Paavo Suni |
| Keywords: | India, developing economy, IT exports, Finland and India, globalisation |
| Date: | 2005–06–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:dpaper:977&r=cwa |
| By: | Banerjee, Abhijit; Cole, Shawn; Duflo, Esther; Linden, Leigh |
| Abstract: | Many efforts to improve school quality by adding school resources have proven to be ineffective. This paper presents the results of two experiments conducted in Mumbai and Vadodara, India, designed to evaluate ways to improve the quality of education in urban slums. A remedial education program hired young women from the community to teach basic literacy and numeracy skills to children lagging behind in government schools. We find the program to be very effective: it increased average test scores of all children in treatment schools by 0.14 standard deviations in the first year, and 0.28 in the second year, relative to comparison schools. A computer-assisted learning program provided each child in the fourth grade with two hours of shared computer time per week, in which students played educational games that reinforced mathematics skills. The program was also very effective, increasing math scores by 0.35 standard deviations the first year, and 0.47 the second year. These results were not limited to the period in which students received assistance, but persisted for at least one year after leaving the program. Two instrumental variable strategies suggest that while remedial education benefited the children who attended the remedial classes, their classmates, who did not attend the remedial courses but did experience smaller classes, did not post gains, confirming that resources alone may not be sufficient to improve outcomes. |
| Keywords: | computer aided education; India; program evaluation; remedial education |
| JEL: | I21 O11 |
| Date: | 2006–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5446&r=cwa |
| By: | Duflo, Esther; Hanna, Rema |
| Abstract: | In the rural areas of developing countries, teacher absence is a widespread problem. This paper tests whether a simple incentive program based on teacher presence can reduce teacher absence, and whether it has the potential to lead to more teaching activities and better learning. In 60 informal one-teacher schools in rural India, randomly chosen out of 120 (the treatment schools), a financial incentive program was initiated to reduce absenteeism. Teachers were given a camera with a tamper-proof date and time function, along with instructions to have one of the children photograph the teacher and other students at the beginning and end of the school day. The time and date stamps on the photographs were used to track teacher attendance. A teacher’s salary was a direct function of his attendance. The remaining 60 schools served as comparison schools. The introduction of the program resulted in an immediate decline in teacher absence. The absence rate (measured using unannounced visits both in treatment and comparison schools) changed from an average of 42% in the comparison schools to 22% in the treatment schools. When the schools were open, teachers were as likely to be teaching in both types of schools, and the number of students present was roughly the same. The program positively affected child achievement levels: a year after the start of the program, test scores in program schools were 0.17 standard deviations higher than in the comparison schools and children were 40% more likely to be admitted into regular schools. |
| Keywords: | education; financial incentives; India |
| JEL: | I20 I21 J13 J30 O10 |
| Date: | 2006–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5426&r=cwa |
| By: | Subhash C. Ray (University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | A problem frequently encountered in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is that the total number of inputs and outputs included tend to be too many relative to the sample size. One way to counter this problem is to combine several inputs (or outputs) into (meaningful) aggregate variables reducing thereby the dimension of the input (or output) vector. A direct effect of input aggregation is to reduce the number of constraints. This, in its turn, alters the optimal value of the objective function. In this paper, we show how a statistical test proposed by Banker (1993) may be applied to test the validity of a specific way of aggregating several inputs. An empirical application using data from Indian manufacturing for the year 2002-03 is included as an example of the proposed test. |
| Keywords: | Efficiency distribution, F Tests |
| JEL: | C61 C43 |
| Date: | 2005–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uct:uconnp:2005-54&r=cwa |
| By: | Fraschini, Angela |
| Abstract: | In South and East Asian countries a highly centralized government prevails, although recently some trends are moving toward a greater degree of decentralization. Also the two giants China and India, which cannot rely on a merely centralized Government, have experienced a greater or lesser degree of fiscal unionism. As to China the local government system provides four levels: provincial level; city level; county level; township level. Intergovernmental fiscal relations were revamped by the 1994 reform that established a new tax sharing system and gave local governments more control over the administration of local taxes but no significant degree of tax autonomy and no substantial expenditure assignments. The local financial revenue mainly derives from local taxes, shared taxes, and nontax revenue. As to India, the federal system is quite complex. The center-states relations are envisaged in the Constitution also for the financial aspects: two constitutional amendments adopted in 1992 made India one of the most politically decentralized countries among developing ones. However, the implementation of the decentralization program is still lagging: till now India seems to have considered decentralization mainly in terms of the local election system, without the transfer of all functions provided for devolution to local bodies. Only India set up a different system of local bodies in rural and urban areas with different expenditure responsibilities and financing powers. On the contrary, China has a unitary fiscal system. In India it is necessary to redesign the transfer system to improve accountability, incentives and equity, whereas in China, the fiscal revenue sharing schemes limit intergovernmental budget transfers. Finally, the rule of hard budget constraint in China is faced by all levels of government, while in India sub-national governments face soft budget constraint. |
| Date: | 2006–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uca:ucapdv:60&r=cwa |
| By: | Fabio Canova; Carlo Favero |
| Abstract: | We examine monetary policy in the Euro area from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. We discuss what theory tells us the strategy of Central banks should be and contrasts it with the one employed by the ECB. We review accomplishments (and failures) of monetary policy in the Euro area and suggest changes that would increase the correlation between words and actions; streamline the understanding that markets have of the policy process; and anchor expectation formation more strongly. We examine the transmission of monetary policy shocks in the Euro area and in some potential member countries and try to infer the likely effects occurring when Turkey joins the EU first and the Euro area later. Much of the analysis here warns against having too high expectations of the economic gains that membership to the EU and Euro club will produce. |
| Keywords: | Pillars, Communication, Transmission, EU newcomers |
| JEL: | C11 E12 E32 E62 |
| Date: | 2005–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:922&r=cwa |
| By: | Al-Muharrami, Saeed; Matthews, Kent (Cardiff Business School); Khabari, Yusuf |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the market structure of Arab GCC banking industry during the years of 1993 to 2002 using the most frequently applied measures of concentration k-bank concentration ratio (CRk) and Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) and evaluates the monopoly power of banks over the ten years period using the "H statistic" by Panzar and Rosse. The results show that Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and UAE have moderately concentrated markets and are moving to less concentrated positions. The measures of concentration also show that Qatar, Bahrain and Oman are highly concentrated markets. The Panzar-Rosse H-statistics suggest that banks in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE operate under perfect competition; banks in Bahrain and Qatar operate under conditions of monopolistic competition; and we are unable to reject monopolistic competition for the banking market in Oman. |
| Keywords: | GCC countries; Concentration; Market structure; Competition; Panzar-Rosse model; k-bank concentration ratio (CR<i>k</i>) and Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) |
| JEL: | G21 L1 D40 |
| Date: | 2006–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdf:wpaper:2006/8&r=cwa |
| By: | Mansuri, Ghazala; Jacoby, Hanan G. |
| Abstract: | When contracts are incomplete, relationship-specific investments may be underprovided due to the threat of opportunistic expropriation or holdup. The authors find evidence of such underinvestment on tenanted land in rural Pakistan. Using data from households cultivating multiple plots under different tenure arrangements, they show that land-specific investment is lower on leased plots. This result is robust to the possible effects of asymmetric information in the leasing market. Greater tenure security also increases land-specific investment on leased plots. Moreover, variation in tenure security appears to be driven largely by heterogeneity across landlords, suggesting that reputation may be important in mitigating the holdup problem. |
| Keywords: | Investment and Investment Climate,Municipal Housing and Land,Contract Law,Economic Theory & Research,Real Estate Development |
| Date: | 2006–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3826&r=cwa |
| By: | Debapriya Bhattacharya; Uttam Kumar Deb |
| Abstract: | External factors such as export, import, remittances and foreign aid have always played important rolesto Bangladesh’s economy, though the relative importance of various external factors has changed over time. This study has analysed the trend, structure and changing features of the external sector of Bangladesh. Based on the past performance and changes in the global economy, the study has projected the growth prospect and likely behaviour of Bangladesh’s external sector under three scenarios: (i) optimistic scenario (8% GDP growth per annum), (ii) business as usual scenario (6% GDP growth per annum), and (iii) base case scenario (4% GDP growth per annum). Under these three scenarios, the study has projected the level of total GDP and per capita GDP of Bangladesh till FY2020. Projections are made about the required level of exports, imports, remittances, foreign aid and foreign investment to attain a consistent GDP growth at the rate of 4%, 6% and 8% up to the year 2020. The paper has also put forward the implications of the findings for policies related to the external sector of Bangladesh. The paper suggests that Bangladesh needs a steady growth based on foreign investment, service income and trade. The report adds that future growth of Bangladesh will depend on promoting export, sustaining remittances, and triggering export. Bangladesh will require a breakthrough in the performance of the external sector. According to the report, the key to the breakthrough lies in effective integration of Bangladesh’s economy with the global economy which will ultimately depend on the ability of political leadership to undertake necessary policy reforms and institution building measures. |
| Keywords: | External Sector,Growth, Bangladesh |
| JEL: | E61 H60 |
| Date: | 2006–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdb:opaper:56&r=cwa |