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on Central and Western Asia |
| By: | Hill, Hal (Asian Development Bank Institute); Menon, Jayant (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | Financial safety nets in Asia have come a long way since the Asian Financial Crisis (AFC) of 1997–98. Not wanting to rely solely on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) again, the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) was created in 2000. When the CMI also proved inadequate following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), it was first multilateralized (CMIM), and then doubled in size to $240 billion, while the IMF de-linked portion was increased to 30%. A surveillance unit, the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), was set-up in 2011. The authors assess whether these developments are sufficient to make the CMIM workable. |
| Keywords: | financial safety nets; chiang mai initiative; asean+3; asia; asian monetary fund; imf |
| JEL: | F32 F33 F34 |
| Date: | 2012–11–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0395&r=cwa |
| By: | Anna Matysiak (Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an overview of developments in fertility, family policy models, and intensity of work-family tensions in the CEE region in the 1990s and 2000s. It hypothesises that the intensification of work-family incongruities in the 1990s might have been an important determinant of the decline in fertility seen in post-socialist countries in the 1990s, and that the implementation of reconciliation policies in some of the post-socialist countries in the 2000s might have led to diversity in rates of fertility improvement in the region. It concludes by encouraging more in-depth research on the interrelationships between fertility, women’s employment, family policies and social norms regarding women’s work in the CEE region, all of which would help verify these hypotheses. |
| Keywords: | fertility, work-family tensions, women’s labour supply, Central and Eastern Europe |
| JEL: | J13 J18 J22 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isd:wpaper:49&r=cwa |
| By: | Norbert Schady |
| Abstract: | Iron deficiency anemia is the most prevalent nutritional deficiency in the world, affecting more than 2 billion people in developing countries. We show that a modest cash transfer substantially reduced anemia among women of reproductive age in rural Ecuador. |
| Keywords: | Health, Social Development :: Women, Social Development :: Poverty, Cash transfers, health status |
| JEL: | I1 I3 |
| Date: | 2012–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:75718&r=cwa |
| By: | Aysit Tansel (Department of Economics, METU); Nil Demet Gungor (Department of Economics, Atilim University) |
| Abstract: | Several recent empirical studies have examined the gender effects of education on economic growth or on steady-state level of output using the much exploited, familiar cross-country data in order to determine their quantitative importance and the direction of correlation. This paper undertakes a similar study of the gender effects of education using province level data for Turkey. The main findings indicate that female education positively and significantly affects the steady-state level of labor productivity, while the effect of male education is in general either positive or insignificant. Separate examination of the effect of educational gender gap was negative on output. The results are found to be robust to a number of sensitivity analyses, such as elimination of outlier observations, controls for simultaneity and measurement errors, controls for omitted variables by including regional dummy variables, steady-state versus growth equations and considering different samples. |
| Keywords: | Labor Productivity, Economic Development, Education, Gender, Turkey |
| JEL: | O11 O15 I21 J16 |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:met:wpaper:1203&r=cwa |
| By: | Ana Corbacho; Steve Brito; Rene Osorio Rivas |
| Abstract: | The drivers of educational attainment have been the subject of much research both in the developed and the developing world. Yet, nothing is known about the effect of birth registration on schooling outcomes. Birth registration is not only a fundamental human right but also a requirement to obtain additional documents of legal identity and access many government benefits. Using data for the Dominican Republic, this paper is the first to shed light on the causal impact of the lack of birth registration on education. Controlling for potential endogeneity and standard socioeconomic determinants of education, this paper finds that children without documents of birth registration do not face lower chances of entering the schooling system. Yet, the absence of birth registration becomes a critical obstacle to graduate from primary school and translates into fewer years of overall educational attainment. |
| Keywords: | Public Sector :: Civil Registration, Economics :: Economic Development & Growth, Rural & Urban Development, Tax Revenue, Elasticities, Business Cycles, Schooling, Under-registration |
| JEL: | O12 R12 R20 |
| Date: | 2012–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:76178&r=cwa |
| By: | Colin Cannonier (Belmont University); Naci Mocan (Louisiana State University, NBER and IZA) |
| Abstract: | We use data from Sierra Leone where a substantial education program provided increased access to education for primary-school age children but did not benefit children who were older. We exploit the variation in access to the program generated by date of birth and the variation in resources between various districts of the country. We find that the program has increased educational attainment and that an increase in education has changed women’s preferences. An increase in schooling, triggered by the program, had an impact on women’s attitudes towards matters that impact women’s health and on attitudes regarding violence against women. An increase in education has also reduced the number of desired children by women and increased their propensity to use modern contraception and to be tested for AIDS. While education makes women more intolerant of practices that conflict with their well-being, increased education has no impact on men’s attitudes towards women’s well-being. |
| Keywords: | Health, education, empowerment, violence against women |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:koc:wpaper:1231&r=cwa |
| By: | Bowles, Hannah Riley (Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | Career stories of 50 female executives from major corporations and high-growth entrepreneurial ventures suggest two alternative accounts of how women legitimize their claims to top leadership positions: navigating and pioneering. In navigating accounts, the women legitimized their claims to top authority positions by following well institutionalized paths of career advancement (e.g., high performance in line jobs) and self-advocating with the gatekeepers of the social hierarchy (e.g., bosses, investors). In pioneering accounts, the women articulated a strategic vision and cultivated a community of support and followership around their strategic ideas and leadership. The career stories suggested that, when the women's authority claims were not validated, they engaged in narrative identity work to revise their aspirations and legitimization strategies. Sometimes narrative identity work motivated women to shift from one type of account to another, particularly from navigating to pioneering. Based on inductive analyses of these 50 career stories, I propose a process model of how women legitimize their claims to top leadership positions by recursively resetting career accounts as authority claims succeed or fail. |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp12-047&r=cwa |
| By: | Damir Esenaliev; Susan Steiner |
| Abstract: | We investigate horizontal inequality between two conflictive ethnic groups, the Kyrgyz and the Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan, by employing the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition. This technique has a long tradition in labour economics but has not been used in the literature that links ethnic inequality and violent conflict. We measure welfare differentials between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks and find that, depending on the welfare indicator used, Uzbeks are either better off or worse off than Kyrgyz. Specifically, we find that Uzbeks are not better off, if welfare is measured in terms of household expenditure. They are, however, clearly more prosperous in terms of the value and the size of their houses - at least in urban areas, where most Uzbeks reside. The picture is mixed when we use ownership of assets as a welfare measure. We conclude that the choice of welfare indicator is essential in studies of horizontal inequality, as it is most likely the more visible aspects of life that drive people's perceptions about other ethnic groups' standard of living. Decomposing welfare differentials between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks shows that the gap in expenditure is due to differences in group characteristics, such as household composition and ownership of livestock, whereas the gap in assets and house values remains unexplained. |
| Keywords: | Measurement of welfare, horizontal inequality, ethnic conflict, Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition, Kyrgyzstan |
| JEL: | D74 J15 I31 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1252&r=cwa |
| By: | Shaikh, Salman |
| Abstract: | Islamic banking in Pakistan has completed one decade of operations in Pakistan and now there are 5 full-fledged Islamic banks and more than 15 conventional banks with Islamic banking windows. Due to the consistent double digit growth in total assets, the market share had steadily risen to 7% by the end of 2011. However, meaningful assessment of Islamic banking requires looking at how far they have contributed to uphold Islamic principles, values and bringing about or at least working towards equitable distribution of income. But, Islamic banking industry continues to use debt based financing modes which are priced using KIBOR as the benchmark. Equivalence of means test confirms that Islamic banking spreads are higher than conventional interest rate spreads. The paper analyzes the Islamic banking philosophy, principles and practices and identifies the shortcomings which need attention of Islamic scholars as well as the regulators. |
| Keywords: | Islamic Finance; Islamic Banking; Takaful; Murabaha; Ijarah; Mudarabah; Musharakah; Salam; Istisna |
| JEL: | A1 H2 B5 |
| Date: | 2012–07–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:42497&r=cwa |
| By: | Shaikh, Salman |
| Abstract: | Islamic finance is a set of financial institutions representing a connected financial architecture that works based on prescribed Shari’ah principles. Growth in the industry has been stellar, but, certain principles, the strategic direction and the practices do not warrant celebration yet. This paper while noting the impressive performance of Islamic mutual funds in Pakistan, strives to a) discuss the theoretical problems in screening principles followed in investment policy, b) identifies the problematic and less ideal investment alternatives used in practice, and c) highlights the anomalies in income purification methodology. The paper argues that the vision of leading the establishment of an egalitarian and balanced financial system has taken a backseat and increasingly innovative financial engineering seems to have blurred the distinctive identity of Islamic financial system. The paper concludes with the recommendation that in the short term, Shariah regulators must comprehensively train themselves in prevalent financial reporting standards and understand their implications. In the medium to long term, centralized Shariah board and revised financial reporting standards must be structured taking into account special needs of auditing the fulfillment of Islamic principles in practice. |
| Keywords: | Islamic Finance; Islamic Banking; Takaful; Murabaha; Ijarah; Mudarabah; Musharakah; Salam; Istisna |
| JEL: | G11 G2 E44 |
| Date: | 2012–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:42495&r=cwa |
| By: | Porzecanski, Arturo C. |
| Abstract: | The pedestrian narrative about the Greek financial crisis and default is that the country was fiscally mismanaged for a long time and failed to carry out needed structural reforms that could have improved economic growth prospects and enhanced the country’s creditworthiness. Therefore, a default and debt restructuring were inevitable sooner or later—and certainly so once the financial markets were informed, as happened in October 2009, that prior governments had underestimated their budget deficit and public debt figures. The prosaic tale of the supposed inevitability of the Greek tragedy has been endorsed, for example, by a prominent economic historian: “Since independence in the 1830s, Greece has been in a state of default about 50 percent of the time. Does that tell you something?” In reality, Greece’s road to default and debt restructuring in 2012 was not at all straightforward—and there was no historical inevitability about it, either. |
| Keywords: | Greece; Europe; debt; default; restructuring; sovereign |
| JEL: | F34 F30 G33 F33 |
| Date: | 2012–09–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:42432&r=cwa |
| By: | Le Coq, Chloe (Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics); Paltseva, Elena (New Economic School, Moscow) |
| Abstract: | Current debate on the energy security in the EU often stresses the EU dependency on gas imports from Russia. However, Russia is no less dependent on the EU – more than half of its gas exports goes to Europe. The purpose of this paper is to characterize this mutual dependency through an index-based approach, and to discuss how the development of gas markets may affect such dependency. We suggest a unified framework to assess the security of gas supply for the EU and the security of gas demand for Russia, and construct dependency indexes for both parties. Our approach accounts not only for the traditional import/export dependency measures but also for the balance of power between Russia and the EU. The proposed methodology is then used to address the evolution of the EU-Russia gas relationship in the view of gas market’s developments. New gas pipelines projects (e.g., South Stream, Nabucco) and increasing use of liquefied natural gas are all likely to impact both the demand side and the supply side of the EU-Russia gas trade, and affect mutual gas dependency between the EU and Russia. |
| Keywords: | Energy Security; European Union; Gas transit risks; Index; Russia. |
| JEL: | C81 Q40 Q48 |
| Date: | 2012–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:hasite:0018&r=cwa |
| By: | David Aristei (University of Perugia); Cristiano Perugini (University of Perugia) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we study intra-generational income mobility in European countries over the years shortly preceding the outburst of the global crisis. Income mobility plays a crucial role in shaping distributive patterns and is closely related to the capacity of a socio-economic system to provide equality of opportunities and the removal of social impediments. In this study we exploit the longitudinal structure of the EU-Silc database to provide a comprehensive overview of income mobility across 25 European countries, classified into six capitalistic models. After having descriptively analysed heterogeneity in income dynamics by means of alternative mobility measures, we identify the microeconomic drivers of household income mobility, focusing on the role of household and household head demographic, economic and job characteristics. Outcomes reveal that the levels and determinants of mobility differ remarkably in the various institutional models across Europe, particularly regarding demographic attributes, education and temporary/permanent/self-employment positions. |
| Keywords: | income mobility, household structure, institutional settings, EU-Silc data. |
| JEL: | D31 J10 O15 |
| Date: | 2012–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2012-262&r=cwa |
| By: | Yu-Fu Chen; Dennis Petrie |
| Abstract: | This paper models the decision to quit smoking like an investment decision where the quitter incurs a sunk withdrawal cost today and forgoes their consumer surplus from cigarettes (invests) and hopes to reap an uncertain reward of better health and therefore higher utility in the future (return). We show that a risk-averse mature smoker who expects to benefit from quitting may still rationally choose to delay quitting until they are more confident that quitting is the right decision for them. Such a decision by the smoker is due to the value associated with keeping their option of whether or not to quit open as they learn more about the damage that smoking will have on their future utility. Policies which reduce a smoker’s uncertainty about the damage that smoking with have on their future utility is likely to make them quit earlier. |
| Keywords: | smoking, quitting, optimal stopping problem, real options analysis, addiction |
| JEL: | I1 D1 D8 D9 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dun:dpaper:272&r=cwa |