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on Central and Western Asia |
| By: | Huynh, Phu; Kapsos, Steven |
| Abstract: | Presents trends and estimates of the poor, near poor and middle class working population in developing Asia and the Pacific. |
| Keywords: | employment, unemployment, employment opportunity, labour force participation, age group, sex, social class, data collecting, methodology, trend, projection, Asia, Pacific, emploi, chômage, possibilités d'emploi, taux d'activité, groupe d'âge, sexe, classe sociale, collecte des données, méthodologie, tendance, projection, Asie, Pacifique, empleo, desempleo, oportunidades de empleo, tasa de actividad de mano de obra, grupo de edad, sexo, clase social, recopilación de datos, metodología, tendencia, proyección, Asia, Pacífico |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:482296&r=cwa |
| By: | Selim Gulesci; Erik Meyersson |
| Abstract: | We exploit a change in compulsory schooling laws in Turkey to estimate the causal effects of education on religiosity and women's socio-economic status. A new law, implemented in 1998 bound individuals born after a specific date to 8 years of schooling while those born earlier could drop out after 5 years. This allows the implementation of a Regression Discontinuity (RD) Design and the estimation of meaningful causal estimates of schooling. Using the 2008 Turkish Demographic Health Survey, we show that the reform resulted in a one-year increase in years of schooling among women on average, although it did not increase schooling among men. Over a period of ten years, this education increase resulted in women having lower religiosity, greater decision rights over marriage and fertility, and higher household wealth. We find that a muted average RD effect on labor force participation shrouds heterogenous effects depending on socioeconomic background; women from more socially conservative backgrounds tend to obser ve no increase in labor force participation whereas women from less conservative backgrounds experience a large increase. Education thus empowers women across a wide spectrum of a Muslim society, yet faces limits in allowing women in the conservative communities from realizing their full potential through the labor market. JEL Classification: J16, I25, Z12 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:igi:igierp:490&r=cwa |
| By: | Dirk Christian Dohse; Andrea Vaona |
| Abstract: | Although there is a large and rapidly growing literature on the determinants of regional variation in new firm formation, relatively little is known about the interrelation between the characteristics of start-up firms and urban structure. It is only recently that scholars of urban economics have suggested a theoretical link between the thickness of regional input markets and the complexity of feasible start-ups. The current paper classifies start-ups in different industry groups according to their complexity and analyzes the impact of regional input market thickness on the frequency of start-ups with different degrees of complexity. We find that thicker input markets do indeed foster more complex start-ups, but that some inputs are more important than others |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship, Start-up complexity, Thick markets, Regional analysis |
| JEL: | L26 D22 R12 M13 O31 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1842&r=cwa |
| By: | Juliana Dahl |
| Abstract: | Since the year 2000, innovation and the path towards a “knowledge-based” economy have become prominent concepts in the European policy sphere. Although fostered by the goal of the innovationoriented Lisbon Strategy, it remains questionable in how far the situation of being the “most competitive economy” favours the diverse territories in the European Union. In this matter, very little is known about the ability to translate innovation into regional growth in territories with geographical disadvantages. The present paper discusses the intensified emphasis of the European policy approach towards innovation and its adequacy to the need of regions with unfavourable geographical features. This thorough discussion aims to shed some light on the issue of whether the EU’s twin goals for 2007-2013, to achieve global competitiveness and cohesion, are suitable for areas with geographical limitations |
| Keywords: | European Regional Development Fund, Innovation, Regional Policy, Specific Geographical Features |
| JEL: | O31 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieasw:463&r=cwa |
| By: | Meena, M.S.; Singh, K.M. |
| Abstract: | Untenable use of factors of production is causing severe land degradation and food insecurity problems especially in developing world. Land degradation threatens the ecosystem health and food security worldwide and will remain high priority on international agenda. Conservation agriculture (CA) innovations offer a new paradigm for agricultural research and development. While examining the total innovation-decision process, one can see how the farmers observe innovations (knowledge), relate to images and message within technological innovations (persuasion), formulate a want for item (decision), actively pursue the desire for item (implementation), and ultimately decide whether future uses of technologies / are desirable (confirmation). The adoption of CA innovations can be facilitated by locally identified and specially trained group leaders or by promoters. For the success, farmers will need to be in forefront for helping in identification, development and deployment of CA innovations. Developing and promoting RCT systems is highly demanding in terms of knowledge base. This will call for greatly enhanced capacity of scientists to address the prevailing problems / constraints from a systems perspective and be able to work in close partnerships with farmers and other stakeholders. There is also need to strengthen the knowledge and information-sharing mechanisms. Improvement in coordination amongst various stakeholders like research, extension service, farmers, service providers, agricultural machinery, and manufacturers for transfer of technologies will play a pivotal role in accelerating the Conservation Agriculture. |
| Keywords: | Conservation agriculture, Processes innovations, Adoption strategies |
| JEL: | O13 O31 O32 O33 Q15 Q2 |
| Date: | 2013–08–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:49380&r=cwa |
| By: | Jozef Barunik; Lukas Vacha |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the literature on international stock market comovements and contagion. The novelty of our approach lies in application of wavelet tools to high-frequency financial market data, which allows us to understand the relationship between stock markets in a time-frequency domain. While major part of economic time series analysis is done in time or frequency domain separately, wavelet analysis combines these two fundamental approaches. Wavelet techniques uncover interesting dynamics of correlations between the Central and Eastern European (CEE) stock markets and the German DAX at various investment horizons. The results indicate that connection of the CEE markets to the leading market of the region is significantly lower at higher frequencies in comparison to the lower frequencies. Contrary to previous literature, we document significantly lower contagion between the CEE markets and the German DAX after the crisis. |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1309.0491&r=cwa |
| By: | Fukunishi, Takahiro; Yamagata, Tatsufumi |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how the garment industry escapes this vicious cycle and argues for the validity of labor-intensive industry as a starting point for full-fledged industrialization, even though it might at first seem to be a digression from the path to an innovation-led economy. By examining original firm-level data on garment-producing firms collected in 2002 and 2008 in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kenya and Madagascar, the following conclusions are drawn: (1) low wages, though still sufficient for poverty reduction, are the main source of competitiveness in low-income countries; (2) after the successful initiation of industrialization causes wages to begin to rise, there is still a possibility for productivity enhancement; and (3) skill bias in technological progress is not yet a major factor, implying that the garment industry is still a labor-intensive industry. In sum, labor-intensive industry should not be discounted as a part of the development strategy of low-income countries. |
| Keywords: | Developing countries, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kenya, Madagascar, Apparel industry, Textile industry, Industrialization, International competition, Competitiveness, Garment, Race to the bottom |
| JEL: | D24 L67 O14 O33 O53 O55 |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper412&r=cwa |
| By: | Hassan, Muhammad shahid; Wajid, Ayesha; Mamoon, Dawood |
| Abstract: | The study empirically analyzed the impact of financial development; foreign direct investment and urban population as share of total population on unemployment in Pakistan for the period from 1973 – 2010. Empirical findings of this study suggest that financial development does reduce unemployment significantly in the short run and in the long run. Foreign direct investment reduces unemployment in the long run but, it increases unemployment in the short run. Moreover; the urban population as share of total population is significantly increasing unemployment in the long run, whereas, it reduces unemployment in the short run. |
| Keywords: | Pakistan; Financial Development, Unemployment, Foreign Direct Investment, and Urbanization |
| JEL: | O1 O11 |
| Date: | 2013–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:49365&r=cwa |
| By: | Mauro V. Tomasello; Mauro Napoletano; Antonios Garas; Frank Schweitzer |
| Abstract: | Drawing on a large database of publicly announced R&D alliances, we track the evolution of R&D networks in a large number of economic sectors over a long time period (1986- 2009). Our main goal is to evaluate temporal and sectoral robustness of the main statistical properties of empirical R&D networks. By studying a large set of indicators, we provide a more complete description of these networks with respect to the existing literature. We find that most network properties are invariant across sectors. In addition, they do not change when alliances are considered independently of the sectors to which partners belong. Moreover, we find that many properties of R&D networks are characterized by a rise-and-fall dynamics with a peak in the mid-nineties. Finally, we show that such properties of empirical R&D networks support predictions of the recent theoretical literature on R&D network formation. |
| Date: | 2013–09–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2013/18&r=cwa |
| By: | Asongu , Simplice A; Jellal, Mohamed |
| Abstract: | The debate by Okada & Samreth (2012, EL) and Asongu (2012, EB; 2013, EEL) on ‘the effect of foreign aid on corruption’ in its current state has the shortcoming of modeling corruption as a direct effect of development assistance. This note extends the debate by assessing the channels of foreign aid to corruption in 53 African countries for the period 1996-2010. Two main findings are established to unite the two streams of the debate. (1) Foreign aid channeled through government’s consumption expenditure increases corruption. (2) Development assistance channeled via private investment and tax effort decreases corruption. It follows that foreign aid that is targeted towards reducing corruption should be channeled via private investment and tax effort, not through government expenditure. Our results integrate an indirect component and reconcile the debate by showing that, the effect could either be positive or negative depending on the transmission channel. |
| Keywords: | Foreign Aid; Political Economy; Development; Africa |
| JEL: | B20 F35 F50 O10 O55 |
| Date: | 2013–06–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:49378&r=cwa |
| By: | Sara Bonesso (Dept. of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venice); Anna Comacchio (Dept. of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venice) |
| Abstract: | Our research aims is to explore the dynamics of Absorptive Capacity (AC) routines, investigating the emergence of recognition and assimilation practices in innovative organizations. The study contributes to the understanding of routines enactment at the intersection of two streams of research: studies on routines dynamics and the process-based approach on absorptive capacity. We answer the call for a micro-foundation of studies on AC, investigating its emergence process and its determinants, by focusing on the role of individual and collective agency. Research finding enriches the literature in two directions. First we extend literature on the routinesÕ enactment dynamics, showing how individual Òtaking chargeÓ behaviours act as a trigger of change and how they are reinforced at collective level. We suggest that collective agency underpin the dynamics of routine enactment, activated by new extra-role behaviour. Second, by a multiple case-study, we provide rich grounded examples of the AC routine enactment dynamics. |
| Keywords: | absorptive capacity, routines dynamics, recognition, assimilation, taking charge |
| JEL: | M10 O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vnm:wpdman:48&r=cwa |
| By: | Daniel Levin; Terry Lyons; Hao Ni |
| Abstract: | Regression analysis aims to use observational data from multiple observations to develop a functional relationship relating explanatory variables to response variables, which is important for much of modern statistics, and econometrics, and also the field of machine learning. In this paper, we consider the special case where the explanatory variable is a stream of information, and the response is also potentially a stream. We provide an approach based on identifying carefully chosen features of the stream which allows linear regression to be used to characterise the functional relationship between explanatory variables and the conditional distribution of the response; the methods used to develop and justify this approach, such as the signature of a stream and the shuffle product of tensors, are standard tools in the theory of rough paths and seem appropriate in this context of regression as well and provide a surprisingly unified and non-parametric approach. To illustrate the approach we consider the problem of using data to predict the conditional distribution of the near future of a stationary, ergodic time series and compare it with probabilistic approaches based on first fitting a model. We believe our reduction of this regression problem for streams to a linear problem is clean, systematic, and efficient in minimizing the effective dimensionality. The clear gradation of finite dimensional approximations increases its usefulness. Although the approach is non-parametric, it presents itself in computationally tractable and flexible restricted forms in examples we considered. Popular techniques in time series analysis such as AR, ARCH and GARCH can be seen to be special cases of our approach, but it is not clear if they are always the best or most informative choices. |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1309.0260&r=cwa |
| By: | Michael Dittmar (Institute of Particle Physics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | The scientific data about the state of our planet, presented at the 2012 (Rio+20) summit, documented that today's human family lives even less sustainably than it did in 1992. The data indicate furthermore that the environmental impacts from our current economic activities are so large, that we are approaching situations where potentially controllable regional problems can easily lead to uncontrollable global disasters. Assuming that (1) the majority of the human family, once adequately informed, wants to achieve a "sustainable way of life" and (2) that the "development towards sustainability" roadmap will be based on scientific principles, one must begin with unambiguous and quantifiable definitions of these goals. As will be demonstrated, the well known scientific method to define abstract and complex issues by their negation, satisfies these requirements. Following this new approach, it also becomes possible to decide if proposed and actual policies changes will make our way of life less unsustainable, and thus move us potentially into the direction of sustainability. Furthermore, if potentially dangerous tipping points are to be avoided, the transition roadmap must include some minimal speed requirements. Combining the negation method and the time evolution of that remaining natural capital in different domains, the transition speed for a "development towards sustainability" can be quantified at local, regional and global scales. The presented ideas allow us to measure the rate of natural capital depletion and the rate of restoration that will be required if humanity is to avoid reaching a sustainable future by a collapse transition. |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1309.0348&r=cwa |
| By: | Barbone, Luca (CASE - Center for Social and Economic Research); Kahanec, Martin (Central European University); Kureková, Lucia (Central European University); Zimmermann, Klaus F. (IZA and University of Bonn) |
| Abstract: | Report based on a study conducted for the European Commission, Bonn 2013 (50 pages) |
| Date: | 2013–08–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izarrs:55&r=cwa |
| By: | Gregmar Galinato; Hayley Chouinard; Phil Wandschneider (School of Economic Sciences, Washington State University) |
| Abstract: | We examine the effect of corruption on social capital investment in an association and its allocation in a political economy context. Our model explains how agents invest to form social capital which is used to produce a club good for association members and influence industry-wide policy. Government corruption affects the number of agents that invest in social capital and the contribution per agent, but varies with agent productivity. We find that high productivity agents prefer to influence policy while low productivity agents focus on production. Furthermore, social capital does not necessarily increase welfare if socially sub-optimal regulations are implemented. |
| Keywords: | association, corruption, social capital |
| JEL: | D71 D73 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wsu:wpaper:galinato-8&r=cwa |