|
on Development |
| By: | Sylvie Demurger (GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - École Normale Supérieure de Lyon); Hui Xu (GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - École Normale Supérieure de Lyon) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes return migrants' occupational choice upon their return to their home village, by using an original rural household survey conducted in Wuwei county (Anhui province, China) in 2008. We apply two complementary approaches : a horizontal comparative analysis of occupational choice between non-migrants and return migrants, and a vertical investigation of the impact of migration experience on returnees only. Two main findings are drawn up from the estimation of probit models which account for potential selection bias and endogeneity. First, return migrants are more likely to be self-employed and to opt for higher ability jobs than non-migrants. Second, both return savings and the frequency of job changes during migration increase the likelihood for return migrants to become self-employed. These findings suggest that (a) working experience during migration enhances individual's human capital and entrepreneurial ability, and (b) repatriated migration experience is a key stimulating factor in promoting rural entrepreneur activity. |
| Keywords: | Return migrants ; occupational change ; entrepreneurship ; Asia ; China |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00627732&r=dev |
| By: | Philip Verwimp; Jan Van Bavel |
| Abstract: | Next to the taking of lives and the destruction of infrastructure, violent conflict also affects the long-term growth path of a country by its effect on human capital accumulation. This paper investigates the effect of exposure to violent conflict on the completion of primary schooling. We use a nationwide household survey that collected detailed education, migration, gender and wealth data and combine this with secondary sources on the location and timing of the conflict. Depending on specification we find that the odds to complete primary schooling for a child exposed to the violence declined by 40 to 50% compared to a non-exposed child. The schooling of boys from non-poor households is affected most by conflict, followed by boys and girls from poor households. The schooling of girls from non-poor households is least affected. Forced displacement is found to be one of the channels through which the impact is felt. We perform robustness checks for our results. |
| Keywords: | schooling; violent conflict; gender; Africa |
| JEL: | O12 I21 J16 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/98377&r=dev |
| By: | Asad K. Ghalib (Brooks World Poverty Institute, University of Manchester); Issam Malki (Departmaent of Economics, University of Bath); Katsushi S. Imai (School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester) |
| Abstract: | This study examines if household access to microfinance reduces poverty in Pakistan, and if so, to what extent and across which dimensions of well-being by taking account of the multi-dimensional aspect of poverty. The study draws on first-hand observations and empirical data gathered through the interviews of 1,132 households across eleven districts in the rural areas of the province of Punjab in Pakistan. We employ a quasi-experimental research design and make use of the data collected by interviewing both borrower (treatment) and non-borrower (control) households and control for sample selection biases by using propensity score matching. It has been confirmed that microfinance programmes had a positive impact on the welfare of participating households, that is, the poverty reducing-effects were observed and statistically significant on a number of indicators, including expenditure on healthcare or clothing, monthly household income, and certain dwelling characteristics, such as water supply and quality of roofing and walls. |
| Keywords: | Microfinance; poverty; impact assessment; propensity score matching; Pakistan |
| JEL: | C21 I32 O15 Q12 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kob:dpaper:dp2011-28&r=dev |
| By: | Tony Castleman (Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses data from a randomized controlled trial to study the impacts of food supplementation and medical treatment on the receipt of human recognition by malnourished, HIV-infected adults in Kenya. Questions specially designed to measure human recognition were included in the trial, demonstrating how data on human recognition can be collected and analyzed as part of research or programs. The data are used to examine the impacts of interventions on human recognition, the determinants of human recognition receipt, and the role that human recognition plays in nutritional status and subjective well-being. Food supplementation has a significant, independent, positive impact on recognition received at completion of 6 months of food supplementation, but this effect does not persist 6 months after completion of the supplementation. The location of the study sites appears to play a significant role in the changes in human recognition, with smaller improvements among subjects at clinics in urban slums of Nairobi than among subjects in district and provincial hospitals outside of Nairobi, controlling for demographic, socio-economic, and health characteristics. Women receive lower levels of human recognition than men and also have worse mental health; further study is needed to better understand the relationship among gender, mental health, and human recognition. There is some evidence of an association between nutritional status and human recognition, but findings about the role human recognition plays in nutritional status and subjective well-being are mixed and further study is needed in this area, possibly over a longer timeframe than 12 months. |
| Keywords: | human recognition, respect, dehumanization, HIV, AIDS, malnutrition, nutrition, food supplementation, well being, randomized trial, stigma, Kenya |
| JEL: | I12 I31 O15 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gwi:wpaper:2011-11&r=dev |
| By: | Channing Arndt; Sam Jones; Finn Tarp |
| Abstract: | Controversy over the aggregate impact of foreign aid has focused on reduced form estimates of the aid-growth link. The causal chain, through which aid affects developmental outcomes including growth, has received much less attention. We address this gap by: (i) specifying a structural model of the main relationships; (ii) estimating the impact of aid on a range of final and intermediate outcomes; and (iii) quantifying a simplied representation of the full structural form, where aid impacts on growth through key intermediate outcomes. A coherent picture emerges: aid stimulates growth and reduces poverty through physical capital investment and improvements in health. |
| Keywords: | growth; foreign aid; aid effectiveness; simultaneous equations |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2011-44&r=dev |
| By: | Channing Arndt; M. Azhar Hussain; E. Samuel Jones; Virgulino Nhate; Finn Tarp; James Thurlow |
| Abstract: | Measuring poverty remains a complex and contentious issue. This is particularly true in sub-Saharan Africa where poverty rates are higher, information bases typically weaker, and the underlying determinants of welfare relatively volatile. This paper employs recently collected data on household consumption in Mozambique to examine the evolution of consumption poverty with focus on the period 2002/03 to 2008/09. The paper contributes in four areas. First, the period in question was characterized by major movements in international commodity prices. Mozambique provides an illuminating case study of the implications of these world commodity price changes for living standards of poor people. Second, a novel ‘backcasting’ approach using a computable general equilibrium model of Mozambique, linked to a poverty module is introduced. Third, the backcasting approach is also employed to rigorously examine the poverty-growth-inequality triangle. Finally, various simple but useful and rarely applied approaches to considering regional changes in poverty rates are presented. We find that the national poverty rate in Mozambique stagnated between 2002/03 and 2008/09. |
| Keywords: | measurement, poverty, growth, inequality, economy-wide modelling |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2011-17&r=dev |
| By: | Khan, Hidayat Ullah; Kurosaki, Takashi; Miura, Ken |
| Abstract: | To assess the targeting performance of community-based development activities and deduce the impact of such activities on poverty reduction, we implemented a survey of a non-governmental organization (NGO) in northwestern Pakistan. A distinct characteristic of this NGO is that it is managed mostly by women and its interventions are conducted through community-based organizations (COs), most of whose members are also female. This characteristic is rather unusual for a male-dominated society like Pakistan. Descriptive analyses of village, CO, and household level data shows that the NGO was able to target poorer villages. Villages with COs are characterized by lower adult literacy rates, lower availability of basic amenities, and higher susceptibility to natural disasters. With regard to household-level welfare indicators -- such as consumption, women’s empowerment, children’s school enrolment, and the weight-for-age of infants -- we found that the consumption levels of CO member households tended to be lower than that of households in non-CO villages. However, the difference between CO member households and non-member households in CO villages was insignificant, possibly owing to the mixing of the selection effect (i.e., poorer households are served by the NGO) and the causal effect of interventions on poverty reduction. On women’s empowerment and child schooling, CO member households tend to perform better than other households, suggesting the favorable impact of the interventions and/or the self-selection of such households vis-à-vis program participation. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hitcei:2011-4&r=dev |
| By: | Lipsey, Robert E. (City University of New York); Sjöholm, Fredrik (Department of Economics, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | This paper attempts to measure the size of South-South FDI in developing East Asia and the trends in it, and the characteristics of the investing countries and the investments themselves. It also summarizes the findings of studies in individual countries of the effects of these investments. The studies of individual countries will be used to try to find some consensus on differences between South-South FDI and North-South FDI. Among the comparisons of the two types of FDI we try to summarize are be findings about their industrial composition, their effects on their host countries and their host-country firms’ productivity, wages, and employment, and how these differ across industries. |
| Keywords: | FDI; East Asia; South-South; Economic development; Multinational firms |
| JEL: | F21 F23 O19 |
| Date: | 2011–09–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2011_030&r=dev |
| By: | David Bardey; Fernando Jaramillo |
| Abstract: | ABSTRACT: We analyze whether the introduction of unemployment insurance (UI hereafter) benefits in developing countries would reduce the effort made by unemployed to secure a new job in the formal sector. We show that one shot UI benefits unambiguously increase the effort to secure a new job in the formal sector. The relative strength of income/substitution effects only determine how leisure and informal activities are affected. Consequently, our (partial equilibrium) analysis reveals that short term UI benefits in developing countries do not reduce incentives to secure a new formal job and therefore cannot be interpreted as a subsidy to the informal sector. |
| Date: | 2011–10–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000092:009015&r=dev |
| By: | Manuel Fernández (World Bank, Washington, DC); Ana María Ibáñez (Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia); Ximena (Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the use of labour markets to mitigate the impact of violent shocks on households in rural areas in Colombia. We examine changes in the labour supply from on-farm to off-farm labour as a means of coping with the violent shock and the ensuing redistribution of time within households. We also identify the heterogeneous response by gender. Because the incidence of violent shocks is not exogenous, we use instrumental variables which capture several dimensions of the cost of exercising terror. As a response to the violent shocks, households decrease the time spent on on-farm work and increase their supply of labour to off-farm activities (i.e., non-agricultural ones). Men carry the bulk of the adjustment in the use of time inasmuch as they supply the most hours to off-farm nonagricultural work and formal labour markets. Labour markets are not fully absorbing the additional labour supply. Women in particular are unable to find jobs in formal labour markets and men have increased time dedicated to leisure and household chores. Additional off-farm supply is not fully covering drops in consumption. Our results suggest that in rural Colombia, labour markets are a limited alternative for coping with violent shocks. Thus, policies in conflict-affected countries should go beyond short-term relief and aim at preventing labour markets from collapsing and at supporting the recovery of agricultural production. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:103&r=dev |
| By: | Kati Schindler (DIW Berlin, Mohrenstr. 58, 10117 Berlin, Germany); Tilman Brück (DIW Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to study the short and long-term fertility effects of mass violent conflict on different population sub-groups. The authors pool three nationally representative demographic and health surveys from before and after the genocide in Rwanda, identifying conflict exposure of the survivors in multiple ways. The analysis finds a robust effect of genocide on fertility, with a strong replacement effect for lost children. Having lost siblings reduces fertility only in the short term. Most interesting is the continued importance of the institution of marriage in determining fertility and in reducing fertility for the large group of widows in Rwanda. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:102&r=dev |
| By: | Olga N. Shemyakina (University of Sheffield, UK) |
| Abstract: | Shortly following its independence in 1991, Tajikistan suffered a violent civil war. This study explores the effect of this conflict on education and labour market outcomes for men and women. The study uses the 2003 and 2007 Tajik Living Standards Measurement Surveys and employs the regional and cohort-level exposures to the conflict to identify these relationships. The results suggest that the conflict had a large and lasting impact on education. In the conflict affected regions, women who were of school age during the war are significantly less likely to complete both nine and eleven years of schooling as compared to women of the similar age from the lesser affected areas. Thus, the gap in education created during the war may have become permanent. Further, these young women were also more likely to have held a job in the last 14 days. The increased workforce participation among young women signals that creation of new local jobs is likely to be welcomed by women if the government were to pursue job-creating policies. Conditional on being employed, men and women in the more conflict affected areas do not receive wages that are significantly different from wages received by men and women in the lesser affected areas. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:106&r=dev |
| By: | Christine Valente (University of Sheffield, UK) |
| Abstract: | Between 1996 and 2006, Nepal experienced violent civil conflict as a consequence of a Maoist insurgency, which many argue also brought about an increase in female empowerment. This paper exploits within and between-district variation in the intensity of violence to estimate the impact of conflict intensity on two key areas of the life of women in Nepal, namely education and marriage. Overall conflict intensity had a small, positive effect on female educational attainment, whereas abductions by Maoists had the reverse effect. Male schooling was not significantly affected by either conflict measure. Conflict intensity and Maoist abductions during school age both increased the probability of early female marriage, but exposure to conflict during marriageable age does not appear to have affected women’s long-term marriage probability. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:105&r=dev |
| By: | Philip Verwimp (ECARES and Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Université Libre de Bruxelles); Jan Van Bavel (Interface Demography, Vrije Universiteit Brussel) |
| Abstract: | Next to the taking of lives and the destruction of infrastructure, violent conflict also affects the long-term growth path of a country by its effect on human capital accumulation. This paper investigates the effect of exposure to violent conflict on the completion of primary schooling. We use a nationwide household survey that collected detailed education, migration, gender and wealth data and combine this with secondary sources on the location and timing of the conflict. Depending on specification we find that the odds to complete primary schooling for a child exposed to the violence declined by 40 to 50% compared to a non-exposed child. The schooling of boys from non-poor households is affected most by conflict, followed by boys and girls from poor households. The schooling of girls from nonpoor households is least affected. Forced displacement is found to be one of the channels through which the impact is felt. We perform robustness checks for our results. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:101&r=dev |
| By: | Nidhiya Menon (Department of Economics & IBS, MS 021, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454-9110); Yana van der Meulen Rodgers (Women’s and Gender Studies Department, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how Nepal’s 1996-2006 civil conflict affected women’s decisions to engage in employment. Using three waves of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, we employ a difference-in-difference approach to identify the impact of war on women’s employment decisions. Results indicate that as a result of the Maoist-led insurgency, women’s employment probabilities were substantially higher in 2001 and 2006 relative to the outbreak of war in 1996. These employment results also hold for selfemployment decisions, and they hold for smaller sub-samples that condition on husband’s migration status and women’s status as widows or household heads. Numerous robustness checks of the difference-in-difference estimates based on alternative empirical methods provide compelling evidence that women’s likelihood of employment increased as a consequence of the conflict. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:104&r=dev |
| By: | Patricia Justino (Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex); Marinella Leone (Department of Economics, University of Sussex); Paola Salardi (Department of Economics, University of Sussex) |
| Abstract: | The Timor Leste secession conflict lasted for 25 years. Its last wave of violence in 1999, following the withdrawal of Indonesian troops, generated massive displacement and destruction with widespread consequences for the economic and social development of the country. This paper analyzes the impact of the conflict on the level and access to education of boys and girls in Timor Leste. We examine the short-term impact of the 1999 violence on school attendance and grade deficit rates in 2001, and the longer-term impact of the conflict on primary school completion of cohorts of children observed in 2007. We compare also the educational impact of the 1999 wave of violence with the impact of other periods of high-intensity violence during the 25 years of Indonesian occupation. The short-term effects of the conflict are mixed. In the longer term, we find a strong negative impact of the conflict on primary school completion among boys of school age exposed to peaks of violence during the 25-year long conflict. The effect is stronger for boys attending the last three grades of primary school. This result shows a substantial loss of human capital among young males in Timor Leste since the early 1970s, resulting from household investment trade-offs between education and economic survival. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:100&r=dev |
| By: | Malhar Nabar |
| Abstract: | This paper studies a panel of China’s provinces over the period 1996-2009 during which urban household saving rates increased from 19 percent of disposable income to 30 percent. It finds that the increase in urban saving rates is negatively associated with the decline in real interest rates over this period. This negative association suggests that Chinese households save with a target level of saving in mind. When the return to saving declines (increases), it becomes more difficult (easier) to meet a target and households increase (lower) their saving out of current disposable income to compensate. The results are robust across specifications and to the inclusion of additional variables. A main policy implication is that an increase in real deposit rates may help lower household saving and boost domestic consumption. |
| Keywords: | Bank reforms , Banks , China , Interest rates , Private consumption , Private investment , Private savings , |
| Date: | 2011–09–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:11/223&r=dev |
| By: | Abdoul Aziz Wane; Chris Papageorgiou; Alvar Kangur; Sanjeev Gupta |
| Abstract: | This paper constructs an efficiency-adjusted public capital stock series and re-examines the public capital and growth relationship for 52 developing countries. The results show that public capital is a significant contributor to economic growth. Although the estimated coefficient for the income share of public capital is larger in middle- than in low-income countries, the opposite is true for the marginal product of public capital. The quality of public investment, as measured by variables capturing the adequacy of project selection and implementation, are statistically significant in explaining variations in economic growth, a result mainly driven by low-income countries. |
| Keywords: | Capital , Developing countries , Economic growth , Governance , Low-income developing countries , Public investment , |
| Date: | 2011–09–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:11/217&r=dev |
| By: | E. Santarelli; H. T. Tran |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the relationship between the performance of incumbent firms and the net entry of new firms by combining different theoretical views of entrepreneurship. It shows that new knowledge and ideas created but not commercialized by incumbents are an important source of entrepreneurial opportunities for nascent firms. Different regression models to treat dynamics and endogeneity issues are applied to test the research hypothesis that growth of incumbent firms in a region will stimulate start-up activities by creating new profit opportunities for potential entrepreneurs. Vietnam’s regional micro-data from 2000 to 2008 are used for this test. Four controlling indicators – entrepreneurial demand, market structure, regional economic environment, and market innovativeness – are found to exert a statistically significant effect on new entries. |
| JEL: | L25 L26 O53 R12 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:wp785&r=dev |
| By: | Klapper, Leora; Richmond, Christine |
| Abstract: | The authors study firm dynamics using a novel database of all formally registered firms in Cote d'Ivoire from 1977 to 1997, which account for about 60 percent of gross domestic product. First, they examine entry and exit patterns and the role of new and exiting firms versus incumbents in job creation and destruction. They find that while the rate of job creation at new firms is quiet high -- at 8 percent on average -- the number of jobs added by new firms is small in absolute terms. Next, they examine survival rates and find that the probability of survival increases monotonically with firm size, but manufacturing and foreign-owned firms face higher likelihoods of exit compared with service oriented and domestically owned firms. They find that higher growth of gross domestic product increases the probability of firm survival, but this is a broad impact with no firm size disproportionately affected. In robustness checks, they find that after 1987 size is no longer a significant determinant of firm survival for new entrants, suggesting that the operating environment for firms changed. Finally, they find that trade and fiscal reform episodes raised the probability of firm exit and attenuated the survival disadvantages faced by smaller firms, but exchange rate revaluation and pro-private sector reforms did not significantly lower the likelihood of exit. |
| Keywords: | Microfinance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Markets,Small Scale Enterprise,Economic Theory&Research |
| Date: | 2011–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5828&r=dev |
| By: | Anzoategui, Diego; Demirguc-Kunt, Asli; Peria, Maria Soledad Martinez |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of remittances on financial inclusion. This is an important issue given recent studies showing that financial inclusion can have significant beneficial effects on households. Using household-level survey data for El Salvador, the authors examine the impact of remittances on households'use of savings and credit instruments from formal financial institutions. They find that although remittances have a positive impact on financial inclusion by promoting the use of deposit accounts, they do not have a significant and robust effect on the demand for and use of credit from formal institutions. If anything, by relaxing credit constraints, remittances might reduce the need for external financing from financial institutions, while at the same time increasing the demand for savings instruments. |
| Keywords: | Access to Finance,Debt Markets,Population Policies,Remittances,Economic Theory&Research |
| Date: | 2011–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5839&r=dev |
| By: | Hou, Xiaohui |
| Abstract: | When deciding who should receive welfare benefits with the aim to increase household well-being, it is necessary to understand the effects of the distribution of power within the households at which the aid is directed. Two primary household models have been used to study intra-household bargaining and decision making: the unitary model and the collective model. The unitary model seems to fit Pakistan's context because the prevailing traditional culture positions the male head as the household decision maker. However, using a set of direct measures of decision-making power from the Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement Survey, this study finds that even in a country where men seem to have more power than women, the collective household bargaining model applies. This study also finds that, in Pakistan, when women have more decision-making power at home, households tend to spend more on women's preferred goods (such as clothing and education), family members eat more non-grain food items, and children, particularly girls, are more likely to be enrolled in school. |
| Keywords: | Anthropology,Primary Education,Gender and Law,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems,Gender and Health |
| Date: | 2011–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5830&r=dev |
| By: | Strobbe, Francesco; Miller, Candace |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the short-run consumption expenditure dynamics and the interaction of public and private arrangements of ultra-poor and labor-constrained households in Malawi using an original dataset from the Mchinjii social cash transfer pilot project (one of the first experiments of social protection policies based on unconditional cash transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa). The authors exploit the unique source of exogenous variation provided by the randomized component of the program in order to isolate the effect of cash transfers on consumption expenditures as well as the net crowding out effect of cash transfers on private arrangements. They find a statistically significant reduction effect on the level of consumption expenditures for those households receiving cash transfers, thus leading to the rejection of the perfect risk sharing hypothesis. Moreover, by looking at the effects of cash transfers on private arrangements in a context characterized by imperfect enforceability of contracts and by a social fabric heavily compromised by high HIV/AIDS rates, the analysis confirms the presence of crowding out effects on private arrangements when looking at gifts and (to a lesser extent) remittances, while informal loans seem to be completely independent from the cash transfer's reception. From a policy perspective, the paper offers a contribution to the evaluation of the very recent wave of social protection policies based on (unconditional) cash transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting that there might be an important role for public interventions aimed at helping households to pool risk more effectively. |
| Keywords: | Safety Nets and Transfers,Rural Poverty Reduction,Labor Policies,Services&Transfers to Poor,Debt Markets |
| Date: | 2011–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5824&r=dev |
| By: | Jia, Lili; Petrick, Martin |
| Abstract: | Research on agricultural development in China has increasingly paid attention to the potentially negative effects of highly fragmented farm structures. This study provides a deeper theoretical understanding of the linkages between land fragmentation and off-farm labor supply and investigates this relationship empirically in a more direct and robust way than in the existing literature. Drawing upon a rural household panel dataset collected in Zhejiang, Hubei and Yunnan provinces from 1995-2002, we estimate the effects in two steps. First, we estimate the effect of land fragmentation on labor productivity using a time-demeaned translog production function. Second, we estimate the effect of land fragmentation on off-farm labor supply using Wooldridgeâs (1995) panel data sample selection model. The production function results show that land fragmentation indeed leads to lower agricultural labor productivity. It implies that land consolidation will make on-farm work more attractive and thus decrease off-farm labor supply. This conclusion is supported by a direct estimation of the off-farm labor supply function, but only for the group of farmers with the least involvement in off-farm labor. Our analysis suggests that, if more liberal land market policies and hardened property rights will allow more consolidated farmland in the future, this will not trigger a flood of former farmers leaving rural areas in search for alternative incomes. As it makes farm work more productive, it will rather provide an incentive to continue farming and raise agricultural productivity. |
| Keywords: | Land fragmentation, off-farm, labor supply, China, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gewi11:114522&r=dev |
| By: | Balgah, Roland Azibo; Buchenrieder, Gertrud |
| Abstract: | Increasing occurrence of devastating natural shocks has stimulated research interest in the economics of natural disasters. Much of this scholarly work concentrates on effects of shocks on poverty, risk and vulnerability, and very little on understanding the effects of natural shocks on risk behavior. Referring to a 25 year-old disaster, we use unique survey data and experiment results from two disaster affected communities in rural Cameroon to test two hypotheses: (1) Natural shocks affect long term risk behavior; and (2) self-relocation into risk-prone areas is an explicit demonstration of risk taking. The results reveal differentiated risk behavior in self-relocated and state-resettled households, with the former taking higher risks compared to resettled households. Experiments strongly support trends observed in the empirical study, but captured cognitive behavior better than the survey. Results support previous evidence on applying experiments in understanding cognitive risk behavior and confirm our hypotheses. |
| Keywords: | Shocks, risk behavior, experiment, Cameroon, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114215&r=dev |
| By: | Maertens, Miet; Verhofstadt, Ellen |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114373&r=dev |
| By: | Revoredo-Giha, Cesar; Philippidis, George; Toma, Luiza; Renwick, Alan W. |
| Keywords: | International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114802&r=dev |
| By: | Kimhi, Ayal |
| Abstract: | This article examines the importance of non-farm income in reducing per-capita income inequality among agricultural households in southern Ethiopia, with an emphasis on the gender dimension. Using a modified technique of inequality decomposition by income sources applied to household survey data, it was found that female non-farm labor income is the only income source that significantly reduces per-capita income inequality. More precisely, a uniform increase in female non-farm labor income, among households that already have income from this source, reduces inequality. Encouraging women to devote more time to non-farm income-generating activities, and creating market mechanisms that increase earnings in these activities, could potentially lift households out of poverty and at the same time reduce income inequality as a whole. The impact on inequality could be stronger if policies are directed at asset-poor households and less-educated households in particular. One of the policies that could be useful in this regard is female educational enhancements. This could open more opportunities for women in the hired labor market, improve women's position within the household, and promote overall income inequality as well as gender equality. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital, |
| Date: | 2011–09–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114756&r=dev |
| By: | Sumelius, John; Islam, K.M. Zahidul; Sipilainen, Timo |
| Abstract: | This paper measures profit efficiency and examines the effect of access to microfinance on the performance of rice firms in Bangladesh. An extended Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier profit function was used to assess profit efficiency and profit loss of rice farmers in Bangladesh in a survey data of 360 farms throughout the 2008-2009 growing seasons. Model diagnostics reveal that serious selection bias exists that justifies the uses of sample selection model in stochastic frontier models. After effectively correcting for selectivity bias, the mean profit efficiency of the microfinance borrowers and non-borrowers were estimated at 68% and 52% respectively, thereby suggesting that a considerable share of profits were lost due to profit inefficiencies in rice production. The results from the inefficiency effect model show that householdsâ age, extension visits, off-farm income, region and the farm size are the significant determinants of inefficiency. Some indicative policy recommendations based on these findings have been suggested. |
| Keywords: | Stochastic frontier function, Profit efficiency, Selection bias, Bangladesh, Microfinance, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:116067&r=dev |
| By: | Philip Verwimp; Jan Van Bavel |
| Abstract: | Next to the taking of lives and the destruction of infrastructure, violent conflict also affects the long-term growth path of a country by its effect on human capital accumulation. This paper investigates the effect of exposure to violent conflict on the completion of primary schooling. We use a nationwide household survey that collected detailed education, migration, gender and wealth data and combine this with secondary sources on the location and timing of the conflict. Depending on specification we find that the odds to complete primary schooling for a child exposed to the violence declined by 40 to 50% compared to a non-exposed child. The schooling of boys from non-poor households is affected most by conflict, followed by boys and girls from poor households. The schooling of girls from non-poor households is least affected. Forced displacement is found to be one of the channels through which the impact is felt. We perform robustness checks for our results. |
| Keywords: | schooling; violent conflict; gender; Africa |
| JEL: | O12 I21 J16 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/98414&r=dev |
| By: | Kazi Arif Uz Zaman (International University of Japan); Takahiro Akita (International University of Japan) |
| Abstract: | Using the 2005 Household Income and Expenditure Survey, this paper examined income inequality and poverty in Bangladesh with particular focus on their spatial dimensions. Since disparity among administrative divisions is small, inequalities within each administrative division, particularly urban inequality, need to be reduced. Since education appears to have played an important role in inequality, especially in urban areas, raising general educational level is essential. Since wages and salaries serve to have mitigated inequality, especially in urban areas, opportunities for formal income should be expanded. Though the effect may be small, transfer programs should be expanded to raise income among the poorest. In addition to raising general educational level, it is necessary to provide primary education throughout the country in order to mitigate poverty. It is imperative to raise agricultural productivity in both rural and urban sectors. Furthermore, non-agricultural activities should be promoted according to the pattern of comparative advantages. |
| Keywords: | Income Inequality, Poverty, Spatial Dimensions, Theil Index, Gini Coefficient, FGT Index, Bangladesh |
| JEL: | I3 O15 O18 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iuj:wpaper:ems_2011_20&r=dev |
| By: | Simplice A., Asongu |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes and empirically validates four theories of why legal origin influences growth and welfare through finance. It is a natural extension of “Law and finance: why does legal origin matter?” by Thorsten Beck, Asli Demirgüç-Kunt and Ross Levine (2003). We find only partial support for the Mundell(1972), La Porta et al. (1998) and Beck et al.(2003) hypotheses that English common-law countries tend to have better developed financial intermediaries than French civil-law countries. While countries with English legal tradition have legal systems that improve financial depth, activity and size, countries with French legal origin overwhelmingly dominate in financial intermediary allocation efficiency. Countries with Portuguese legal origin fall in-between. |
| Keywords: | Law; Financial development; Growth; Welfare |
| JEL: | O1 K2 G2 P5 K4 |
| Date: | 2011–08–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33868&r=dev |
| By: | Feng, Yao |
| Abstract: | Using the 1999 durable consumption survey data in rural China, we examine the importance of local spillovers in the diffusion of three major durable goods, i.e., color television set, washing machine, and refrigerator. We find that, with control for many family characteristics, a household is more likely to buy its first durable good in villages where a large share of households already own one. Further evidence suggests that theses patterns are unlikely to be explained by unobserved local characteristics. When examined in more detail, the extent of local spillovers appears to be negatively related to a household’s knowledge about the product, and positively related to its education level. Both are consistent with the hypothesis that learning from neighbors plays an important role of these spillovers. |
| Keywords: | Local spillovers; Social learning; Durable adoptions |
| JEL: | D12 L68 O33 |
| Date: | 2011–09–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33924&r=dev |
| By: | Kumar , Ronald R. |
| Abstract: | In this study, using bounds approach and annual data for the period 1981-2008, the short and long-run effects of remittances and trade openness on income in Vanuatu are estimated. The results show trade openness and remittances having positive and significant effects, with no significant effects from financial development (FIN), foreign direct investment (FDI), and official development aid (ODA). FDI and ODA in this sense behave somewhat differently than remittances. Therefore a greater liberalization of goods and services market in general and short-term temporary movements of people in particular to boost remittances inflows and improving the overall institutional infrastructure is put forward as priority policy measures. |
| Keywords: | Remittances; trade; economic growth; FDI; financial sector development; ODA; bounds test; Vanuatu |
| JEL: | N17 F24 |
| Date: | 2010–12–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33221&r=dev |
| By: | Haque, Nadeem; Ahmed, Vaqar; Shahid, Sana |
| Abstract: | While Pakistan has taken several steps to promote competition in its markets, further reforms are required in improving domestic commerce, agricultural markets and industries. With increasing risks and cost of doing business due to deteriorating law and order situation as well as massive energy shortages, Pakistan needs to compensate its entrepreneurs and investors by enhancing its investment and business climate. By adopting certain administrative and legal reforms, Pakistan can considerably lessen the burden on its businessmen and help lower the costs of exogenous factors. The main reforms needed to promote competitive and vibrant markets need to be initiated at the domestic commerce level. For promoting domestic commerce, city zoning laws and building regulations should be reformed to allow land to respond to market demand. The legal framework must also be strengthened to support the complex needs of diverse markets. Moreover, there is a need to push for openness and competition to bring international quality goods to the market and promote innovation. For agricultural markets, the Agricultural Produce Markets Act 1939 must be reformed to introduce competition such that private sector involvement is encouraged. Government involvement in storage and transport facilities, especially for agricultural produce, needs to be reconsidered so space can open up for private sector involvement. For reforms in the industries, consistency in policy is required along with reduction in government involvement in certain areas. It is only through minimising the heavy government footprint from markets that the private sector can be allowed to function competitively and efficiently, emphasising the role of markets as a major driving force behind economic growth. |
| Keywords: | Competition; Market Regulation; Economic Growth |
| JEL: | G28 D4 F43 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33990&r=dev |