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on Development |
| By: | Tabuga, Aubrey D.; Reyes, Celia M. |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the relationship among poverty, economic growth, and inequality by decomposing poverty changes at subnational levels. The results were examined against the performances of the different economic sectors in the regions to understand the relationships while accounting for the nature of growth. Moreover, the poverty elasticity of output growth was estimated using regional-level data in 2003, 2006, and 2009. We learned that while the rate of growth matters a lot in poverty reduction, the redistribution of income matters as well. More importantly, we find that, at a given rate of growth, the response of poverty rate to growth is higher when income distribution is less unequal. |
| Keywords: | poverty, decomposition, inequality, Philippines, GLS regression, random effects, Gini decomposition |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2011-30&r=dev |
| By: | Tabuga, Aubrey D.; Mina, Christian D. |
| Abstract: | Addressing gender gaps is a major development objective anywhere in the world. This paper aims to illustrate that this is far more critical in the presence of another social layer – disability. Among persons with disability (PWDs), the gap between men and women are more distinct, their conditions more dismal with poverty as their needs are different. Apart from poverty, discrimination and prejudice are the major challenges that persons with disabilities face in their everyday life. Because they face various social, physical, and economic barriers, policies should gear toward formulating rights-based and comprehensive actions to improve their well-being. In formulation of effective policy actions, data and information are critical. However, data collection on disability in many countries is at an early stage of development because it is given low priority or often excluded from official statistics. The ESCAP noted that the lack of availability and the quality of demographic and socioeconomic indicators concerning disability continue to be major challenges. This paper aims to fill in this information gap. It discusses the conditions of men and women with disability using a set of pioneering surveys conducted in the Philippines. The goal is to illustrate the gender disparities and to draw useful insights on how stakeholders can address this issue. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, persons with disability, gender studies |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2011-32&r=dev |
| By: | Paitoonpong, Srawooth |
| Abstract: | <p>The study on "Managing International Labor Migration in ASEAN: Thailand" aimed to study policies and institution arrangement for managing international migration as part of regional cooperation initiatives and bilateral agreements. The study emphasized on finding out why the current management of sending workers and protecting workers has not been effective. The data used for the analysis came from two main majority sources; 1) the quantitative data, including primary data on possible solutions, strategies, the secondary sources from Socio-Economic Survey (SES) and information where necessary to explain the socioeconomic impact of migrant worker families; and 2) the qualitative study collected from interview of key informants, focus group discussion with families of migrant workers, governments, brokers, and etc. As data allow, cost benefit analysis for out-migration as well as in-migration from government intervention programs was applied.</p><p>The theory of push and pull factors were used for describing reasons that forced migrant workers to work overseas. As of the study, there was the evidence that pointed out that poverty and indebtedness were push factor for both emigration and immigration while higher income in the destination countries was the pull factor. The study further found that both of emigration and immigration were beneficial in various aspects including increase in the gross domestic product (GDP) in both country of origin and the destination country. Remittance was an important source of the country development budget, increase in the level of national saving, and improve income distribution.</p><p>However, it was due to the fact that most migrant workers were from low educational background, thus most of them become victims of exploitation and human trafficking from the agencies and employers in particular undocumented workers. Even though, Thai government has many laws and regulations regarding prevention and protection of migrant workers such as Labour Law and Labour Protection Act; and the Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) in regional and bilateral level, these have not been effective due to the weakness in law enforcement of the authorities.</p> |
| Keywords: | immigration, international migration, emigration, undocumented workers, migrant worker |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2011-28&r=dev |
| By: | Hing, Vutha; Lun, Pide; Phann, Dalis |
| Abstract: | <p>The study examines the characteristics, root causes, and challenges of irregular migration from Cambodia and then discusses the regulatory approaches and policy options to manage it. It employed mixed approaches, including a survey of 507 households in six high-migration villages, focus group discussions with returned and intending migrant workers, and in-depth interviews with government officers, migration experts, and local community chiefs. The study found that irregular migration has been the most popular form among Cambodian workers seeking jobs overseas. The causes of irregular migration are many, ranging from chronic poverty, lack of employment, and economic hardship in community of origin to restrictive immigration policies in labor-receiving countries and lengthy, complex, and expensive legal recruitment. The predominant factor is inability to afford the cost of legal recruitment. Cambodian migrant workers face abusive and exploitative situations, including sexual and physical harassment, debt bondage, and threats of denunciation to the authorities, without access to legal protection. Some are also victims of human trafficking.</p><p>The findings from the Cambodian case study on irregular migration align with international literature suggesting a combination of at least three sets of measures: addressing the causes, strengthening protection, and enhancing international cooperation. The first two sets have a lot to do with national sovereignty and development priorities involving community development, improving the regulatory framework to make legal migration more transparent and more widely accessible, and enhancing support services of information, consultation, and legal protection. The third set of measures involves bilateral, regional, and international cooperation. Cooperation between Cambodia and labor-receiving countries on regularization or making legal migration more accessible can be part of an effective response to irregular migration. In the long run, irregular migration can be solved through a more integrated labor market in the GMS, supported by subregional regulations and institutions as well as through an ASEAN Economic Community that sets a legal framework for a free flow of labor.</p> |
| Keywords: | irregular migration, abuse and exploitation, sending and receiving countries, recruitment agency, malpractice, human trafficking, international cooperation |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2011-26&r=dev |
| By: | Balboa, Jenny D.; Mantaring, Melalyn C. |
| Abstract: | The Global Financial Crisis of 2007 was one of the worst crises that hit the world economy since the Depression era. For the next two years, the crisis created waves of economic contraction that affected developed and developing economies. The Philippines was not spared from this crisis. As an export-oriented economy, the global financial crisis created serious strains in the domestic economy when its top export destination for both goods and services suffered a downturn. Inflow of foreign direct investment also slowed down, further creating a slack in economic growth, and consequently leading to less employment opportunities in the country. Several studies analyzed how the global economic crisis was transmitted to the domestic economy. This paper culled the results of these studies with the end goal of understanding the impact of the global financial crisis on the Philippines` human resources. It also tackled the government`s response to mitigate the impact of the crisis in the labor market and the lessons learned from these interventions. This paper is part of the APEC project on Human Resource Impacts of the Global Economic Crisis, which aims to assess the human resource impacts of the global economic crisis. |
| Keywords: | human resources, Philippines, Philippine economy, global financial crisis |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2011-22&r=dev |
| By: | Chalamwong, Yongyuth |
| Abstract: | <p>The study on "Managing International Labor Migration in ASEAN: Thailand" aimed to study policies and institution arrangement for managing international migration as part of regional cooperation initiatives and bilateral agreements. The study emphasized on finding out why the current management of sending workers and protecting workers has not been effective. The data used for the analysis came from two main majority sources; 1) the quantitative data, including primary data on possible solutions, strategies, the secondary sources from Socio-Economic Survey (SES) and information where necessary to explain the socioeconomic impact of migrant worker families; and 2) the qualitative study collected from interview of key informants, focus group discussion with families of migrant workers, governments, brokers, and etc. As data allow, cost benefit analysis for out-migration as well as in-migration from government intervention programs was applied.</p><p>The theory of push and pull factors were used for describing reasons that forced migrant workers to work overseas. As of the study, there was the evidence that pointed out that poverty and indebtedness were push factor for both emigration and immigration while higher income in the destination countries was the pull factor. The study further found that both of emigration and immigration were beneficial in various aspects including increase in the gross domestic product (GDP) in both country of origin and the destination country. Remittance was an important source of the country development budget, increase in the level of national saving, and improve income distribution.</p><p>However, it was due to the fact that most migrant workers were from low educational background, thus most of them become victims of exploitation and human trafficking from the agencies and employers in particular undocumented workers. Even though, Thai government has many laws and regulations regarding prevention and protection of migrant workers such as Labour Law and Labour Protection Act; and the Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) in regional and bilateral level, these have not been effective due to the weakness in law enforcement of the authorities.</p> |
| Keywords: | immigration, international migration, emigration, undocumented workers, migrant worker |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2011-27&r=dev |
| By: | Orbeta, Aniceto Jr. C.; Abrigo, Michael Ralph M. |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the Philippine international labor migration management infrastructure using Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) framework. Thirty years of government experience in managing high-volume labor migration has resulted to a network of institutions and policies dedicated to promote the welfare of migrant workers. This paper seeks to describe the migration management infrastructure based on the laws and regulations promulgated governing international labor migration, and on the mandates of public institutions created and the procedures it introduced. Consistent with the RIA framework it also describes the impact on the overall international migration sector as well as on a specific component – the household service workers. Although the Philippines is considered by many as the global model in managing international labor migration, indicative weaknesses in the system is recognized. The paper highlights the need for greater coordination among public institutions as well as the strengthening of its manpower composition. It also highlights the fact that the policy initiatives can miss their mark such as the initiative to professionalize the household service workers sector which are either largely ignored or not known to migrant workers concerned. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, international migration, Regulatory Impact Analysis |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2011-33&r=dev |
| By: | Albert, Jose Ramon G.; Ramos, Andre Philippe; Quimba, Francis Mark A.; Almeda, Jocelyn P. |
| Abstract: | The Philippines committed to Millennium Development Goals and Education for All (EFA) targets that include universal primary education. However, various data sources, including the Department of Education`s Basic Education Information System and household surveys conducted by the National Statistics Office, suggest that in 2008, a considerable magnitude of children were not in school. A description of these children is provided here as well as that of children who are at risk of dropping out of primary and secondary levels of education. Reasons for children not being in school are discussed, together with the results of an econometric model that identifies correlates of nonattendance in school. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, school attendance, school participation, out-of-school children, net enrollment rate (NER) |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2012-01&r=dev |
| By: | Tabuga, Aubrey D.; Mina, Christian D.; Reyes, Celia M.; Asis, Ronina D.; Datu, Maria Blesila G. |
| Abstract: | Poverty incidence among population rose from 24.9 percent in 2003 to 26.4 percent in 2006 and then inched up further to 26.5 percent in 2009. Although this aggregate poverty rate shows only a few percentage points change from 2003 to 2009, this does not mean there are no movements in and out of poverty. Based on a matched panel data obtained from three survey years of the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, this paper aims to look into the dynamics of poverty. The main objective is to draw a line between the chronic and transient poor, and to determine the factors that have made people exit poverty and those that dragged many nonpoor households into poverty. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, panel data, poverty analysis, chronic and transient poverty, dynamics of poverty |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2011-31&r=dev |
| By: | Abrigo, Michael Ralph M.; Ramaswami, Bharat; Desierto, Desiree A. |
| Abstract: | Outward migration data from the Philippines exhibit spatial clustering. This is likely due to information spillover effects--fellow migrants share information with other neighboring migrants, thereby lowering the costs of migration. To verify this, we use spatial econometrics to define a geography-based network of migrants and estimate its effect on the growth in the number of succeeding migrants. We find that current and past migration from one municipality induces contemporaneous and future migration in neighboring municipalities. |
| Keywords: | migration, Philippines, fiduciary system, global imbalances, network effects, spatial econometrics |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2011-18&r=dev |
| By: | Erzo G. J. Luttmer (Department of Economics, University of Minnesota and Federal Reserve Bank of Minnesota) |
| Abstract: | Consider an economy in which a fi xed supply of unskilled labor can be combined with knowledge capital to produce consumption. The technology for accumulating knowledge capital is linear in knowledge capital. This leads to long-term growth if the production function for consumption goods is approximately Cobb-Douglas for large values of the stock of knowledge capital. The quality-ladder economy of Boldrin and Levine [2010] generates a menu of Leontief technologies with this feature. If the initial capital stock is low, there can be a long period of stagnation before unskilled wages start to grow, as in Lewis [1954]. A small open economy with a sufficiently low initial capital stock will run a trade surplus during its initial stages of development. |
| Keywords: | economic growth, aggregate productivity |
| JEL: | O4 |
| Date: | 2012–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:min:wpaper:2012-1&r=dev |
| By: | Abdulloev, Ilhom (Rutgers University); Gang, Ira N. (Rutgers University); Landon-Lane, John (Rutgers University) |
| Abstract: | How is migration related to informal activities? They may be complementary since new migrants may have difficulty finding employment in formal work, so many of them end up informally employed. Alternatively, migration and informality may be substitutes since migrants' incomes in their new locations and income earned in the home informal economy (without migration) are an imperfect trade-off. Tajikistan possesses both a very large informal sector and extensive international emigration. Using the gap between household expenditure and income as an indicator of informal activity, we find negative significant correlations between informal activities and migration: the gap between expenditure and income falls in the presence of migration. Furthermore, Tajikistan's professional workers ability to engage in informal activities enables them to forgo migration, while low-skilled non-professionals without post-secondary education choose to migrate instead of working in the informal sector. Our empirical evidence suggests migration and informality substitute for one another. |
| Keywords: | informal, migration, remittances, Tajikistan |
| JEL: | O17 J61 P23 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6236&r=dev |
| By: | Kato, Takao (Colgate University); Shu, Pian (MIT) |
| Abstract: | Using data on team assignment and weekly output for all weavers in an urban Chinese textile firm between April 2003 and March 2004, this paper studies a) how randomly assigned teammates affect an individual worker's behavior under a tournament-style incentive scheme, and b) how such effects interact with exogenously formed social networks in the manufacturing workplace. First, we find that a worker's performance improves when the average ability of her teammates increases. Second, we exploit the exogenous variations in workers' origins in the presence of the well-documented social divide between urban resident workers and rural migrant workers in large urban Chinese firms, and show that the coworker effects are only present if the teammates are of a different origin. In other words, workers do not act on pecuniary incentives to outperform teammates who are from the same social network. Our results point to the important role of group identities in overcoming self-interests and facilitating altruistic behavior. |
| Keywords: | coworker effects in the workplace, social networks, intergroup competition |
| JEL: | M5 J24 L2 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6219&r=dev |
| By: | Fuchs, Alan (University of California, Berkeley); Wolff, Hendrik (University of Washington) |
| Abstract: | Recently, Weather Index Insurance (WII) has received considerable attention as a tool to insure farmers against weather related risks, particularly in developing countries. Donor organizations, local governments, insurance companies, development economists as well as agricultural economists are discussing the costs and benefits of WII. While the literature on WII has mainly focused on many cases in Africa and Asia, in this article we analyze the WII program in Mexico, which is one of the largest WII programs worldwide. In this context we discuss potentially important spill-over effects on related markets which so far have not been considered in the academic literature. First, we argue that WII creates disincentives to invest in other non-insured crops leading to potential overspecialization and monoculture. Secondly, WII generates disincentives to invest in irrigation systems because farmers are insured only as long as production takes place on non-irrigated land. Third, in case of catastrophic events food prices can potentially inflate with indemnity payments at the expense of the uninsured poor. We also suggest that in Mexico the thresholds of the weather index be (continuously) re-calibrated in order to adjust for the development of drought resistant seeds. Finally, the index could relatively easily be extended to account for precipitation variances. We argue that these factors and spillover effects should be accounted for in cost benefit analysis of WII. |
| Keywords: | Weather Index Insurance, policy evaluation, Mexico |
| JEL: | Q11 Q14 O13 G22 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6234&r=dev |
| By: | Doepke, Matthias (Northwestern University); Tertilt, Michèle (University of Mannheim); Voena, Alessandra (Harvard Kennedy School) |
| Abstract: | Women's rights and economic development are highly correlated. Today, the discrepancy between the legal rights of women and men is much larger in developing compared to developed countries. Historically, even in countries that are now rich women had few rights before economic development took off. Is development the cause of expanding women's rights, or conversely, do women's rights facilitate development? We argue that there is truth to both hypotheses. The literature on the economic consequences of women's rights documents that more rights for women lead to more spending on health and children, which should benefit development. The political-economy literature on the evolution of women's rights finds that technological change increased the costs of patriarchy for men, and thus contributed to expanding women's rights. Combining these perspectives, we discuss the theory of Doepke and Tertilt (2009), where an increase in the return to human capital induces men to vote for women's rights, which in turn promotes growth in human capital and income per capita. |
| Keywords: | women's rights, political economy, development |
| JEL: | J10 N30 O10 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6215&r=dev |
| By: | Gasparini, Leonardo (CEDLAS-UNLP); Galiani, Sebastián (Washington University, St. Louis); Cruces, Guillermo (CEDLAS-UNLP); Acosta, Pablo A. (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | It has been argued that a factor behind the decline in income inequality in Latin America in the 2000s was the educational upgrading of its labor force. Between 1990 and 2010, the proportion of the labor force in the region with at least secondary education increased from 40 to 60 percent. Concurrently, returns to secondary education completion fell throughout the past two decades, while the 2000s saw a reversal in the increase in the returns to tertiary education experienced in the 1990s. This paper studies the evolution of wage differentials and the trends in the supply of workers by educational level for 16 Latin American countries between 1990 and 2000. The analysis estimates the relative contribution of supply and demand factors behind recent trends in skill premia for tertiary and secondary educated workers. Supply-side factors seem to have limited explanatory power relative to demand-side factors, and are only relevant to explain part of the fall in wage premia for high-school graduates. Although there is significant heterogeneity in individual country experiences, on average the trend reversal in labor demand in the 2000s can be partially attributed to the recent boom in commodity prices that could favor the unskilled (non-tertiary educated) workforce, although employment patterns by sector suggest that other within-sector forces are also at play, such as technological diffusion or skill mismatches that may reduce the labor productivity of highly-educated workers. |
| Keywords: | skill premia, supply and demand of labor, income inequality, Latin America |
| JEL: | J2 D3 I2 O5 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6244&r=dev |
| By: | Burger, Ronelle (Stellenbosch University); Dasgupta, Indraneel (Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta); Owens, Trudy (University of Nottingham) |
| Abstract: | We develop a model of regulation of service-delivery NGOs, where future grants are conditional on prior spending of some minimal proportion of current revenue on direct project-related expenses. Such regulation induces some NGOs to increase current project spending, but imposes wasteful costs of compliance verification on all NGOs. Under a large class of parametric configurations, we find that regulation increases total discounted project expenditure over a regime of no regulation, when verification costs constitute no more than 15% of initial revenue. We characterize the optimal regulatory policy under these configurations. We apply our analysis to a large sample of NGOs from Uganda, and find regulation to be beneficial in that context. |
| Keywords: | regulation of non-governmental organizations, developing countries, Uganda |
| JEL: | G18 L31 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6221&r=dev |
| By: | Ba, Lika (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris); Gasmi, Farid (Toulouse School of Economics (Arqade & Idei)) |
| Abstract: | The main goal of this study is to demonstrate the existence of a significant empirical link between infrastructure and financial sectors reforms the effects of which are reflected in infrastructure sectors performance. This paper reports on the findings of an exploration of this issue for the case of the power sector in developing countries. We estimate the impact of the four main components of the power sector reform in these countries, namely, the creation of an independent regulatory agency, the unbundling of generation, transmission, and distribution, the introduction of competition and the implementation of privatization programs in the generation and distribution segments, on some of this sector’s performance outcomes, and attempt to assess the contribution of the domestic financial systems’ reforms to these outcomes. In a dataset on 42 developing countries covering the 1990-2005 period, we find that private participation in generation and distribution has significantly improved power supply as reflected in higher electricity generation per capita and technical and labor efficiency in the distribution segment. The unbundling of generation, transmission, and distribution has contributed to improving productive efficiency through a better use of the labor factor in the distribution segment. We find that the creation of a separate regulatory agency has boosted the generation segment in terms of both capacity and sales and has generated better incentives for a more efficient use of labor input in the distribution segment. We also find that regulatory experience has significantly contributed to improving access to electricity. The results suggest that while the power sector, in particular, its generation segment, has significantly benefited from the introduction of independent regulation, the beneficial effects of (good) regulatory practices have been exacerbated by the modernization of the financial systems. More specifically, improved financial systems have eased access to capital for operators allowing them to upgrade their networks and decrease power losses in distribution. The overall results obtained in this paper strongly recommend that along with reforming the power sector, policy makers in developing countries should implement the financial reforms that would deepen their domestic financial systems thus allowing them to recover the full benefits of these systems’ positive externalities on the performance of the sector. |
| Keywords: | Developing countries, electricity industry performance, privatization, regulation, unbundling, competition, financial sector development |
| JEL: | L2 L33 L94 L98 O16 C23 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:25318&r=dev |
| By: | Giacomo De Luca (University of Leuven); Marijke Verpoorten (University of Leuven) |
| Abstract: | We show that armed conflict affects social capital as measured by trust and associational membership. Using the case of Uganda and two rounds of nationally representative individual-level data bracketing a large number of battle events, we find that self-reported generalized trust and associational membership decreased during the conflict in districts in which battle events took place. Exploiting the different timing of two distinct waves of violence, we provide suggestive evidence for a rapid recovery of social capital. Evidence from a variety of identification strategies, including difference-indifference and instrumental variable estimates, suggests that these relationships are causal. |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:111&r=dev |
| By: | Ben A. Oppenheim (University of California, Berkely); Juan F. Vargas (Universidad del Rosario); Michael Weintraub (Georgetown University) |
| Abstract: | What is the relationship between the type of training combatants receive upon recruitment into an armed group and their propensity to abuse civilians in civil war? Does military training or political training prevent or exacerbate the victimization of civilians by armed non-state actors? While the literature on civilian victimization has expanded rapidly, few studies have examined the correlation between abuse of civilians and the modes of training that illegal armed actors receive. Using a simple formal model, we develop hypotheses regarding this connection and argue that while military training should not decrease the probability that a combatant engages in civilian abuse, political training should. We test these hypotheses using a new survey consisting of a representative sample of approximately 1,500 demobilized combatants from the Colombian conflict, which we match with department-level data on civilian casualties. The empirical analysis confirms our hypotheses about the connection between training and civilian abuse and the results are robust to adding a full set of controls both at the department and at the individual level. |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:110&r=dev |
| By: | Brusentsev, Vera; Newhouse, David; Vroman, Wayne |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes new evidence from two large household surveys on the compliance of firms with severance pay regulations in Indonesia, and the extent to which changes in severance pay regulations could affect employment rigidity. Compliance appears to be low, as only one-third of workers entitled to severance pay report receiving it, and on average workers only collect 40 percent of the payment due to them. Eligible female and low-wage workers are least likely to report receiving payments. Widespread non-compliance is consistent with trends in employment rigidity, which remained essentially unchanged following the large increases in severance mandated by the 2003 law. These results suggest that workers may benefit from a compromise that relaxes severance pay regulations while improving enforcement of severance pay statutes, and possibly establishing a system of unemployment benefits. |
| Keywords: | Labor Markets,Wages, Compensation&Benefits,Social Protections&Assistance,Labor Policies,Labor Management and Relations |
| Date: | 2012–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5933&r=dev |
| By: | Bayraktar, Nihal; Fofack, Hippolyte |
| Abstract: | Access to debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative enhanced the growth performance across Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the subset of debt-ridden low-income countries. Over the past few years, these Completion Point countries have enjoyed significantly higher investments and growth rates, primarily fueled by the expanding fiscal space of the post-Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative era. They are also weathering the adverse effects of the global crisis much better than their non-Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative counterparts. Despite these growth rebounds, the region is not likely to meet the Millennium Development Goals, however. Long-term growth projections from a simple macroeconomic model, which is applied to Ethiopia, suggest that prospects for reversing the widening income gaps with other regions of the developing world are limited. Under the baseline scenario, assuming current growth trends, the estimates show that it could take more than five decades for per capita real income to double in Ethiopia. However, even these gloomy prospects are likely to be undermined by the looming risk of another sovereign debt crisis. In effect, the experiments show that lowering interest rates on external debt would not bridge the widening income gap with other regions of the world, unless it is accompanied by a rapid expansion of capital accumulation financed by sustained inflows of foreign aid. |
| Keywords: | Debt Markets,Economic Theory&Research,Emerging Markets,Access to Finance,Currencies and Exchange Rates |
| Date: | 2011–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5924&r=dev |
| By: | Asadul Islam; Paul A. Raschky; Russell Smyth |
| Abstract: | There is much interest in the causes of several adverse health outcomes in middle and old age. In searching for new explanations for adverse health outcomes later in life, researchers have started to look beyond behavioural risk factors to examine the effect of shocks to health in utero and in childhood on health in old age. In this paper we extend this literature to examine the long-term health effects of mass political violence experienced in utero and in childhood using China’s Cultural Revolution as a natural experiment. We find that individuals who were in utero in the Cultural Revolution have reduced lung capacity later in life, but we find no evidence that being in utero has adverse effects on other health indicators later in life. We find more evidence that being an adolescent in the Cultural Revolution has an adverse effect on health later in life. Specifically, we find that individuals who were adolescents in the Cultural Revolution have higher blood pressure and reduced ability to engage in activities of daily living later in life. We also find that males who were adolescents in the Cultural Revolution have reduced cognitive skills later in life, while females who were adolescents in the Cultural Revolution have reduced lung capacity in middle and old age. specific recommendations for the Canadian context. |
| Keywords: | Health, Idiosyncratic Shocks, Cultural Revolution, Long-term effects |
| JEL: | I15 J14 O12 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2011-32&r=dev |
| By: | Amita Majumder; Ranjan Ray; Kompal Sinha |
| Abstract: | This study departs from the previous literature on purchasing power parity (PPP) by proposing a demand system based methodology for calculating the PPP that takes account of consumer preferences and allows for the substitution effect of price changes. The methodology is applied to provide evidence on PPP between the Indian Rupee and the Vietnamese Dong. The study is conducted within a framework that allows for regional variation in preferences and price changes both inside the country and between countries and proposes and applies a methodology for constructing prices from unit values after adjusting them for quality and demographic effects. Using these prices the intra-country PPPs for India and Vietnam are calculated using the single equation (Engel curve based) procedure of Coondoo, Majumder and Chattopadhyay (2011). The cross country PPPs are calculated between sectors and across expenditure classes, apart from PPP at aggregate country to country level, using both the single equation and system based procedures. The paper contains evidence that the incorporation of price effects leads to a significant change in the PPP rates obtained from using cross section data (single equation procedure) ignoring price changes. The demand system based methodology yields PPP rates that are consistent with those obtained from conventional procedures such as the CPD method, yields standard errors of the PPPs and has the additional advantage of testing for invariance of inter-country PPP across expenditure classes. The disaggregated PPP rates question the conventional practice of using a single economy wide PPP in inequality and poverty comparisons. |
| Keywords: | Purchasing Power Parity, QAIDS, CPD method, Spatial Prices, TCLI. |
| JEL: | C18 D11 E31 O53 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2011-34&r=dev |
| By: | Echevin, Damien |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a methodology to measure vulnerability to asset-poverty. Using repeated cross-section data, age cohort decomposition techniques focusing on second-order moments can be used to identify and estimate the variance of shocks on assets and, therefore, the probability of being poor in the future. Estimates from the Ghana Living Standard Surveys show that expected asset-poverty is a reliable proxy for expected consumption-poverty. Applying the methodology to nine Demographic Health Surveys countries, urban areas are found to unambiguously dominate rural areas over the unidimensional distribution of expected future asset-wealth, as they also generally do over the bi-dimensional distribution of present asset-wealth and expected future asset-wealth. |
| Keywords: | vulnerability; poverty; wealth; pseudo panel; stochastic dominance; Africa |
| JEL: | D31 D12 O15 O12 I32 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35660&r=dev |
| By: | Echevin, Damien; Lamanna, Francesca; Oviedo, Ana-Maria |
| Abstract: | In this paper, a unique post-earthquake survey designed to provide a rapid assessment of food insecurity in Haiti is used in order to address the question of whether cash and food-for-work (C/FfW) programs are allocated adequately in Haiti. We consider that the allocation principle should meet two main criteria. First, C/FfW programs should be targeted towards people who are in the most necessitous circumstances (i.e., poor and food insecure people). Second, these programs should be targeted at the most vulnerable people on the labor market. Modelling the impact of various covariates on C/FfW programs participation, we find that these programs are not specifically targeted at people who are most in need, be it because of their low level of subsistence or because of earthquakerelated losses. Pre-earthquake participation to programs appears to be an important determinant of post-earthquake participation. What is more, cash-forwork is very rarely declared as the main source of household income. So, a more efficient targeting of these programs should focus on reaching the poorest and most vulnerable households in the directly affected areas. Crowding out effect of temporary jobs should also be assessed on the labor market. |
| Keywords: | Cash and Food for Work; Targeting; Livelihood; Earthquake; Natural Disaster; Haiti |
| JEL: | I38 H53 Q18 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35661&r=dev |
| By: | Echevin, Damien |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at characterizing poverty and vulnerability in Haiti based on a unique survey conducted in 2007 in rural areas. Using two-level modelling of consumption/income, we assess the impact of both observable and unobservable idiosyncratic and covariate shocks on households’ economic well-being. Empirical findings show that idiosyncratic shocks, in particular health-related shocks, have larger impact on vulnerability to poverty than covariate shocks. These results are in line with the fact that many households reported idiosyncratic health shocks as being the worst shocks they experienced. Also, unobservable idiosyncratic shocks appear to have generally more influence on households’ vulnerability than unobservable covariate shocks. Geographic disparities exist and should be considered for policy and program implementation purposes. |
| Keywords: | Vulnerability; Poverty; Observable and unobservable shocks; Multilevel modelling; Haiti |
| JEL: | D31 O15 O12 I32 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35659&r=dev |
| By: | Michalopoulos, Stelios; Papaioannou, Elias |
| Abstract: | We examine the long-run consequences of the scramble for Africa among European powers in the late 19th century and uncover the following empirical regularities. First, using information on the spatial distribution of African ethnicities before colonization, we show that borders were arbitrarily drawn. Apart from the land mass and water area of an ethnicity's historical homeland, no other geographic, ecological, historical, and ethnic-specific traits predict which ethnic groups have been partitioned by the national border. Second, using data on the location of civil conflicts after independence, we show that partitioned ethnic groups have suffered significantly more warfare; moreover, partitioned ethnicities have experienced more prolonged and more devastating civil wars. Third, we identify sizeable spillovers; civil conflict spreads from the homeland of partitioned ethnicities to nearby ethnic regions. These results are robust to a rich set of controls at a fine level and the inclusion of country fixed effects and ethnic-family fixed effects. The uncovered evidence thus identifies a sizable causal impact of the scramble for Africa on warfare. |
| Keywords: | Africa; borders; conflict; development; ethnicities |
| JEL: | N17 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8676&r=dev |
| By: | J. Vernon Henderson; Yong Suk Lee |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes how different organizational structures between funding and implementing agencies affect the quality of aid delivered and social agendas pursued across neighboring villages in a set disaster context. We model the implied objective functions and trade-offs concerning aid quality, aid quantity, and social agendas of different types of agencies. We analyze three waves of survey data on fishermen and fishing villages in Aceh, Indonesia from 2005-2009, following the tsunami. Different organizational structures result in significantly different qualities of hard aid, differential willingness to share aid delivery with other NGOs in a village, and differential promotion of public good objectives and maintenance of village religious and occupational traditions. This is the first time these aspects have been modeled and quantified in the literature. Some well known international NGOs delivered housing with relatively low rates of reported faults such as leaky roofs and cracked walls; others had relatively high rates. For boats, some had very high rates of boat “failure”, boats that sank upon launch, were not seaworthy, or fell apart within a month or two. We also document how a social agenda of particular agencies to promote greater equality can be thwarted and distorted by village leaders, potentially increasing inequality. |
| JEL: | F35 H4 H5 L2 L3 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17707&r=dev |
| By: | Margaret S. McMillan; William A. Masters; Harounan Kazianga |
| Abstract: | This paper uses historical census data from Burkina Faso to characterize local demographic pressures associated with internal migration into river valleys after Onchocerciasis eradication, combined with a new survey of village elders to document change over time and differences across villages in local public goods provision, market institutions and land use rights. We hypothesize that higher local population densities are associated with more public goods and a transition from open-access to regulated land use. Controlling for province or village fixed effects, we find that villages’ variance in population associated with proximity to rivers is closely correlated with higher levels of infrastructure, markets and individual land rights, as opposed to familial or communal rights. Responding to population growth with both improved public services and private property rights is consistent with both scale effects in public good provision, and changes in the scarcity of land. |
| JEL: | F20 H41 I18 J11 O12 O20 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17718&r=dev |
| By: | Esther Duflo |
| Abstract: | Women empowerment and economic development are closely related: in one direction, development alone can play a major role in driving down inequality between men and women; in the other direction, empowering women may benefit development. Does this imply that pushing just one of these two levers would set a virtuous circle in motion? This paper reviews the literature on both sides of the empowerment-development nexus, and argues that the inter-relationships are probably too weak to be self-sustaining, and that continuous policy commitment to equality for its own sake may be needed to bring about equality between men and women. |
| JEL: | D1 O1 O12 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17702&r=dev |
| By: | Johanna D'Hernoncourt |
| Abstract: | This paper reports a negative relationship between the size of the shadow economy and generalized trust, in a sample of countries, both developed and developing. That relationship is robust to controlling for a large set of economic, policy, and institutional variables, to changing the estimate of the shadow economy and the estimation period, and to controlling for endogeneity. It is independent from trust in institutions and from income inequality, and is mainly present in the sample of developing countries. Those findings suggest that the tax compliance effect of trust dominates its role as a substitute for the formal legal system. |
| Keywords: | Shadow economy, informal sector, trust; Shadow economy, Informal sector, Trust |
| JEL: | O11 O17 O57 H26 Z13 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulb:ulbeco:2013/98287&r=dev |