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on Development |
| By: | Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina (San Diego State University, California); Pozo, Susan (Western Michigan University) |
| Abstract: | A sizable literature has concluded that remittances impact the expenditure patterns of households. We explore how the uncertainty of remittance income inflows affects the accumulation of human, physical and financial assets of Mexican households, while accounting for the level of transfers from family abroad. We find that both the level and the uncertainty of remittance inflows raise asset accumulation among remittance-receiving households. Specifically, as predicted by the permanent income hypothesis and theories of precautionary saving, a one standard deviation increase in the uncertainty of remittance income raises the likelihood of household spending on asset accumulation by about 2 percentage points while raising the share of household expenditures on asset accumulation by 4 to 9 percent. These results suggest that both the level and the predictability of remittance income should be given full consideration in the analysis of household expenditure patterns and in the design of policies to leverage the most out of remittance inflows into developing economies. |
| Keywords: | international remittances, uncertainty, household expenditures, asset accumulation, Mexico |
| JEL: | F22 J20 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7983&r=dev |
| By: | Susanne Väth (University of Marburg); Michael Kirk (University of Marburg) |
| Abstract: | With the rising demand for agricultural land, land deals must be designed to benefit not only the investors but also the local population. This paper looks at two ways this might be done for farmers in the vicinity of a large-scale oil palm investment in Ghana: contract farming and secure property rights to land. We compare farmers to whom outgrower contracts were allocated, in a quasi-natural experiment, with independent oil palm growers. We find that property rights have a significantly positive effect on households’ agricultural income, profit per acre, and perceived future security, but that while contract farming has a significantly positive effect on households’ aggregated assets and perceived future security, its effect on agricultural income and profit per acre is significantly negative because of effort substitution, since outgrowers have a higher probability of engaging in non-farm business. The identified effects are highly significant and supported by robustness checks. We conclude that large-scale investment need not be to the disadvantage of the local population if it respects existing bundles of property rights and may be beneficial for those who participate in contract farming. |
| Keywords: | Contract farming; Property rights; Large-scale land investment; Quasi-natural experiment; Oil palm; Ghana |
| JEL: | D60 O17 Q13 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201416&r=dev |
| By: | Bet Caeyers |
| Abstract: | A pre-condition for grassroots participation, key for community-based development success, is widespread programme knowledge among the eligible population. The current literature on local participatory institutions mainly focuses on village meetings and media campaigns as a means to strengthen community awareness. The role played by social interactions in this process has received little attention to date. In this paper I use Manski’s (1993) standard linear-in-means model to estimate endogenous peer effects on the awareness of vulnerable groups on Tanzania Social Action Fund II (TASAF II), i.e. Tanzania’s flagship community-driven development programme. I employ a popular 2SLS estimation strategy developed by Bramouille et al. (2009) and De Giorgi et al. (2010) on a unique spatial household dataset from Tanzania to eliminate both the ‘reflection bias’ (Manski, 1993) and the ‘exclusion bias’ (Caeyers, 2014). Denoting the geographically nearest neighbours set as the relevant peer group in this context, I identify significant average and heterogeneous endogenous social interaction effects in the diffusion of information about TASAF II. The findings of this paper inform the design of effective sensitisation campaigns. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csa:wpaper:2014-11&r=dev |
| By: | Attanasio, Orazio; Augsburg, Britta; de Haas, Ralph; Fitzsimons, Emla; Harmgart, Heike |
| Abstract: | Although microfinance institutions across the world are moving from group lending towards individual lending, this strategic shift is not substantiated by sufficient empirical evidence on the impact of both types of lending on borrowers. We present such evidence from a randomised field experiment in rural Mongolia. We find a positive impact of access to group loans on food consumption and entrepreneurship. Among households that were offered group loans the likelihood of owning an enterprise increases by 10 per cent more than in control villages. Enterprise profits increase over time as well, particularly for the less-educated. For individual lending on the other hand, we detect no significant increase in consumption or enterprise ownership. These results are in line with theories that stress the disciplining effect of group lending: joint liability may deter borrowers from using loans for non-investment purposes. Our results on informal transfers are consistent with this hypothesis. Borrowers in group-lending villages are less likely to make informal transfers to families and friends while borrowers in individual-lending villages are more likely to do so. We find no significant difference in repayment rates between the two lending programmes, neither of which en-tailed weekly repayment meetings. -- |
| Keywords: | group lending,poverty,access to finance,randomised field experiment |
| JEL: | O16 G21 D21 I32 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbeoc:spii2014303&r=dev |
| By: | Andrew L. Dabalen; Saumik Paul |
| Abstract: | In this paper we estimate the causal effects of conflict on dietary energy supply in Côte d’Ivoire. To identify the true impact of conflict, we use prewar and post-war household data bracketing the conflict period and the spatial variation in the prevalence of conflict between the North and South regions. Our second identification strategy uses the specific counts of conflict events across departments. For our third identification strategy, we employ self-reported victimization indicators at the individual level. Combining data from household surveys (Households Living Standards Surveys) and the conflict database (ACLED), we find robust and statistically significant evidence of households in the worst-hit conflict areas and individuals who are the direct victims of the conflict having lower dietary energy supply. The propensity score matching estimates do not alter the main findings. Other robustness checks including firstly, subsamples of households with children and secondly, alternative estimation of conflict intensity provide mixed but encouraging evidence that supports the impact of conflict on food security. JEL Classifications: I20, I3, D12, C40, H43, O15 |
| Keywords: | Conflict, Food security, Nutrition, Evaluation, Africa |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:not:notcre:12/09&r=dev |
| By: | Menshawy Badr; Oliver Morrissey; Simon Appleton |
| Abstract: | This study examines the determinants of educational outcome in eight selected MENA countries. The complicated structure of the TIMSS data has been considered carefully during all the stages of the analysis employing plausible values and jackknife standard error technique to accommodate the measurement error of the dependant variable and the clustering of students in classes and schools. The education production functions provide broad evidence from mean and quantile analysis of very low returns to schooling; few school variables are significant and none have effects across countries and quantiles. In general, student characteristics were far more important than school factors in explaining test scores, but there was considerable variability across countries in which specific factors were significant. Strikingly, computer usage was found to influence students’ performance negatively in six MENA countries. Only Turkey and Iran had a significant positive effect of computer usage on maths achievements. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:not:notcre:12/03&r=dev |