nep-dev New Economics Papers
on Development
Issue of 2014‒09‒05
seven papers chosen by
Jacob A. Jordaan
Universitiet Utrecht

  1. Migration, Diasporas and Culture: an Empirical Investigation By Paul Collier; Anke Hoeffler
  2. Gender and Ethnicity in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Guatemala By Carla Canelas; Silvia Salazar
  3. Asymmetry of Information within Family Networks By Joachim De Weerdt; Garance Genicot; Alice Mesnard
  4. Historical Missionary Activity, Schooling, and the Reversal of Fortunes: Evidence from Nigeria By Okoye, Dozie; Pongou, Roland
  5. International aid, corruption and fiscal policy behavior By Asongu Simplice; Jellal Mohamed
  6. Agricultural Productivity, Hired Labor, Wages and Poverty: Evidence from Bangladesh By Emran, M. Shahe; Shilpi, Forhad
  7. Short- and long-run impacts of food price changes on poverty By Ivanic, Maros; Martin, Will

  1. By: Paul Collier; Anke Hoeffler
    Abstract: Using global data we examine the dynamics of migration from developing to developed countries. Origin and destination countries are characterized by substantial differences in incomes, political rights and cultures. Incentives as well as costs shape the decision to migrate. One powerful dynamic effect is that diasporas increase migration, mainly because they lower the cost of migration. Diasporas assist the next wave of migrants by overcoming the high cost of the emigration, in particular when the origin country is far away and poor. The interaction between the diaspora and cultural distance is also significant. Diasporas in culturally distant countries appear to be particularly useful in overcoming the cost of migration. Culturally distant diasporas are less likely to assimilate and maintain closer links with their country of origin, while diasporas from culturally similar countries are more likely to assimilate and thus be less useful to potential new migrants.
    Keywords: Migration, development, culture
    JEL: O15 Z1
    Date: 2014
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csa:wpaper:2014-27&r=dev
  2. By: Carla Canelas (Paris School of Economics, Universit´e Paris 1, Centre d’Economie de la Sorbonne, France.); Silvia Salazar (Paris School of Economics, Universit´e Paris 1, Centre d’Economie de la Sorbonne, France.)
    Abstract: This article examines the structure of gender and ethnic wage gaps, and the distribution of both paid and unpaid work in LAC countries. The results indicate that women are highly discriminated in the job market and undertake most of the domestic activities of the households. The indigenous population also suffers from discrimination, but the wage gap is mainly explained by the difference in endowments, highlighting their limited access to education. The wage quantile decomposition results suggest the presence of sticky floors effects for both women and indigenous workers.
    Keywords: Discrimination; ethnicity; gender; time-use
    JEL: J22 J31 J71
    Date: 2014
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dpc:wpaper:1114&r=dev
  3. By: Joachim De Weerdt (EDI, Tanzania); Garance Genicot (Georgetown University); Alice Mesnard (City University, London and Institute for Fiscal Studies.)
    Abstract: This paper studies asymmetry of information and transfers within a unique data set of 712 extended family networks from Tanzania. Using cross-reports on asset holdings, we construct measures of misperception of income among all pairs of households belonging to the same network. We show that there is significant asymmetry of information and no evidence of major systematic over-evaluation or under-evaluation of income in our data, although there is a slight over-evaluation on the part of migrants regarding non-migrants. We develop a static model of asymmetric information that contrasts altruism, pressure and exchange as motives to transfer. The model makes predictions about the correlations between misperceptions and transfers under these competing explanations.Testing these predictions in the data gives support to the model of transfers under pressure or an exchange motive with the recipient holding all the bargaining power.
    Keywords: Asymmetric Information, Transfers, Pressure, Exchange, Altruism.
    Date: 2014–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:1433&r=dev
  4. By: Okoye, Dozie; Pongou, Roland
    Abstract: This paper shows that historical missionary activity has had a persistent effect on schooling outcomes, and contributed to a reversal of fortunes wherein historically richer ethnic groups are poorer today. Combining contemporary individual-level data with a newly constructed dataset on mission stations in Nigeria, we find that individuals whose ancestors were exposed to greater missionary activity have higher levels of schooling. This effect is robust to omitted heterogeneity, ethnicity fixed effects, and reverse causation. We find inter-generational factors and the persistence of early advantages in educational infrastructure to be key channels through which the effect has persisted. Consistent with theory, the effect of missions on current schooling is larger for population subgroups that have historically suffered disadvantages in access to education.
    Keywords: Missions, Africa, Education, Reversal of Fortunes, Nigeria
    JEL: I20 N30 N37 N47 O15 Z12
    Date: 2014–08–20
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:58052&r=dev
  5. By: Asongu Simplice (Yaoundé/Cameroun); Jellal Mohamed (Al Makrîzi Institut d\\\'Economie, Rabat, M)
    Abstract: The Okada & Samreth (2012, EL) and Asongu (2012, EB; 2013, EEL) debate on ‘the effect of foreign aid on corruption’ has had an important influence in policy and academic circles. This paper provides a unifying framework by using investment and fiscal behavior transmission channels in 53 African countries for the period 1996-2010. Findings unite the two streams of the debate and broadly suggest that while the ‘government’s final consumption expenditure’ channel is consistent with the latter author, the investment and tax effort channels are in line with the former authors. Justifications for the nexuses are provided. Policy implications on how to use foreign aid constraints in managing fiscal behavior as means of reducing (increasing) corruption (corruption-control) are discussed.
    Keywords: Foreign Aid; Political Economy; Development; Africa
    JEL: B20 F35 F50 O10 O55
    Date: 2014–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:14/007&r=dev
  6. By: Emran, M. Shahe; Shilpi, Forhad
    Abstract: This paper provides evidence on the effects of agricultural productivity on wage, labor supply to market oriented activities and labor allocation between own farming and wage labor in agriculture. To guide the empirical work, it develops a general equilibrium model that underscores the role of reallocation of family labor engaged in the production of non-marketed services at home (`home production'). The model predicts positive effects of a favorable agricultural productivity shock on wage and income, but the effect on hired labor is ambiguous; it depends on the strength of reallocation of labor from home to market production by labor surplus and deficit households. Taking rainfall variations as a measure of shock to agricultural productivity and using sub-district level panel data from Bangladesh, we find significant positive effects of a favorable rainfall shock on agricultural wage, labor supply to market work and per capita household expenditure. The share of hired labor in contrast declines substantially in response to a favorable productivity shock which is consistent with a case where labor-deficit households respond more than the labor-surplus ones in reallocating labor from home production.
    Keywords: Agricultural Productivity, Home Production, Market Work, Wage, Hired Labor, Labor Supply Response, Poverty Agricultural Productivity, Home Production, Market Work, Wage, Hired Labor, Labor Supply Response, Poverty
    JEL: J2 J3 O3
    Date: 2014–08–23
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:58099&r=dev
  7. By: Ivanic, Maros; Martin, Will
    Abstract: This study uses household models based on detailed expenditure and agricultural production data from 31 developing countries to assess the impacts of changes in global food prices on poverty in individual countries and for the world as a whole. The analysis finds that food price increases unrelated to productivity changes in developing countries raise poverty in the short run in all but a few countries with broadly-distributed agricultural resources. This result is primarily because the poor spend large shares of their incomes on food and many poor farmers are net buyers of food. In the longer run, two other important factors come into play: poor workers are likely to benefit from increases in wage rates for unskilled workers from higher food prices, and poor farmers are likely to benefit from higher agricultural profits as they raise their output. As a result, higher food prices appear to lower global poverty in the long run.
    Keywords: Food&Beverage Industry,Rural Poverty Reduction,Regional Economic Development,Emerging Markets
    Date: 2014–08–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7011&r=dev

This nep-dev issue is ©2014 by Jacob A. Jordaan. It is provided as is without any express or implied warranty. It may be freely redistributed in whole or in part for any purpose. If distributed in part, please include this notice.
General information on the NEP project can be found at http://nep.repec.org. For comments please write to the director of NEP, Marco Novarese at <director@nep.repec.org>. Put “NEP” in the subject, otherwise your mail may be rejected.
NEP’s infrastructure is sponsored by the School of Economics and Finance of Massey University in New Zealand.