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on Development |
| By: | Nakano, Yuko; Tsusaka, Takuji W.; Aida, Takeshi; Pede, Valerien O. |
| Abstract: | How far can new technologies taught to a small number of selected farmers diffuse to other farmers in a village? In order to answer this question, this paper investigates the impact of JICA training on the adoption of rice cultivation technologies and productivity in an irrigation scheme in Tanzania. By using a unique five-year panel data set and spatial econometric techniques, we found that non-trained farmers learned new technologies from trained farmers through social networks and by observing their plots. As a result, the paddy yield of directly trained farmers increased from 3.1 tons per hectare in 2008 to 4.7 tons per hectare in 2012, while that of non-trained farmers increased from around 2.6 tons per hectare in 2008 to 3.7 tons per hectare in 2012. |
| Keywords: | technology adoption , agricultural training , social learning, rice , Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2015–03–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jic:wpaper:90&r=dev |
| By: | Lore Vandewalle (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies - Department of International Economics); Vincent Somville (Chr. Michelsen Institute) |
| Abstract: | A growing share of the world population is getting access to a formal bank account. This allows a move from cash to account based payments. Grounding our hypothesis in behavioral economics, we conjecture that being paid on an account instead of in cash can play a major role in encouraging savings. When paid on the account, the money is saved by default, while - as long as payments are done in cash - the money is ready to be spent. We test our hypothesis in rural India, with villagers who either had an account, or were asked to open one. They received weekly payments of Rs 150 for about 10 consecutive weeks. We randomly allocated them to being paid on the account (treated) or in cash (control). We find that the treatment increases the account balance by about 110 percent, and that the effect is long lasting. The control villagers do not save more in other assets, but increase their expenditures on regular consumption items. We exclude two alternative mechanisms that could explain the result. First, using lab in the field games, we show that the treatment does not enhance the trust in or empathy towards the banker. Second, we provide evidence against the treated having developed an active savings habit on the account: they behave like the control, when we switch from account to cash payments. |
| Keywords: | Savings, Finance, Behavioral Economics |
| JEL: | D14 C93 D03 G21 O16 |
| Date: | 2015–03–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gii:giihei:heidwp01-2015&r=dev |
| By: | Himelein,Kristen |
| Abstract: | There is an inherent tension between traditional norms and survey protocols for quantitative data collected in the developing world. Unexpected interactions between the interviewer and respondent can lead to interviewer effects in the data, particularly in the case of subjective or sensitive questions. This paper makes use of a unique data set available from Timor-Leste containing subjective and objective questions to study these effects. In addition to their age and gender, data were collected from the interviewers regarding their opinions on the subjective questions prior to fieldwork. Fixed effects and mixed effects logit models are used to examine the main effects and interactions between interviewer and respondent characteristics. More objective measures serve as a pseudo control group. The paper finds interviewer effects in the both subjective and objective data, but the magnitude is considerably stronger for subjective questions. The paper also finds that female respondents are more susceptible to influence based on the interviewer's beliefs. Despite methodological shortcomings, the study highlights the need to consider more fully the impact of traditional cultural norms when conducting quantitative surveys in the developing world on topics that are outside the standard objective questions. |
| Keywords: | Gender and Law,Science Education,Housing&Human Habitats,Labor Policies,Scientific Research&Science Parks |
| Date: | 2015–03–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7208&r=dev |
| By: | Susan Namirembe Kavuma; Oliver Morrissey; Richard Upward |
| Abstract: | The paper examines the flow of workers between employment states, the role of education in these transitions and the impact of the transitions on earnings. It uses panel data for three waves (2005/06, 2009/10 and 2010/11) of household surveys in Uganda. We estimate transition probability matrices and find bi-directional transitions between formal and informal employment but with a higher tendency of workers to transition from formal to informal than in the opposite direction. When we investigate the relation between education and transitions using probit models, we find the transition from informal to formal increases with education but the movement from formal to informal employment and switching from not working to working declines with education. We further investigate the impact of the transitions on the worker’s welfare by estimating wage equations and find evidence for a decline in monthly wages for workers moving from formal to informal employment and a wage gain for workers moving in the reverse direction. We suggest that transitions from informal to formal employment are induced by higher wage offers, while transitions in the opposite direction are more likely to be due to losing a job. |
| Keywords: | formal and informal sector employment, labour transitions JEL Classifications: J23, J40, O17, O55, |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:not:notcre:15/01&r=dev |
| By: | Emanuele Rusinà; Lucia dalla Pellegrina; Giorgio di Maio; Paolo Landoni |
| Abstract: | Most Microfinance institutions (MFIs) worldwide focus their efforts in relieving the poor from financial constraints through micro-loans. This research focuses on integrating a money management and entrepreneurial training plan to a lending program in a non-profit MFI in Kolkata, India. The paper’s main purpose is to measure the marginal impact of training on the beneficiaries through a randomized control trial. Positive and significant effects are found on both institutional outcomes (number of missing or delayed repayments, average weekly savings) and financial management skills of the clients (ability to separate personal and business money, to track revenues and expenses, to calculate profits). Initiative and self-confidence measures also increase, while business outcomes and entrepreneurial skills of the participants exhibit no significant changes. The effects appear stronger on those for whom the training was compulsory, and for those who expressed more interest in the course before the beginning of the program. A formal set-up and incentives linked with the completion of the training are therefore advised when considering similar interventions. |
| Keywords: | Microfinance, training programs, money management, entrepreneurship, difference-in-differences |
| JEL: | G21 O15 L31 I25 |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mib:wpaper:296&r=dev |
| By: | Guillaume Hollard; Omar Sene |
| Abstract: | We test the causal role of social capital, as measured by self-reported trust, in determining access to basic health facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa. To skirt reverse-causality problems between social capital and basic health, we rely on instrumental variable (IV) estimates. The results show that a one standard deviation increase in the level of localized trust leads to a 0.221 standard deviation decrease in the predicted value of doctor absenteeism, a 0.307 standard deviation decreases in the predicted value of waiting time and a 0.301 standard deviation decreases in the predicted value of bribes. As a robustness check, we also use a different database regarding a different health issue, namely access to clean water. We find that a one standard deviation increase in the level of localized trust leads to a 0.330 standard deviation increase in the access on clean water. All in all, social capital is found to have an important causal effect on health, even stronger that the one found in western countries. |
| Keywords: | Social Capital, Health, Africa, Causality. |
| JEL: | I15 I12 D71 I18 H41 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:drm:wpaper:2015-6&r=dev |
| By: | Arnaud Daymard |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the nature and determinants of female entrepreneurship in India based on survey data. The first part assesses basic characteristics of female entrepreneurship in India, while the subsequent sections analyse key determinants of female entrepreneurship based on the literature, and test their importance at the state level in India with the support of regressions on panel-data. It also reviews existing policies bearing on female entrepreneurship and makes recommendations for further policies in this area. Entrepreneurship can create new economic opportunities for women and contribute to overall growth and exit from poverty. The potential flexibility in time use from entrepreneurship can also facilitate balancing work and family obligations for women. However, entrepreneurs, both male and female, are relatively scarce in India compared to peer countries, and tend to work in small units often outside the formal sector. While many of the barriers to entrepreneurship are common to both genders (access to capital and business networks, adequate training and facilities) female entrepreneurs face gender biases stemming from socio-economic factors or specific biases in laws such as inheritance laws.<P>Les déterminants de l'entreprenariat féminin en Inde<BR>Ce document examine la nature et les déterminants de l'entrepreneuriat féminin en Inde à partir des données de l'enquête. La première partie évalue les caractéristiques de base de l'entrepreneuriat féminin en Inde, tandis que les sections suivantes analysent les principaux déterminants de l'entrepreneuriat féminin basé sur la littérature, et de tester leur importance au niveau de l'État en Inde avec le soutien de régressions sur données de panel. Il examine également les politiques existantes portant sur l'entrepreneuriat féminin et fait des recommandations pour de nouvelles politiques dans ce domaine. L’entreprenariat peut offrir de nouveaux débouchés économiques aux femmes et contribuer à la croissance globale et à la sortie de la pauvreté. La marge de souplesse dans l’utilisation du temps qu’offre l’entreprenariat peut également permettre de mieux concilier les obligations professionnelles et familiales des femmes. Toutefois, qu’ils soient hommes ou femmes, les entrepreneurs sont relativement rares en Inde par rapport à d’autres pays comparables, et ont tendance à travailler dans de petites entreprises souvent situées en dehors de l’économie formelle. Qu’il s’agisse du nombre d’entreprises en phase de démarrage ou du nombre d’entreprises nouvellement créées, l’Inde affiche des chiffres relativement faibles et en stagnation par rapport aux autres BRICS. Si bon nombre des obstacles à la création d’entreprise sont communs aux deux sexes (accès aux financements et aux réseaux économiques, formation adéquate, locaux), les femmes entrepreneurs se heurtent à des préjugés sexistes qui trouvent leur origine dans des facteurs socioéconomiques ou dans certains partis consacrés par le droit, notamment par le droit de l’héritage. |
| Keywords: | gender, India, gender equality, female entrepreneurship, female economic participation, participation économique des femmes, Inde, égalité des sexes, entreprenariat féminin |
| JEL: | J16 J18 J21 J22 J71 J82 J83 |
| Date: | 2015–03–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1191-en&r=dev |
| By: | Karim, Azreen; Noy, Ilan |
| Abstract: | Rational allocation of limited public resources is critical to achieve the stated aims of government programmes. Here, we focus on the regional allocation of public spending for disaster risk reduction in Bangladesh as a case study to identify the rationale that guides public funding allocations. It is well understood that any government’s public spending decision-making is also affected by considerations other than need, and our objective in this paper is to identify all of the directly observable determinants’ of publicly allocated and realized spending at the local government (sub-district) level. We employ the Heckman two-stage selection model with detailed public finance and other data from 483 sub-districts (upazilas) across the country. While some of our results conform with our priors, our estimations surprisingly find that government does not respond to the sub-district’s risk exposure as a factor affecting the DRR financing mechanism. This variable is consistently counter-intuitively negative and statistically significant. The DRR regional allocations do not seem to be determined by risk and exposure, only weakly by vulnerability, nor even by more transparent political economy motivations. This is surprising, as the Bangladesh DRR program is considered a poster-child of DRR investments. |
| Keywords: | Public spending, Natural disasters,, Sub-district, Heckman selection, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vuw:vuwecf:4194&r=dev |