|
on Development |
| By: | Brinkman,Sally Anne; Hasan,Amer; Jung,Haeil; Kinnell,Angela; Nakajima,Nozomi; Pradhan,Menno Prasad |
| Abstract: | This paper reports on the quality of early childhood education in rural Indonesia. On average, the paper finds that centers created under the Indonesia Early Childhood Education and Development Project provide higher quality services than other types of preschools, as measured by a comprehensive instrument of preschool quality based on direct observation of classrooms in session (the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised). The paper also examines the relationship between preschool quality and children's early development using three commonly applied measures of quality: (i) the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised; (ii) teacher characteristics; and (iii) structural characteristics of preschool services, such as their size and amount of class time. First, correcting for measurement error using an instrumental variables approach, the findings suggest that preschool quality is a significant and meaningful positive predictor of children's developmental outcomes. Second, the findings for teacher characteristics are mixed, suggesting that policies focused solely on hiring teachers based on experience and training will be insufficient to improve children's learning. Instead, policies must address the quality of professional development activities for teachers. Third, the amount of class time spent in early childhood programs is a significant positive predictor of children?s developmental outcomes. This suggests that in rural Indonesia?where early childhood programs are relatively low dose?children are likely to benefit from attending longer hours of preschool, either playgroups or kindergartens. Lastly, the paper compares items in the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised with Indonesia's national minimum service standards for early childhood education and development, and finds that the relationship between this alternative, context-appropriate measure of preschool quality and children?s development outcomes strongly corroborates the earlier conclusions. |
| Keywords: | Early Childhood Development,Education For All,Effective Schools and Teachers,Educational Sciences,Primary Education |
| Date: | 2016–01–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7529&r=dev |
| By: | Deshpande, Ashwini; Desrochers, Alain; Ksoll, Christopher; Shonchoy, Abu S. |
| Abstract: | With over 700 million illiterate adults in the world, many governments have implemented adult literacy programs across the world, although typically with low rates of success partly because the quality of teaching is low. One solution may lie in the standardization of teaching provided by computer-aided instruction. We present the first rigorous evidence of the effectiveness of a computer-based adult literacy program. A randomized control trial study of TARA Akshar Plus, an Indian adult literacy program, was implemented in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. We find large, significant impacts of this computer-aided program on literacy and numeracy outcomes. We compare the improvement in learning to that of other traditional adult literacy programs and conclude that TARA Akshar Plus is effective in increasing literacy and numeracy for illiterate adult women. |
| Keywords: | India, Adult education, Literacy, Women, Adult Literacy Program, ICT |
| JEL: | O12 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper551&r=dev |
| By: | Gajate-Garrido, Gissele; Ahiadeke, Clement |
| Abstract: | Access to and use of health services are concerns in poor countries. If implemented correctly, health insurance may help solve these concerns. Due to selection and omitted variable bias, however, it is difficult to determine whether joining an insurance scheme improves medical care–seeking behaviors. This paper uses representative data for the whole country of Ghana and an instrumental variable approach to estimate the causal impact on healthcare use of participating in Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme. Idiosyncratic variations in membership rules at the district level provide exogenous variation in enrollment. The instrument is the existence of nonstandard verification methods to allow enrollment of children. Using the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey and a census of all district insurance offices, this paper finds that insurance membership increases the probability of (1) seeking higher-quality (but no greater quantity of) maternal services and (2) parents’ becoming more active users of child curative care. Instrumental variable estimates are larger than ordinary least squares ones, indicating that “compliers” have much higher returns to being insured than the average participant. Results are robust to several validity checks; this paper shows that the instrument is indeed idiosyncratic and proves that government officials did not establish less-cumbersome membership rules in districts with worse initial indicators. |
| Keywords: | health insurance, child health, maternal health, heterogeneous treatment effects, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1495&r=dev |
| By: | Almås, Ingvild (IIES, Stockholm University); Armand, Alex (University of Navarra); Attanasio, Orazio (University College London); Carneiro, Pedro (University College London) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how targeted cash transfers to women affect their empowerment. We use a novel identification strategy to measure women's willingness to pay to receive cash transfers instead of their partner receiving it. We apply this among women living in poor households in urban Macedonia. We match experimental data with a unique policy intervention (CCT) in Macedonia offering poor households cash transfers conditional on having their children attending secondary school. The program randomized whether the transfer was offered to household heads or mothers at municipality level, providing us with an exogenous source of variation in (offered) transfers. We show that women who were offered the transfer reveal a lower willingness to pay, and we show that this is in line with theoretical predictions. |
| Keywords: | gender, empowerment, cash transfers, intra-household |
| JEL: | D13 O12 J16 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9779&r=dev |
| By: | Todo, Yasuyuki; Kozuka, Eiji; Sawada, Yasuyuki |
| Abstract: | While impacts of school-based management (SBM), i.e., decentralization of levels of authority to the school level, in less developed countries have been examined in a number of recent academic studies, the results have been mixed. To bridge a gap in the existing literature, at least partially, this paper evaluates the impact of an SBM program in Burkina Faso, in which targeted schools were rolled out randomly over two years. A novelty of this study is that we examine the program’s impacts on community-wide outcomes captured by the level of trust in others by student’s parents, and their participation in rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs). We hypothesize that parents involved in SBM are more likely to participating in ROSCAs through collaboration with other community members in SBM because they foster trust in others, a necessary precondition for development of informal financial arrangements. Using a unique data set collected exclusively for this study we find that, in particular, relatively poor parents involved in SBM were more likely to participate in ROSCAs than other poor parents. These findings contain two important implications: first, our findings are consistent with the view that social capital, strengthened by SBM, plays a critical complementary role in correcting financial market failures in low income economies (Hayami 2009); and, second, impact evaluation of SBM focusing only on student performance may undervalue its overall effects on the whole community, ignoring important spillover effects of SBM. |
| Keywords: | school-based management , rotating savings and credit associations , trust , Burkina Faso |
| Date: | 2016–02–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jic:wpaper:115&r=dev |
| By: | Arulampalam, Wiji (University of Warwick); Bhaskar, Anjor; Srivastava, Nisha (University of Allahabad) |
| Abstract: | We examine the link between a mother's autonomy – the freedom and ability to think, express, act and make decisions independently – and the nutritional status of her children. We design a novel statistical framework that accounts for cultural and traditional environment, to create a measure of maternal autonomy, a concept that has rarely been examined previously as a factor in children's nutritional outcomes. Using data from the Third Round of the National Family Health Survey for India, supplemented with our qualitative survey, and accounting for "son preference" by limiting analysis to first-born children under 18 months of age, we document that maternal autonomy has a positive impact on the long-term nutritional status of rural children. We find that one standard deviation increase in maternal autonomy score (i) is associated with a 10 percent reduction (representing 300,000 children) in the prevalence of stunting, and (ii) compensates for half of the estimated average decline in Height-for-Age Z-scores Indian children experience in the second six months of life. The findings underscore the importance of women's empowerment in improving children's nutrition during the critical first two years of life, a recognized "window of opportunity" for lifelong health and economic benefits. |
| Keywords: | child nutrition, maternal autonomy, latent factor models, empirical Bayes, India, National Family Health Survey |
| JEL: | C38 I14 I18 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9781&r=dev |
| By: | Rosas Raffo,Nina; Sabarwal,Shwetlena |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the short-term impacts of a labor-intensive public works program on household welfare and economic prospects. Using a community-level randomized control trial approach, the paper finds that the public works program targeted at youth in Sierra Leone successfully provided temporary employment to youth characterized by low educational attainment. Cash income among program participants increased by nearly three times relative to the control counterparts, and treatment households experienced a 29 percent rise in monthly income. There is also evidence of significant re-optimization of household labor allocation and expenditure in response to program participation. First, there is an overall crowding-in of labor force participation by household members beyond program participation. Second, the extra income is spent partly to improve the quality of life and partly to secure future earnings. The treated households raised spending on food, medicines, and assets. They also expanded utilization of health services. Meanwhile, the consumption of temptation goods was greater, albeit by a small amount, and the rate of absenteeism among students was higher. To secure future earnings, the treated households set up new businesses: they were nearly four times more likely than the control households to set up new household enterprises. They also boosted their participation in informal savings groups and their investments in their homes and existing businesses. These results demonstrate that public works interventions have considerable potential as productive safety nets in post-conflict settings such as Sierra Leone. They can provide immediate income support, but also open avenues for investment in the productive capacity of poor households. |
| Keywords: | Safety Nets and Transfers,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Rural Poverty Reduction,Housing&Human Habitats |
| Date: | 2016–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7580&r=dev |
| By: | Isaure DELAPORTE (FERDI); Mathilde MAUREL (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne CNRS - Université Paris 1) |
| Abstract: | Climate change is expected to disproportionately affect agriculture; however, there is limited information on smallholder farmers ‘ overall vulnerability and adaptation needs. This paper estimates the impact of climatic shocks on the household agricultural income and subsequently, on farmers ‘ adaptation strategies. Relying on data from a survey conducted in several communities in Bangladesh in 2011 and based on an IV probit approach, the results show that a one percentage point climate induced decline in agricultural income pushes households to adapt by almost 3 percentage points. However, certain strategies are too costly and cannot be afforded in bad times. For those strategies, we provide evidence of barriers that constrain the development and deployment of adaptive measures, noticeably access to electricity and wealth. |
| JEL: | D10 Q12 Q54 Q56 O13 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fdi:wpaper:2681&r=dev |
| By: | Amendola,Alessandra; Boccia,Marinella; Mele,Gianluca; Sensini,Luca |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the impact of access to credit from banks and other financialinstitutions on household welfare in Mauritania. Micro-level data from a 2014 household survey are used to evaluate the relationship between credit access, a range of household characteristics, and welfare indicators. To address potential endogeneity issues, the household isolation level is used to instrument access to credit. The results show that households headed by older, more educated people are more likely to access financial services, as are households located in urban areas. In addition, greater financial access appears to be associated with a reduced dependence on household production and increased investment in human capital. |
| Keywords: | Debt Markets,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Access to Finance,Rural Poverty Reduction |
| Date: | 2016–01–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7533&r=dev |
| By: | Isaure DELAPORTE (FERDI); Mathilde MAUREL (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne CNRS - Université Paris 1) |
| Abstract: | Climate change is expected to disproportionately affect agriculture; however, there is limited information on smallholder farmers ‘ overall vulnerability and adaptation needs. This paper estimates the impact of climatic shocks on the household agricultural income and subsequently, on farmers ‘ adaptation strategies. Relying on data from a survey conducted in several communities in Bangladesh in 2011 and based on an IV probit approach, the results show that a one percentage point climate induced decline in agricultural income pushes households to adapt by almost 3 percentage points. However, certain strategies are too costly and cannot be afforded in bad times. For those strategies, we provide evidence of barriers that constrain the development and deployment of adaptive measures, noticeably access to electricity and wealth. |
| JEL: | D10 Q12 Q54 Q56 O13 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fdi:wpaper:2679&r=dev |
| By: | Krishnan,Nandini; Olivieri,Sergio Daniel |
| Abstract: | Iraq was plunged into two simultaneous crises in the second half of 2014, one driven by a sharp decline in oil prices, the other, by the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The severity and recurrent nature of these crises demand a fast understanding and quantification of their welfare impact, which is critical for policy makers. This paper employs an innovative extension of the micro-simulation methodology to provide an ex ante estimate and analysis of the complex and dynamic poverty and distributional impact of the twin crises. The results show an almost complete erosion of the welfare gains of the past, with poverty falling back to 2007 levels and a 20 percent increase in the number of the poor. While the incidence of poverty is higher among internally displaced persons than the rest of the population (except in the Islamic State?affected governorates, where poverty is higher), internally displaced persons make up only a small proportion of Iraq's eight million poor in 2014. The rest comprise of households who already lived below the poverty line, or those who have fallen below the poverty line in the face of the massive economic disruptions the country is facing. The welfare impact of the crises varies widely across space, with the largest increases in poverty headcount rates in Kurdistan and the Islamic State?affected governorates. Yet, the poorest regions in the 2014 crisis scenario are the same as in 2012, the currently Islamic State?affected, and the South, with poverty rates of 40 and 30 percent, respectively. Although the simulated results are not strictly comparable to ex post micro data estimates, because of survey coverage constraints, overall the results are very much in line, particularly in Kurdistan and the South. |
| Keywords: | Regional Economic Development,Inequality,Economic Theory&Research,Labor Policies,Rural Poverty Reduction |
| Date: | 2016–02–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7567&r=dev |
| By: | Fuchs Tarlovsky,Alan; Wolff,Hendrik |
| Abstract: | Although weather shocks are a major source of income fluctuation, most of the world's poor lack insurance coverage against them. Absence of formal insurance contributes to poverty traps, as investment decisions are conflicted with risk management ones: risk-averse farmers tend to underinvest and produce lower yielding yet safer crops. In the past few years, weather index insurance has gained increasing attention as an effective tool to provide small-scale farmers coverage against aggregate shocks. However, there is little empirical evidence about its effectiveness. This paper studies the effect of the recently introduced rainfall-indexed insurance on farmers'productivity, risk management strategies, as well as per capita income and expenditure in Mexico. The identification strategy takes advantage of the variation across counties and across time in which the insurance was rolled-out. The analysis finds that the presence of insurance in treated counties has significant and positive effects on maize productivity. Similarly, there is a positive association between the presence of insurance in the municipality and rural households'per capita expenditure and income, although no significant relation is found between the presence of insurance and the number of hectares destined for maize production. |
| Keywords: | Debt Markets,Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Crops and Crop Management Systems,Labor Policies,Rural Poverty Reduction |
| Date: | 2016–02–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7565&r=dev |
| By: | Asadullah, Niaz (University of Malaya); Ara, Jinnat (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC)) |
| Abstract: | Using a four-round panel data set from the first phase of the Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction – Targeting the Ultra Poor (CFPR – TUP) programme of BRAC, we investigate whether a one-off transfer of livestock assets improves well-being of the very poor women in Bangladesh. Programme impact is assessed on a wide range of monetary and nonmonetary measures of wellbeing using difference-in-difference (DD) as well as matching methods. We find significant positive long-term impact on food security, household savings, assets and participation in microfinance. Participant women are less likely to be in distress occupation and more into self-employment. However, the long-term effect is much smaller for most outcomes when compared to short- and medium-run impacts. We conclude by discussing the significance of the institutional and regional context for the observed time path of estimated programme effect. |
| Keywords: | Bangladesh, farm employment, food security, occupational choice, extreme poverty |
| JEL: | O12 I30 D50 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9749&r=dev |
| By: | Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Adhikari, Rajendra Prasad; Kaphle, Basu Dev; Shivakoti, Sabnam; Kumar, Anjani |
| Abstract: | Although overall chemical fertilizer use has grown steadily in Nepal in the past two decades, much of that growth has occurred in the Terai agroecological belt while use has stagnated in the Hills and the Mountains regions. Differences in chemical fertilizer use intensity between the Terai and the latter regions are typically pronounced among medium-to-large-size farmers. Using three rounds of the Nepal Living Standards Survey as well as secondary data, we examine the determinants of inorganic fertilizer (urea and DAP) use, as well as the marginal income returns from fertilizer use at the farm-household level. Similarities in soil and climate between farm locale and Agriculture Research Station locale seem to increase demand for fertilizer—even after controlling for distance to those stations. Most important, demand for chemical fertilizer is affected by the real fertilizer price (particularly since the 2003 NLSS survey), but the price response is relatively weaker in the Hills and Mountains, suggesting that returns to fertilizer may be generally low in those regions, and that reducing fertilizer price through subsidies on fertilizer or transportation may not substantially increase fertilizer use. This is confirmed by assessment of the returns to chemical fertilizer use estimated through generalized propensity score matching and ordinary propensity score matching. The findings cast doubt on the effectiveness of fertilizer subsidies as an instrument for stimulating chemical fertilizer use in Nepal, particularly among medium-to-large-scale farmers in the Hills, and point toward alternative measures like increased research and development into technologies that raise overall returns to chemical fertilizer. |
| Keywords: | fertilizers, farm inputs, surveys, households, medium size farms, large scale farming, tobit model, Nepal living standards survey, generalized propensity score, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1507&r=dev |
| By: | Jules RAZAFIARIJAONA; Andrianjakarivo Henintsoa RAZAFINDRAIBE; Manohisoa RAKOTONDRABE; Alexio Clovis LOHANIVO; Alain KARSENTY; Laura BRIMONT; Sigrid AUBERT; Sebastien DESBUREAUX |
| Abstract: | Protected areas (PAs) remain the primary conservation instrument of Madagascar’s unique but threatened biodiversity. We combine matching and panel regressions in a quasi-natural experiment setting to analyze PAs’ environmental effectiveness annually between 2001 and 2012 and study two channels that moderate the impact: initial poverty rates and local variations in law enforcement. Our findings show that PAs have stabilized deforestation around a positive trend without having halted it. Their overall environmental impact is however limited: PAs created before the 2000 have helped to slow down deforestation by approximately 20%, meaning that 80% of forests are still cleared even though they are protected. As for new PA created from the mid-2000s, the early impact is statistically not significant. As a result, the total welfare impact of protection is currently uncertain. We show that PAs have been effective for municipalities where overall law enforcement was the lowest: PAs have helped to limit what we call opportunistic deforestation. Meanwhile, PAs have been poorly effective when poverty rates were high: when necessity is the driver of deforestation, PAs are not sufficient to slow down deforestation. As a consequence, effectively stopping deforestation in Madagascar will require ambitious policies to trigger the necessary agricultural transition for the country. |
| Keywords: | Impact Evaluation; Protected Areas; Africa; Madagascar |
| JEL: | O13 Q58 Q28 Q2 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdi:wpaper:1787&r=dev |