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on Development |
| By: | Serge Ky (LAPE - Laboratoire d'Analyse et de Prospective Economique - UNILIM - Université de Limoges - IR SHS UNILIM - Institut Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société); Clovis Rugemintwari (LAPE - Laboratoire d'Analyse et de Prospective Economique - UNILIM - Université de Limoges - IR SHS UNILIM - Institut Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société); Alain Sauviat (LAPE - Laboratoire d'Analyse et de Prospective Economique - UNILIM - Université de Limoges - IR SHS UNILIM - Institut Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société) |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether the use of mobile money can help individuals build savings to face predictable and unpredictable life events. Studying the case of Burkina Faso, we use hand-collected data from individual responses to a survey we designed and conducted between May and June 2014. Our main results show that, although using mobile money services has no impact on saving for predictable events, it increases the propensity of individuals to save for health emergencies. We also find evidence that using mobile money increases the propensity of disadvantaged groups such as rural, female, less educated individuals and individuals with irregular income to save for health emergencies. In our further investigations, we address the mechanisms underlying individual saving behavior. We find that safety and the possibility to transfer money within the sub-region associated with mobile money may be factors that increase the propensity of mobile money users to save for health emergencies. Overall, our results are in line with policymakers' agenda worldwide to increase financial outreach and improve financial inclusion by using mobile technologies. |
| Keywords: | mobile money,savings,financial inclusion,sub-Saharan Africa,Burkina Faso |
| Date: | 2016–09–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01360028&r=dev |
| By: | Eliana Carranza; Robyn Meeks |
| Abstract: | Overloaded electrical systems are a major source of unreliable power (outages) in developing countries. Using a randomized saturation design, we estimate the impact of energy efficient lightbulbs on household electricity consumption and local electricity reliability. Receiving compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) significantly reduced household electricity consumption. Estimates not controlling for spillovers in take-up underestimate the impacts of the CFLs, as control households near the treated are likely to take-up CFLs themselves. Greater saturation of CFLs within a transformer leads to aggregate reliability impacts of two fewer days per month without electricity due to unplanned outages relative to pure controls. Increased electricity reliability permits households to consume more electricity services, suggesting that CFL treatment results in technological externalities. The spillovers in take-up and technological externalities that we document may provide an additional explanation for the gap between empirical and engineering estimates of the impacts of energy efficient technologies. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feb:natura:00569&r=dev |
| By: | Huynh, Phu. |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the gender pay gap in the garment, textile and footwear industry in nine developing Asian economies – Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. It finds that women earn less than men in eight of the nine countries, with the imbalance particularly sizeable in India and Pakistan. Some of the pay gap can be attributed to differences in factors such as age and education, but discrimination also appears to be a contributing determinant. Women are also more likely to be at the lower end of the wage ladder. Applying standard Mincerian wage regressions and the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method, the paper presents empirical evidence on gender wage gaps and wage premiums in the industry, and discusses measures that can help reduce gender disparities and discrimination in the sector. |
| Keywords: | wages, wage differential, low wages, gender, discrimination, working conditions, clothing industry, shoe industry, trend, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam, Asia, salaire, disparité des salaires, bas salaire, genre, discrimination, conditions de travail, industrie du vêtement, industrie de la chaussure, tendance, Bangladesh, Cambodge, Inde, Indonésie, Lao RDP, Pakistan, Philippines, Thaïlande, Viet Nam, Asie, salario, diferencia del salario, salario bajo, género, discriminación, condiciones de trabajo, industria del vestido, industria del calzado, tendencia, Bangladesh, Camboya, India, Indonesia, Lao RDP, Pakistán, Filipinas, Tailandia, Viet Nam, Asia |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:994904713402676&r=dev |
| By: | Theriault, Veronique; Smale, Melinda; Haider, Hamza |
| Abstract: | In the West African Sahel, current issues of land fragmentation resulting from high rates of population growth and climate change exacerbate conditions of chronic food insecurity. In this context, agricultural intensification is necessary in order to increase food supply and better understanding gender differences in the adoption of intensification strategies is crucial for designing effective policies to enhance farm productivity sustainably. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midiwp:245896&r=dev |
| By: | Bluhm, Richard; Gassebner, Martin; Langlotz, Sarah; Schaudt, Paul |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effects of bilateral foreign aid on conflict escalation and de-escalation. We make three major contributions. First, we combine data on civil wars with data on low level conflicts in a new ordinal measure capturing the two-sided and multifaceted nature of conflict. Second, we develop a novel empirical framework. We propose a dynamic ordered probit estimator that allows for unobserved heterogeneity and corrects for endogeneity. Third, we identify the causal effect of foreign aid on conflict by predicting bilateral aid flows based on electoral outcomes of donor countries that are exogenous to recipients. We establish that the effect of foreign aid on the various transition probabilities is heterogeneous and can be substantial. Receiving bilateral aid raises the chances of escalating from small conflict to armed conflict, but we find no evidence that aid ignites conflict in truly peaceful countries. |
| Keywords: | conflict; foreign aid; political economy; dynamic ordered panel data |
| Date: | 2016–10–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:awi:wpaper:0619&r=dev |
| By: | Namonje-Kapembwa, Thelma; Thelma, Antony |
| Abstract: | The use of modern seed varieties and other improved technologies is essential for farmers to significantly increase their crop harvest and improve their livelihoods. All over Sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture productivity growth has remained very low over many decades irrespective of gender of the farmer. However, studies have shown that women farmers fare worse than the male counterparts in terms of adoption of improved technology and productivity. This gender gap in technology adoption curtails agricultural development because women in developing countries such as Zambia play a significant role in agriculture and food production. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcwp:245916&r=dev |
| By: | Fadi Hassan; Paolo Lucchino |
| Abstract: | More than 1.3 billion people worldwide have no access to electricity and this has first-order effects on several development dimensions. In this paper we focus on the link between access to light and education. We randomly distribute solar lamps to 7th grade pupils in rural Kenya and monitor their educational outcomes throughout the year at quarterly frequency. We find that access to lights through solar lamps is a relevant and effective input to education. Our identification strategy accounts for spillovers by exploiting the variation in treatment at the pupil level and in treatment intensity across classes. We find a positive and significant intention-to-treat effect as well as a positive and significant spillover effect on control students. In a class with the average treatment intensity of our sample (43%), treated students experience an increase in math grades of 0.88 standard deviations. Moreover, we find a positive marginal effect of treatment intensity on control students: raising the share of treated students in a class by 10% increases grades of control students by 0.22 standard deviations. We exploit household geolocation to disentangle within-class and geographical spillovers. We show that geographical spillovers do not have a significant impact and within-school interaction is the main source of spillovers. Finally, we provide suggestive evidence that the mechanism through which lamps affect students is by increasing co-studying at school especially after sunset. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feb:natura:00566&r=dev |
| By: | Arnold H. Fang |
| Abstract: | This article explains how linkages between politicians and rural voters affected the design of agricultural policies, using rice in two countries as examples. In the Philippines, colonial history bolstered an oligarchy of landed elite politicians, whose power was restored after the dictatorship of Marcos ended in 1986. Their practice of patronage brought corruption that led to dwindling rice productivity and increasing import dependence while displacing the political necessity to offer price support to farmers. In Thailand, sociopolitical development was more centralized, with new electoral rules introduced in 1997 to weaken locally confined patronage arrangements. Mass parties competing on a policy platform were favoured instead, resulting in increasing, but eventually, excessive subsidies for rice farmers. Although voter–politician linkages resulted in different rice policies in the two countries, recent instability in the world rice market showed that strategies with greater sustainability considerations are needed in addressing domestic income disparities and global food insecurity. |
| Keywords: | food security, political institutions, patronage, Thailand, Philippines |
| Date: | 2016–10–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:appswp:201638&r=dev |
| By: | Jaramillo, Miguel (Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo (GRADE)) |
| Abstract: | As in other developing countries, Peru’s demographic transition is well underway. Concurrently, women’s labor market participation and employment rates have substantially increased. In this paper we estimate the causal effect that the reduction in fertility rates has on women’s employment using instrumental variables already tested in developed countries—twins in the first birth and the sex composition of the two oldest children. We also analyze the heterogeneity of the effects along three lines: marriage status of the mother, age of the first (second) child, and mother’s level of education. We find strong effects of fertility. According to our results, 27 percent of the total increase in women’s rate of employment between 1993 and 2007 can be attributed to the reduction in fertility rates. This is a considerable magnitude, more than four times as large as the estimate for US by Jacobsen et al. (1999). Effects are largest in women with children 2 years old or younger and decline inversely as the first child increases in age, but are still significant when he or she reaches 10. Effects also vary with the mother’s education level, tending to be stronger when women have more education. Finally, these effects are smaller for married women than for all women. |
| Keywords: | Mercado de trabajo, Labour market, Labor market, Fecundidad, Fertility, Mujeres, Women, Perú |
| JEL: | J13 J22 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gad:avance:0020&r=dev |
| By: | Dasgupta, Sukti.; Bhula-or, Ruttiya.; Fakthong, Tiraphap. |
| Abstract: | The paper estimates the earnings gap between formal and informal employment in Thailand, using a sample of workers that includes both wage and self- employed workers. It finds that while the major part of the earnings differential is attributed to observed characteristics, there is a significant unexplained component. The paper then applies a quantile regression method to an earnings function to understand the factors that explain differences in earnings for different quartiles. Controlling for other factors, it finds that informally employed workers systematically present lower earnings at all earnings levels, and the difference increases with level of earnings. Furthermore, the estimated marginal effect of gender on earnings is negative and remains more or less constant across the different quartiles, while returns to education are positive and increase with income quartiles. The premium of working in services or manufacturing is higher at the lower end of the income distribution and the non- farm self-employed worker is likely to earn more than others. The findings of this study have implications for policies for productive transformation in the country, along with a focus on education and gender equality. |
| Keywords: | employment, informal employment, self employed, wage differential, Thailand, emploi, emploi informel, travailleur indépendant, disparité des salaires, Thaïlande, empleo, empleo informal, trabajador independiente, diferencia del salario, Tailandia |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:994896403402676&r=dev |
| By: | Jonathan Lehne (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC), PSE - Paris School of Economics); Jacob N. Shapiro (WWSPIL - Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs - Princeton University [Pinceton]); Oliver Vanden Eynde (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC), PSE - Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Politically-driven corruption is a pervasive challenge for development, but evidence of its welfare effects is scarce. Using data from a major rural road construction programme in India we document political influence in a setting where politicians have no official role in contracting decisions. Exploiting close elections to identify the causal effect of coming to power, we show that the share of contractors whose name matches that of the winning politician increases by 63% (from 4% to 6.4%). Regression discontinuity estimates at the road level show that political interference raises costs, lowers quality, and increases the likelihood that roads go missing. |
| Keywords: | Elections,Corruption |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01349350&r=dev |
| By: | Iva Trako (PSE - Paris School of Economics, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of fertility on parental labor-force participation in a developing country. In order to address the potential endogeneity in the fertility decision, I exploit Albanian parental preference for having sons as an exogenous source of variation. Using a repeated cross-section, I find that having an additional child has a positive and statistically significant effect on parental labor-force participation. IV estimates for mothers show that they increase labor supply, especially in terms of hours worked per week and the likelihood of working off-farm. Similarly, father's likelihood of working off-farm and having a second occupation increase as a consequence of further childbearing. The heterogeneity analysis suggests that this positive effect might be the result of two plausible mechanisms: childcare provided by non-parental adults in extended families and greater financial costs of feeding more children. |
| Keywords: | fertility,parental labor-force participation,instrumental variables |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01361443&r=dev |
| By: | Eric Strobl (Ecole Polytechnique [Palaiseau] - Ecole Polytechnique); Marie-Anne Valfort (PSE - Paris School of Economics, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Relying on census data collected in 2002 and historical weather data for Uganda, we estimate the impact of weather-induced internal migration on the probability for non-migrants living in the destination regions to be employed. Consistent with the pre- diction of a simple theoretical model, our results reveal a larger negative impact than the one documented for developed countries. They further show that this negative impact is significantly stronger in Ugandan regions with lower road density and therefore less conducive to capital mobility: a 10 percentage points increase in the net in-migration rate in these areas decreases the probability of being employed of non-migrants by more than 10 percentage points. |
| Keywords: | Sub-Saharan Africa,weather shocks,internal migration,labor market |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00977051&r=dev |
| By: | Escudero, Verónica. |
| Abstract: | Estimates the medium-term effects of the workfare programme Construyendo Perú implemented in Peru to support unemployed populations in situations of poverty and extreme poverty from 2007 to 2011. Uses a regression discontinuity approach, which exploits for the first time an interesting assignment rule the programme has at the district level, namely, that only districts above a certain level of poverty and development shortcomings are eligible to participate. |
| Keywords: | employment creation, poverty alleviation, workfare, impact evaluation, evaluation technique, trend, Peru |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:994906443402676&r=dev |