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on Development |
| By: | Asfaw, Solomon; Carraro, Alessandro; Davis, Benjamin; Handa, Sudhanshu; Seidenfeld, David; Zambia Cash Transfer Evaluation Team |
| Abstract: | Cash transfer programmes are increasingly being utilized in order to combat poverty and hunger as well as to building the human capital of future generations. Even though most of these programmes are not explicitly designed to help households manage climate risk, there are good reasons to expect that cash transfers can be good instrument to build household resilience against climatic risk. The goal of this study is to provide an empirical analysis of the effect of weather risk on rural households’ welfare using impact evaluation data from the Zambia Child Grant Programme (CGP) together with set of novel weather variation indicators based on interpolated gridded and re-analysis weather data that capture the peculiar features of short term and long term variations in rainfall. In particular, we estimate the impact of weather shocks on a rich set of welfare and food security indicators (including total expenditure, food expenditure, non-food expenditure, calorie intake and dietary diversity) and investigate the role of cash transfer for managing climate risk. We find strong evidence that cash transfer programmes has a mitigating role against the negative effects of weather shocks. Our results in fact highlight how important the receipt of social cash transfer is for households lying in the bottom quantile of consumption and food security distributions in moderating the negative effect of weather shock. Hence, integrating climate change and social protection tools into a comprehensive poverty reduction and social protection strategy should be of primary interest for policy makers and government when setting their policy agenda. |
| Keywords: | cash transfer, impact, weather shock, experimental design, Zambia, Africa, Agricultural Finance, Financial Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaae16:246280&r=dev |
| By: | Katherine Eyal (School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Lindokuhle Njozela (School of Economics, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | South Africa's largest poverty alleviation tool, the child support grant, has benefited more than 12 million children, with many positive outcomes. However the implementation was not perfect - the means test threshold was left unadjusted for ten years, requiring a more than one hundred percent adjustment when the government finally saw fit to change the threshold in 2008. In the interim, very many children missed out on the benefits of the grant. Using exogenous changes to the age and income threshold values, this paper estimates the cumulative impact of missing grant receipt. We find that a South African child born in 1994 missed out on a year's worth of schooling compared to those born just one year later. The costs were not limited only to schooling attainment; increasing the means test threshold and rates of receipt appears to have improved maternal mental health. |
| Keywords: | cash transfers, cumulative effect, human capital, maternal mental health |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:186&r=dev |
| By: | Julia Bredtmann (RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung); Fernanda Martínez Flores (RWI, Ruhr); Sebastian Otten (University College London) |
| Abstract: | Research on the relationship between high-skilled migration and remittances has been limited by the lack of suitable microdata. We create a unique cross-country dataset by combining household surveys from five Sub-Saharan African countries that enables us to analyze the effect of migrants’ education on their remittance behavior. Having comprehensive information on both ends of the migrant-origin household relationship and employing household fixed effects specifications that only use within-household variation for identification allows us to address the problem of unobserved heterogeneity across migrants’ origin households. Our results reveal that migrants’ education has no significant impact on the likelihood of sending remittances. Conditional on sending remittances, however, high-skilled migrants send significantly higher amounts of money to their households left behind. This effect holds for the sub-groups of internal migrants and migrants in non-OECD countries, while it vanishes for migrants in OECD destination countries once characteristics of the origin household are controlled for. |
| Keywords: | migration, remittances, skill level, brain drain, Sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | F22 F24 O15 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:1627&r=dev |
| By: | Pfeifer, Gregor; Wahl, Fabian; Marczak, Martyna |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the economic impact of the $14 billion preparatory investments for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. We use satellite data on night light luminosity at municipality and electoral district level as a proxy for economic development, applying synthetic control methods for estimation. For the average World Cup municipality, we find significantly positive, short-run effects before the tournament, corresponding to a reduction of unemployment by 1.3 percentage points. At the electoral district level, we reveal distinct effect heterogeneity, where especially investments in transport infrastructure are shown to have long-lasting, positive effects, particularly in more rural areas. |
| Keywords: | Football World Cup,Public Infrastructure,Development,Night Lights Data,Synthetic Control Methods,Mega Sports Events,South Africa |
| JEL: | H54 O18 R11 R42 Z28 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hohdps:162016&r=dev |
| By: | Daniel Chris Khomba (University of St Andrews); Alex Trew (University of St Andrews) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact on the growth of foreign aid flows to districts in Malawi over the period 2000–13. To isolate a causal impact on growth, we employ two exogenous determinants of within-country aid disbursement: First, the ethnic affinity of a district with the sitting President; second, the portion of Parliamentarians in a district that are susceptible into induced political defections. Using these instru- ments, alone or together, we identify a robust and quantitatively significant role for aid flows in causing higher growth in light density. We find a hump-shaped growth response over the course of three years. Bilateral aid appears to be better in causing growth than multilateral aid while grants have more impact than loans. |
| Keywords: | Foreign aid, economic development, favoritism |
| JEL: | F35 O19 O55 R11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:san:wpecon:1612&r=dev |
| By: | Arden Finn (Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.); Murray Leibbrandt (Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.); Vimal Ranchhod (SALDRU, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | How should the correlation between the earnings of parents and children in South Africa be calculated in the presence of high unemployment, and what is the role of education in determining this relationship? We use the first four waves of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) for 2008 to 2014/15, and the 1993 Project for Statistics on Living Standards and Development (PSLSD) to investigate the shape of the association between parental and child earnings across the earnings distribution, and find that the correlation is strongest at the ends of the distribution. We correct for possible biases that arise from co-resident parent-child pairs, and from selection into labour market participation in South Africa's high-unemployment society. We find that correcting for selection into employment increases the intergenerational elasticity of earnings by approximately 10 per cent. We unpack the role of education in determining the association of intergenerational earnings and find that the impact is strongest at the bottom of the earnings distribution, and that education accounts for approximately 40 percent of the total intergenerational earnings elasticity. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:175&r=dev |
| By: | Cockx, Lara; De Weerdt, Joachim |
| Abstract: | Sub-Saharan Africa is currently in the midst of an unprecedented wave of urbanization that is expected to have wide-ranging implications for food and nutrition security. Though this spatial transformation of the population is increasingly put forward as one of the main drivers of changes in food consumption patterns, empirical evidence remains scarce and the comparative descriptive design of existing research is prone to selection bias as urban residence is far from random. Based upon unique longitudinal data from the Tanzania National Panel Survey and the Kagera Health and Development Survey, this study will be the first to assess the impact of urbanization on food consumption through comparing individuals’ food consumption patterns before and after they have migrated from rural to urban areas. We find that even after controlling for individual fixed heterogeneity, baseline observable characteristics and initial household fixed effects, urbanization is significantly associated with important changes in dietary patterns, including a shift away from traditional staples towards more processed and ready-to-eat foods. While there is some evidence of changes that can be deemed beneficial from a nutritional point of view - including increased consumption of vegetables and animal source foods - the results also largely confirm concerns about the association between urbanization and heightened consumption of sugar and fats. In addition, we find no support for the hypothesis that urbanization is associated with more diverse diets. Finally, the results clearly indicate that rural-urban migration significantly contributes to reducing volatility in food consumption. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Crop Production/Industries, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaae16:249270&r=dev |
| By: | Chepchirchir, R.; Macharia, I.; Murage, A.W.; Midega, C.A.O.; Khan, Z.R. |
| Abstract: | The paper evaluates the impact of adoption of push-pull technology (PPT) on household welfare in terms of productivity, incomes and poverty status measured through per capita food consumption in eastern Uganda. Cross sectional survey data was collected from 560 households in four districts in the region: Busia, Tororo, Bugiri and Pallisa, in November and December 2014. Tobit model was used to determine the intensity of adoption of the technology whereas generalized propensity scores (GPS) was applied to estimate the dose-response function (DRF) relating intensity of adoption and household welfare. Results revealed that with increased intensity of PPT adoption, probability of being poor declines through increased yield, incomes, and per capita food consumption. With an increase in the area allocated to PPT from 0.025 to 1 acre, average maize yield increases from 27 kgs to 1,400 kgs, average household income increases from 135 USD (UGX 370,000) to 273 USD (UGX 750,000) and per capita food consumption increases from 15 USD (UGX 40,000) to 27 USD (UGX 75,000). The average probability of being poor declines from 48% to 28%: This implies that increased investment on PPT dissemination and expansion is essential for poverty reduction among smallholder farmers. |
| Keywords: | Push-pull technology, generalized propensity score, household welfare, Uganda, Consumer/Household Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaae16:246316&r=dev |
| By: | Omotilewa, Oluwatoba J.; Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob; Ainembabazi, Herbert; Shively, Gerald |
| Abstract: | Many poverty alleviation and development programs focus on increasing agricultural production and productivity through the use of improved seed varieties and chemical fertilizer; but ignore what happens in the postharvest season. However, increasing productivity without proper postharvest grain management practices will also increase quantity and quality losses. In this study, we use a randomized control trial implemented among 1190 farm households across the maize growing regions of Uganda to examine the impact of improved storage technology on household storage decisions at harvest, and on their input use. We exogenously treated one group of farm households providing them with hermetic storage bags. The control group continued to use traditional storage techniques. However, since the study is still on-going and post intervention data is not yet available, we used chemical protectant as a proxy for improved storage technology, and used panel estimation techniques to control for unobserved heterogeneity using our baseline data. Our results indicate that on average, protectant use increases maize storage by about 150 kilograms of maize at harvest with statistical significance. We also find that the use of storage protectant increases the length of storage for consumption by 3.7 weeks on average. Since the average length of hungry season per households’ in our dataset is 9 weeks, these findings are important to household food security. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaae16:246454&r=dev |
| By: | Welander, Anna (Department of Economics, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effects of a multilateral debt relief program on child health. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank launched the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative in the late 1990s to reduce the debt burdens of poor countries, and explicitly linked the initiative to the aim of poverty reduction and social targets. As a result, debt-servicing costs have gone down by an average 1.8 percentage points of gross domestic product in Heavily Indebted Poor Countries. However, the social effects of debt relief are not well known. The paper employs micro data on infant mortality from 56 country-specific Demographic and Health Surveys to investigate the effects of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative on child health. The retrospective fertility structure of the data allows for analysis using the within-mother variation in the probability of survival of babies before and after different stages of the initiative. The results suggest that after a debt-ridden country enters the program, which is conditional on reform and pro-development policies, and receives interim debt relief, the probability of infant mortality goes down by about 0.5 percentage point. This translates into about 3,000 fewer infant deaths in an average Heavily Indebted Poor Country. The findings are particularly strong for infants born to poor mothers and mothers living in rural areas, and are driven by access to vaccines early in life and during pregnancy. There are no child health effects from graduating from the program and receiving full debt relief. |
| Keywords: | Debt Relief; Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative; Child Health; Demographic and Health Surveys |
| JEL: | F34 I15 I18 |
| Date: | 2016–10–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2016_029&r=dev |
| By: | Gollin, Douglas; Hansen, Casper Worm; Wingender, Asger |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of the Green Revolution, defined as the diffusion of high-yielding crop varieties (HYVs), on aggregate economic outcomes in developing countries during the second half of the 20th century. We use time variation in the development and diffusion of HYVs of 10 major crops, and the spatial variation in agro-climatically suitability for growing them, to identify the causal effects of adoption. In a sample of 84 counties, we estimate that a 10 percentage points increase in HYV adoption increases GDP per capita by about 15 percent. This effect is fully accounted for by a combination of the direct effect on crop yields, factor adjustment in agriculture, and structural transformation. Our analysis also reveals that the Green Revolution reduced fertility and that the reduction was only partly offset by decreasing mortality rates. The net effect on population growth was therefore negative. |
| Keywords: | agriculture; Green Revolution; High Yielding Variety crops; macoeconomic development; productivity shock |
| JEL: | N50 O11 O13 O50 Q16 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11611&r=dev |
| By: | Emokaro, C.O.; Oyoboh, D.E. |
| Abstract: | Smallholders with total farm holdings of less than five hectares constitute about 70% of the farming population in Nigeria, producing most of the food crops thereby contributing to food security and poverty reduction. This huge contribution not withstanding they are faced with the challenges of inadequate agricultural infrastructure, much needed for optimal productivity. There is therefore a need to improve the general livelihood of these largely agrarian rural poor. The impact of the Community Driven Development (CDD) approach of Edo State Government Community and Social Development Project (CSDP) in meeting the overall development objective of sustainably increasing access of the poor to rural infrastructure was evaluated in this study. The study was carried out in 44 communities spread across the three Senatorial Districts of Edo State. A stratified sampling procedure was employed in selecting the 22 treatment communities and their corresponding counterfactuals for this study. Fifteen households were selected from each of the 44 communities to give a total sample size of 660 respondents. Descriptive and quantitative techniques such as frequency tables, means, standard deviation, percentages, comparative cost ratios and Difference-in-Differences (DD) were employed in analyzing the data generated. Results of the socioeconomic characteristics of respondents showed that they were mainly smallholder farmers with mean farm size and annual income of 0.23ha and N 133,500, respectively. Their average age and household size were 45 years and eight persons respectively. Over 60% of the respondents were men and about 40% of them had formal education up to secondary school level. Results of the economic analysis indicated that the cost of all the Micro Projects embarked upon by Edo State CSDP averaged about N4,867,704.11. The estimated comparative cost ratio showed that the cost of CSDP Micro Projects were, at the least, about a third of the average alternative cost of similar projects embarked upon by the State Government, Local Government Areas (LGAs) and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The highest comparative cost ratio of 4.55, was recorded in the skills acquisition project. The lowest ratio of 1.6 was however recorded in the town hall (civic center) project. Results of the causality between CSDP Micro Projects (MPs) and outcomes in the six sectors considered showed that the education sector had a reduction of 29.72 minutes in the average time taken by students to get to school and 0.69 kilometers in average distance to school due to Edo State CSDP intervention in the construction and rehabilitation of schools. In the water sector, a DD of 425 persons fetching water for domestic purpose was recorded, a 47% reduction in the cost of buying water with 65% of the community members now having access to portable water as a result of CSDP intervention in the provision of motorized boreholes. Average distance to water source equally reduced by 5.82 kilometers, while average time spent in fetching water reduced by 10. 56 minutes. The result also showed a 61% reduction in reported cases of water borne diseases, with 70% of the respondents opining that there is a change in personal hygiene after the provision of water facilities by Edo State CSDP. In conclusion, the effectiveness of the CDD process in improving the lives of the agrarian populace in Edo State has been shown empirically. Effort should be made by stakeholders in agricultural development to embrace this process and ensure the sustainability of these gains. |
| Keywords: | Counterfactual, Difference in Difference, Food Security, Hygiene, Optimal, Poverty, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaae16:246314&r=dev |
| By: | Murage, A.W.; Pittchar, J.O.; Midega, C.A.O.; Onyango, C.O.; Pickett, J.A.; Khan, Z.R. |
| Abstract: | Women are taking over the Agriculture sector in sub-Saharan Africa and policies that enhance their empowerment in farming would have positive gains in enhancing food security and transforming lives. Adoption studies have identified gender as one of the factors that determine technology uptake, and this has been linked to women’s access to farming information or lack of it. Technology scaling up systems should utilize pathways that are compatible with the needs of rural women who have to juggle farming with other household chores. Unfortunately, there has been limited effort to evaluate the suitability of the information pathways used to specific gender. This study evaluates the appropriateness of field days with respect to gender of the participants. A total of 2,615 participants were interviewed out of 6,221 who attended field days in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The determinants of level knowledge level gained and willingness to adopt was evaluated using an ordered probit and logit model. Our findings shows that majority of the participants were women (51.3%), middle aged (40-45 years) and with primary level education (54.1% women). The model results shows that women farmers understood more about push-pull (coefficient of ordered probit = -0.112) and were more willing to adopt push-pull (coefficient of logit = -0.367). Age, education, being a push-pull farmer, perception of Striga severity and having a mobile phone were also significant. Our findings demonstrate that field days are appropriate for training farmers especially women who are often disadvantaged in information access. |
| Keywords: | Gender-appropriateness, Field days, Knowledge accumulation, Adoption, Consumer/Household Economics, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaae16:246277&r=dev |
| By: | Bosch, Christine; Zeller, Manfred; Deffner, Domenica |
| Abstract: | This paper studies access to and adoption of improved seeds and the diffusion of this information in a remote area in central Madagascar. The analysis is based on panel data gathered from 2009 to 2014 for 390 households in three villages. In 2013 a randomized treatment control design was applied in which 50% randomly selected households from the panel received 1.5 kapoaka (0.6 kg) of improved bean seeds (Pois du Cap/Morombe/Phaseolus lunatus). The beans were especially bred for dry regions and purchased at Fofifa (National Center of Applied Research and Rural Development). Of those households receiving, 50% randomly selected households were given information on how to store, plant and cultivate the seeds, as the distributed variety was unknown in the region and not available in the villages. These three groups are compared with respect to baseline characteristics, bean adoption, cultivation, information exchange with other farmers and diet diversity. 55% of the households that received seeds cultivated them, with an average yield of 3 kg. As non-compliance and spillovers exist, next to the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT), intention-to-treat (ITT) and local average treatment effect (LATE) is estimated. Additionally, willingness to pay (WTP) for improved bean seeds is estimated via the contingent valuation method (CVM). In order to ask the WTP, households were explained the benefits of improved bean seeds, which resulted in a WTP of 171% of the price of beans purchased on the local market. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaae16:249286&r=dev |
| By: | Adeyemo, Temitayo Adenike; Amaza, Paul; Okoruwi, Victor; Abass, Adebayo |
| Abstract: | Although cassava economic and development significance is gaining ground in Nigeria, the smallholding nature of production, processing, marketing and utilization persists. The smallholding and subsistence nature of most agricultural households in Nigeria means that welfare attributes may not be achieved. Operating within the concept of an economic based biomass value web is expected to increase both the productive capacity and food security outcome of the smallholders in the cassava web. The study examined the extent to which smallholders in the cassava system are involved in its biomass value web using a sample of 260 cassava smallholder households selected through a multistage sampling procedure in Edo state, Nigeria. The extent of participation in the value web was done using the composite score method; food security status of households was determined using the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke framework and covariates of food security determined through a probit regression. The results showed only about 28% of the smallholders are high level participants in the value web. While about 84% of the respondents are food insecure; food insecurity level is lowest among high level of participation in the value web. The probit regression shows that increasing levels of participation in the value web, education, and high monthly income increases food security, while household size, marital status and male headed household headship reduces food security. Policy implications suggests provision of infrastructure that help promote multiple involvement in the cassava value web. |
| Keywords: | Cassava, Food Security, Biomass Web, Smallholders, Nigeria, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaae16:249319&r=dev |
| By: | Levine, N. Kendra; Mason, Nicole M.; Morgan, Stephen N. |
| Abstract: | In many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, low crop yield response to inorganic fertilizer contributes to low profitability of fertilizer use and reduces the positive effects of and returns to input subsidy programs (ISPs). A major reason for poor crop yield response to fertilizer is low soil quality. However, using other soil fertility management (SFM) practices in conjunction with fertilizer can improve its response rate. But do ISPs encourage (‘crowd in’) or discourage (‘crowd out’) the use of such SFM practices? Using nationally representative household panel survey data, we estimate the effects of subsidized fertilizer acquired through Zambia’s ISP on the use of several SFM practices: (i) leaving land fallow, (ii) intercropping, and (iii) applying animal manure. For each practice, we estimate the household-level effects of an increase in the quantity of subsidized fertilizer acquired on the probability of SFM adoption, land area covered by SFM, and the share of land dedicated to SFM, using the ordinary least squares, fixed effects, and fixed effects-instrumental variable estimators. The results suggest that subsidized fertilizer has statistically significant crowding out effects on all fallow variables, for all measures of adoption, using all estimators. Additionally, we find some evidence that subsidized fertilizer crowds out intercropping. However, the weight of the evidence suggests that subsidized fertilizer has no significant effect on intercropping with legumes or the use of animal manure. By disincentivizing fallowing and intercropping, Zambia’s ISP may be inadvertently reducing soil quality and the effectiveness and profitability of its main input, inorganic fertilizer. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaae16:246393&r=dev |
| By: | Kihoro, Esther M.; Irungu, Patrick; Nyikal, Rose; Maina, Immaculate N. |
| Abstract: | This study sought to contribute to a better understanding of market dynamics of green grams as a traditional crop within a resource poor producer community in Mbeere South sub-County, Kenya. The study aimed to characterize the green gram marketing channels and to evaluate the factors that influence the choice of green gram marketing channel by the producers. A multinomial logit model was estimated through data from households growing green grams. Results show that 70 percent of farmers in the study site grew green grams. On average, each household has 1 to 2 acres of land under green grams production each year. Farmers used three marketing channels, rural retailers (58 percent), wholesalers (14 percent) and assemblers (26 percent). The multinomial results showed that Age of the farmer (P=0.06), access to credit (p=0.065), price of green grams (p=0.079), and selling as individuals (p=0.000) positively influenced the choice of rural assembler marketing channel. Gender of the household head (p=0.001), production cost (p=0.000) and use of mobile phone to access marketing information (p=0.019) positively influenced the probability of choosing rural retailer over wholesaler marketing channel. In conclusion, farmers prefer marketing channels where they incur low production and transport cost and that offer higher prices to maximize profits. The study recommended first, identification and prioritization of unique farmer-trader relations that enhance adaptive resilience and increase farmers marketing options. Secondly, interventions to enhance market-based signals e.g. price should be reinforced. |
| Keywords: | marketing channels, green grams, ASALs, market signals, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaae16:249331&r=dev |
| By: | Kafle, Kashi; Jolliffe, Dean; Winter-Nelson, Alex |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates differentiated effects of household asset ownership on educational outcomes of children ages 6 and above in Tanzania. The paper contributes to the literature by providing a theoretical framework that portrays a mechanism for different assets to have differential effects on child education. We use data from Living Standard Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) in Tanzania which provides panel data on both household wellbeing and agricultural practices and resources. Use of the LSMS-ISA data allows us to disentangle the complicated relationship between child education and agricultural assets in ways which would not be possible using traditional cross-sectional surveys of either household wellbeing or farm practices. We use the Hausman-Taylor instrumental variable (HTIV) panel-data estimator to efficiently control for time-invariant variables omitted from our specifications while allowing us to identify the effects of fixed controls while correcting for the endogeneity of assets. We find that, controlling for household income, different asset types have opposing effects on child educational outcomes. Household durables and housing quality characteristics have positive effects but agricultural assets have adverse effects on highest grade completed and test scores. We demonstrate that the negative effect of agricultural assets emerges from higher opportunity cost of schooling and that the effect is more pronounced among boys and children from poor households, grain crop farmers, and rural residents. |
| Keywords: | asset ownership, child education, highest grade completed, test scores, Consumer/Household Economics, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, I25, J22, D13, O12, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaae16:249273&r=dev |
| By: | Farzana Afridi (Indian Statistical Institute); Bidisha Barooah (International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie)); Rohini Somanathan (Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Can countries with binding budget constraints increase the benefits of school transfers through better program design? We use a cost-neutral change in the design of India's school meal program to study this question. Municipal schools in Delhi switched from packaged snacks to cooked meals in 2003, with no change in payments to meal providers. We use variation in the timing of this transition and child-level panel data to estimate a 3 percentage point rise in average monthly attendance in response to the new program. The effects are largest for early grades, morning school shifts and schools serving diverse menus. |
| Keywords: | school meals, attendance, program design |
| JEL: | D1 E31 F01 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cde:cdewps:264&r=dev |
| By: | Mduduzi Biyase (Department of Economics and Econometrics, University of Johannesburg); Fiona Tregenna (Department of Economics and Econometrics, University of Johannesburg) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses household-level determinants of the probability and level of domestic remittances in South Africa over the period 2008 to 2014-2015. We exploit all four waves of the National Income Dynamics Survey (NIDS) data to analyse the determinants of remittances in a panel setting using random-effects Tobit, Heckman selection, and two-part model approaches. The panel nature of this data allows us to incorporate individuals' unobserved time-constant characteristics (or unobserved heterogeneity) in the models, a step that enriches the analysis and yields more accurate results than if we were to use only cross-sectional analysis. It also allows us to incorporate information about the dynamics of remittance behaviour for the same households. However, data availability restricts the analysis to determinants associated with the recipient households. We find the determinants of the probability of remitting to be non-identical to the determinants of the level of remittances. Determinants of both include the age, race, education level, and employment status of the household head, and the income and the type of area of the household. The gender of the household head and the size of the household are also important determinants, but appear to have a positive effect on the probability of remitting, yet a negative effect on the amount remitted. These results shed light on the factors that affect whether or not families receive remittances and, if they do, how much. |
| Keywords: | remittances, migration, South Africa |
| JEL: | D10 O15 R23 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:176&r=dev |
| By: | Obisesan, Adekemi A.; Amos, Taiwo T.; Akinlade, Roseline J. |
| Abstract: | This study examined credit accessibility, technology adoption and the impact on output and income of cassava farming households in Southwest Nigeria. Data were collected using structured questionnaire through a multi-stage sampling procedure. Ondo and Ogun states were randomly selected from the six States in Southwest, Nigeria. The next stage involved the random selection of four Local Government Areas from each State. Finally, a total of five hundred and forty cassava farmers were randomly selected from both States. Propensity Score Matching, descriptive statistics and Tobit regression model were employed in the analysis. There were 387 respondents with similar characteristics. Majority of the farmers were males with mean household size of six members. Average area of land cultivated was about 1 hectare. Credit accessibility was higher among the adopters. Credit access had a positive and significant (p<0.01) influence on level of adoption. Cassava yield and income (14.92 tonnes/ha and ₦321,758.00 respectively) of adopters with credit was higher than their counterparts (13.06 tonnes/ha and ₦287,110.90) without credit access. The impact of technology adoption was higher among adopters with credit access. Technology adoption increased cassava yield and income of adopters with credit access by 4.68tonnes/ha and ₦64,945.19 respectively compared with 2.57 tonnes/ha and ₦33,964.79 for those without access. This suggests that access to credit and technology adoption have the potential to transform smallholder agriculture in Nigeria. The study recommends that government should invest more on technology advancement and dissemination among smallholder farmers. Policy measures should also be oriented towards the improvement of rural credit. |
| Keywords: | Cassava, Credit, Income, Technology, Southwest Nigeria, Financial Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaae16:246443&r=dev |
| By: | Darko, Francis Addeah; Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob; Kilic, Talip; Florax, Raymond; Shively, Gerald |
| Abstract: | This study assessed the profitability of fertilizer use by farmers in rural Malawi using a two-wave nationally representative panel data. We find that fertilizer use is generally unprofitable at prevailing market conditions when farmers are assumed to be risk averse. In order for fertilizer use to be profitable on average, the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) – the kilograms of maize obtained from a kilogram of nitrogen – would have to increase by 136%, 141% and by 50% if maize output is valued at farm gate price, harvest season market price and lean season market price respectively; or fertilizer ought to be subsidized at a rate of at least 72.43%, 71.67% and 41.34% respectively. Although fertilizer subsidy improves the profitability of fertilizer by increasing the maize-nitrogen price ratio, we find that at all rates of subsidy, unless farmers can store their produce and sell during the lean season where output price is relatively higher, they would be at least MK 66.16 and MK 61.81 per kg of subsidized nitrogen better off with the cash equivalent of the subsidy than with subsidized fertilizer when maize is values at farm gate price and harvest season market price respectively. We also find that the government recommended rates of fertilizer application is too high to be profitable at prevailing market conditions, but profitability at this rate of fertilizer application is over 100% higher than profitability at actual rate of application. |
| Keywords: | Maize, Fertilizer profitability, Nitrogen use efficiency, Malawi, Fertilizer subsidy, Crop Production/Industries, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, C52, C81, Q12, Q18, |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaae16:249269&r=dev |