|
on Development |
| By: | Mitiku, Fikadu; de Mey, Yann; Nyssen, Jan; Maertens, Miet |
| Abstract: | Private sustainability standards are spreading rapidly in the agri-food sector and are especially important in trade with developing countries. In this paper we analyze the impact of sustainability standards in the smallholder coffee sector in Ethiopia. We look at Fairtrade, Organic and Rainforest Alliance certification in a comparative way. We use cross-sectional survey data from a sample of 427 coffee farmers in the Jimma and Kaffa zones of Ethiopia, with all sampled farmers being member of a coffee cooperative. We analyze the impact of certification to different standards on poverty, income, yield and farm-gate prices in order to unravel the channels of possible poverty-reducing effects. We use logit, tobit and OLS regression models and attempt to control for cooperative-level heterogeneity. We find that Rainforest Alliance certification improves rural income by 72% and reduces the incidence and depth of poverty by 25% and 31% respectively while Fairtrade and Organic certification have no effect. We find that the positive effect of Rainforest Alliance mainly comes from a large impact on producer prices that offsets a negative impact on yields. Also, Fairtrade certification is found to lead to higher producer prices, but to a much smaller extent than Rainforest Alliance, and the price effect does not lead to an overall effect on farmers’ income and poverty reduction. |
| Keywords: | Private standards, Sustainability standards, Global value chains, Coffee certification, Poverty Impact, Ethiopia, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:kucawp:253589&r=dev |
| By: | Biyase, Mduduzi; Zwane, Talent |
| Abstract: | The data used for our analysis is drawn from the first four waves of the National Income Dynamic Study to determine the factors that influence poverty and household welfare in South Africa. Contrary to most existing studies, which have applied ordinary least squares and probit/logit models on cross-sectional data, this analysis captures unobserved individual heterogeneity and endogeneity, both via fixed effect, and via a robust alternative based on random effect probit estimation. The results from fixed effect and random effect probit indicate that levels of education of the household head, some province dummies, race of the household head, dependency ratio, gender of the household head, employment status of the household head and marital status of the household head are statistically significant determinants of household welfare. Consistent with previous research, we also found that, compared to traditional rural areas (used as reference category), households living in urban and farms are less likely to be poverty stricken, which implies that rural areas (traditional rural areas) should continue to be a major focus of poverty alleviation efforts in South Africa. |
| Keywords: | fixed effect, random effect probit, poverty |
| JEL: | I31 |
| Date: | 2017–01–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:77085&r=dev |
| By: | Piopiunik, Marc; Bietenbeck, Jan; Wiederhold, Simon |
| Abstract: | Student performance in Sub-Saharan Africa is tragically low. We study the importance of teacher subject knowledge for student performance in this region using unique international assessment data for sixth-grade students and their teachers. To circumvent bias due to unobserved student heterogeneity, we exploit variation within students across math and reading. We find that teacher subject knowledge has a modest impact on student performance on average. However, this effect is substantially larger for students with access to textbooks, which indicates important complementarities between teacher knowledge and school resources. Results are robust to adding teacher fixed effects and not driven by sorting. |
| JEL: | I21 J24 O15 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc16:145562&r=dev |
| By: | Rashad, Ahmed Shoukry; Sharaf, Mesbah Fathy; Mansour, Elhussien I. |
| Abstract: | We assess the impact of health insurance on the utilization of maternal health care services in Egypt. A propensity score matching is used to control for baseline differences in the characteristics of the insured and uninsured women, to determine the difference in health care utilization between the two groups that is attributed solely to the health insurance coverage. The results yield that the national health insurance has a strong positive impact on most of the maternal healthcare indicators. Public health insurance coverage increases the likelihood of receiving antenatal care by about 7%, delivering in a public health facility by 8%, and the likelihood that a newborn receive vitamin A dose after delivery by 8.2%. However, women who are less educated, from a poor household, and rural regions, are less likely to be covered by a health insurance. The findings of this study would guide intervention measures that aim at improving health care utilization especially among the poor and other vulnerable groups. |
| Keywords: | maternal care utilization,health insurance,propensity score matching,Egypt |
| JEL: | I14 I15 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fsfmwp:223&r=dev |
| By: | Richard Bluhm (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Martin Gassebner (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Sarah Langlotz (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Paul Schaudt (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the e?ects of bilateral foreign aid on con?ict escalation and de-escalation. We make three major contributions. First, we combine data on civil wars with data on low level con?icts in a new ordinal measure capturing the two-sided and multifaceted nature of con?ict. 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 e?ect of foreign aid on con?ict by predicting bilateral aid ?ows based on electoraloutcomesofdonorcountriesthatareexogenoustorecipients. Weestablish that thee?ect of foreignaid on the various transition probabilitiesis heterogeneous andcanbesubstantial. Receivingbilateralaidraisesthechancesofescalatingfrom small con?ict to armed con?ict, but we ?nd no evidence that aid ignites con?ict in truly peaceful countries. |
| Keywords: | Conflict, Foreign aid, Political economy |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:16-412&r=dev |
| By: | Marcos Agurto Adrianzén (Universidad de Piura) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of long term improved cooking stoves (ICS) usage on selfreported eye irritation symptoms and respiratory health in the Northern Peruvian Andes. To identify the effect of ICS, we exploit field data related to the quasi-random distribution of ICS with faulty iron frames. Our results indicate that ICS long term usage, with an operative chimney, reduces respiratory illnesses and eye discomfort symptoms among housewives. It is also shown that in the case of respiratory health, other household members may benefit from reduced household air pollution (HAP) exposure. |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ima:wpaper:2016-002&r=dev |
| By: | Dang Thi Thu Hoai |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the issue of horizontal inequalities in Viet Nam over the past 20 years. Using data from three recent Viet Nam population censuses (1989, 1999, and 2009) and three Viet Nam Household Living Standard Surveys (1998, 2008, 2012), we estimated numerous measures on inequalities between different ‘ethnic’ groups against several welfare indicators. Our results show that horizontal inequality matters in Viet Nam, in particular for ethnicity, region, and rural/urban groups. While there has been an improvement in horizontal inequality in education, this paper shows little change in other welfare indicators, in particular poverty. We also found that horizontal inequality does matter for poverty reduction in Viet Nam and it needs more attention when designing poverty policies in the future. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2017-18&r=dev |
| By: | Jaime Aristy-Escuder (INTEC Santo Domingo); Maynor Cabrera (FEDES); Blanca Moreno-Dodson (World Bank); Miguel Sánchez-Martín (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses whether limited redistributive effect of fiscal policy in the Dominican Republic has slowed improvements in poverty and inequality during a period of strong economic growth. Departing from the Commitment to Equity methodology for fiscal incidence analysis (Lustig and Higgins, 2013) this paper introduces new methodological considerations and addresses the time gap between the current fiscal structure (2013) and the latest available household survey (2007) by deflating public revenue and spending data to 2007 prices. Results show that fiscal policy in the Dominican Republic is overall progressive given that, compared to other countries, the fiscal system achieves intermediate levels of inequality reduction (5 Gini points) through direct and indirect taxes, transfers and subsidies, and it generates very little horizontal inequality. At the same time, the impact of direct transfers on poverty reduction is modest, due to the limited cash amounts granted, and there seems to be scope to boosting revenue and enhancing progressivity by revising tax exemptions and indirect electricity subsidies. |
| Date: | 2016–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tul:ceqwps:47&r=dev |
| By: | Benjamin Tetteh Anang |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the factors influencing participation in non-farm work and the effect of participation on farmers’ productivity, using survey data from 300 smallholder farm households in northern Ghana. The study employs an endogenous switching regression model to address selection into non-farm work, and a treatment effects model to measure the effect of participation on productivity. Factors determining participation in off-farm activity include the head of household’s gender and years of formal education, the location of the farm, ownership of cattle, and the dependency ratio. Factors affecting productivity include gender, years of formal education, farm size, location of the farm, access to credit, herd ownership, and degree of specialization in rice production. Results from a treatment effects model indicate a positively significant effect of non-farm employment participation on farm productivity. Income diversification therefore remains an important livelihood strategy among smallholders, and earnings from off-farm work enable smallholders to improve their yields. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2017-38&r=dev |
| By: | Jon Jellema (Commitment to Equity Institute); Nora Lustig (Stone Center for Latin American Studies, Department of Economics, Tulane University. Commitment to Equity Institute (CEQI).); Astrid Haas (International Global Centre); Sebastian Wolf (Overseas Development Institute) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses the 2012/13 Uganda National Household Survey to analyze the redistributive effectiveness and impact on poverty and inequality of Uganda’s revenue collection instruments and social spending programs. Fiscal policy – including many of its constituent tax and spending elements – is inequality-reducing in Uganda, but the reduction of inequality due to fiscal policy in Uganda is lower than other countries with similar levels of initial inequality, a result tied to low levels of spending in Uganda generally. The impact of fiscal policy on poverty is negligible, while the combination of very sparse coverage of direct transfer programs and nearly complete coverage of indirect tax instruments means that many poor households are net payers into, rather than net recipients from, the fiscal system. As Uganda looks ahead to increased revenues from taxation and concurrent investments in productive infrastructure, it should take care to protect the poorest households from further impoverishment from the fiscal system. |
| Keywords: | fiscal incidence, poverty, inequality, fiscal policy, Uganda |
| JEL: | D31 D63 H22 H23 I38 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tul:ceqwps:53&r=dev |
| By: | Sandra Martinez-Aguilar (Commitment to Equity Institute (CEQI)); Alan Fuchs (World Bank); Eduardo Ortiz-Juarez (Doctoral Student in the Department of International Development at King’s College London, and Research Associate at the CEQ Institute (CEQI)); Giselle Del Carmen (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | This paper applies a comprehensive tax-benefit incidence analysis to estimate the distributional effects of fiscal policy in Chile in 2013. Four results are indicative of an overall positive net effect of fiscal interventions on poverty and inequality. First, subsidies exert a positive, yet modest effect on poverty and inequality, whereas direct transfers are progressive, equalizing, and reduce the poverty headcount by 4 to 5 percentage points, depending on the poverty line used. Second, although social contributions are unequalizing and poverty-increasing, direct taxes on personal income are equalizing and poverty neutral, whereas indirect taxes are poverty-increasing but exert a counterintuitive, yet feasible equalizing effect known as Lambert’s conundrum. Third, social spending on tertiary education is slightly equalizing but it is not pro-poor, contrary to the effects of social spending on basic and secondary education and health, which are not only equalizing but also pro-poor. Finally, the net effect of Chile’s tax/transfer system leaves fewer individuals impoverished relative to the number of fiscal gainer |
| Keywords: | Fiscal Policy and Inequality, Income Inequality, Poverty, Social Assistance, Taxation |
| JEL: | D31 I32 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tul:ceqwps:46&r=dev |
| By: | Nora Lustig (Stone Center for Latin American Studies, Department of Economics, Tulane University. Commitment to Equity Institute (CEQI).) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the redistributive impact of fiscal policy for Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru and South Africa using comparable fiscal incidence analysis with data from around 2010. The largest redistributive effect is in South Africa and the smallest in Indonesia. Success in fiscal redistribution is driven primarily by redistributive effort (share of social spending to GDP in each country) and the extent to which transfers/subsidies are targeted to the poor and direct taxes targeted to the rich. While fiscal policy always reduces inequality, this is not the case with poverty. Fiscal policy increases poverty in Brazil and Colombia (over and above market income poverty) due to high consumption taxes on basic goods. The marginal contribution of direct taxes, direct transfers and in- kind transfers is always equalizing. The marginal effect of net indirect taxes is unequalizing in Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and South Africa. Total spending on education is pro-poor except for Indonesia, where it is neutral in absolute terms. Health spending is pro-poor in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and South Africa,roughly neutral in absolute terms in Mexico, and not pro-poor in Indonesia and Peru. |
| Keywords: | fiscal incidence, social spending, inequality, developing countries |
| JEL: | H22 D31 I3 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tul:ceqwps:31&r=dev |
| By: | Volker Seiler (Paderborn University); Evgenia Taach (Paderborn University) |
| Abstract: | The question whether aid-effectiveness is conditional on sound governance is a highly controversial debate with mixed empirical evidence. Using a sample of 80 developing countries that meet the OECD’s criteria for official development assistance over the period 2002 to 2014 we find the effectiveness of development to be unconditional of governance. As the returns to aid are decreasing, this effect is nonlinear. |
| Keywords: | Official Development Aid, Governance, World Governance Indicators, Economic Growth |
| JEL: | O10 O11 O47 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdn:ciepap:100&r=dev |
| By: | Kieron Barclay (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Mikko Myrskylä (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Annually, 6 million children under age five die and over 80% of these deaths happen in the developing world. However, under-five mortality did decrease by 53% between 1990 and 2015. For an individual mother, having a child at an older age means placing the child into a later birth cohort in which survival should be higher due to secular declines in mortality. Using data covering 7 million births, 77 developing countries, and 228 Demographic and Health Surveys collected from 1985-2014, we implement Cox proportional hazard models and stratified Cox models to study how secular declines in child mortality offset the risks associated with reproductive ageing. We also calculate the population attributable fraction to examine how a change in the distribution of maternal age at birth would affect under-five mortality. Our results show that if fertility in the DHS countries was on average postponed by as little as 1-year, 1.4%, or more than 68,000 of all child deaths per year, could be avoided. An increase in birth spacing by 1-year would reduce child mortality by 0.9% per year. In countries with the fastest rates of decline in under-five mortality, postponing all childbearing by 1-year would reduce child mortality by 3.0%, and a 1-year increase in birth spacing would reduce child mortality by 4.3%. This study shows that secular declines in under-five mortality can counterbalance or outweigh the risks associated with reproductive ageing in developing countries. Postponing fertility is not only the expressed preference of women, but would also help save childrens lives. |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2017-005&r=dev |
| By: | Rama Lionel Ngenzebuke |
| Abstract: | Using the third round of the Tanzanian National Panel Survey, this study delves into the productivity returns of multifaceted female empowerment in agriculture. Unlike the classic unidimensional approach to identify gender gaps in agricultural yields, this study lays emphasis on the overlapping of manifold aspects of female empowerment in agriculture - including female plot ownership, female plot management and female control over the agricultural output - through a threefold interaction model. Next, I use Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique to understanding the mechanisms underlying significant yields gaps, as well as to assess the returns of female management and control rights to the classic yields gap against femaleowned plots. This study identifies significant yields gaps that would go unnoticed through the classic unidimensional approach. More specifically, and this is the first returns of female decision-making rights, female owners who further manage and control their owned plots are more productive than female mere owners. Next, female decision-making rights contribute at narrowing the classic yields gap against female-owned plots, mostly through the structural disadvantage - that is through lower productivity returns to factors of production - against female owners who would not manage their plot, nor control the agricultural output - the fruit of their labor. These findings are robust along several dimensions and call for a few implications with respect to collection and analysis of agricultural data, as well as to gender policies in agriculture. |
| Keywords: | female; plot ownership; plot management; output control; agricultural yields; Tanzania |
| JEL: | J16 O13 Q12 Q15 |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/246993&r=dev |