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on Development |
| By: | Juliana Mesén Vargas (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the income effect of cash transfers on adult labor outcomes. I use data of PROGRESA, a large cash transfer program in Mexico that provides money to households subject to the condition that school aged kids go to school. I focus on a subsample of the eligibles for whom the conditionality is not a constraint. This allows me to shut-down the substitution effect that the conditionality of the transfer may induce. In practice, it is as if PROGRESA was an unconditional cash transfer for this subpopulation. Contrary to standard beliefs, I find that the income effect on labor outcomes is not negative. |
| Keywords: | Conditional Cash Transfers, Poverty, Labor Supply |
| JEL: | O12 C93 I32 J22 |
| Date: | 2018–10–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvir:2018015&r=dev |
| By: | Le, Nga (UNU-MERIT); Groot, Wim (UNU-MERIT and CAPHRI, Maastricht University,); Tomini, Sonila (UNU-MERIT); Tomini, Florian (Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, UCL Medical School) |
| Abstract: | Health insurance can have important effects on self-employment and self- employment transitions. However, there is a literature gap on the relationship between health insurance and self-employment in low and middle income countries, especially in the context of the rapid expansion of health insurance in these countries. This paper examines this relationship in Vietnam with a focus on the comparison between the voluntary scheme for the informal sector (mostly self-employed workers) and the compulsory insurance for the formal sector (mostly wage workers). We employ a Multinomial Logit Model on a panel from the Vietnamese Household Living Standards Surveys 2010-2014 to investigate the association between health insurance and self-employment entry and exit over time. We show that those with compulsory health insurance in Vietnam, the formal workers, do not have the incentive to start a business compared to those having voluntary insurance. This effect holds true over time in 2012 and 2014. The effect is partly explained by the better enforcement of the compulsory health insurance scheme in Vietnam, making staying out of self-employment (often informal self-employment) a preferred choice. Regarding the effect of health insurance on self- employment exit, we do not find any conclusive evidence on this matter. The rigidity of the economy is highlighted, suggesting important policy implications in the areas of health and labour policies in Vietnam. |
| Keywords: | health insurance, self-employment, Vietnam, self-employment entry, self-employment exit |
| JEL: | I13 J22 O15 |
| Date: | 2018–11–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2018039&r=dev |
| By: | Rahman, Mustafizur; Al-Hasan, Md. |
| Abstract: | The paper focuses on estimation of returns to schooling in the Bangladesh context. Earlier articles which tried to quantify the returns were constrained by a number of limitations including measurement techniques that were deployed. The present article revisits the issue and makes an attempt to build on the earlier studies by making use of quantile regression and instrumental variable quantile regression methods. The paper finds that endogeneity problem leads to underestimation of the returns to schooling and the returns tend to vary along the wage distribution, which mean regression models fail to capture. The analysis shows that average returns to schooling for female is higher than that of male. The analysis also shows that returns to schooling tends to be higher as one moves along higher percentiles of wage distribution and this is true for both male and female. |
| Keywords: | Returns to Schooling; Instrumental Variable Regression; Quantile Regression |
| JEL: | C21 C26 J01 |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:90132&r=dev |
| By: | Fetene, G.M.; Getehun, T.D. |
| Abstract: | Using a unique panel data, we investigate whether the technologies that the farmers adopted three and five years ago have effects on food and nutrition security of the adopters. Secondly, we analyze the adoption decisions of a comprehensive of eight modern inputs and labor-intensive technologies including improved seed varieties, inorganic fertilizer, chemicals, organic fertilizer, extension service, irrigation, soil conservation and mechanism of planting seeds. Finally, we investigate the determinants of adoptions. The results reveal that the higher the number of technologies that the farmers adopted, the higher the likelihood of food and nutrition security, implying that farmers have to get a package of inputs to best benefit from the technologies. Most of the technologies have statistically significant effects on food and nutrition security individually as well. We also find complementarity between modern inputs and labor-intensive technologies, perhaps indicating that adoption of modern inputs induces farmers to adopt labor-intensive technologies. The results further reveal that farmers who adopt technologies once are more likely to adopt the technologies again, perhaps indicating that adoption of these technologies is profitable. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277332&r=dev |
| By: | Rodriguez, E.; Costa, L. Vieira |
| Abstract: | Child labor is a social problem with economic consequences for the growth and development of countries in the short and long term, affecting children's physical and mental development because it interferes with their future wages. In paper we seek to investigate how negative income shocks and economic assets are associated with child labor and school attendance in the Dominican Republic. This issue is particularly important in rural areas, where people are more prone to suffer exogenous shocks and have fewer tools to mitigate them. We used microdata from the Encuesta Nacional de Hogares de Prop sitos Multiples (ENHOGAR) for 2010. Our The empirical strategy was based on a bivariate probit for considering that the decision to allocate children's time to work and/or study are interdependent. The results show that assets positively affect the decision to allocate children towards schooling. On the other hand, negative household income shocks increase the probability of child labor. We also find evidence that in Dominican Republic, children's time does not seem to compete with his or her time in school and the presence of assets is not able to reduce the negative effects of the shocks. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277453&r=dev |
| By: | Duangbootsee, U. |
| Abstract: | This study uses panel data from 384 Thai rural farm households collected annually from 2000-2013 to examine the determinants of household s land rental market participation, and the impacts of renting land on household incomes. A preliminary finding indicates that households with relatively poor land endowment cultivate more land than do other households to the extent that more than half of the land is rented in. Consistent with previous literature, the study find evidence that land rental markets in Thailand promote farm productivity and reduce landholdings inequality by transferring land from less-efficient to more-efficient households and from land-abundant to labor-constrained households, respectively. More importantly, the rental markets significantly raise the net farm incomes of tenants, most of whom are land-constrained households. Mechanisms to reduce land conflicts and remove local restrictions on land rental are needed in order to improve the functioning of land rental markets, and thereby enhancing farm income. Key Words: Land rental market, household income, Thai agriculture, Townsend Thai data Acknowledgement : This study is fully supported by Thailand Research Fund (TRF); project reference code RDG5920034. The author would like to thank Charapon Chantorn and Piyayut Chitchumnong as well as two anonymous reviewers assigned by TRF for their valuable comments and suggestions. |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277349&r=dev |
| By: | Ameye, H. |
| Abstract: | Recent literature has drawn attention to the importance of secondary towns in development. Urbanization has been extensively covered in its effect on food security, however, secondary towns and their effects on diets are largely absent. This paper analyses dietary patterns for rural areas, secondary towns and megacities using DHS maternal and child nutritional outcomes and nighttime light data, as well as detailed food consumption data. Across East Africa, we find a clear pattern that secondary towns are a nutritional sweet spot . Maternal and child nutritional outcomes are optimal in secondary towns and the best consumption of macro- and micronutrients is at the secondary town level. Rural households consume too little, although their diet composition is good. Households in megacities consume enough, yet still face high levels of micronutrient deficiencies. Time constraints and market access may be the main factors which make secondary towns an ideal nutritional hub. Acknowledgement : I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Jo Swinnen and Prof. Dr. Joachim De Weerdt. Thank you to Elena Briones Alonso and Lara Cockx for your useful suggestions. A big thank you to Dr. Kathleen Beegle, Prof. Dr. Joachim De Weerdt, Dr. Jed Gibson and Dr. John Friedman for providing me the opportunity to work with this dataset. This research was funded by the KU Leuven (Methusalem Funding). |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277211&r=dev |
| By: | Asfaw, S. |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the interaction between climate shocks, market regimes choices and welfare outcomes using Malawi's panel household data combined with long-term historical climate records. The study first examines how climate variability affects household market participation regime and then estimates the impact of market participation on several measure of household welfare. This study also provide a comprehensive picture of how market participation impacts household welfare in the wake of climate variability. The possibility for households to self-selection in a specific market regime is addressed through a multinomial endogenous treatment model. We find that rainfall variability is a push factor for Malawian household farmers who are more prone to participate in the market in order to guarantee their assets against the adverse effects of rainfall uncertainty. Furthermore, being a net seller is, on average, empirically associated with an increase in total and food consumption. The heterogeneity checks support the average results, in particular for female-headed households and large landowners. However, they also highlight that being net-sellers is associated with greater welfare only in Malawi s central region while in the northern and the southern regions, being net-buyer accrues a greater consumption. Furthermore, the net-sellers welfare superiority disappears in the wake of anomalous low rainfall events. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Marketing |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277029&r=dev |
| By: | Kosec, K.; Chen, J.; Mueller, V. |
| Abstract: | Internal migration has the potential to substantially increase incomes, especially for the poor in developing countries, and yet migration rates remain low. We explore the role of mental health by evaluating the impacts of internal migration on a suite of well-being indicators using a unique longitudinal study in rural Pakistan which surveyed individuals in 1991 and again in 2013 14. We account for selection into migration using covariate matching. Those who migrated during this period have roughly 35 to 40 percent higher consumption per adult equivalent, yet they are 6 percentage points less likely to report being in excellent health, 5 to 7 percentage points more likely to report having been sick in the last four weeks, and 12 to 14 percentage points less likely to report feeling either happy or calm. Our results suggest that deteriorating physical health coupled with feelings of relative deprivation underlie the disparity between economic and mental well-being. Thus, despite substantial monetary gains from migration, people may be happier and less mentally distressed remaining at home. If traditional market mechanisms cannot reduce psychic costs, it may be more constructive to address regional inequality by shifting production rather than workers across space. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277313&r=dev |
| By: | Babatunde, R.O. |
| Abstract: | Migration cum remittances has become an important livelihood strategy among households in most developing countries. This is because it provides migrant households with remittances that are uncorrelated with agricultural income. It is estimated that there are about 232 million migrants worldwide today. Remittances sent back home by these migrants is believed to have a huge impact on the socioeconomic conditions of families left behind in the country of origin. In Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria is the highest receiver of remittances. However, despite the huge remittances flow into the country, malnutrition, poverty and food insecurity are still widespread in Nigeria. This paper examined the impact of remittances on food security and nutrition of farming households in Kwara State of Nigeria. Descriptive analysis indicates that, compared to non-receiving households, remittances receiving households are better off in terms of total income, assets, calorie supply, micronutrients supply, as well as, child nutritional status. Econometric analyses show that remittance income contributes to improved calorie supply at the household level, an aspect which has not been analyzed previously. Likewise, household income net of remittances increase calorie supply in a significant way, but the effect is twice larger than the effect of remittance income. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276986&r=dev |
| By: | Bogale, A. |
| Abstract: | Smallholder farmers which contribute the majority of food production in Africa are in the frontline of the impacts of El Ni o and climate change related risks. The ecosystems on which they rely are increasingly degraded and their access to suitable agricultural land and water resources is declining. In 2015/16, the African agriculture sector was ravaged by drought that has devastated crop yields, scorched grazing land and undermined the resilience of the production systems and livelihoods. Rising food prices reduced real income, forced the poor to sell their assets, decrease food consumption, and further create poverty traps. By the end of 2015, an estimated 60 million people across sub-Saharan Africa didn t have enough to eat. Since there is convincing scientific evidence that the 2015/16 El Ni o was not the first and will not be the last and will obviously result in recurrent disasters in Africa, there is compelling need for the continent to learn from past and prevent similar disasters and strengthen response and recovery efforts. This paper examines response strategies proposed by African countries to build their resilience and explore the appropriate preventative and risk reduction measures and enhance knowledge on effective response and recovery policies and strategies. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276991&r=dev |
| By: | Yao, B.; Shanoyan, A. |
| Abstract: | With the growing food security concerns market participation of smallholder farmers has regained the attention of policy makers and agricultural development community. The widespread adoption of information and communication technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa over the last decade have paved the way for the introduction of digital solutions such as mobile money that have a potential to enhance access to input and output markets. Using a conceptual framework based on the Transaction Cost Economics theory, we propose a hypothesis that the ability to make quick and low-cost money transfers through mobile money application can lower the transaction costs associated with hold-up risks of participating in distant markets. This hypothesis is tested using the data from the CGAP survey in Cote d Ivoire and Tanzania. The methods include Heckman Probit model to account for sample selection bias. The findings indicate that the stallholder farmers who use the mobile money for receiving payments from buyers are more likely to sell their product in city and regional markets versus farm gate options such as middleman and village markets. Key words: market participation, mobile money, transaction costs, Sub-Saharan Africa Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277259&r=dev |
| By: | Kumar, A.; Mishra, A.; Joshi, P.; D'Souza, A. |
| Abstract: | Demand for organic basmati rice (OBR), both at home and abroad, coupled with policy reforms in India have given rise to contract farming (CF) production in that nation. OBR production, however, is highly susceptible to weather and pest risks. This study investigates the impact of smallholders perceived production risks on their adoption of CF in OBR farming. We also assess the impact of CF in OBR production on yields, prices received, and the livelihood of OBR producers. We use farm-level data from smallholder basmati rice farms in India and the endogenous switching regression method to account for heterogeneity. Although CF in OBR led to lower yields, it increased the prices producers received and improved the livelihood of OBR producers. The impact of CF varied with farmers revealed risk attitudes. Risk-loving OBR growers with CF experienced the highest loss in yields, and risk-averse OBR growers with CF received the highest prices. We find that the OBR growers who did not adopt CF would benefit from adopting it, regardless of their risk attitudes, especially when it comes to prices received and livelihood. Acknowledgement : The project was supported by IFPRI. |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277008&r=dev |
| By: | Okoruwa, V.; Ikudayisi, A. |
| Abstract: | Abstract Rapid urban growth changes the composition as well as diversification of the food consumed among urban households. Achieving food security in the midst of rapid urbanization require understanding how urban and food consumption intertwined. Thus this paper uses combined measure of food security to determine urban household food security status as influenced by extent of urbanization in Nigeria. Results show that urban effect generated through urbanicity index using principal component analysis revealed that most households were in low urban category. On the average, most urban household had diverse diet. However, combining per capita expenditure and dietary diversity index as measure of household food security revealed different level of food security status. Multinomial logit regression results reveals that gender of household head, employment status, educational status, household income, occupational status and urbanicity index significantly determine the probability of urban household being food secured at different levels of food security status. Relevant policy interventions that aim at securing sustainable food security were identified. Keywords: Food security, Dietary diversity, Food expenditure, Urbanicity index, Urban Nigeria JEL classification code: D12, R22, C25, C38, Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277053&r=dev |
| By: | Salau, S.; Omotesho, O.; Muhammad-Lawal, A. |
| Abstract: | Abstract Agricultural commercialization is necessary for increased agricultural intensification and productivity in Nigeria. However, there is paucity of empirical information on the effects of agricultural commercialization on input use, labor demand and engagement in non-farm employment across the country. This study examined the effects of agricultural commercialization at the household level on fertilizer use, demand for hired labor and participation in non-farm employment in Northern Nigeria. Household Commercialization Index (HCI), Two-stage Least Squares (2SLS) and Instrumental Variable (IV) estimations were used to analyze the primary data collected from 270 maize farming households in Kaduna and Kano States. The study revealed that commercialization had the potentials for increasing the demand for fertilizer usage and hired labor among maize farming households. However, it reduced the tendency for households to participate in non-farm employment. Smallholder commercialization of maize should therefore be promoted through adoption of complementary technologies that free labor from on-farm activities. Keywords: agricultural commercialization, input market, staple, Instrumental variable, Nigeria JEL: C26, D13, Q12 Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Research Methods/ Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277180&r=dev |
| By: | Cockx, L. |
| Abstract: | Research on the impact of internal migration has focused on (monetary) outcomes for the migrants themselves. Yet, migrant parents may be able to not only improve their own welfare, but also enhance the well-being of their children. As such, population movements could affect current living standards as well as the intergenerational transmission of poverty and rural transformation. The crucially important question of how parental migration affects children, however, remains largely unanswered with existing studies based upon cross-sectional designs that do not allow us to disentangle the impact of migration from selection. Using panel data tracking migrants between 1991 and 2010, this paper studies how maternal migration affects child nutrition. We restrict the comparison to children of mothers originating from the same family, effectively addressing concerns that heterogeneity across migrant and non-migrant families may distort the results. We find evidence of a growth advantage for children of mothers who moved out of their villages in Kagera. Maternal migration is associated with improved weight-for-age and lower rates of underweight. Moreover, children of rural-urban migrant mothers have higher height-for-age z-scores and lower stunting rates. These findings therefore suggest that by relocating, mothers were able to improve their children s long-term food security and health. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276996&r=dev |
| By: | Khor, L.Y.; Zeller, M. |
| Abstract: | We examine in our study the effect on food security from storing more of a harvested staple crop for own consumption. The analysis is based on survey data from more than 1,800 households in rural Guatemala that harvested beans in 2015, with crop production data from two planting seasons. By including a full factorial of three variables of wealth and the harvest usage decision from two different seasons, we examine the effect of storing more beans across different wealth levels and harvest storage amounts. We find an interesting contrast between the impact on the household's sense of food security and its actual food security. Even though storing more beans does not reduce the likelihood of a household running out of food, it does help to reduce the worry among poorer households that such an incident might occur. We also analyze the effect of storage decisions on different categories of food security using generalized ordered logit, and then compare whether the effect on food security is different between adults and children using multinomial logit. We find that increasing storage could lead to adults having less variation in their food consumption patterns, but the effect is less pronounced among children. Acknowledgement : This work was supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277244&r=dev |
| By: | Jin, S.; Waibel, H.; Min, S.; Huang, J. |
| Abstract: | This paper explores diversification for land and labor by smallholder farmers in Southwest China in response to the rubber price declines. Panel data of some 600 smallholder rubber farmers in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China in 2012 and 2014 is employed. Livelihood diversification is expressed by calculating Shannon for land and labor. We developed Tobit panel models to identify the determinants of diversification, and OLS and Quantile regression models to analyze the correlation between diversification and income. We find that (i) household incomes are more diverse after the decline of rubber prices; (ii) diversification contributes to smoothing household income; (iii) households with higher incomes are more likely to diversify their portfolios of crop and employment; (iv) diversification contributes to decrease of income inequality. We conclude that a more diversification in labor is more effective in mitigating negative effects of shocks from rubber price decline. Land diversification is likely to be a more effective ex-ante shock alleviation strategy. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277431&r=dev |
| By: | Mahajan, K. |
| Abstract: | In India the role of women as farm managers has been veiled behind the image of men as primary decision makers on farms. Data shows that approximately 8% of farm households had women farm managers in India in 2004 and this number increased to 11% in 2011. This rising phenomenon of farm management by women begets an in depth understanding of these farms, including, differentials in productivity levels across men and women managed farms. This paper uses three measures to capture productivity production value, profit value and crop specific yields. The results show that production value is lower by approximately 7% in women managed farms even with all controls. The difference in profitability is of the same magnitude, albeit, insignificant. There are two possible channels behind the result unobservable soil quality or differences in managerial efficiency as a result of inexperience. While we cannot test explicitly for the first channel, the paper provides suggestive evidence on the second channel using crop specific yields. This study makes two contributions to the literature one, it is the first study in the Indian context and second, it employs semi-parametric decomposition techniques to look at the productivity differentials along the entire distribution. Acknowledgement : I would like to thank Bharat Ramaswami, Bina Agarwal for useful discussions and the participants at the third CECFEE workshop held in India for their valuable comments. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277234&r=dev |
| By: | Wainaina, P.; Njagi, T.; Onyango, K. |
| Abstract: | Credit constraints among smallholder farmers remain one of the impediments to the much-needed increase in agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Applying the direct elicitation approach and using representative data from rural Kenya, we identify credit constrained farmers and assess the effect of being constrained on maize yields. Access to credit affects various variables that affect maize yields, although we do not find significant yield differences. Participation in group activities, access to financial and extension services, more education increases the likelihood of being credit unconstrained. Similarly, participating in off-farm activities reduces the likelihood of being credit constrained. Hence, policies that facilitate human capital development, such as households education, access to information, or engagement in off-farm activities- either self-employment or salaried employment, are relevant. Acknowledgement : The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and wish to thank internal reviewers at Tegemeo Institute for their valuable time and comments that greatly helped improve this work. We are also grateful to other staff at Tegemeo Institute for their comments, suggestions, and support. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277050&r=dev |
| By: | Ali, A.; Rahut, D.B. |
| Abstract: | The price of the maize hybrids in Pakistan is one of the highest in the world. The current study is based on comprehensive data set collected through field survey from 822 maize growers across Pakistan. The data was collected all the four major provinces of Pakistan i.e. Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Balochistan including Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB). The propensity score matching analysis was employed for empirical analysis and four different matching algorithms i.e. Nearest Neighbour Matching (NNM), Kernel Based Matching (KBM), Radius Matching (RM) and Mahalanobis Metric Matching (MMM) to check the robustness of results. The empirical results indicated that maize hybrid adopters have higher yields in the range of 2.35-3.11 maunds per hectares as compared to non adopters. Similarly household income levels are higher in the range of 2176-3518 Pakistani rupees. The poverty levels are less in the range of 2-3 percent. The reduction in the maize hybrid seed price will leads to increase in adoption of hybrid seed, hence will help to increase the wellbeing of the farmers as currently, only 30 percent of maize area is under hybrids mainly due to lack of affordability. Acknowledgement : The current study was made possible through USAID funded Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) program for Pakistan. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277514&r=dev |
| By: | Tendai Zawaira (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa); Manoel Bittencourt (School of Economic and Business Sciences, University of Wiatersrand); Matthew W. Clance (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa) |
| Abstract: | The marketisation hypothesis states that the growth of the service sector reduces gender inequality. Women have a comparative advantage in service jobs and consequently benefit more than men as the sector grows. In recent years, the African service sector has grown considerably, however, gender inequality in the region is still relatively high. Using a new dataset on gender inequality and panel data analysis, we study the relationship between service sector shares and gender inequality in 31 sub-Saharan African countries during the 1990-2014 period. Consistent with predictions of the hypothesis, service sector shares significantly reduce gender inequality and the results are robust after the inclusion of a wide range of controls. However, we find that this relationship is nonlinear, requiring that the size of the service sector reaches a threshold before we observe improvements in gender inequality. |
| Keywords: | Gender, Marketisation Hypothesis, Africa |
| JEL: | J16 O11 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pre:wpaper:201876&r=dev |
| By: | Basu, J.P. |
| Abstract: | In India 700 million rural people directly depend on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture, forest and other natural resources for their subsistence and livelihood. Of these about 300 million rural poor are dependent on forest for their livelihood and more than half of them are tribal who depend on non-timber forest products (NTFPs). It also tries to estimate the factors responsible for the decisions of adaptation to climate change using the probabilistic model of Heckman s two-step process. Both socio-economic and climatic factors play a role in this decision-making process. This paper has important policy implications for poverty, livelihood vulnerability and migration. Acknowledgement : In India 700 million rural people directly depend on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture, forest and other natural resources for their subsistence and livelihood. Of these about 300 million rural poor are dependent on forest for their livelihood and more than half of them are tribal who depend on non-timber forest products (NTFPs). It also tries to estimate the factors responsible for the decisions of adaptation to climate change using the probabilistic model of Heckman s two-step process. Both socio-economic and climatic factors play a role in this decision-making process. This paper has important policy implications for poverty, livelihood vulnerability and migration. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277218&r=dev |
| By: | Anriquez, G.; Toledo, G.; Arriagada, R. |
| Abstract: | Subsidies to promote tree plantations have been recently questioned because of potential negative social and environmental impact of the forestry industry. Quantitative evidence on the socioeconomic causal impacts of afforestation subsidies or of tree plantations is elusive, mainly due to data scarcity. We assess the overall impact of such a subsidy in Chile by using an original 20 years panel data set that includes small area estimates of poverty and relate it to the subsidy assignment at census-district scale. We show, with a battery of impact evaluation techniques, that forestry subsidies -on average- do, in fact, increase poverty. More specifically, using difference in difference with matching techniques, and instrumental variable approaches we show that there is an increment of about 2% in the poverty rate of treated (with subsidized tree plantations) localities. We also identify a causal mechanism by which tree plantations induce higher poverty, which is a negative effect on employment. Our research indicates the existence of negative welfare effects of the afforestation subsidy on local populations suggesting a reassessment of the distributional effects of the subsidy and the industry. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277284&r=dev |
| By: | Ma, W.; Grafton, Q.; Renwick, A. |
| Abstract: | The diffusion of mobile information and communication technologies (ICTs) has important implications for rural economic development. While previous studies have investigated the potential contributions of mobile ICTs to agricultural production and poverty reduction, wider incomes effects of the use of updated ICTs such as smartphones have hardly been analyzed. To bridge this knowledge gap, we analyze the determinants and income effects of smartphone use, using an endogenous switching regression model and building on a household-level survey data from rural China. Our findings indicate that gender, farmers education, farm size, and off-farm work participation are main drivers of smartphone use, and smartphone use increases farm income, off-farm income and household income significantly. Further, we find that the income effects of smartphone use are heterogeneous between the male who use smartphones and work off farm and their female counterparts. Acknowledgement : The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from Lincoln University within the seed fund project (INT5056). |
| Keywords: | Research and Development/ Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277310&r=dev |
| By: | Le, Nga (UNU-MERIT); Groot, Wim (UNU-MERIT and CAPHRI, Maastricht University,); Tomini, Sonila (UNU-MERIT); Tomini, Florian (Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, UCL Medical School) |
| Abstract: | Even though health insurance is expanding rapidly in Vietnam, its coverage is not effective. There remain inefficiencies in the healthcare system with quality concerns, especially at primary care and in remote areas. However, very little is known about how health insurance is valued by people and whether health insurance coverage can translate into quality healthcare. This paper investigates the relationship between health insurance and patient satisfaction with medical care in the poorest regions of Vietnam. We use multi-level models for ordinal responses on a cross-sectional dataset of the poorest regions of Vietnam in 2012. We find that it is not health insurance coverage per se but the financial coverage that matters to improve patient satisfaction with medical care. Patient satisfaction depends on the breadth and depth of insurance coverage (i.e. services and medicines covered, co-payment rate for each service) and the ability to use health insurance to reduce medical costs via the co-payment mechanism. |
| Keywords: | Health insurance, patient satisfaction, Vietnam |
| JEL: | I13 |
| Date: | 2018–11–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2018040&r=dev |
| By: | Okyere, C.Y. |
| Abstract: | Health and nutrition are important ingredients in the measurement of welfare at both micro and macro levels such as poverty reduction, human capital formation and economic growth. In this study, I estimate the interaction effects of two social interventions, namely National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and Ghana School Feeding Program (GSFP), on child health and nutrition status in southern Ghana using random effects and multivalued treatment effects estimators. The results from the multivalued treatment effects estimator show that there are relative and multiple overlapping treatment effects of NHIS and GSFP on long run nutrition status of children. No similar positive effects are found on the short run nutrition status. The random effects estimates are consistent with the multivalued treatment effects estimates of negative relationship between NHIS only on children s short run nutrition status. The estimates are quite stable across various sensitivity analyses including alternative estimation strategies. The estimates suggest that the effects of social interventions on child health and nutrition outcomes may depend on the choice of estimation strategy and outcome variables. Acknowledgement : Data from the AG-WATSAN Project undertaken by Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Germany is duly acknowledged. |
| Keywords: | Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277424&r=dev |
| By: | Basurto-Hernandez, S.; Maddison, D.; Banerjee, A. |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effect of climate change on crop and livestock choices using two discrete choice models: Multinomial Logit (MNL) and Nested Logit (NL) models. Taking advantage of a new-plot level dataset for Mexico we identify the effect of climate on agriculturalists observed choices. Using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) we combine data on 31 types of crops and livestock encountered in 219,985 and 168,265 plots corresponding to the 2012 and 2014 agricultural years with climate data. Also included in the analysis are the expected output and input prices, soil types, indicators of access to markets and information, socio-demographic characteristics of the farmer, and subsidy payments. We find strong evidence about the inappropriateness of the Independence of Irrelevant Alternatives (IIA) assumption underpinning the MNL model. This finding leads to remarkable differences in the predictions from the MNL and NL models. Speculations about the effect of climate change on farmers choices suggest that in the event of a warmer and drier future, Mexican agriculturalists will move their production efforts from alfalfa, cacao, beef cattle, grapes, onions, oranges, red tomato, soy, and sugar cane to bananas, barley, lemon, squash and potatoes. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277517&r=dev |
| By: | Liu, C. |
| Abstract: | Previous studies have found that returns to education in off-farm wage employment in rural China are lower than estimates for other developing economies. This paper seek to understand why and to provide what we believe are more accurate estimates of the returns. The returns to education in rural China may have been systematically underestimated due to mismeasurements in wage rate and/or experiences. Using a nearly nationally representative dataset of female workers in rural China, with detailed information on hours worked and earnings (to calculate daily wage rate), and employment history (to more appropriately measure experiences), might help provide better estimates of returns to education. We find that estimates of returns to education, when employment interruptions are considered, are 3-4% higher than those without being considered. Moreover, we also find that mismeasurement in wage rate by not considering the hours worked cause even more serious underestimate of returns to education (by 25-43%). The paper demonstrates that, although some of the differences between our estimates and previous ones can be attributed to increasing returns since the 2000s, a larger portion of the differences are due to the nature of the data and the methodological approaches used by other authors. Acknowledgement : The authors acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Numbers 71473240 and 71333012). |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276941&r=dev |
| By: | Josephson, A. |
| Abstract: | Studies of intra-household resource allocation have typically omitted income earned jointly, by two or more individuals. To explore this important dynamic, I empirically test the assumption that all household income is pooled, when joint income, as well as income earned individually by men and women, is accounted for in the analysis. I develop a collective intra-household model which explicitly includes joint and individual relationships to explain income allocation. Exogenous variation in rainfall is used to examine if households pool resources and insure one another against income shocks, resulting from these rainfall shifts. I reject the hypothesis of complete income pooling and full insurance within the household. However, I find evidence that households members pool income and insure one another for expenditures on essential goods. Conversely, they do not pool income and do not insure one another for luxury goods. I conclude that there is strategic income pooling behavior with respect to particular types of expenditure. These results are contrary to previous studies, which fail to find even partial insurance for essential goods within households. The conclusions of this study provide a novel perspective on intra-household dynamics which highlight the need to consider joint relationships in household analyses. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277183&r=dev |
| By: | Chapoto, A.; Houssou, N.; Asante-Addo, C.; Mabiso, A. |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the process of growth and the drivers of transition using a quantitative survey of Ghanaian medium- and large-scale farmers. The paper departs from the competing visions on whether to promote small-scale or large-scale farms in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) primarily by arguing that an important transition of onetime small-scale farmers is taking place in Ghanaian agriculture and potentially in other SSA countries. This transition is largely unresearched, although it is a critical feature of agricultural transformation with implications for agricultural development strategies in the SSA sub-region. Acknowledgement : We would like to thank the United States Agency for International Development for providing financial support for this study through the IFPRI s Ghana Strategy Support Program. We thank Shashidhara Kolavalli and Xinshen Diao for their insightful comments on this research. This research also benefited from comments by Xiaobo Zhang, Guush Berhane Tesfay and numerous other IFPRI staff during the IFPRI s Retreat for IFPRI Staff Everywhere (RISE). We are solely responsible for any errors and omissions. |
| Keywords: | Farm Management |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277225&r=dev |
| By: | Tripathi, G.; Kumar, A.; Roy, D.; Joshi, P. |
| Abstract: | Abstract The paper attempts to quantify the benefits of contract farming on farmers income and investigates the determinants of participation in contract farming. This is based on a survey of 1,331 farmers engaged in cultivation of onion, okra and pomegranate from Maharashtra State in India. Descriptive statistics, regression analysis (using instrumental variable) and propensity score matching have been used in the analysis. The study reveals that contract farming, by connecting smallholders to high-end international market, ensures them with higher returns to the tune of Rs 14.5 per kilogram over independent farmers. Access to institutional credit, extension services, farm-size, ownership of transport, and migration significantly affected farmers participation in contract farming. The empirical evidence on benefits from contract farming in high value export commodities should induce conducive policies for promotion and upscaling of contract farming in India. Acknowledgement : We are grateful to the United States Agency for International Development for extending financial support to conduct this study. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277106&r=dev |
| By: | Obisesan, A.; Adeyonu, A. |
| Abstract: | This study investigates financial inclusion of smallholder arable crop farmers in Nigeria. Primary data were collected for the purpose of the study. Descriptive statistics and Logit regression model were employed in the analysis. The average age of the respondents was 43.67years and male actively participated in food crop production more than female. Though 64.16% of the respondents had access to banks within their community, only 27.65% are banked. Fear of insolvency (90.57%), lack of required form of identification (31.13%), lengthy process (29.72%) and distance to the nearest bank (50.94% ) are the main barriers to opening a bank account. Co-operative is the major means of savings as well as source of credit. Farmers awareness of agricultural insurance scheme is low, however, more than half of the farmers are willing to participate. Age, labour cost and cultivation of improved varieties had negative and significant effect on willingness to participate while awareness, years of formal education, credit access and membership of association had significant positive effect on willingness to participate. Hence, financial institutions should consider boosting their services to arable crop farmers and create enabling environment that will facilitate financial inclusion of farmers in Nigeria. Keywords: Financial services, Arable crops, Farmers, Nigeria Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277270&r=dev |
| By: | Adamseged, M.E.; Frija, A.; Thiel, A. |
| Abstract: | This study examines the association of livelihood dynamics of rural households in Ethiopia with rainfall conditions and socio-economic characteristics, using a 15-year panel data set. We employed fixed and random-effect conditional logit models to explain household decision-making processes regarding livelihood strategies. Our finding shows that participation of rural households in non-farm livelihoods has been increasing over the years but with great fluctuations. We also found that rainfall conditions during the main rainy season negatively and significantly affect household decisions to pursue non-farm livelihoods. The motivation of farm households to diversify into non-farm livelihoods is mainly driven by low-performance farming outcomes as well as demographic characteristics (specifically adult household size, human capital and education) and degree of access to financial schemes. These findings suggest policy implications for increasing access to financial schemes and improving household-member skills through vocational training and education to enable them to engage in high-return and profitable non-farm livelihoods. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277441&r=dev |