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on Development |
| By: | Sébastien Fontenay; Paula Eugenia Gobbi; Marc Goñi |
| Abstract: | Fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa is the highest in the world and it should continue boosting population growth for decades to come. In this paper, we showcase a new driver of fertility decisions that has been largely overlooked by demographers and economists: inheritance rules. In particular, we demonstrate that impartible inheritance (i.e. transmission of the deceased's property to a single heir) does not incentivize households to limittheir number of children. Our main empirical strategy links data from the past on deep-rooted inheritance customs for more than 800 ethnic groupswith modern demographic surveys covering 24 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our spatial Regression Discontinuity Design exploiting ancestralborders reveals that belonging to an ethnic group with impartible inheritance customs increases fertility by 0.85 children per woman. We alsoestablish, both theoretically and empirically, that the fertility differences across inheritance rules are larger in lands that are less labor intensive. |
| Keywords: | Fertility, Inheritance, Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/367474&r=dev |
| By: | Luiz Brotherhood (Universitat de Barcelona & BEAT); Daniel Da Mata (Sao Paulo School of Economics-FGV); Nezih Guner (CEMFI, Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros); Philipp Kircher (Cornell University); Cezar Santos (Inter-American Development Bank & CEPR) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates informal employment in Brazil’s highly regulated labor market, focusing on the intensive margin of informality within formal firms. Using a comprehensive dataset of labor audits conducted from 1997 to 2012, we find that formal firms caught with informal workers face sustained slower growth. Informal workers are found across firms of all sizes, and their characteristics closely resemble those of formal employees. Building on these empirical findings, we develop a dynamic general equilibrium model where firms balance the flexibility of informality against potential costs. Our framework can be used to explore government policy implications and to examine the impact of audit strategies on informality, output, and workers’ welfare. |
| Keywords: | Informality, labor market regulation, firm dynamics, developing countries. |
| JEL: | H2 J1 J2 L1 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cmf:wpaper:wp2023_2308&r=dev |
| By: | Nelly Exbrayat (Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Université Lyon 2, GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne UMR 5824, F-42023, Saint-Etienne, France); Victor Stephane (Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Université Lyon 2, GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne UMR 5824, F-42023, Saint-Etienne, France) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of urbanization driven by internal migration on crime in South Africa. We create a new dataset that combines yearly data on crime and urban population density at the municipality level from 2011 to 2018. We exploit exogenous variations in rural-urban migration induced by climate shocks at origin for identification. We show that higher urban population density leads to a reduction in pecuniary crime rate but has no effect on non-pecuniary crime rate. We highlight two mechanisms explaining this negative effect: a change in population composition and a social network effect. |
| Keywords: | Crime; Migration; South Africa; Urbanization |
| JEL: | O18 R23 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gat:wpaper:2401&r=dev |
| By: | Sania Ashraf; Cristina Bicchieri; Upasak Das. Alex Shpenev |
| Abstract: | Open defecation, which is linked with poor health outcomes, lower cognitive ability and productivity, has been widespread in India. This paper assesses the impact of a randomized norm-centric intervention implemented in peri-urban areas of Tamil Nadu in India on raising the value attached to residence in areas with a lower prevalence of open defecation, measured through Willingness to Pay (WTP). The intervention aimed to change social expectations about toilet usage through audio announcements, wall paintings, household visits, and community meetings. The findings indicate a significant increase in the WTP for relocating to areas with lower prevalence of open defecation. The results are consistent when using local average treatment effect estimations wherein the possibility of spillovers in the control areas is accounted for. They are also robust to potential bias due to local socio-political events during the study period and COVID-led attrition. We further observe a significant increase in toilet ownership and usage. While assessing the mechanism, we find that change in empirical expectations through the intervention (what one believes about the prevalence of toilet usage in the community) is one of the primary mediating channels. Normative expectations (what one believes about community approval of toilet usage) are found to have limited effect. The findings underscore the need for norm-centric interventions to propel change in beliefs and achieve long-term and sustainable sanitation behavior. |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2312.16205&r=dev |
| By: | Saisawat Samutpradit |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the impact of the death of the primary earner of the household on the labor supply decision of the remaining household member in rural areas, in contrast to literature which often focuses on more developed societies with complete public insurance coverage. We found widow households could maintain the same level of consumption with only a temporary decline in savings. They achieved this by taking over the household business and receiving support from children and other relatives who moved in to assist, with the responsibility falling on daughters rather than sons. On the contrary, widowers withdrew from the labor force after the death of their wives. The di erence in responses could be explained by the income gain to the remaining household members. Widows also experienced a rise in gift income and a decrease in public transfer. |
| Keywords: | Family structure; Labor supply; Elderly population |
| JEL: | J12 J14 J22 I31 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pui:dpaper:213&r=dev |
| By: | Afza Rasul (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Jamal Abdul Nasir; Dmitri A. Jdanov (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Accurate age data is a prerequisite for any demographic inquiry. Unfortunately, in many developing countries visible age heaping is present in census and survey data of reported age at the time of census or survey. In this article, a new method is proposed for age adjustment of the respondent current age at the time of interview/data collection. The method is based on the rectangular distribution probabilities for terminal digits of age. The algorithms-based method is used to estimate true/adjusted age distribution in the presence of age heaping/age misreporting. Application of the method is performed on the most recent demographic and health survey data from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Ethiopia, and Gambia. UN Criteria for age accuracy is used to check the accuracy of adjusted/true age distribution. The result revealed that after adjustment of the terminal digit by the proposed method of digit shift the adjusted age distributions are perfectly accurate. The method will be applicable to survey and census data. The method will be very useful in fertility analysis where the individual year of age of women plays an important role. |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2024-001&r=dev |
| By: | Gutmann, Jerg; Langer, Pascal; Neuenkirch, Matthias |
| Abstract: | In this first empirical analysis of how sanctions affect international migration, we apply two estimation strategies, a panel difference-in-differences model and an event study approach. Our dataset covers 79, 791 dyad-year observations, reflecting migration flows from 157 origin countries to 32 (largely OECD) destination countries between 1961 and 2018. The data supports that UN and joint EU-US sanctions increase emigration from target countries by around 20 percent. Our event study results for joint EU-US sanctions imply a gradual increase in emigration over the course of a sanction episode. The impact of UN sanctions on international migration is smaller and less persistent. Moreover, the effects are driven by target countries with fewer political rights and civil liberties, where emigration substitutes for the costly voicing of dissent. Finally, our results do not support systematic gender differences in the effect of sanctions on migration. |
| Keywords: | Exit, Gender Differences, International Sanctions, Migration, Voice |
| JEL: | F22 F51 J16 O15 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ilewps:77&r=dev |
| By: | Abrigo, Michael R.M. |
| Abstract: | The impact of sex education on various behavioral outcomes has been studied in the literature. However, these studies failed to account for the simultaneity between knowledge demand and sexual behavior, leading to inconsistent effect estimates using a simple comparison of means from randomized control interventions. This paper employs a theoretical model of sexual behavior and demand for information on sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It shows that the impact of STI knowledge on sexual behavior depends on how information alters the anticipated costs associated with sexual activity. Empirical findings indicate that heightened awareness of STIs delays sexual initiation, constrains sexual activity, and enhances condom use among subpopulations of female young adults in the country. |
| Keywords: | health behavior;sex education;reproductive health;sexually transmitted infections;HIV;AIDS |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:pjdevt:pjd_2023_vol__47_no__2a&r=dev |
| By: | Akeem Rahaman (University of Portsmouth); Scott Mark Romeo Mahadeo (University of Portsmouth) |
| Abstract: | Contemporary crises continue to keep governments in protracted periods of borrowing, increasing the stock and flow of sovereign indebtedness. Single metrics of public debt – such as the debt-to-GDP ratio – provide an incomplete profile of a nation’s debt position, which is largely determined by country-specific factors. We consolidate various indicators of public debt to construct a novel debt sustainability index and its companion debt volatility index. We demonstrate our approach, based on principal component analysis, using a natural resource-rich but relatively data-poor country – Trinidad and Tobago – where debt management is a recurring macroeconomic concern, but comprehensive debt indices remain unavailable. The movements in our indices align with historical episodes that would influence country-specific public debt levels. Our approach is straightforward to adapt and apply to developing countries, where a uniform measure of debt is either unavailable or provide an incomplete perspective of fiscal stress when such a measure exists. We further illustrate the usefulness of the constructed indices by investigating the debt- growth nexus. Consistent with economic theory of countries with relatively lower debt levels, our novel debt indices for this country provide evidence of a positive, significant, and robust impact of debt on growth when the traditional debt-to-GDP measure suggests none. |
| Keywords: | Debt Sustainability; Fiscal Stress Index; Principal Component Analysis; Public Debt |
| JEL: | C38 C43 H63 |
| Date: | 2024–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pbs:ecofin:2024-01&r=dev |
| By: | Podestá, Andrea |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this document is to provide a comprehensive overview of public expenditure in Latin American and Caribbean countries, through the functional classification and social expenditure on the basis of the Social Expenditure Database (SOCX) methodology of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The detailed and comparable statistical information on public spending by purpose and function, as well as by social programme, makes it possible to analyse, formulate and implement public policies that are more efficient and effective. It also allows for greater transparency on the use of public resources. This paper also seeks to examine the key elements of a strategy for strengthening statistics on public expenditure by function and on social expenditure in the region to guide the standardization and comparability of public expenditure statistics. |
| Date: | 2023–12–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecr:col022:68794&r=dev |