|
on Development |
| By: | Carolina Diaz-Bonilla; Danielle Victoria Aron; Cameron Haddad; Carlos Sabatino; Minh C. Nguyen; Haoyu Wu |
| Abstract: | This note presents the 6th edition of the World Bank’s Multidimensional Poverty Measure (MPM) database, based on country data from the Global Monitoring Database (GMD) as of November 2023. The MPM captures the percentage of households in a country that are deprived in three dimensions of well-being: monetary poverty, education, and basic infrastructure services. Monetary poverty is measured using the International Poverty Line at $2.15 per person per day in 2017 PPP. The latest data provides estimates for 121 economies in the GMD circa 2018, revising estimates published in April 2023. The global and regional MPM headcount remains unchanged from the previous edition, however the share of population experiencing deprivations by dimension has changed slightly, reflecting updates to underlying survey data in some countries. |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbgpmt:34&r=dev |
| By: | Daniel Gerszon Mahler; David Newhouse |
| Abstract: | This technical note summarizes changes to how the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) lines up survey-based estimates of poverty to a common reference year. The prior line-up method assumed that welfare vectors grow in accordance with growth in real Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE) per capita for all countries except for countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, where growth in real GDP per capita was used instead. This note leverages PIP data to test various alternative line-up rules and evaluates their performance out of sample. It proposes an equally simple rule that can reduce the error as measured by the mean absolute deviation by 7.5%, which is estimated to amount to 60% of the potential error that can be reduced given available information. This rule is that upper middleincome and high-income countries use growth in real HFCE per capita, while low and lower middle-income countries use growth in real GDP per capita, and that only 70% of growth in either HFCE or GDP passes through to growth in consumption vectors. |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbgpmt:35&r=dev |
| By: | Klaus Gründler; Andreas Link |
| Abstract: | Inequality between ethnic groups has been shown to be negatively related to GDP, but research on its effect on contemporary economic growth is limited by the availability of comparable data. We compile a novel and comprehensive dataset of harmonized Gini indices on ethnic inequality for countries and sub-national units between 1992 and 2013. Our approach exploits differentials in nighttime lights (NTL) across ethnic homelands, using new techniques to harmonize NTL series across geographic regions and years to address concerns about spatial and temporal incomparability of satellite photographs. Our new data shows that ethnic inequality is widespread across countries but has decreased over time. Exploiting the artificiality of sub-national borders in an instrumental variable setting, we provide evidence that income inequality across ethnic groups reduces contemporary economic growth. The negative effect of ethnic inequality is caused by increasing conflict and decreasing public goods provision. |
| Keywords: | ethnic inequality, economic development, regional data, nighttime lights, satellite photographs, calibration, ethnic groups, conflict, public goods provision |
| JEL: | O10 O15 O43 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11034&r=dev |
| By: | Lukas Delgado-Prieto; Andrea Otero-Cortés; Andrés Calderón |
| Abstract: | Hard discount stores (HDS) have changed the dynamics of the traditional retail sector by selling a basket of products at very low prices. This business model has gained significant market share in many countries, but little is known about its impact on the labor market. To fill this gap in the literature, in this paper we study the impact of the entry of hard discounters on local labor markets in Colombia. Making use of the staggered geographic expansion of major discount chains throughout the country as part of our empirical strategy and using information from different sources, such as administrative records on social security and household survey data, we analyze the impact of these stores on labor formality and tax collection. Our results show that the arrival of HDS in a municipality increases local formal employment, especially in retail, manufacturing and agriculture. This suggests that there are significant spillover effects from retail to other industries, as most of the goods sold by these stores are locally produced. As for the informal sector, increased competition between formal and informal businesses has no statistical effect on informal employment. However, there seems to be a decline in labor income of informal retailers, suggesting that the margin of adjustment is not through lower employment but via lower earnings. **** RESUMEN: Las tiendas de descuento duro (HDS por sus siglas en inglés) han cambiado las dinámicas del sector minorista tradicional al vender una canasta de productos a muy bajo precio. Este modelo de negocio ha ganado una importante cuota del mercado en muchos países, pero poco se conoce sobre su impacto en el mercado laboral. Para llenar este vacío en la literatura, en este trabajo estudiamos el impacto de la entrada de las tiendas de descuento duro en los mercados laborales locales de Colombia. Haciendo uso de la expansión geográfica escalonada de las principales cadenas de descuento por todo el país como parte de nuestra estrategia empírica y usando información de distintas fuentes, como registros administrativos sobre seguridad social y la encuesta de hogares, analizamos el impacto de estas tiendas sobre la formalidad laboral y recaudo de impuestos. Nuestros resultados muestran que la llegada de las HDS a un municipio aumenta el empleo formal local, sobre todo en los sectores del comercio minorista, la industria manufacturera y la agricultura. Esto sugiere que existen importantes efectos de derrame del comercio minorista a otros sectores económicos, ya que la mayoría de los bienes que venden estas tiendas son productos locales. En cuanto al sector informal, el aumento de la competencia entre comerciantes formales e informales no tiene efectos estadísticos sobre el empleo informal. No obstante, parece haber una disminución en los ingresos laborales de los minoristas informales, lo que sugeriría que el margen de ajuste no se da a través de menor empleo sino vía menores ingresos. |
| Keywords: | Hard discount stores, competition, local labor markets, informality, tiendas de descuento duro, competencia, mercados laborales locales, informalidad |
| JEL: | E24 J46 O17 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdr:region:326&r=dev |
| By: | Astorga-Rojas, Diego |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how better market access through infrastructure improvements leads to the adoption of new agricultural technologies. In particular, I study the case of Brazil, and how the construction of the federal highway network from 1950 to 2000 affected the modernization of the agricultural sector. To address endogeneity concerns, I use the creation of Brasilia, and the project to connect it to the state capitals, as a natural experiment. I build a predicted network of highways by computing the cheapest way to connect the state capitals with Brasilia and use it to instrument market access. I find that municipalities where market access increased adopted new agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, improving agricultural productivity as a result. Market access also increased the machinery and equipment used for production, but only when Brazil deregulated its agricultural markets and opened to international trade, after 1990. |
| Keywords: | agricultural productivity, infrastructure, market access, mechanization |
| JEL: | O13 O18 F14 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:289868&r=dev |
| By: | Rose, Julian (RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research); Ankel-Peters, Jörg; Hodel, Hanna; Sall, Medoune; Bensch, Gunther |
| Abstract: | Claims for removing fossil fuel subsidies in the Global South are based on climate and equity concerns, but they can be at odds with improving access to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as a clean cooking fuel. We examine the case of urban Senegal where LPG usage rates were among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa in the late 2000s. Using Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data, we show that LPG usage declined sharply following the removal of subsidies in 2009. Counterintuitively, the decline was not reversed when falling world market prices led to a local price decrease. To explore this puzzle, we use detailed cooking data from surveys we conducted in 2009 and 2019. We find that households change to charcoal after the subsidy removal, but they increasingly use newly promoted energy-efficient charcoal stoves. These stoves make charcoal cooking cheaper and hence the switch back to LPG less attractive. Our results underscore that the energy transition of the poor is highly price responsive – an important insight not only for the debate about fossil fuel subsidies but also carbon taxation. |
| Date: | 2024–04–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:6tgqs&r=dev |
| By: | Jhorland Ayala-García |
| Abstract: | Corruption is generally understood as taking advantage of public power for private benefit. This paper evaluates the relationship between emergency declarations for natural disasters and corruption. We use information from Colombia between 2012 and 2022 and an instrumental variable approach. We take advantage of the exogeneity of the frequency of natural disasters to city level unobservable characteristics to construct our instrument. Since emergency declarations increase the discretion of local officials towards public spending, it is expected to see a rise in corruption. Our findings show a positive relationship between the frequency of natural disasters and the probability of emergency declaration, followed by an increase in observed corruption. The higher level of discretion of public officials not only increases the number of open cases of corruption and convictions, but also the amount of resources involved. We also find that the frequency of natural disasters is not associated with a higher level of expenditure in preemptive and relief spending, nor is it generating unexpected spending. This suggests that what is behind the higher corruption after an emergency declaration is a misappropriation of the budgeted resources in Colombian cities. **** RESUMEN: Generalmente se entiende por corrupción el aprovechamiento del poder público para beneficio privado. Este artículo evalúa la relación entre las declaraciones de emergencia por desastres naturales y la corrupción. Utilizamos información de Colombia entre 2012 y 2022 y un enfoque de variables instrumentales. Aprovechamos la exogeneidad de la frecuencia de los desastres naturales con respecto a las características no observables por municipio para construir nuestro instrumento. Dado que las declaraciones de emergencia aumentan la discrecionalidad de los funcionarios públicos locales para ejecutar gasto público, se espera un aumento de la corrupción. Nuestros hallazgos muestran una relación positiva entre la frecuencia de los desastres naturales y la probabilidad de una declaración de emergencia, seguida de un aumento en la corrupción observada. La mayor discrecionalidad de los funcionarios públicos no sólo aumenta el número de casos abiertos de corrupción y las condenas, sino también la cantidad de recursos involucrados. También encontramos que la frecuencia de los desastres naturales no está asociada con un mayor gasto preventivos y de alivio, ni genera gastos no presupuestados. Esto sugiere que lo que está detrás de la mayor corrupción tras una declaración de emergencia es una malversación de los recursos presupuestados en las ciudades colombianas. |
| Keywords: | corruption, governance, natural disasters, discretion, corrupción, gobernanza, desastres naturales, discreción |
| JEL: | H41 H57 H83 H84 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdr:region:325&r=dev |
| By: | Hiroyuki Yamada (Faculty of Economics, Keio University); Tien Manh Vu (Faculty of Global Management, Chuo University) |
| Abstract: | There are 3.5 billion people living without safe toilets worldwide, who often have no choice but to use unreliable, inadequate toilets or engage in open defecation. The negative impacts of lacking appropriate toilets are particularly noticeable in infants and children, including diseases, stunted growth, chronic malnutrition, and in some cases, death. However, evidence showing these negative effects based on nationally representative data is lacking and thus a thorough analysis is needed. Therefore, in this study, we explore how the extent of toilet coverage is associated with under-five mortality in Cambodia. We use the censuses conducted in 2008 and 2019 in Cambodia to create village-level panel data that include information on the extent of toilet coverage and what kinds of toilets are used. We use the constructed village-level panel data to perform an instrumental variable regression analysis aimed at elucidating the association of toilet coverage with under-five mortality at the village level. We find that increased toilet coverage in a given village is associated with reduced under-five mortality in that village. Increased coverage of improved toilets in particular is associated with lower under-five mortality, suggesting that cleaner toilets save young children fs lives. This finding is useful to policymakers in developing countries facing challenges regarding the widespread use of toilets. |
| Keywords: | Toilet, Sanitation, Under-five mortality, Census, Cambodia |
| JEL: | I15 J13 O18 O53 |
| Date: | 2024–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:keo:dpaper:2024-007&r=dev |
| By: | Luu Duc Toan Huynh (School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London.); Kiet Tuan Duong (School for Business and Society, University of York.) |
| Abstract: | Using a unique manually collected dataset of 3, 131 former elites, who successfully passed the imperial examination from 1075 to 1919 (Ly Dynasty to Nguyen Dynasty), and 1, 324 successful professorship candidates from the Vietnam State Council of Professorship between 2021 and 2023, we consistently obtain precise estimates that a higher number of former elites is associated with a greater number of appointed contemporary professors (both associate and full). We also document that such modern human capital is influenced by the distance to the Hoan Kiem District, where the professorship examination venue is located. Additionally, we find that the social capital of these former elites primarily benefits those who were born, raised, and currently work in areas with a higher density of former elites. Using manually gathered geographical data on ancestral temples, names of schools associated with elites, and street names attributed to elites, we identified three cultural mechanisms that elucidate the influence of historical elites on contemporary university professorship in Vietnam. Our findings highlight the influence of historical tradition on current human capital in a Confucian country. |
| Keywords: | Education; Elites; Tenured professorship; Vietnam academia |
| JEL: | I25 N35 O15 Z1 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgs:wpaper:115&r=dev |
| By: | Tendai Gwatidzo; Witness Simbanegavi |
| Abstract: | Using survey data from the World Banks Global Findex Database and a pseudo panel we investigate two pertinent issues pertaining to financial inclusion in South Africa. First, we consider the factors driving the likelihood of accessing financial services in South Africa. Second, we investigate the impact of banking sector competition on financial inclusion in South Africa essentially testing the information and market power hypotheses. Household head characteristics such as age, education and income are found to positively influence the likelihood of being financially included. Considering the relationship between financial inclusion and banking sector competition, evidence supports the information hypothesis rather than the market power hypothesis. That is, lower bank competition facilitates the formation of longer-lasting relationships between banks and their clients, which incentivises banks to invest in information generation and monitoring in previously unserved markets, thereby expanding financial inclusion. |
| Date: | 2024–04–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rbz:wpaper:11061&r=dev |
| By: | Sophia Chen; Ryu Matsuura; Flavien Moreau; Ms. Joana Pereira |
| Abstract: | Prioritizing populations most in need of social assistance is an important policy decision. In the Eastern Caribbean, social assistance targeting is constrained by limited data and the need for rapid support in times of large economic and natural disaster shocks. We leverage recent advances in machine learning and satellite imagery processing to propose an implementable strategy in the face of these constraints. We show that local well-being can be predicted with high accuracy in the Eastern Caribbean region using satellite data and that such predictions can be used to improve targeting by reducing aggregation bias, better allocating resources across areas, and proxying for information difficult to verify. |
| Keywords: | Social assistance targeting; satellite data; machine learning; Eastern Caribbean; Small Island Developing States. |
| Date: | 2024–04–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2024/084&r=dev |
| By: | Rafael Pucci |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the understudied phenomenon of urban land conflicts in contexts with weak enforcement of property rights. I examine, both theoretically and empirically, the use of arson as a violent tool to force slum removal from high-value land in cities. Leveraging fine-grained geocoded data, I employ panel regression and Difference-in-Differences analyses to demonstrate that the probability of slum fires dramatically increases with rising land prices. This effect is nonlinear and driven exclusively by slums situated on private lands, highlighting the role of high-powered incentives behind arson. These results illustrate how urban land conflicts can have different outcomes than their rural counterparts. |
| Keywords: | Urban Land Conflict; Slums; Arson; Violence; Property Rights |
| JEL: | K42 D74 O18 R10 |
| Date: | 2024–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2024wpecon13&r=dev |
| By: | Jantsch, Antje; Piper, Alan |
| Abstract: | In this study, we explore the relationship between town size and subjective well-being (SWB) in Latin America. We utilize data from the Latinobarómetro survey from 2005 to 2015, employing multilevel modeling to analyze individual responses to life satisfaction as an indicator of SWB. We refine the town size categories provided in the Latinobarómetro by cross-referencing the geographic information with the United Nations Demographic Yearbook, one of our main contributions, leaving us with more refined town size categories than previous research. Given previous theories, we also explore how education moderates the town size-SWB relationship. Our findings reveal that individuals in towns with populations between 10, 000 and 500, 000 report lower life satisfaction compared to those in smaller or larger towns. Controlling for national macroeconomic conditions reverses the positive association between SWB and living in a very large city. Furthermore, we find support for the notion that lower-educated individuals are less happy in large cities, while the relationship is inconclusive for highly-educated individuals. This study underscores the importance of refining town size data and suggests avenues for future research to deepen collective understanding of the ‘geography of happiness’ in Latin America. |
| Keywords: | life satisfaction, subjective well-being, education, town size, Latin America, Latinobarómetro, multilevel modelling |
| JEL: | I31 R10 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120565&r=dev |
| By: | Mansi Kedia (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)); Aarti Reddy; Sanjana Shukla |
| Abstract: | Digitalisation of payments is a global trend, with the COVID-19 pandemic having triggered accelerated adoption. While India has been at the forefront of this transition, there is little understanding of how the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India's real-time digital payment system, has diffused and the extent of its inclusive scaling within the country. The paper relies on state and district level data from PhonePe, the largest digital payments platform in India, to better understand the heterogeneity in patterns of diffusion across states and districts of India. Data from various other sources are used to examine how socio-economic factors correlate with diffusion. |
| Keywords: | Digital Payments, Financial Inclusion, Financial Institutions and Services |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdc:wpaper:ipcide01&r=dev |