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on Development |
| By: | De Vera, Micole (University College London); Garcia-Brazales, Javier (CEMFI); Rello, Luz (IE University) |
| Abstract: | We evaluate a reading intervention involving 600 third-grade students in Chilean schools catering to disadvantaged populations. The intervention features an adaptive computer game designed to identify and improve weaknesses in literacy and cognitive skills, and is complemented by a mobile library and advice to parents to increase student's interest and parental involvement. We first quantify the impact on non-cognitive skills and academic perceptions. We find that, after just three months of intervention, treated students are 20–30 percent of a standard deviation more likely to believe that their performance is better than that of their peers, to like school, to have stronger grit, and to have a more internal locus-of-control. Gains in aspirations and self-confidence are particularly large for students that we identify as at-risk-of-dyslexia. These improvements are reflected in better performance on a nation-wide, standardized language test. Our results show that non-cognitive skills, particularly of at-risk-of-dyslexia students, can be changed through a short, light-touch, and cost-effective education technology intervention. |
| Keywords: | field experiment, computer-based reading intervention, non-cognitive skills, Chile, dyslexia |
| JEL: | I24 I31 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16937&r= |
| By: | Abebe, Meseret Birhane (Addis Ababa University); Endale, Kefyalew (Addis Ababa University) |
| Abstract: | A large body of literature in development economics has investigated the impact of improved agricultural technologies on productivity and the welfare of smallholder farmers. This paper studies the impact of new technologies on a relatively under-researched outcome variable of interest, nutrition security. We use a two-step panel Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) on two rounds of household panel data from rural Ethiopia and show that improved seed adoption resulted in a significant increase in households’ protein, fat, and iron consumption. Improved seed adopter households also exhibit a significantly larger household diet diversity index, implying that they consume a wide range of nutritious food items. The results suggest that the impact of the adoption of improved agricultural technologies may be significantly larger than what has been documented by previous studies. |
| Keywords: | Technology adoption; Food security; Nutrition; Vulnerability; and Ethiopia |
| JEL: | C33 C34 D13 |
| Date: | 2023–02–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunefd:2023_001&r= |
| By: | Antonio Di Paolo (AQR-IREA, University of Barcelona); Khalifany-Ash Shidiqi (Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta and University of Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyse the effect of educational attainments on interethnic marriages in Indonesia, a multi-ethnic emerging country. The empirical analysis is based on data from the Java Island obtained from the 2014 wave of the Indonesian Family Life Survey, combined with administrative data about the location and year of establishment of Higher Education Institutions (HEI). To estimate causal effects, we exploit variation in exposure to HEI by birth year and district of residence in an IV/TSLS framework. Specifically, we employ as instrument for education the number of HEI located in a radius of 10 kilometres from the centroid of the district of residence at age 18. The analysis is carried out at the individual level, with separate estimations for males and females. The results indicate that years of schooling, college attendance and completion positively affect the likelihood of exogamy, i.e. having a partner from a different ethnicity. The estimated coefficients are somewhat larger for females than for males, and all the robustness checks provide stable results, supporting their causal interpretation. The effect of schooling does not appear to be heterogeneous depending on parental education, and mixed parental ethnicity. However, it is lower for individuals with Javanese ethnicity compared to those belonging to other ethnic groups. We also analyse potential mechanisms, highlighting that migration/residential location and changes in social norms could be significant channels underlying the causal chain between higher education expansion, educational attainments, and interethnic marriages. Overall, the results reported in this paper point out that the increase in educational attainments induced by the expansion of higher education could contribute to the reduction of ethnic segregation. |
| Keywords: | Education, interethnic marriages, higher education expansion, Indonesia JEL classification: I21, I23, J12 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aqr:wpaper:202403&r= |
| By: | Visser, Martine (Environmental-Economics Policy Research Unit, University of Cape Town, South Africa.); Roux, Leonard Le (Sciences Po, Paris, France); Mulwa, Chalmers Kyalo (University of Cape Town); Tibesigwa, Byela (University of Dar es Salaam); Ayele, Mintewab Bezabih (Environment and Climate Research Center, Policy Studies Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.) |
| Abstract: | Two important risks faced by many smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa are erratic weather patterns and insecure land tenure. It is likely these risks will increasingly interact as projections of more erratic weather make small-scale farming more difficult and demand for rural land grows. This paper asks how farmers in Western Tanzania view these compound risks and the influence this has on levels of investment in adaptive agricultural technologies and the demand for land certification in a labin-the-field setting. Presenting novel data from a series of framed decision tasks linked to a household survey, this paper explores the relationship between individual risk preferences, adaptive investment, and the demand for land certification from a group of 650 rural households in Kigoma, Tanzania. While adaptive investment increases with weather-related risk, we find it responds negatively to land tenure risk. Individual risk preferences and past experiences of real-world land disputes play significant roles in adaptive investment. We also find that demand for land certification is high; investment increases significantly after certification; and risk-averse individuals show much larger increases in investment after obtaining land certification. |
| Keywords: | agricultural investment; climate change adaptation; tenure risk |
| JEL: | C91 C93 D80 O13 Q15 |
| Date: | 2022–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunefd:2022_014&r= |
| By: | Beyene, Abebe D. (EfD-Ethiopia); Mekonnen, Alemu (Addis Ababa University); Bluffstone, Randall (Portland State University); Tesfaye, Yemiru (Wondogenet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Hawassa University) |
| Abstract: | The government of Ethiopia has extensively adopted participatory forest management (PFM) programs. However, there is very little empirical evidence on whether PFM practices in Ethiopia enhance the capacity of rural households to cope with shocks. This study looks into whether forest income and share of forest income are higher for PFM members than non-members when faced with shocks. The study also examines the role of shocks on the decision to participate in PFM and the effect of PFM membership on forest income and share of forest income. We use household level data collected in 2018 from a large, representative sample of PFM sites and, unlike most other studies, we apply both propensity score matching and switching regression models in the analysis. Unlike most other studies, our findings show that forest income and share of forest income are not responsive to either idiosyncratic or covariate shocks for either PFM participants or non-participants. However, we find that households are more likely to become PFM members if they have experienced economic shocks. Considering the role of forest income in general (not specifically during a time of shocks), we find that PFM participants obtain more forest income than nonparticipants, but that the share of forest income in total income is higher for non-participants. |
| Keywords: | PFM; shocks; forests; rural Ethiopia; switching regression |
| JEL: | O12 O13 Q23 |
| Date: | 2022–06–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunefd:2022_012&r= |
| By: | Weihong Qi |
| Abstract: | This study reevaluates the traditional understanding of the "political resource curse" by examining the unique impact of energy transition metals, specifically cobalt, on local-level conflicts in Africa. Contrary to previous studies that primarily focus on high-value minerals and their political outcomes resulted from substantial economic revenues, this study investigates cobalt's influence on local conflict. Despite its strategic importance, cobalt's limited commercial value presents a unique yet critical case for analysis. Different with the prevailing view that links mineral reserves with increased conflict, this research finds that regions rich in cobalt experience a reduction in conflict. This decrease is attributed to enhanced government security measures, which are implemented independently of the economic benefits derived from cobalt as a commodity. The study utilizes a combination of georeferenced data and a difference-in-difference design to analyze the causal relationship between cobalt deposits and regional conflict. The findings suggest that the presence of cobalt deposits leads to enhanced security interventions by governments, effectively reducing the likelihood of non-governmental actors taking control of these territories. This pattern offers a new perspective on the role of energy transition metals in shaping conflict and governance, highlighting the need to reassess theoretical frameworks related to the political implications of natural resources with the ongoing energy revolution. |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2404.17713&r= |
| By: | Surendran-Padmaja, Subash; Parlasca, Martin C.; Qaim, Matin; Krishna, Vijesh V. |
| Abstract: | This study investigates key institutional factors promoting the adoption of laser land levelling (LLL), a technology that has gained wide popularity among farmers in northwestern India despite being indivisible. The main objective is to evaluate the role of service providers, offering LLL on a rental basis to farmers, for technology dissemination among smallholders with fragmented plots. Plot-level data from 1, 661 households across 84 villages in Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh in India were collected and used to analyse farmers’ LLL technology perceptions and adoption decisions. Regression models were developed to estimate the role of local service provision for LLL adoption while controlling for farm, household, and other contextual variables. The analysis pays particular attention to the heterogeneous effects of service provision on farmers with different farm and plot sizes. The data and estimates reveal that local access to a larger number of service providers is associated with higher rates of LLL adoption among farmers. The effect of service providers on adoption varies by farm and plot size: it is larger on smaller farms/plots. The findings suggest that a conducive institutional environment that accommodates the specific needs of different farm sizes can speed up innovation adoption. This finding makes a case for re-evaluating traditional agricultural technology scaling models to include individual service provision for broader and more inclusive adoption. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2024–05–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:342427&r= |