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on Development |
| By: | Elmira, Elza Samantha; Suryahadi, Asep |
| Abstract: | Many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are experiencing a nutrition transition from traditional diets to high-energy, processed foods, increasing non-communicable disease risks. Digitalization of food systems plays a significant role in shaping this transition. This paper investigates the impact of super app expansions (including food delivery, ridesharing, and other daily life assistance) on nutritional outcomes and the underlying mechanisms. Staggered district-level adoption of Indonesia's two largest digital platforms, Gojek and Grab from 2015 to 2018, is used. This information is combined with the health dataset from Indonesia’s Basic Health Survey (Riskesdas) and food consumption data from the National Socioeconomic Survey (Susenas). To address the endogeneity issue associated with the correlation between super app entry decisions and nutritional outcomes, we use doubly robust difference-in-differences, which incorporates baseline covariates ensuring a conditional parallel trend. The results show that super apps contribute to an increase in BMI scores, particularly among individuals who are already overweight and obese. This effect is especially driven by the online food delivery feature and is more pronounced in cities than regencies and among individuals with employment, above median income, and education beyond primary school. These increases could be attributed to unhealthy food consumption (i.e., salty and prepared foods). Our findings suggest that super apps may exacerbate malnutrition. On the other hand, we find underweight reduction in the cities and an overall increase in fruit and meat consumption, indicating super apps’ potential to improve malnutrition. These findings highlight the role of super apps in the nutrition transition in LMICs. |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2025–01–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:349215 |
| By: | Vishalie Shah; Julia Hatamyar; Taufik Hidayat; Noemi Kreif |
| Abstract: | This paper uses instrumental causal forests, a novel machine learning method, to explore the treatment effect heterogeneity of Indonesia's conditional cash transfer scheme on maternal health care utilisation. Using randomised programme assignment as an instrument for enrollment in the scheme, we estimate conditional local average treatment effects for four key outcomes: good assisted delivery, delivery in a health care facility, pre-natal visits, and post-natal visits. We find significant treatment effect heterogeneity by supply-side characteristics, even though supply-side readiness was taken into account during programme development. Mothers in areas with more doctors, nurses, and delivery assistants were more likely to benefit from the programme, in terms of increased rates of good assisted delivery outcome. We also find large differences in benefits according to indicators of household poverty and survey wave, reflecting the possible impact of changes in programme design in its later years. The impact on post-natal visits in 2013 displayed the largest heterogeneity among all outcomes, with some women less likely to attend post-natal check ups after receiving the cash transfer in the long term. |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2501.12803 |
| By: | Wong, Sara; Petreski, Marjan |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effects of competition laws and regulations on manufacturing firms productivity in Latin American countries (LACs), addressing a gap in existing research. Leveraging firm-level panel data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys across 14 LAC economies and competition law indicators from the Comparative Competition Law initiative, the study employs total factor productivity (TFP) measures to analyze the effects of competition laws on manufacturing productivity through key mediators: firm size, distance to the frontier, and broader institutional arrangements. Utilizing various empirical methodologies that address potential biases, the findings reveal a nuanced relationship between competition law stringency, enforcement practices, and productivity outcomes across different industries and countries. Results reveal heterogeneous effects of competition law and enforcement on productivity, with certain aspects showing a positive relationship with productivity, particularly when controlling for firm size, while stronger enforcement measures weaken the positive association between competition law and productivity, potentially due to increased compliance costs and legal uncertainty. The study suggests a need for policymakers to strike a balance between regulatory stringency and enforcement in competition to avoid stifling innovation and hindering productivity growth, particularly in industries nearing technological frontiers. Accounting for industry-specific factors are essential for fostering fair competition and market efficiency without unduly burdening businesses. |
| Keywords: | Competition law and regulations;Firm productivity;Enforcement |
| JEL: | K21 L11 O54 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:13963 |
| By: | Valeria Strusi; Sara Balestri |
| Abstract: | Despite a growing literature on the socio-economic impacts of women’s land rights in the Global South, findings remain heterogeneous across geographic areas, development outcomes and research methods. This review assesses the causal evidence on this topic to cut through this complexity, offering a clearer direction for policy and research. Adopting the PRISMA protocol for systematic reviews, it critically assesses the breadth of existing research through multiple analytical lenses: development outcomes, geographic cover age, publications' timeline and research methods. Particular focus is placed on identifying gaps that have persisted since an earlier review, incorporat ing emerging outcomes of interest, and tracing recent developments in the research agenda. Overall, greater consistency of findings emerges on food security, education, and specific areas of women's empowerment, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where women's land rights are connected to robust and positive impacts. More heterogeneous or scattered findings emerge on the remaining outcomes. |
| JEL: | O13 P48 Q15 Q24 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dis:wpaper:dis2502 |
| By: | Chimbutane, Feliciano (Eduardo Mondlane University); Karachiwalla, Naureen (IFPRI, International Food Policy Research Institute); Herrera-Almanza, Catalina (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); Leight, Jessica (International Food Policy Research Institute); Lauchande, Carlos (Universidade Pedagogica Maputo) |
| Abstract: | Motivated by extremely low levels of basic reading skills in sub-Saharan Africa, we experimentally evaluate two interventions designed to enhance students' early-grade literacy performance in rural Mozambique: a relatively light-touch teacher training in early-grade literacy along with the provision of pedagogical materials, and reacher training and materials in conjunction with community-level reading camps. Using data from 1, 596 third graders in 160 rural public primary schools, we find no evidence that either intervention improved teachers' pedagogical knowledge or practices or student or teacher attendance following two years of implementation. There are some weak positive effects on student reading as measured by a literacy assessment, primarily observed in a shift away from scores of zero, and these effects are consistent across arms. Our findings are consistent with the growing consensus that more intensive school- and/or community-based interventions are required to meaningfully improve learning. |
| Keywords: | teacher training, primary school, literacy, randomized control trial, Mozambique |
| JEL: | I25 J24 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17611 |
| By: | Francisco Cabrera-Hernandez (Department of Economics, CIDE); Mateo Hoyos (Department of Economics, CIDE); Emmanuel Chavez (Department of Economics, CIDE) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of import competition on educational attainment in Mexico, emphasizing its effects through labor market dynamics. Using China's entry into global trade markets as a source of exogenous variation, we implement a shift-share approach to measure regional exposure to Chinese imports and employ a staggered difference-in-differences estimation strategy—marking a novel contribution to the China Shock literature. Our analysis reveals that import competition negatively affected educational outcomes, increasing dropout rates and the proportion of students falling behind their normative grade. These outcomes were accompanied by sustained wage declines, particularly in the secondary and tertiary sectors. We identify a significant decline in the returns to schooling as the primary mechanism explaining the adverse educational effects. Our findings offer novel empirical evidence linking import competition to reduced returns to schooling. |
| Keywords: | China Shock, import competition, educational attainment, returns to schooling |
| JEL: | F14 F16 I25 I26 J24 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:emc:wpaper:dte645 |
| By: | Elghafiky Bimardhika; Firman Witoelar |
| Abstract: | We study the causal effects of a labor law that governs child workers on labor market outcomes and the well-being of individuals. We exploit the timing of the national legislation to identify the causal effects of child labor reform using the Regression Discontinuity Design. We find that individuals who entered adulthood after the reform are less likely to have participated in the labor market during childhood. The reform also lowers the likelihood of poor health and improves the probability of working in paid jobs when children have reached adulthood. Our heterogeneity analysis highlights the importance of complementing regulation with enforcement and support programs to minimize unintended consequences that plagued many similar reforms. |
| JEL: | C21 J08 J80 I15 I25 J21 O15 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:papers:2025-04 |
| By: | Rafael Queiroz Pinheiro; Alexandre Jose Germano De Abreu |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the process of deindustrialization in Latin America and the impact of China on this process. After discussing the main theoretical explanations for premature deindustrialization and presenting some empirical data on the process of deindustrialization in Latin America, this paper undertakes a novel panel data analysis to provide greater clarification on the role of China in the early deindustrialization process of Latin American countries. The findings suggest that the import of manufactured goods from China does not have a significant effect on manufacturing employment and is in fact associated with an increase, not a decrease, in the share of manufacturing value added. On the other hand, exports to China are negatively associated in this sample with the share of both manufacturing employment and manufacturing value added. This supports the view that trade with China may be a part of the explanation for deindustrialization, not through competition from Chinese manufacturers but rather through the impact on the competitiveness of primary exports and exchange rate appreciation, and that that one of the most relevant factors for deindustrialization in Latin America is related to the Dutch disease. |
| Keywords: | Industrialization; Deindustrialization; International Trade; South-South Cooperation; Economic complexity. |
| JEL: | F16 F14 O14 O54 O53 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:remwps:wp03672025 |
| By: | Gilles Dufrénot (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, AMSE, Marseille and CEPII); Edem Egnikpo (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, AMSE, Marseille) |
| Abstract: | We propose a new approach to measure the sensitivity of economic growth to natural disasters in developing countries at different time horizons (short, medium, and long term). We allow for heterogeneous effects across growth regimes and intensities of disaster shocks using quantile-on-quantile regressions and wavelet decomposition. Our findings yield several insights. First, small disaster shocks boost GDP per capita growth in low-growth countries across all horizons. By contrast, in high-growth countries, such shocks cause sharp short-term growth declines, followed by a rapid recovery in the medium term, albeit without regaining the pre-disaster growth trajectory in the long term. Second, severe disaster shocks lead to long-term growth losses in highgrowth countries, despite their initial resilience. Conversely, low-growth countries experience immediate and persistent growth declines that worsen over time. Third, the role of macroeconomic variables in mitigating or amplifying growth losses varies depending on the growth regime, disaster severity, and time horizon. |
| Keywords: | Natural Disasters, growth, developing countries, quantile-on-quantile |
| JEL: | C50 O44 Q54 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:2437 |
| By: | Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Yamauchi, Futoshi; Dauda, Bawa; Balana, Bedru |
| Abstract: | Modern cooling technologies, including cold storage, have been considered one of the critical tools to address increasingly complex challenges in agrifood systems in developing countries, including poverty, economic growth, food loss and waste, food and nutrition security, and environmental sustainability (e.g., IFPRI 2020; Kashyap & Agarwal 2020). Cold storage can minimize most human pathogens, ensuring enhanced food safety (Uçar & Özçelik 2013; Kopp & Mishra 2022) and contribute to increased consumption of micronutrient-rich horticulture crops (Schreinemachers et al. 2018). Cooling technologies can also improve market functions by enabling higher and more stable prices received by suppliers (Rakshit 2011; Schreinemachers et al. 2018) and reducing losses (Allen & de Brauw 2018). Cooling-chain development has been a significant part of food system transformation outside Africa South of the Sahara (SSA) (IFPRI 2020). Similar technologies may become more broadly relevant in SSA in the near future (Tschirley et al. 2015). Traditionally, the use of cold storage has been constrained by high energy consumption and adverse environmental effects like carbon emissions (Pueyo et al. 2020; Steyn et al. 2016). However, a growing set of potential energy solutions are being proposed and introduced on a pilot basis, including solar power (Takeshima et al. 2023). |
| Keywords: | agrifood systems; agricultural technology; capacity development; cold storage; cooling; horticulture |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:cgiarp:163560 |
| By: | Aju, Stellamaris; ter Steeg, Emily; van den Berg, Marrit |
| Abstract: | The vegetable sector of Kaduna and Kano states in Nigeria is crucial for smallholder farmers' livelihoods, providing employment opportunities and contributing to good health. However, unfavorable environmental conditions and poor agronomic practices have hindered its development, leaving farming households struggling with food insecurity, nutrient deficiency, and poverty. Furthermore, societal expectations regarding gender roles, religious beliefs, and cultural practices make it more challenging for couples to work together effectively and attain the best possible outcomes for their family. The East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer (EWS-KT) foundation is supporting SHFs' access to vegetable markets through a one-year training program (across two cropping cycles) and together with Wageningen University and Research (WUR) intends to provide a gender-responsive agricultural extension system. Overall, this research project aims to improve farmers’ vegetable production, reduce the gender gap in agricultural participation and intrahousehold decision-making, and improve smallholder’s livelihoods. This report is based on a household survey covering 2562 respondents from 150 SHF communities in Kaduna and Kano. The baseline survey was a joint effort of Datametrics Associates Ltd. and WUR, consisting of two data collection rounds: the main survey round and supplementary survey round. Together, the surveys cover the different groups part of the study: key farmers, core farmers, other peer farmers, and the spouses of these farmers. The baseline survey provides insight into current agronomic practices, agricultural extension activities, SHF livelihoods, and women empowerment in Kaduna and Kano. Moreover, it assessed to which extent characteristics are balanced across socio-economic characteristics and current outcome indicators irrespective of their assignment to the treatment and control groups. Findings also helped to improve the formulated indicators for the evaluation of the project interventions. |
| Keywords: | capacity development; crop production; value chains; vegetables |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:cgiarp:163559 |
| By: | Rodrigo García Arancibia (Universidad Nacional del Litoral/CONICET); Ignacio Girela (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba/CONICET); Daniela Agostina Gonzalez (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba) |
| Abstract: | Effective implementation, monitoring , and evaluation of targeted poverty reduction programs require accurate measurements of poverty levels and their changes overtime. The Multidimensional Poverty Index(MPI) offers a more comprehensive measure compared to traditional income-based assessments. However, for many countries, MPI data are either unavailable or limited to a few years due to the high cost of conducting relevant surveys. This paper presents alternative methodologies to predict the Global MPI across different countries and time periods using the World Bank’s World Development Indicators as predictor variables. Given that MPI construction involves proportions bounded within the unit interval, we tailor statistical learning methods accordingly. In a high-dimensional context, where the number of predictors exceeds the number of training observations, we evaluate methodologies such as dimension reduction, regularized models, and ensemble learning. We conduct cross-validation experiments to assess model performance, incorporating both measured and non-measured countries in the testing dataset. |
| Keywords: | MPI, Beta Regression, Statistical Learning, Data Imputation, Global Poverty Assessment, High-Dimensionality. |
| JEL: | C52 C53 I32 O10 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aoz:wpaper:350 |