|
on Central and South America |
|
Issue of 2013‒04‒06
four papers chosen by |
| By: | Costas Meghir (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Yale University); Renata Narita; Jean-Marc Robin (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Sciences Po) |
| Abstract: | It is often argued that informal labour markets in developing countries are the engine of growth because their existence allows firms to operate in an environment where wage and regulatory costs are lower. On the other hand informality means that the amount of social protection offered to workers is lower. In this paper we extend the wage-posting framework of Burdett and Mortensen (1998) to allow for two sectors of employment. Firms are heterogeneous and decide endogenously in which sector to locate. Workers engage in both off the job and on the job search and decide which offers to accept. Direct transitions across sectors are permitted, which matches the evidence in the data about job mobility. Our empirical analysis uses Brazilian labour force surveys. We use the model to discuss the relative merits of alternative policies towards informality. In particular, we evaluate the impact of a tighter regulatory framework on employment in the formal and the informal sector on the distribution of wages. |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:cemmap:08/13&r=lam |
| By: | Saraly Andrade de Sá; Charles Palmer; Salvatore Di Falco |
| Abstract: | The expansion of a given land use may affect deforestation directly if forests are cleared to free land for this use, or indirectly, via the displacement of other land-use activities from non-forest areas towards the forest frontier. Unlike direct land conversion, indirect land-use changes affecting deforestation are not immediately observable. They require the linking of changes occurring in different regions. This paper empirically estimates these indirect effects for the case of Brazil. It presents evidence of a positive relationship between sugarcane expansion in the south of the country and cattle ranching in the Amazon, suggesting that the former is indeed displacing the latter towards the forest frontier. This displacement effect is shown to be a dynamic process materializing over 10 to 15 years. |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp74&r=lam |
| By: | International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) |
| Abstract: | This 2012 Global Food Policy Report is the second in an annual series that provides an in-depth look at major food policy developments and events. Initiated in response to resurgent interest in food security, the series offers a yearly overview of the food policy developments that have contributed to or hindered progress in food and nutrition security. It reviews what happened in food policy and why, examines key challenges and opportunities, shares new evidence and knowledge, and highlights emerging issues. |
| Keywords: | Brazil; China; India; South Asia; East Asia; Latin America; South America; Africa South of Sahara; Africa; Asia; European Union; United States; North America; Food policy; food policies; Sustainability; Agricultural productivity; Gender; Women; Women in agriculture; Labor; Agricultural policies; Agricultural laborers; subsidies; Agricultural subsidies; Agricultural research.; Climate change; food security; Nutrition security; Food wastes; Postharvest losses; Agricultural development; employment; Food supply; green economy; Rural development; Sustainable development; Resilience; youth; Smallholder farmers; Rio20; Biofuels; Bioenergy; Doha Developmental Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO); Doha round; Property rights; Land rights; Land acquisitions; Food prices; Land degradation; International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade; IMPACT model; Developing countries; Developed countries |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:resrep:2012globalfoodpolicyreport&r=lam |
| By: | Ewa Lechman; (Gdansk university of Technology, Gdansk, Poland); ; |
| Abstract: | The study investigates disparities in social development in 144 countries worldwide. In the paper we aim to investigate cross-country differences in social development level in year 2011, as well as to estimate inequalities on the field. Secondly, we assess relative social development level differences – gaps (divides) among countries. For the analysis purposes, we apply: descriptive statistics analysis, Kernel Epanechnikov density (to check for world distribution of social welfare), inequality measure – Gini coefficient and square Euclidean distance (full linkages) method. The analysis sample encompasses 144 countries, and we mainly collect statistical data for the year 2011 (if available). The data applied in the study are derived from databases like: United Nations Millennium Development Goals Database; United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; World Health Organization; International Human Development Indicators |
| Keywords: | social development, living standards, inequalities, Kernel distribution |
| JEL: | I0 I2 I3 O15 O50 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gdk:wpaper:2&r=lam |