nep-ppm New Economics Papers
on Project, Program and Portfolio Management
Issue of 2019‒03‒18
three papers chosen by
Arvi Kuura
Tartu Ülikool

  1. Chinese development assistance and household welfare in sub-Saharan Africa By Bruno Martorano; Laura Metzger; Marco Sanfilippo
  2. Environmental Policy and Innovation: A Decade of Research By David Popp
  3. Risk management and policy implications for concentrating solar power technology investments in Tunisia By Emna Omri; Nouri Chtourou; Damien Bazin

  1. By: Bruno Martorano; Laura Metzger; Marco Sanfilippo
    Abstract: We combine data on Chinese development projects with data from Demographic and Health Surveys to study the impact of Chinese aid on household welfare in sub-Saharan Africa. We use a novel methodology to test the effect of Chinese aid on three important development outcomes: education, health, and nutrition. For each outcome, we use difference-in-difference estimations to compare household areas near Chinese project sites to control areas located farther away, before and after receiving Chinese aid. This empirical strategy rules out many confounding factors that can bias measuring the impact of Chinese aid on our outcome variables. First, we find that Chinese projects significantly improve education and child mortality in treatment areas, but do not significantly affect nutrition. Second, social sector projects have a larger effect on outcomes than economic projects. Third, we do not find significant effects for projects that ended more than five years before the post-treatment survey wave. Our results are robust to a host of robustness checks.
    Keywords: aid effectiveness, Chinese aid, household welfare, DHS, geocoded data
    JEL: F35 O19 R20
    Date: 2019–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsc:rsceui:2019/09&r=all
  2. By: David Popp
    Abstract: Innovation is an important part of environmental policy, and encouraging innovation is often an explicit goal of policymakers. A large literature in environmental economics examines the links between environmental policy and innovation. Popp et al. (2010) provides an extensive review of the literature on environmental innovation. This paper updates that review, highlighting research published during the past decade, with a focus on empirical research examining links between environmental policy and environmentally friendly innovation. I highlight major trends in the literature, including an increased number of cross-country studies and a focus on the effect of different policy instruments on innovation. I include a discussion of the justifications and evidence for technology-specific policy incentives and present evidence on the effectiveness of government R&D spending. My review concludes with a discussion of three promising areas for new research on environmental innovation.
    JEL: O31 O38 Q55
    Date: 2019–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25631&r=all
  3. By: Emna Omri (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis - UCA - Université Côte d'Azur - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Nouri Chtourou (RUDE - Research Unit in Development Economics - Université de Sfax - University of Sfax); Damien Bazin (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis - UCA - Université Côte d'Azur - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
    Abstract: Concentrating solar power (CSP) is a promising technology in Tunisia. However, its diffusion is facing many barriers which deter investments. Through the analysis of a CSP plant in Southern Tunisia by using the Global Risk Analysis (GRA) method, we try to analyze the main risks faced by investors. The main objective of this research is to identify and analyze the risks faced by CSP investors in Tunisia and develop strategies that should be adopted to accelerate the process of diffusion of this technology. This analysis allows us to conclude that the CSP project is very exposed to political, financial, physical-chemical, legal, and strategic hazards. Moreover, we show that among the four phases of the project, the preparation phase is the most vulnerable to hazards. In fact, the GRA method makes it possible to determine the list of the major risks, such as the risk of not obtaining permission to build a CSP plant, the risk of non compliance with the deadline, the risk of failure to achieve the expected performance, the risk of insufficient access to capital, and the risk of conflicts with local residents. In order to de-risk CSP technology in Tunisia, we propose some strategies, such as strengthening the public-private partnerships, using participatory approaches, creating local employment, etc.
    Date: 2019–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02061788&r=all

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