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on South East Asia |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | Climate change is a global concern of special relevance to Southeast Asia, a region that is both vulnerable to the effects of climate change and a rapidly increasing emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs). This study focuses on five countries of Southeast Asia that collectively account for 90% of regional GHG emissions in recent years—Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. It applies two global dynamic economy–energy–environment models under an array of scenarios that reflect potential regimes for regulating global GHG emissions through 2050. The modeling identifies the potential economic costs of climate inaction for the region, how the countries can most efficiently achieve GHG emission mitigation, and the consequences of mitigation, both in terms of benefits and costs. Drawing on the modeling results, the study analyzes climate-related policies and identifies how further action can be taken to ensure low-carbon growth. |
| Keywords: | indonesia, malaysia, philippines, thailand, viet nam, southeast asia, ghg, climate change, greenhouse gas, emissions mitigation, low-carbon growth, climate policy |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt157821-2&r=sea |
| By: | SA'ADI AWANG (UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA); SITI ARNI BASIR (UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA) |
| Abstract: | Human capital development is crucial in ensuring organizational excellence. Excellent organizations usually focus on the quality of their human capital. Excellent human capital management can be developed by learning, training, work experiences, human resource management and quality of service offered. Today, to ensure success of human capital, there are many challenges faced by an organization. The aim of this study is to explore human capital development in Islamic Administration Institutes in Malaysia (IAM). This study is important to identify challenges involved in human capital development program in IAM. The Malaysian Government is implementing public administration reformation agenda in the IAM which is an essential component of public administration involved in the renewal process. One of the reformations that can be made possible is by executing an effective human capital program. This paper is a qualitative study in which content analysis is used to analyze the content of previous literature, documents and reports related to topics being studied. The results show that human capital development in the IAM is actively implemented. IAM also faced a number of challenges in implementing the human capital development program. Preliminary findings from Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) case studies found a number of challenges in developing the human capital. Some of the factors are financial, individual attitudes, lack of support on new ideas and environmental. |
| Keywords: | Human capital development, status, challenges, Islamic Administration Institutes, transformation. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:3605499&r=sea |
| By: | Rodriguez, Divina Gracia P. |
| Abstract: | Site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) provides guidelines for effective nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium management to help farmers make better decisions on fertilizer input and output levels in rice production. I evaluated the assumptions underlying the SSNM strategy for rice in the top rice producing countries in the world: India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Using a generalized quadratic production function, I explored whether major nutrients are substitutes as inputs, and if there are complementarities between inorganic fertilizer and soil organic matter (SOM). I also used non-nested hypothesis framework to contrast the quadratic model against the linear von Liebig model. Results showed that the relationships among major nutrients vary across sites – some inputs are complements, some are substitutes, and some are independent. In addition, I found that the SOM significantly affects the economic returns to nitrogen fertilizer inputs. Accounting for these relationships in the fertilizer recommendation algorithm can make the SSNM strategy more adaptive to farmer’s fields. In areas where soils have limiting organic matter content, fertilizer subsidy or distribution might not be appropriate means to support rice production. Increased rice productivity can be achieved through integrated soil fertility management and adoption of soil conservation technologies. |
| Keywords: | rice, fertilizer recommendations, nitrogen, soil carbon content, organic matter, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, International Development, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q10, Q12, Q16, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235506&r=sea |
| By: | Ernesto M. Pernia (School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman); Janine Elora M. Lazatin (School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman) |
| Abstract: | This paper looks into whether and how sub-national regions can benefit from a country’s economic openness. Using data on the Philippines, it first notes marked disparities across its regions as reflected in economic and social indicators. The dominance of Metropolitan Manila in the national economic landscape persists, albeit spread effects into adjacent regions are increasingly apparent. Applying econometric analysis to panel data, the paper then examines how regional economic growth is influenced by economic openness. Results show that regional gains appear to be uneven with the ex-ante lagging regions at a disadvantage; by extension, the welfare effect on the poor appears unequal, as well. |
| Keywords: | economic openness, regional development; poverty, Philippines, Asia |
| JEL: | I32 O18 R11 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phs:dpaper:201602&r=sea |
| By: | Krishna, Vijesh; Euler, Michael; Siregar, Hermanto; Qaim, Matin |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of oil palm expansion on smallholder livelihoods in Indonesia, using farm-household survey data. Treatment-effects and endogenous switching regression models suggest that smallholders benefit from oil palm adoption on average. Part of the benefit stems from the fact that oil palm requires less labour than rubber, the main alternative crop. This allows oil palm adopters to allocate more labour to off-farm activities and/or to expand their farmland. Households with a lower land-to-labour ratio are typically better-off with rubber. Depending on various social and institutional factors, households’ access to land, labour, and capital varies, contributing to impact heterogeneity. |
| Keywords: | social heterogeneity, welfare impact, transmigrant programme, Jambi Province, Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235218&r=sea |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | Thailand’s economic and social transformation of the last 50 years has placed it in the ranks of uppermiddle- income countries and made it an integral part of global value chains. It has also established itself as a regional hub for key transport and logistics, with a world-class airport. Yet, growth has concentrated on greater Bangkok. As wages rise, productivity needs to keep pace for the economy to stay competitive. While it has diversified its economic base into tourism, health care, and other services, the bulk of the workforce remains in low-productivity activities—with the agriculture sector still employing almost 40% of workers.To continue its rise, therefore, Thailand needs to move into the higher-value segments of economic activity and create high-quality jobs that are regionally broader based. This report identifies the major constraints to accomplishing these goals and analyzes the main challenges. Among them, the country must (i) enhance research and development and international technology transfers; (ii) elevate worker skills and theirindustrial relevance; (iii) address structural impediments to competition, notably in services; (iv) provide advanced transport and logistics infrastructure; and (v) improve access to finance and technology for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. |
| Keywords: | thailand, industrialization, binding constraints, country diagnostic study, economic transformation, critical constraints, economic catch-up |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt157810-2&r=sea |
| By: | Younoh Kim (Department of Economics, Eastern Michigan University); Scott Knowles; James Manley (Department of Economics, Eastern Michigan University); Vlad Radoias (Department of Economics, Towson University) |
| Abstract: | While many studies in the medical literature documented causal relationships between air pollution and negative health outcomes immediately following exposure, much less is known about the long run health consequences of pollution exposure. Using the 1997 Indonesian forest fires as a natural experiment, we estimate the long term effects of air pollution on health outcomes. We take advantage of the longitudinal nature of the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS), which collects detailed individual data on a multitude of health outcomes, in both 1997 and 2007. We find significant negative effects of pollution, which persist in the long run. Men and the elderly are impacted the most, while children seem to recover almost completely from these early shocks. |
| Keywords: | Air Pollution, Health, Indonesia. |
| JEL: | I1 Q53 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tow:wpaper:2016-11&r=sea |
| By: | Hasnul, Al Gifari |
| Abstract: | The relationship between government expenditure and economic growth has been debated for decades and has not clearly stated yet. This paper gives a further evidence on the relationship between government expenditure and economic growth in the case of Malaysia. In this study, the government expenditure has been disaggregated in to the government operating and development expenditure. We also classified the government expenditure based on the sector of which it expensed. We used OLS technique to find the fixed effects of government expenditure on economic growth for the last 45 years. This investigation is made by using the time series data during the period 1970 – 2014. Our result indicates that there is a negative correlation between government expenditure and economic growth in Malaysia for the last 45 years. Moreover, the classification of government expenditure indicates that only housing sector expenditure and development expenditure significantly contribute to a lower economic growth. Education, defense, healthcare, and operating expenditure do not show significant any evidence of its impact on the economic growth. These finding may give some overview of policy implications to the Malaysia policymakers on optimizing the effects of government expenditure in economic growth. |
| Keywords: | Government Expenditure; Economic Growth, OLS. |
| JEL: | H5 H52 |
| Date: | 2015–12–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:71254&r=sea |
| By: | Takeshi Aida (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates how pesticide use by neighboring farmers affects a given farmer's pesticide use. Although it is common knowledge that pesticide use has spatial externalities, few empirical economic studies directly analyze this issue. Applying the spatial panel econometric model to the plot-level panel data in Bohol, the Philippines, this study shows that the pesticide use, especially for herbicides, is spatially correlated although there is no statistically significant spatial correlation in unobserved shocks. This implies that farmers apply pesticides by mimicking neighboring farmers' behavior rather than rationally responding to the intensity of infestation. |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ngi:dpaper:16-02&r=sea |
| By: | Lukas Menkhoff; Sahra Sakha |
| Abstract: | We use a repeated incentivized risk experiment in rural Thailand to test determinants of changes in the level of individual risk aversion over time. We find that risk aversion significantly changes between 2008 and 2013 as a result of macro- andmicro-level shocks. Strong macroeconomic recovery following the 2007/08 financial crisis makes people more risk-seeking, whereas macroeconomic normalization thereafter increases risk aversion parameters. On the micro-level, we observe that negative economic and agricultural shocks increase risk aversion. Subjective perceptions of well-being and expectations also play a role but do not drive the macro-micro determinants of changes in individual risk aversion. |
| Keywords: | risk aversion, lab-in-the-field experiment, shocks, socio-economic determinants |
| JEL: | D01 D81 O12 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1582&r=sea |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has issued its Sustainability Report every 2 years since 2007. For 2015, the Sustainability Report highlights the sustainability of ADB’s investments and organizational activities during 2013– 2014. A separate detailed Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) index contains the responses of ADB to standard and specific material disclosures in the GRI’s G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and G4 Financial Services Sector Guidelines. The Sustainability Report and detailed GRI Index are available online at www.adb.org/documents/ asian-development-bank-sustainability-report-2015. The Sustainability Report provides a single point of reference to which stakeholders interested in understanding ADB’s commitment to sustainable development can turn. The report has hyperlinks that direct readers to further information already available via the ADB web page , which in turn improves accessibility to information that ADB has published and stakeholders want to find. The content of the Sustainability Report and detailed GRI Index enables stakeholders to assess ADB’s sustainability performance during 2013-2014. The Sustainability Report focuses on (1) ADB’s investments in poverty reduction and inclusive economic growth, environment and climate change, regional integration, and infrastructure; (2) ADB’s private sector, finance and knowledge partnerships, and governance and safeguard matters; and (3) ADB’s human resource activities, environmental footprint, and community activities as topics that are material to ADB’s stakeholders in a sustainability context. |
| Keywords: | sustainability report, adb sustainability report, corporate sustainability report, csr, adb csr, environmental sustainability, corporate responsibility, green buildings, iso 14001 certification, sustainability report 2013–2014, adb csr 2013–2014 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt157802-2&r=sea |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | Disaster risk financing instruments provide funding for disaster relief, early recovery, and reconstruction. Adequate financing arrangements are essential in ensuring timely recovery in the wake of disasters and in minimizing their impact on socioeconomic development. This paper presents a summary of a technical assistance project on the development of disaster risk financing solutions for the cities of Can Tho and Hue and, by extension, for other cities in Viet Nam. Many of Viet Nam’s cities face significant risk from natural hazards such as typhoons, flooding, landslide, and drought. The project included the development of disaster risk models, financing gap analysis, and review of legislative and regulatory considerations. Disaster risk financing solutions were identified, focusing on insurance, credit, and capital market instruments. |
| Keywords: | can tho, hue, viet nam, vietnam, disaster risk financing, insurance, natural hazard, typhoon, flood, disaster, reconstruction, japan fund for poverty reduction, jfpr |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt157777-2&r=sea |
| By: | Chen, Xuan; Scuderi, Ben |
| Abstract: | This study assesses the market integration of domestically produced and imported catfish products in the United States. In 2003, the U.S. adopted legislation that established antidumping tariffs for Vietnamese catfish products entering the country. One goal of this analysis is to determine how these tariffs have impacted the relationship between foreign and domestically produced catfish products. Cointegration tests confirm the existence of a long-run price relationship between domestic and imported catfish products, which has persisted despite the legislative change. This finding enables the estimation of vector error correction models to describe this price relationship in the periods before and after import tariffs went into effect. Results from these models suggest that Vietnamese catfish fillet prices do not significantly influence or react to domestic catfish prices. However, the price of catfish fillets imported from countries other than Vietnam has continued to respond to domestic prices, and to influence the prices received by domestic catfish farmers and processors. |
| Keywords: | aquaculture, catfish, cointegration, market integration, VECM, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235550&r=sea |
| By: | Marta De Philippis (London School of Economics); Federico Rossi (Bank of Italy; Centre For Economic Policy Research; London School of Economics; Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM)) |
| Abstract: | Results from international standardized tests show large and persistent differences across countries in students’ performances. East Asian countries like China, Korea, Japan and Singapore consistently position themselves at the top of international rankings, while the performance in several Latin American, Middle Eastern and Southern European countries has often been disappointing. This paper investigates the sources of these gaps. Understanding them is important since recent research gives a central role to human capital quality, as measured by standardized tests, for explaining cross-country differences in economic performance. While the debate has mostly focused on cross-country differences in school quality, we argue that culture and parental inputs are important as well. We compare the school performance of second generation immigrants from different nationalities but educated in the same school, and find that those coming from high-scoring countries in the PISA test do better than their peers. The gap is larger among students whose parents have recently immigrated and have little education, suggesting that the importance of country-specific cultural traits declines as parents integrate in their host countries. We also document that parents from high-scoring countries spend more time with their children, who in turn study for more hours than their peers. We use our estimates to decompose how much of the cross-country variation in PISA scores is accounted by different sources. We find that parental inputs explain an important share the outperformance of East Asian countries with respect to other regions, in particular Southern European (at least 40%) and Middle Eastern (at least 38%) countries, while they play a more limited role for Latin American countries and the United States. Our results suggest that importing features of the East Asian schooling system might not be enough to reach similar level of schooling performance. Human capital investment has an important cultural component, which might be hard to affect through policy. |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cfm:wpaper:1614&r=sea |
| By: | Irhamni, Milda |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235837&r=sea |
| By: | Ma Eugenia C. Bennagen (Resources, Environment and Economics Center for Studies, Inc. (REECS),Quezon City.); Vincent Altez (Resources, Environment and Economics Center for Studies, Inc. (REECS),Quezon City.) |
| Keywords: | Pollution,Philippines,waste disposal |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eep:pbrief:pb20160410&r=sea |
| By: | Christopher Parsons (Business School, University of Western Australia); Pierre-Louis Vézina (King's College London) |
| Abstract: | We provide cogent evidence for the causal pro-trade effect of migrants and in doing so establish an important link between migrant networks and long-run economic development. To this end, we exploit a unique event in human history, i.e. the exodus of the Vietnamese Boat People to the US. This episode represents an ideal natural experiment as the large immigration shock, the first wave of which comprised refugees exogenously allocated across the US, occurred over a twenty-year period, during which time the US imposed a complete trade embargo on Vietnam. Following the lifting of trade restrictions in 1994, US exports to Vietnam grew most in US States with larger Vietnamese populations, themselves the result of larger refugee inflows 20 years earlier. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwa:wpaper:16-04&r=sea |
| By: | Nuva (Department of Resource and Environmental Economics, Bogor Agricultural University); Yusif (Bogor Agricultural University); Nia Kurniawati H. (Bogor Agricultural University); Hanna (Bogor Agricultural University) |
| Keywords: | Eco-labelling, Coffee, Indonesia |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eep:pbrief:pb20160445&r=sea |
| By: | Mahasuweerachai, Phumsith; Pangjai, Siwarut |
| Abstract: | The focus of this study is to explore the issue of scope insensitivity concerning two different elicitation formats with regard to differences in preferences distributions. For this purpose, we apply choice experiment (CE) and damage schedule (DM) methods to elicit preferences for different child’s health risk reductions in school in Thailand. The data comes from 1,116 parents who have at least one child attending school from prepared kindergarten to grade 9. Empirical evidences first suggest that these two methods provide the same preferences of respondents on the most preferred and the least preferred of risk reduction issues. However, scope insensitivity occurs for some risk reductions issues elicited by CE. Namely, willingness to pay of higher level of risk reduction and those of lower level of risk reduction in the same issue are statistically indifferent. On the other hand, there is no occurrence of scope insensitivity in all risk reduction issues obtained by DM. This pattern is still unchanged even when the sample is separately analyzed by socio-economic factors such as education and income. |
| Keywords: | Scope insensitivity, Damage schedule, Choice experiment, Health risk, Health Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, D61, H43, I18, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235577&r=sea |
| By: | Ito, Seiro; Ohira, Satoshi; Tsukada, Kazunari |
| Abstract: | We estimate the economic impacts of irrigation using the panel data set from rural Thailand. We employed difference-in-differences estimation and showed that tertiary irrigation has unexpected impacts. Contrary to the local experts predicitions that it should have substantial productivity impacts as it allows better water controls for farmers, we found largely zero profitability impacts. Another unexpected finding is that, while profitability is not affected, we see an increase in cultivation probability with the construction of tertiary canals. This is observed in both wet and dry seasons. This finding suggests that Thai farmers are willing to expand operation scale once they get water. |
| Keywords: | Canals, Infrastructure, Agriculture, Impact evaluation of infrastructure, Tertiary canals, Cultivation |
| JEL: | Q12 Q15 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper596&r=sea |
| By: | Gilliland, Ted E.; Sanchirico, James N.; Taylor, J. Edward |
| Abstract: | Protecting degraded open-access natural resources while maintaining or improving individuals’ livelihoods is a major challenge, particularly in developing countries. Tourism (especially ecotourism) is often viewed as a win-win solution that can shift natural resource users away from resource extraction and increase local incomes. Existing studies examining the impacts of tourism on natural resource use and livelihoods fail to account for the full suite of effects tourism has on local economies. We offer a new methodology to assess the impacts of tourism growth by combining local economy-wide impact evaluation (LEWIE) techniques from development economics with bioeconomic modeling techniques from natural resource economics. We construct our “Bio-LEWIE” model using a novel data set of microeconomic and biological data from the western Philippines. We simulate the impact of a 10 percent increase in tourism expenditures on fishing pressure and local incomes for different socioeconomic groups (e.g., poor households versus nonpoor households). We find that if fish cannot be traded with outside markets, fishing pressure increases and real incomes decrease for most households in the long-run; this counteracts some of the benefits of tourism. In contrast, if fish can be imported, fishing pressure decreases and real incomes increase for most households in the long-run; this reinforces potential gains from tourism growth and may even counteract losses by poorer socioeconomic groups. The Bio-LEWIE model predicts the costs and benefits of tourism growth, when they will occur, and for whom. This framework can help policy-makers in the developing world find synergies between natural resource protection, sustainable livelihoods, and economic growth. |
| Keywords: | Natural resources, Fisheries, Poverty, Tourism, Bioeconomic models, CGE, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q22, O12, Z32, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:236214&r=sea |
| By: | Yang, Shang-Ho; Souza Monteiro, Diogo |
| Abstract: | Traditional markets in Asian countries still account for the majority of fresh meat, fish and vegetable purchases. One of the reasons for their popularity is the relational trust between vendors and buyers. This trust may justify the limited availability of information on origin or production methods and other attributes of foods sold in these markets. However, a number of recent food safety outbreaks and food fraud cases raised consumer and government concerns on over the level information in these markets and ignited a reflection of possible action. This study aims to determine the consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for fresh meat traceability and free growth hormone information traditional markets in Taiwan. To estimate the values of information the payment card method was employed and to account for the starting point bias, the sample was divided into different treatments each with a different price of meat. A total of 2,381 completed survey were collected in mid-July, 2015. An interval regression model is utilized to examine how much consumers would be willing to pay for addition product information. The results suggest that WTP of information not consistent among groups with different starting point scenarios. There was a significant difference between respondents that were not given any indication of the price per quantity of meat and those that were prompted with a market price. Interestingly, we found that consumers treat the information of growth hormone-free examination and traceability differently. |
| Keywords: | starting-point bias, WTP, traceability, growth hormone-free, wet markets, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235766&r=sea |
| By: | Medalla, Erlinda M.; del Prado, Fatima; Mantaring, Melalyn C.; Maddawin, Angelica B. |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses one of the pillars of the "Big Push" for micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) development of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI): the shared service facility (SSF). Implemented in 2013, SSF seeks to address the gaps and bottlenecks in the value chain of priority industry clusters through the provision of processing and/or manufacturing machinery, equipment, tools, and related accessories for the common use of MSMEs. The assessment used case studies of selected three project sites where focus group discussions (FGDs) were held and preliminary data on output, performance, and costs could be obtained. Overall data from DTI on SSF were also utilized. The results appear promising, although still not robust enough because of insufficient data, and the program being still in early stage (2nd year) of implementation. The project costs very little, but it has had notable and substantial impact on jobs and productivity. This is indicated by the low estimates of the implicit subsidy per worker and generally favorable measure of the benefit-cost ratio of projects undertaken under the program. In addition, the FGDs, on the whole, brought out encouraging feedback from all concerned. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), SME development, shared service facility |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:rpseri:dp_2016-18&r=sea |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Pacific Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Pacific Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | This publication analyzes the trust funds established by the United States with the Republic of Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, intended to provide budget support upon expiration of these countries’ Compacts of Free Association with the United States. Analysis shows future revenues from the funds will likely be volatile and unsustainable, but examines simple rule changes designed to reduce fund volatility and improve the sustainability of fund balances. |
| Keywords: | Federated States of Micronesia, FSM, Republic of the Marshall Islands, RMI, Pacific island, Compact of Free Association, Amended Compact, trust fund, sovereign wealth fund, fiscal management, long term, fiscal rules, fiscal cliff, aid dependence, grant, government revenue, sustainability, volatility, withdrawal, distribution, drawdown, investment, uncertainty, investment return model, stochastic asset model, monte carlo simulation |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt146714-2&r=sea |
| By: | Xiaoping Chen (Division of Economics, Nanyang Technological University, 14 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637332.); Yi Lu (Division of Economics, Nanyang Technological University, 14 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637332.); Lianming Zhu (Kyoto University, Japan) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the organization structure of global sourcing over the product cycle. The paper combines a new product list dataset and China's customs data. The analysis finds that multinationals first produce within their foreign subsidiaries, and when the product matures, they start to outsource their production to external foreign suppliers. Global outsourcing appears later along the product cycle when the contractibility is better. |
| Keywords: | Global sourcing; Product cycle; Contractibility; Difference-in-difference-in-differences estimation |
| JEL: | F12 F23 L23 D23 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nan:wpaper:1604&r=sea |
| By: | Umut Özek; David N. Figlio |
| Abstract: | We make use of a new data source – matched birth records and longitudinal student records in Florida – to study the degree to which student outcomes differ across successive immigrant generations. Specifically, we investigate whether first, second, and third generation Asian and Hispanic immigrants in Florida perform differently on reading and mathematics tests, and whether they are differentially likely to get into serious trouble in school, to be truant from school, to graduate from high school, or to be ready for college upon high school graduation. We find evidence suggesting that early-arriving first generation immigrants perform better than do second generation immigrants, and second generation immigrants perform better than third generation immigrants. Among first generation immigrants, the earlier the arrival, the better the students tend to perform. These patterns of findings hold for both Asian and Hispanic students, and suggest a general pattern of successively reduced achievement – beyond a transitional period for recent immigrants – in the generations following the generation that immigrated to the United States. |
| JEL: | I20 I24 J15 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22262&r=sea |
| By: | Aiko Endo (Research Department, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature); Izumi Tsurita (Department of Cultural Anthropology, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo); Kimberly Burnett (University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, University of Hawaii at Manoa); Pedcris M. Orencio (Catholic Relief Service Philippines (Manila Office) Urban Disaster Risk Reduction Department) |
| Abstract: | 1. Study region Asia, Europe, Oceania, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. 2. Study focus The purpose of this paper is to review and analyze the water, energy, and food nexus and regions of study, nexus keywords and stakeholders in order to understand the current state of nexus research. 3. New hydrological insights Through selected 37 projects, four types of nexus research were identified including water-food, water-energy-food, water-energy, and climate related. Among them, six projects (16%) had a close linkage with water-food, 11 (30%) with water-energy-food, 12 (32%) with water-energy, and eight (22%) with climate. The regions were divided into Asia, Europe, Oceania, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. North America and Oceania had a tendency to focus on a specific nexus type, water-energy (46%) and climate (43%), while Africa had less focus on water-energy (7%). Regarding keywords, out of 37 nexus projects, 16 projects listed keywords in their articles. There were 84 keywords in total, which were categorized by the author team depending on its relevance to water, food, energy, climate, and combination of water-food-energy-climate, and 40 out of 84 keywords were linked with water and only 4 were linked with climate. As for stakeholders, 77 out of 137 organizations were related to research and only two organizations had a role in media. |
| Keywords: | nexus type; nexus region; nexus keywords; nexus stakeholders |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hae:wpaper:2016-7&r=sea |
| By: | Melolinna, Marko |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effects of demand shocks caused by Emerging Asian (EMA) countries on oil prices over the past two decades, using vector autoregression models. The analysis builds on previous work done on identifying different types of oil shocks using structural time series methods. However, uniquely, this paper introduces a commodity demand indicator for EMA economies that is based on data independent of oil production and consumption data, thus properly accounting for oil demand pressures stemming from macroeconomic conditions in the EMA economies and the rest of the world. The analysis strongly suggests that EMA demand shocks have had a persistent and statistically significant effect on the level and variation of global oil prices over the past two decades. This result differs from some of the previous literature and hence proves that the choice of oil demand indicator in an oil-market VAR makes a material difference for the results. Furthermore, tentative evidence suggests that the effect of EMA demand is mainly driven by demand dynamics in China. The results of the benchmark model are robust to different sample periods and to variations in the definition of the oil demand indicators, as well as to an alternative identification strategy based on sign restrictions. Publication keywords: macroeconomic shocks, oil markets, sign restrictions, vector autoregression |
| JEL: | C32 E32 Q43 |
| Date: | 2014–09–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bof:bofitp:2014_018&r=sea |
| By: | Hammond, Peter J. (Department of Economics, University of Warwick); Sun, Yeneng (Department of Mathematics, National University of Singapore) |
| Abstract: | A general parameter process defined by a continuum of random variables is not jointly measurable with respect to the usual product sigma-algebra. For the case of independent random variables, a one-way Fubini extension of the product space was constructed in our 2006 paper (“Joint measurability and the one-way Fubini property for a continuum of independent random variables”, Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society, 134: 737–747) to satisfy a limited form of joint measurability. For the general case we show that this extension exists if and only if there is a countably generated sigma-algebra given which the random variables are essentially pairwise conditionally independent, while their joint conditional distribution also satisfies a suitable joint measurability condition. Applications include new characterizations of essential pairwise independence and essential pairwise exchangeability through regular conditional distributions with respect to the usual product sigma-algebra in the framework of a one-way Fubini extension. |
| Keywords: | Continuum of random variables ; joint measurability problem ; one-way Fubini property ; conditional distributions ; characterizations of conditional independence |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:wcreta:22&r=sea |
| By: | Lai Wan Hooi (The University of Nottingham); Seyed Abdorreza Payambarpour (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia) |
| Abstract: | The present study examined the effect of management development and human resource system on organizational performance as well as the mediating role of employee engagement in the human resource system-organizational performance relationship. A cross-sectional design was adopted with data collected from a sample of 493 managerial staff of the first ten global multinational corporations listed by Fortune magazine 2013 through a survey questionnaire. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling and the results revealed that employee engagement was crucial in influencing organizational performance both directly and as a mediator. The findings also indicate that employee engagement was a more important predictor of organizational performance than management development or human resource system when these factors were taken together. |
| Keywords: | organizational performance, management development, human resource system, employee engagement, multinational corporation, structural equation modelling |
| JEL: | M10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:3606217&r=sea |
| By: | Daganzo, Carlos F; Lehe, Lewis |
| Abstract: | Amid growing recognition of the costs of downtown congestion and scarcity of revenues for new roads, congestion pricing for downtown areas -- a practice we call “zone pricing†-- has begun to receive wide attention. From 1975-2003, zone pricing failed to spread beyond Singapore, but by the 2000’s technological advances had made the practice more widely practical. Now London, Stockholm, Milan and Gothenburg have schemes of their own, and zone pricing is on the agenda in many world cities. The research summarized in this report has sought to advance practical knowledge of zone pricing in several ways. First, we have created a very detailed, scholarly history of zone pricing, covering the circumstances under which cities have implemented zone pricing, what technologies have been used and what results these cities have obtained. Second, we investigated the theory of “usage tolls.†A drawback of all tradition zone pricing systems is that, for practical reasons, they fail to charge different tolls to drivers who use the network to different degrees: someone who enters the downtown and immediately parks pays the same toll as someone who circles for an hour. But with new technology it will be possible to charge drivers for some index of road use, such as how far or how long they travel inside the network. Our research highlights two major advantages of usage tolling: (i) it can reschedule trips in optimal ways; (ii) it can discourage long trips -- such as those traveling across the downtown between points outside -- from happening by car in the first place. In both cases, an interesting result is the added precision of usage tolls means congestion reduction can be accomplished while charging drivers relatively little. We cite this as a political advantage that will help make zone pricing more palatable. |
| Keywords: | Engineering, congestion, pricing, zone pricing, tolls, economics |
| Date: | 2016–04–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsrrp:qt39f0v6kq&r=sea |
| By: | Cortes, Patricia (Boston University); Pan, Jessica (National University of Singapore) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the relationship between gender differences in hours worked, the returns to working long hours, and the gender pay gap among highly educated workers. Using a cross-section of occupations, Goldin (2014) documents that occupations characterized by high returns to overwork are also those with the largest gender gap in earnings. To provide a causal link between the demand for long hours and how it relates to gender wage gaps, we exploit supply side shocks – generated by intercity variation in low-skilled immigrant flows – to examine whether reductions in the cost of supplying longer hours of work allow women to close the gap in hours of work and benefit from higher wages. We find that low-skilled immigration leads to a reduction in a city's gender gap in overwork, as well as in the gender pay gap in occupations that disproportionately reward longer hours of work. |
| Keywords: | gender wage gap, long hours, overwork, low-skilled immigration |
| JEL: | J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9846&r=sea |
| By: | Atsushi Kajii (Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University); Jingyi Xue (Singapore Management University) |
| Abstract: | We study a two-period saving model where the agent's future income might be ambiguous. Our agent has a version of the smooth ambiguity decision criterion (Klibanoff, Marinacci and Mukerji (2005)), where the agent's perception about ambiguity is described by a second-order belief over first-order risks. We model increasing ambiguity as a spreading-out of the second-order belief. We show that under a "Risk Comonotonicity" condition, our agent saves more when ambiguity in future income increases. We argue that the condition is indispensable for our result. |
| JEL: | D80 D81 D91 E21 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kyo:wpaper:940&r=sea |