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on South East Asia |
| By: | Sarah Cattan (Institute for Fiscal Studies); Antonio Dalla-Zuanna (Bank of Italy); Jan Stuhler (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid); Po Yin Wong (Queen Mary University of London) |
| Abstract: | Standard intergenerational measures have been shown to understate the long-run persistence of socioeconomic advantages in developed countries. We study theoretically and empirically whether this pattern extends to less developed settings, using Indonesia as a case study. Using the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) and Census data, we study multigenerational correlations in education across three generations. Contrary to previous findings, we observe greater multigenerational mobility than parent-child correlations alone would suggest. We develop a theoretical framework to highlight two key factors influencing multigenerational dynamics in developing countries: (1) financial and credit constraints, and (2) cultural norms related to marital sorting. To confirm their relevance, we exploit regional variations in exposure to the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and in marital customs. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational mobility, multigenerational persistence, education constraints, financial constraints, Indonesia |
| JEL: | D10 I24 J24 J62 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2026-005 |
| By: | Liping Gao; Ghislain N. Gueye; Hyeongwoo Kim; Jisoo Son |
| Abstract: | Using data from 29 regional housing markets in China, this study examines the long-run relationships between housing prices and key macroeconomic variables. Conventional cointegration methods can be misleading, as estimated coefficients often contradict standard demand-supply theory even when statistical tests indicate cointegration. Among the variables, only real income consistently explains regional housing price dynamics, whereas real interest rates and building costs fail to do so consistently across markets. Region-specific models reveal substantial heterogeneity and are both statistically robust and economically meaningful. Panel cointegration tests that account for cross-sectional dependence fail to detect cointegration when such heterogeneity is ignored. These findings highlight the limitations of uniform national approaches and underscore the need for tailored, region-specific housing policies. |
| Keywords: | Housing Market; Cointegration; Dynamic Oridinary Least Squares; Panel Cointegration Test with CSD; Disaggregated Regional Data |
| JEL: | R30 E00 C51 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abn:wpaper:auwp2026-03 |
| By: | Jacob, Gaidimlung K. (National Institute of Public Finance and Policy) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the flypaper effect in India s North-Eastern Region (NER), focusing on Manipur, a state marked by persistent structural dependence on central fiscal transfers due to geographic isolation, a narrow tax base, ethnic diversity, and historically embedded arrangements such as Special Category Status and concessional plan assistance. Despite successive fiscal reforms, the NER remains heavily reliant on intergovernmental transfers, raising concerns about fiscal autonomy and expenditure incentives. Drawing on fiscal federalism theory, the study tests whether subnational expenditure responds more strongly to central transfers than to equivalent increases in own revenue (the flypaper effect) and examines whether this asymmetry reflects costly local taxation as hypothesised by Hamilton (1986). The analysis uses annual data from 1987 2023 drawn from the Reserve Bank of India, Union Budget documents, and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Augmented Dickey Fuller and Engle Granger tests indicate that all variables are integrated of order one with no evidence of cointegration, justifying first-difference estimation. The first-difference log-linear Ordinary Least Square models reveal a pronounced and robust flypaper effect: central grants exhibit significantly larger expenditure response than own revenue across aggregate and disaggregated spending categories. Tax devolution also stimulates expenditure but with smaller magnitudes than untied grants, particularly for capital outlays. Fiscal deficits positively supplement expenditure, suggesting borrowing finances both current and investment spending. Extending the empirical specification to include fiscal effort as a proxy for Hamilton s (1986) costly taxation hypothesis yields statistically insignificant coefficients in the first-difference log log estimations, indicating the absence of disciplining effect of local tax mobilisation on expenditure growth. However, grant dependence negatively affects total expenditure growth, suggesting that entrenched reliance on transfers constrains long-run fiscal flexibility despite short-run stimulative effects from grant inflows. These findings highlight institutional constraints in fragile regions: while transfers sustain public provision amid weak own-revenue capacity, they crowd out incentives for mobilisation and perpetuate dependence, with implications for fiscal sustainability and decentralisation efficacy in developing federations. The pronounced flypaper effect in capital spending underscores transfers role in infrastructure financing but raises concerns about discretionary autonomy in politically complex settings. |
| Keywords: | Flypaper effect ; intergovernmental transfers ; fiscal federalism ; grant dependence ; North-Eastern India ; Manipur |
| JEL: | H77 H72 H50 R50 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:npf:wpaper:26/446 |
| By: | Nisar Ali (Pakistan Institute of Development Economics) |
| Abstract: | In Pakistan, E-Government Development has been a significant challenge for decades. Since the establishment of first electronic government directorate in 2002, pakistans progress in implementing e-governance has been poor compare to other countries. Through an extensive review of latest literature including journal articles, UN, ADB, and World Bank reports and data, this study reveals that, despite various e-governmnet initiatives, Pakistans performance in e-government development remains very poor both globally and regionally. In E-Government Development ranking, Pakistan ranks 136th out of 193 UN member countries. In South Asia, it ranks second last, performing only better than Afganistan , which reflects low level of implementation and adoption. By addressing the issues such as low level of digital adoption and literacy, lack of research and data driven policies, absence of action plan and KPIs of digital transformation policies, and limited digital infrastructure, Pakistan can improve its e-governance. |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pid:kbrief:2026:139 |
| By: | Daiji KAWAGUCHI; Kazuha OGAWA |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the effects of the overtime cap introduced in Japan in 2019—set at 360 hours annually (approximately 47 total work hours per week)—on working hours, wages, task allocation, skill investment, side-job engagement, and multiple dimensions of worker well-being. Drawing on panel data from 2015 to 2023, we find that the cap significantly reduced long working hours without adversely affecting wages or skill investment. Additional analysis indicates that firms adjusted primarily through task reorganization rather than by increasing work intensity, while some workers offset reduced working hours by taking on side jobs. Overall, the reform improved self-reported health and work–life balance, though these gains did not translate into higher overall subjective well-being. These results suggest that in labor markets characterized by persistently long working hours, statutory overtime caps can enhance worker welfare without producing adverse labor market consequences. |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:26034 |
| By: | Gabriel Burdin; Ryo Kambayashi; Takao Kato |
| Abstract: | How do limits on working hours affect firms, workers, and households? This paper answers this question by analyzing Japan's 2018Work Style Reform (WSR), which introduced the first binding cap on overtime hours. Using establishment payroll data and worker surveys in a difference-in-differences design, we show that the reform reduced monthly overtime by 5 hours (25%) and compressed the distribution of overtime within firms. Total earnings fell by 1.4% due to the effect of lower overtime pay. The reform also narrowed overtime gaps between standard and nonstandard jobs and reduced gender differences in long hours. Consistent with a reduction in the importance of extreme overtime as a screening device, women gained increased access to standard, career-track positions. We further document improvements in life and leisure satisfaction among female workers, but not among men. These gender differences are not explained by changes in perceived work intensification or time use. Instead, men partially substituted unpaid for paid overtime, consistent with the absence of well-being gains among male workers. Finally, exploiting information on spouses’ working hours, we find suggestive evidence of cross-spousal spillovers on women’s well-being, consistent with household-level complementarities. |
| Keywords: | Working Time Regulations, Overtime, Wages, Employment, Subjective Well-being, Gender, Japan, Work Style Reform Jel Classification: J16, J22, J23, J41 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:wpaper:942 |