nep-tra New Economics Papers
on Transition Economics
Issue of 2006‒03‒25
twenty-two papers chosen by
Tono Sanchez
Universitat de Valencia

  1. Rural non-farm development in China and India By Mukherjee, Anit; Zhang, Xiaobo
  2. An Investigation of the Role of Cross-Border Spillover of Returns and Volatility in the Estonian Stock Market By Alar Kein
  3. The dragon and the elephant By Gulati, Ashok; Fan, Shenggen; Dalafi, Sara
  4. Estonia’s Accession to the EMU By Mart Sõrg
  5. Pollution Haven Hypothesis or Factor Endowment Hypothesis: Theory and Empirical Examination for the US and China By Umed Temurshoev
  6. Rural and urban dynamics and poverty: Evidence from China and India By Fan, Shenggen; Chan-Kang, Connie; Mukherjee, Anit
  7. Rent Extraction by Large Shareholders: Evidence Using Dividend Policy in the Czech Republic By Jan Bena; Jan Hanousek
  8. Certification as a Viable Quality Assurance Mechanism: Theory and Suggestive Evidence By Katarina Svitkova; Andreas Ortmann
  9. The Private Housing Market in Eastern Europe and the CIS By Jose Palacin; Robert Shelburne
  10. The Effect of Foreign Direct Investment on Labour Productivity: An Overview of an Empirical Study of Estonia and Slovenia By Priit Vahter
  11. Impact of global warming on Chinese wheat productivity By You, Liangzhi; Rosegrant, Mark W.; Fang, Cheng; Wood, Stanley
  12. Illegal Market of Cigarettes in Estonia By Evelin Ahermaa
  13. Americanisation behind the Curtain: the History of Management Consulting in Estonia By Jaak Leimann; Antti Ainamo; Janne Tienari
  14. Strategic Management in Estonian SMEs By Juhan Teder; Urve Venesaar
  15. THE PRICE IMPACT OF ADOPTING THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY IN ESTONIA: ESTIMATED VERSUS ACTUAL EFFECTS By Kristina Toming
  16. Structure of Public Governance Institutions and Their Impact on Delocalisation of Labour-Intensive Industries By Kaarel Kilvits; Alari Purju
  17. Toward Sustainability: Technology Transition and Endogenous Population Growth By N.M. Hung; N.V. Quyen
  18. Familiar Faces, Familiar Places: The role of family networks and previous experience for Albanian migrants By Gero Carletto; Benjamin Davis; Marco Stampini
  19. The Belarusian Case of Transition: Whither Financial Repression? By Dr. (elect.) Julia Korosteleva and Dr. Colin Lawson
  20. Growth with Gender Inequity: Another Look at East Asian Development By Gunseli Berik
  21. Moving Away from Poverty: A spatial analysis of poverty and migration in Albania By Alberto Zezza; Gero Carletto; Benjamin Davis
  22. Livelihood diversification and rural-urban linkages in Vietnam's Red River Delta By Thanh, Hoang Xuan; Anh, Dang Nguyen; Tacoli, Cecilia

  1. By: Mukherjee, Anit; Zhang, Xiaobo
    Abstract: The dynamic rural nonfarm sector in China has been a major contributor to the country's remarkable growth, while in India the growth in output and employment in this sector has been rather stagnant. The paper argues that the observed patterns in the rural nonfarm development are the results of institutional differences between the two countries, especially in their political systems, ownership structure, and credit institutions. A review of the strengths and weaknesses of the rural nonfarm economy in China and India highlights the potentials and challenges of growth in the sector.
    Keywords: Industrial policy ,Policy research ,Non-farm development ,
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:dsgddp:24&r=tra
  2. By: Alar Kein (Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology)
    Abstract: The paper examines the role of foreign stock markets’ price and volatility movements in the price and volatility movements in the Estonian stock market. Using daily log returns from July 8th, 1996 through December 31st, 2003 and applying a VAR-EGARCH framework, the author finds that there is a spillover of returns and volatility from foreign stock markets into the Estonian stock market. It is found that the stock prices in Estonia are influenced by the movement of prices on the markets of Denmark, Russia, Finland, the Czech Republic, Poland and the U.S.A. In general, the response to exogenous price movements is found to be contemporaneous, same-directional and symmetric, while the revealed impact of exogenous volatility-changes is rather market-specific and often asymmetric. The author also finds that the influence of the Finnish market on the Estonian market has significantly increased after the HEX-Group acquired the majority share in the Tallinn Stock Exchange and the integration of the Estonian stock market with the Finnish stock market began in April 2001.
    Keywords: stock returns, cross-border spillover of returns, cross-border spillover of volatility
    JEL: G12 G14 G15 G19
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ttu:wpaper:120&r=tra
  3. By: Gulati, Ashok; Fan, Shenggen; Dalafi, Sara
    Abstract: "China's and India's rapid rise in the global arena has not only captured the attention of the world but has also set into motion a rethinking of the very paradigm of economic development....Today, China and India together account for 40 percent of the world's population. Both have implemented a series of economic reforms in the past two and half decades: China initiated this process at the end of the 1970s, while India began in the early 1990s. These reforms have led to rapid economic growth, with a growth rate of 8–9 percent per annum in China and 6–7 percent per annum in India. Despite similar trends in the reforms, the two countries have taken different reform paths; China started off with reforms in the agriculture sector and in rural areas, while India started by liberalizing and reforming the manufacturing sector. These differences have led to different growth rates and, more importantly, different rates of poverty reduction. They also have fundamentally different implications for growth and poverty reduction in the future. What can we learn from the process of economic reform in these two countries?... A number of studies looking into key aspects of reform and their relationship to outcomes, presented at two international workshops held in New Delhi and Beijing, try to offer some answers to these questions. These papers are currently being prepared by IFPRI for publication, and this discussion paper is a synopsis presented as a forerunner to the book. " from Authors' Abstract
    Keywords: Poverty alleviation China ,Poverty alleviation Egypt ,Economic reform ,
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:mtiddp:87&r=tra
  4. By: Mart Sõrg (Institute of Finance and Accounting, University of Tartu)
    Abstract: CEE countries have passed the process of transition to market economy and eight of them, including Estonia, joined the European Union in 2004. Estonia has been very successful in the transition process, mainly owing to the currency board-based monetary system, which serves as a signal of commitment to prudent monetary policy and as a guarantee of sound money during the transition period. The current paper discusses the thirteen years of experience in operating the currency board-based monetary system in Estonia. Estonia’s accession to the European Union will soon be accompanied by membership of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Here it is also explained why Estonia wants to join the EMU as fast as possible and what the prospects are to do it on time, at the beginning of 2007.
    Keywords: monetary systems, monetary policy, Economic and Monetary Union
    JEL: E42 E5 F33
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ttu:wpaper:133&r=tra
  5. By: Umed Temurshoev
    Abstract: This paper examines how free international trade affects the environment in the developed and less developed worlds. Using input-output techniques, tests of the pollution haven hypothesis (PHH) and the factor endowment hypothesis (FEH) for the US and China were empirically carried out. We found that China gains and the US lose in terms of CO2, SO2 and NOx emissions from increased trade, and the US is not exporting capital intensive goods. Thus both the PHH and the FEH are rejected, which implies that explaining the trade of pollutants remains an unresolved puzzle.
    Keywords: International trade, Environment, Pollution haven, Factor endowment, Inputoutput analysis.
    JEL: F18 Q32 D57
    Date: 2006–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp292&r=tra
  6. By: Fan, Shenggen; Chan-Kang, Connie; Mukherjee, Anit
    Abstract: "Like many developing countries, China and India followed development strategies biased in favor of the urban sector over the last several decades. These development schemes have led to overall efficiency losses due to misallocation of resources among rural and urban sectors. It also led to large income gaps between rural and urban areas. The urban bias was greater in China than in India. Indeed, official data show that both the income gap and the difference in poverty rates between rural and urban areas are much larger in China than in India. Both countries have corrected the rural-urban divide to some extent as part of reform processes. But the bias still exists. Other studies also support the idea presented here that correcting this imbalance will not only contribute to higher rural growth, but also secure future urban growth (Fan and Chan-Kang 2005). More important, correcting the urban bias will lead to larger reductions in poverty as well as more balanced growth across sectors and regions. Correcting a government's bias towards investment in urban areas is one of the most important policies to pursue." from Authors' Abstract
    Keywords: Rural-urban linkages ,Poverty ,
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:fcnddp:196&r=tra
  7. By: Jan Bena; Jan Hanousek
    Abstract: Using cross-sectional analysis of corporate dividend policy we show that large shareholders extract rents from firms and expropriate minority shareholders in the weak corporate governance environment of an emerging economy. By comparing dividends paid across varying corporate ownership structures— concentration, type, and domicile of ownership—we quantify these effects and reveal that they are substantial. We find that the target payout ratio for firms with majority ownership is low but that the presence of a significant minority shareholder increases the target payout ratio and hence precludes a majority owner from extracting rent. In contrast to other studies from developed markets, our unique dataset from the Czech Republic for the period 1996-2003 permits us to take account of the endogeneity of ownership.
    Keywords: Rent extraction, Large shareholders, Corporate governance, Dividend policy.
    JEL: D21 G32 G35
    Date: 2006–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp291&r=tra
  8. By: Katarina Svitkova; Andreas Ortmann
    Abstract: In this paper we address an asymmetric information problem in the fundraising industry, the fundraising problem. The problem arises from donors’ lack of information about the quality of charities that solicit donations. We focus on one particular solution of this problem, certification, where an independent agency provides a costly signal, a certificate, to charities that can use it to signal their ‘high’ quality. Our model is a signaling game involving three types of player: donors, charities and a certifier. We compare the decisions and impact of two types of certifier: one profit maximizing and one nonprofit. The assumptions of our model are derived from stylized facts that we distilled from certification systems currently existing in the fundraising industries of some European countries. While the current manuscript is meant to inform the real-world design and implementation of such a system in the Czech Republic and other transition economies, our work complements the literature on certification and provides results that are different from those reported up to now.
    Keywords: Experience goods, quality assurance, certification, self-regulation, enforcement.
    JEL: C72 D21
    Date: 2006–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp288&r=tra
  9. By: Jose Palacin (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe); Robert Shelburne (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe)
    Abstract: This study provides a broad overview of the private housing market in central and eastern Europe and some of the CIS – its history, current conditions and implications for the overall economy. It highlights regional differences, describes the different policy choices that have been made, and evaluates potential problem areas and the policy options for addressing them. The paper begins with a description of housing in these countries before and during their transition phase to market economies. The current state of the housing market in this region is then examined with an emphasis on its institutional development and size. Price trends throughout the region are analysed. A major objective is to ascertain the extent to which these markets are now similar to those observed in more developed western economies. The implications for the housing market resulting from the further integration of these countries into the global financial system are also explored.
    Keywords: housing market, East Europe, CIS, housing prices, housing bubble, mortgage market
    JEL: P25 G21 R31
    Date: 2005–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ece:dispap:6&r=tra
  10. By: Priit Vahter (Eesti Pank (Bank of Estonia) Research Department, University of Tartu)
    Abstract: This paper studies the effects of foreign direct investment on labour productivity in manufacturing industries of two transition countries, Estonia and Slovenia. The emphasis is on the dimension of export/local market orientation. The study is based on firm-level panel data. It is shown that in Estonia the export oriented foreign investment enterprises have on average much lower labour productivity than the domestic market oriented foreign affiliates. In Slovenia, on the contrary, the export orientation of foreign affiliates is not correlated with lower labour productivity. No horizontal spillover of foreign direct investment to domestic firms is detected in Estonia. In Slovenia, however, positive spillovers to domestic firms are found. The findings show also that different types of foreign direct investment can have different effects on the host country and that the existence of positive spillover may depend on the level of economic development of the host country.
    Keywords: foreign direct investment, productivity, spillovers, export oriented foreign direct investments
    JEL: F10 F21 F23
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ttu:wpaper:123&r=tra
  11. By: You, Liangzhi; Rosegrant, Mark W.; Fang, Cheng; Wood, Stanley
    Abstract: "Climate change continues to have major impact on crop productivity all over the world. While many researchers have evaluated the possible impact of global warming on crop yields using mainly indirect crop simulation models, there are relatively few direct assessments on the impact of observed climate change on past crop yield and growth. We use a 1979-2000 Chinese crop-specific panel dataset to investigate the climate impact on Chinese wheat yield growth. We find that a 1 percent increase in wheat growing season temperature reduces wheat yields by about 0.3 percent. This negative impact is less severe than those reported in other regions. Rising temperature over the past two decades accounts for a 2.4 percent decline in wheat yields in China while the majority of the wheat yield growth, 75 percent, comes from increased use of physical inputs. We emphasize the necessity of including such major influencing factors as physical inputs into the crop yield-climate function in order to have an accurate estimation of climate impact on crop yields." Authors' Abstract
    Keywords: Global warming ,Climate ,Wheat production ,
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:eptddp:143&r=tra
  12. By: Evelin Ahermaa (Estonian Institute of Economic Research)
    Abstract: Tobacco products belong to a group of excise goods and an excise duty is levied on them. The latter increases the price, but there are no changes in the quality of the goods and it leads to tax frauds. There has been regular increase in the excise duties on tobacco products in Estonia; changes in tax rates have influenced legal sales, mostly of cigarettes. Consumption of cigarettes is the largest in the group of tobacco products in Estonia; therefore, the paper is especially focused on cigarettes. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate illegal market of cigarettes in Estonia, using comparison of the net of estimations. The paper introduces the method of analysis where the essential role is given to inhabitants (concerning their expert and individual opinions). Empirical evidence concerning illegal market of cigarettes in Estonia is presented by size on the example of fieldwork carried out in 2003.
    Keywords: cigarettes, excise duty, illegal market, taxation
    JEL: E62 K42
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ttu:wpaper:122&r=tra
  13. By: Jaak Leimann (School of Economics and Business Administration at Tallinn University of Technology); Antti Ainamo (Jaakko Pöyry Consulting); Janne Tienari (Lappeenranta University of Technology)
    Abstract: Management consulting started to evolve in Estonia around 40 years ago. The development was affected by the consulting practice and literature mostly from the United States and neighbouring Finland. The most important factors in the development of the consulting sector in Estonia were direct contacts and cooperation of Estonian and Finnish management experts. As a result, the Estonian management theorists and practicioners were of the top level in the whole Soviet Union and affected the management-related thinking and practice in many other management knowledge centres in the Soviet Union. The development of management consulting between 1970 and 1990 formed a good basis for contemporary management consulting and development after Estonia regained its independence from the Soviet rule in 1991.
    Keywords: historical research, management consulting, iron wall, American model, consulting practice, consulting project, conference, theory-building, internationalisation
    JEL: L84 N01 P20
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ttu:wpaper:125&r=tra
  14. By: Juhan Teder (School of Economics and Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology); Urve Venesaar (School of Economics and Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology)
    Abstract: The research is based on the empirical survey conducted among the members of Estonian Association of SMEs. The study involved goal setting, development and implementation of strategies, competitive advantages striven for, orientation toward growth, and factors hindering enterprises’ development. As a result, characteristics of strategic management in enterprises with different levels of growth orientation (expanding, stable and declining enterprises) as well as those depending on other enterprise’s characteristics (e.g., coincidence of managers and owners; age and size of enterprises, etc) were proposed. The analysis showed the existence of clear relationship between the coincidence of owners and managers and existence of formalised plans, whereby company growth leads to the increasing difference of coincidence of owners and managers and therefore increases the role of strategic plans in the enterprises. Measures taken for strategy formation (e.g. managers’ role, cooperation) are supporting factors for positive implementation performance of the intended strategy in expanding firms. The analysis of the factors hindering company growth indicates an increasing need for managers’ training in the area of strategic management. National entrepreneurship policy should, in addition to supporting start-up enterprises, pay more attention to supporting the implementation of company growth potential by help of relevant measures.
    Keywords: SME, strategic management; strategy implementation, coincidence of managers and owners, growth orientation, growth barriers, entrepreneurship policy.
    JEL: L25 M21 O21 O38
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ttu:wpaper:126&r=tra
  15. By: Kristina Toming
    Abstract: With accession to the EU, Estonia gave up its liberal trade and agricultural policies and adopted the much more protectionist regime of the EU. Prior to accession, many studies predicted that this would lead to price increases for agricultural products and processed food. This article discusses the results from the studies conducted and compares them with actual price changes that have occurred. The article concludes that prices have actually increased much less than predicted, with only a few exceptions like sugar. The reason lies in the uncertainties associated with policy modelling as well as the gradual price convergence already in motion before accession.
    Keywords: EU accession, trade policy, food prices
    Date: 2006
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtk:febawb:45&r=tra
  16. By: Kaarel Kilvits (School of Economics and Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology); Alari Purju (Estonian Business School; School of Economics and Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology)
    Abstract: The public governance issues and their impact on labour intensive industries are the main problems discussed in this paper. The governance possibilities at global, EU, national, local and sector levels are described. Policies have been applied in different fields like industrial policy, innovation policy, foreign trade, foreign direct investments (FDI), labour relations, taxes and subsidies, support to clusters, support to local companies to improve position in the value chain. A matrix that links together levels and fields of policies has been developed for analysis. One important aspect is related to discussion of EU governance models in innovation and labour market policies. The issue is linked closely to the general choice between more market based or more intervention based policies and determines the scale and scope of measures applied at the EU level and their influence through harmonisation efforts on national policies. The role of multinational enterprises (MNE) and their relationships with different level governing institutions is another important factor. The critical areas where economic interests of MNEs and policy goals of governing institutions meet are labour market regulations, FDI related problems, conditions for foreign trade, innovation, taxation and state aid. Subcontracting, outsourcing, off-shoring and offshore outsourcing, value chain and clusters are the specific concepts that describe forms in which organisational and technological capacities have been matched together. One task of the current paper has been to clarify those concepts and to formulate research questions for further empirical study in the field of electronics, software, garment and footwear industries.
    Keywords: industry, delocalisation, deindustrialisation, public governance
    JEL: F15 F42 F42 H70 J40
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ttu:wpaper:130&r=tra
  17. By: N.M. Hung; N.V. Quyen
    Abstract: In order to reach the state of economic sustainability, the problem of technology transition emphasizes the possibility of substituting for the exhaustible resource with an everlasting source of energy input. This paper aims at providing an analysis of this problem in an overlapping-generation model where the population is not a datum, but endogenous in the sense that it results from fertility decisions made by economic agents. First, we provide a new proof of the existence of competitive equilibrium under infinite time horizon. Here the difficulty lies in the fact that the market size is itself endogenous, because fertility - hence the population - is an individual decision at every point in time. Second, and perhaps most interestingly, the oil stock might not be entirely depleted, and the unused part in situ may serve the role of storing value for wealth transmission over time, just as money. But in contrast with paper money, which has no intrinsic value, leaving productive oil in situ as a bubble certainly adds another dimension to the inefficiency of overlapping-generation model. In this case, there are infinitely many equilibria as well as many steady states, depending on the data that characterize the initial state of the economy. Moreover, the convergence to some steady state, far from being simply monotone, might exhibit cyclical behavior, such as damped oscillation, limit cycles, etc.
    Keywords: Endogenous Population, Overlapping Generations, Oil Bubble, Dynamic Equilibria, Complex Dynamics
    JEL: J13 O11 O13 O40
    Date: 2006
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:laeccr:0601&r=tra
  18. By: Gero Carletto (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization); Benjamin Davis (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization); Marco Stampini
    Abstract: Using data from the 2003 Albania Panel Survey, the paper sets out to achieve two main objectives. First, we fully characterize the evolution of Albanian international migration since the fall of Communism in 1990. We distinguish between permanent and temporary migration, and between the two principal destinations, Greece and Italy. Second, we explore, using multivariate analysis, what individual, household and community level factors influence the current decision to migrate internationally, focusing on the role of previous personal experience and family networks. We find evidence of important changes over time in the pull and push factors that drive migration flows. While early on in the transition political and economic factors were predominant, over time personal experience and household migration networks assumed a fundamental role, facilitating growth in migration even in times of the relatively stable economic conditions. Other individual, household, and community factors have an important role in the decision to migrate, and these factors vary by type of migration and destination. Furthermore, the spatial configuration of migration is also changing: both temporary and permanent migration are expanding into new parts of the country. The results have important policy implications. First, policies aimed at controlling migration are likely to be less effective where networks have already developed or where engrained patterns of repeat migration are established. Second, despite increasing legality, migration, particularly for newcomers, is still difficult, risky and often illegal, which fosters a climate of exploitation and abuse. Third, we find that highly educated individuals have a higher propensity to migrate permanently, which constitutes a serious potential risk in terms of brain drain.
    Keywords: Albania, Families, Migration, Population dynamics, Rural urban migration, Social groups, Sociology, Urban rural migration
    JEL: F22 P2
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fao:wpaper:0503&r=tra
  19. By: Dr. (elect.) Julia Korosteleva and Dr. Colin Lawson
    Abstract: The present paper examines the financial development of Belarus over the past decade with a particular focus on 1996-2002, when the financial sector was restrained through pervasive government controls in the form of interest rate ceilings, directed credit and preferential loans schemes, high reserve requirements, multiple exchange rates and capital controls. Belarus is of particular interest, as, despite no economic restructuring, the growth has averaged seven per cent per annum since 1997. While explanations of this ‘miracle’ abound, no empirical work has been done on the role of the financial system, particularly on the effects of pervasive government intervention. It has been argued that monetary stimulation of investment activity through interest rate ceilings and directed credit and preferential loans revived growth. This paper investigates whether financial policy led to financial deepening and increased the share of savings to be allocated to investment.
    JEL: C12 C22 E42 E44 G21 G28 O16
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gla:glaewp:2006_4&r=tra
  20. By: Gunseli Berik
    Abstract: This brief gendered history of Taiwan’s and Korea’s labor markets indicates a recent reversal in the persistent gender wage gaps that were long sustained by state policies that created and reproduced surplus labor conditions. The relative decline of manufacturing employment since the mid/late 1980s was accompanied by a generalized improvement in women’s relative wages. However, gender wage inequality and women’s low wages continue to be important policy variables, given the concentration of women in lower-paying and less secure occupations and sectors, Korea’s more limited and stalled progress toward gender wage equality, recent signs of downward harmonization of wages in Taiwan’s largest sectors, and ongoing employment discrimination against women. Policies must tackle employment discrimination, improve women’s labor market skills, support women’s caring work in the home to ensure their equitable pursuit of employment, and create gender equitable old-age security systems.
    Keywords: gender wage inequality, discrimination, economic development, Korea, Taiwan
    Date: 2006–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uta:papers:2006_03&r=tra
  21. By: Alberto Zezza (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization); Gero Carletto (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization); Benjamin Davis (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization)
    Abstract: This paper analyses recent patterns of migration and poverty in Albania, a country that - following the collapse of the communist regime in 1990 – has been experiencing high migration rates. Using a combination of survey and census data, the paper characterises spatial patterns in the distribution of poverty and migration at a high level of geographic disaggregation. The results emphasise the importance of analysing internal and international migration as different phenomena, as the two appear to be associated in opposite ways to observed poverty and welfare levels. While poverty acts as a push factor for internal migration, it seems to be a constraining factor for the more costly international migration. The results also suggest that rural migration to urban areas contributes to the relocation of poverty in urban areas.
    Keywords: Poverty, Migration, Albania.
    JEL: J1 J61 I32
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fao:wpaper:0502&r=tra
  22. By: Thanh, Hoang Xuan; Anh, Dang Nguyen; Tacoli, Cecilia
    Abstract: "With high population density and limited land availability, Vietnam's Red River Delta is undergoing a major transformation as its economic base moves away from subsistence farming towards intensive, high-value food production for export and local urban markets, and nonfarm employment. This paper describes the changing livelihoods of the residents of two villages that represent two different pathways to local economic development. One village relies primarily on agricultural intensification and diversification, although in combination with nonfarm activities. These nonfarm activities are either supplementary (such as handicraft production and seasonal migration) or related to farming, such as provision of agricultural services, transport and trade of agricultural produce. To a large extent, it is this nonfarm income that allows investment in agriculture at the household level. Residents of the second village, although nominally still owning rice farms, have effectively moved out of agriculture and engage almost exclusively in handicraft production. Despite these major differences, there are also important similarities between the two villages. First, much of their recent economic development is linked to access to markets — including proximity to local urban centers and to Hanoi (where demand from urban consumers and from exporting enterprises has increased substantially), a vastly improved road and transport system, and an excellent communications infrastructure. Second, each village has developed forward and backward linkages with their main production sector. Last but not least, local authorities have played an important role in supporting local economic development, providing infrastructure, training for handicraft production, and inputs for farmers. The long-term sustainability of economic growth and poverty reduction in the Red River Delta will largely depend on strengthening rural-urban linkages. This includes adopting regulations on land use that allow farmers to better respond to growing urban demand for high-value produce; incorporate more explicitly the needs of the handicraft micro-enterprises in existing and future policies and plans for rural industrialization; recognize and support the role of seasonal migration in rural local economic development; and address the changing planning and natural resource management needs of these urbanizing villages." Authors' Abstract
    Keywords: south east asia ,East and Southeast Asia ,Microenterprises Vietnam ,Migration, Internal ,Rural-urban linkages ,Livelihoods ,
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:fcnddp:193&r=tra

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