Showing papers by "World Institute for Development Economics Research published in 2020"
TL;DR: From public health, income distribution and food security perspectives, the remarkably rapid and severe shocks imposed because of COVID-19 illustrate the value of having in place transfer policies that support vulnerable households in the event of ‘black swan’ type shocks.
242 citations
TL;DR: The impact of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] on employment and the policy responses that developing countries have taken, drawing from the sub-Saharan African experience are discussed.
Abstract: From the Abstract: "This note discusses the impact of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] on employment and the policy responses that developing countries have taken, drawing from the sub-Saharan African experience The limited evidence so far suggests that the negative effect of the pandemic has been large for informal workers, who constitute the majority of the working poor in the region The policy measures enacted by governments in sub-Sahara have been varied, ranging from cash transfers for the poor to loans for small enterprise However, the precarious state of public finances in the region have limited the ability of governments in the region to implement expansionary fiscal stimulus packages It remains to be seen what the overall effect of the pandemic may be on employment and livelihoods in the region, and whether the policy responses enacted so far are enough to combat the adverse effects of the pandemic on the working poor "
27 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate the MDGs achievements in South Asia and the policy and institutional challenges deriving from such experience, using cross-country regressions and aggregate indicators of poverty, health, education and gender parity outcomes.
Abstract: This paper contributes to the debate on the Sustainable Development Goals progress by evaluating the MDGs achievements in South Asia and the policy and institutional challenges deriving from such experience. Using cross-country regressions and aggregate indicators of poverty, health, education and gender parity outcomes, we offer three sets of findings. First, comparative evidence shows that, while South Asia has converged with richer regions, there is still significant variation in gender equality, universal primary education, and income poverty achievements across countries. Second, projections based on past trends on where SDGs are expected to be by 2030 reveal that there is a long way to go, where emblematic targets as income poverty eradication may not be met in the populous South Asian countries. Finally, considering the expanded set of development targets in the SDGs and the growth slowdown in South Asia, we argue that further progress would simultaneously require increased public spending on health and education and reforms improving state capacity. A simulation exercise confirms that such a combination of interventions would deliver significant benefits in the region, particularly in areas that are critical to progress on the goals of ‘No Poverty’, ‘Quality Education’, ‘Gender Equality’, and ‘Inclusive Growth’.
22 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors follow a quasi-experimental research design to assess the impact of the electronic payment system of Mexico's Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera (POP) program.
Abstract: This paper follows a quasi-experimental research design to assess the impact of the electronic payment system of Mexico’s Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera (POP) programme. The switch from cash payme...
16 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a stock-flow consistent model is developed in which a financial sector with four financial instruments is integrated with the real sector, and the authors analyse implications of financial sector dynamics for fiscal expenditure multipliers in recessionary conditions.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review the recent literature on the developmental effects of resource abundance, assessing likely effects and channels with respect to key development outcomes, and present a review of the existing literature.
Abstract: This article reviews the recent literature on the developmental effects of resource abundance, assessing likely effects and channels with respect to key development outcomes. To date, this area has...
9 citations
TL;DR: The authors assesses the comparative opportunities and limitations of new and old data sources for early warning, crisis response and violence research by comparing reports of political violence, and assesses their performance in terms of early warning and crisis response.
Abstract: This paper assesses the comparative opportunities and limitations of ‘new’ and ‘old’ data sources for early warning, crisis response and violence research by comparing reports of political violence...
8 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore how horizontal inequality in India may in?uence COVID-19's impact through the differential impact of lockdown policies across caste and religious groups, as well as across states and urban rural areas.
Abstract: A growing body of research shows that COVID-19 both re?ects and exacerbates existing inequalities. However, there are significant gaps in this research area with respect to 'horizontal' or group-based inequalities in Global South countries. Lack of group-disaggregated data often contributes. In this paper, we use available data to explore how horizontal inequality in India may in?uence COVID-19's impact through the differential impact of lockdown policies across caste and religious groups, as well as across states and urban-rural areas.
6 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the role of informal institutions, in the forms of relational contracting and social networks, in determining the risks that firms are willing to bear in their transactions with their suppliers and customers, and whether firms that bear such risks have higher productivity.
Abstract: In many low-income transition countries, where formal institutions such as courts do not function effectively, informal institutions are often used by firms to minimize transaction risks. We examine the role of informal institutions, in the forms of relational contracting and social networks, in determining the risks that firms are willing to bear in their transactions with their suppliers and customers, and whether firms that bear such risks have higher productivity. Our country context is Myanmar, a country which is making a transition from a socialist to market-oriented economy. Using a unique dataset of 2496 micro, small, and medium firms, we find that firms that engage in risk taking are significantly more productive than firms that do not, and such firms are more likely to utilize informal institutions, such as acquiring information from informal interaction with customers, and social networks, including information received from business networks by firms, talking to other suppliers of customers, and being a member of a business association. Our findings suggest that informal institutions can be effective substitutes for formal institutions that are often absent or not effective in low-income transition economies.
6 citations
TL;DR: Not all sources of inequality in educational achievements are fair as discussed by the authors. But how strong and persistent is the burden of unequal opportunities that each person carries on in their life? In this paper, we...
Abstract: Not all sources of inequality in educational achievements are fair. But how strong and persistent is the burden of unequal opportunities that each person carries on in their life? In this paper, we...
5 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an empirically informed situation analysis on the demand and supply characteristics of the jobs and skills associated with the extractive industries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Abstract: Host governments and communities commonly expect that the extractive industries provide jobs and contribute to skills development, especially in Sub-Saharan African countries where many young people join local labour markets in record numbers every year. This article reviews the literature and offers an empirically informed situation analysis on the demand and supply characteristics of the jobs and skills associated with the sector. Against this background, it discusses some challenges and implications for skills development interventions and offers some insights from the E4D/SOGA programme.
TL;DR: In this article, a general-to-restricted procedure was proposed to test the production technology, placing constraints on a modified McCarthy function, from which transcendental, constant elasticity of substitution, loglinear and linear models were obtained as special cases.
Abstract: Studies of childhood development have suggested human capital is accumulated in complex and nonlinear ways Nonetheless, empirical analyses of this process often impose a linear functional form This paper investigates which technology assumptions matter in quantitative models of human capital production I propose a general‐to‐restricted procedure to test the production technology, placing constraints on a modified McCarthy function, from which transcendental, constant elasticity of substitution, log‐linear and linear models are obtained as special cases Applying the procedure to data on child height from the Young Lives surveys, as well as cognitive skills, I find that the technology of human capital production is neither log‐linear nor linear‐in‐parameters; rather, past and present inputs act as complements I recommend that maintained hypotheses underlying functional form choices should be tested on a routine basis
TL;DR: The authors argue that single experiments in this area are often essentially single case studies and that generalizing from them suffers from the same (well-established) problems of generalising from all single case-studies.
TL;DR: This paper examined the impact of the Indira Gandhi National Old-Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) on prime-age women's labour supply decisions in India, where female labour force participation continues to decline over time.
Abstract: Whether cash transfers have unintended behavioural effects on the recipient household’s labour supply is of considerable policy interest. We examine the impact’ of the Indira Gandhi National Old-Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) on prime-age women’s labour supply decisions in India, where female labour force participation continues to decline over time. We use propensity score matching (PSM) to make households with IGNOAPS recipients comparable with program non-recipients. Further, we use individual fixed effects (FE) to eliminate the effect of other time invariant unobservable characteristics on women's labour market behaviour. Our results from the PSM-FE suggest that having a pensioner in the household increases the probability of working in paid employment by 3.87 percentage points for women aged20–50. We suggest that this positive effect results from the income effect of the scheme, leading to reduced labour supply by the pensioner, allowing them to provide greater childcare support.
TL;DR: The article Multidimensional Poverty of Children in Mozambique, written by Kristi Mahrt, Andrea Rossi, Vincenzo Salvucci and Finn Tarp, was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal on 10 March 2020 without open access.
Abstract: The article Multidimensional Poverty of Children in Mozambique, written by Kristi Mahrt, Andrea Rossi, Vincenzo Salvucci and Finn Tarp, was originally published electronically on the publisher’s internet portal on 10 March 2020 without open access.
TL;DR: In this article, the causal effect of shortening the duration of pre-university education on long-term labour market outcomes in Ghana has been investigated using regression discontinuity design, taking advantage of the situation that pre-and post-reform birth cohorts entered the labour market around the same time, thus facing similar conditions.
Abstract: This paper provides new evidence on the causal effect of shortening the duration of pre-university education on long-term labour market outcomes in Ghana. We use the education reform of 1987 as a natural experiment, which reduced the years of education prior to university from 17 to 12 years. Our identification strategy uses a regression discontinuity design, taking advantage of the situation that pre- and post-reform birth cohorts entered the labour market around the same time, thus facing similar conditions.