World Institute for Development Economics Research

About: World Institute for Development Economics Research is a facility organization based out in Helsinki, Finland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Poverty & Population. The organization has 110 authors who have published 525 publications receiving 17316 citations.

Biofuels and Economic Development: A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis for Tanzania

Abstract: Biofuels could offer new economic opportunities for low-income countries. We use a recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium model of Tanzania to evaluate different biofuels production options and estimate their impacts on growth and poverty. Our results indicate that maximizing the poverty-reducing effects of biofuels production in countries like Tanzania will require engaging and improving the productivity of smallholder farmers. Evidence shows that cassava-based ethanol production is more profitable than other feedstock options. Cassava also generates more “pro-poor” growth than sugarcane-based systems. However, if smallholder yields can be improved rather than expanding cultivated land, then both sugarcane and cassava out-grower schemes generate similar pro-poor outcomes. We conclude that, in so far as the public investments needed to establish a biofuels industry are consistent with other development needs, then producing biofuels will enhance economic development in countries like Tanzania.

Fulfilment of Purchasing Power Parity Conditions in Africa: The Differential Role of CFA and Non-CFA

Abstract: The paper reports empirical evidence on the fulfilment or otherwise of purchasing power parity (PPP) conditions in African countries, based on the popular augmented Dickey-Fuller test methodology that is used to identify whether the nominal exchange rate and price levels are co-integrated. The empirical analysis is based on quarterly data for the 1980(I)-1991(IV) period for 35 African countries and our finding is that the PPP conditions are met in 17 countries that are almost exclusively non-CFA zone members but are not met in the remaining 18 countries comprising nine non-CFA and nine CFA zone members. Given this lopsidedness in the distribution of countries where the conditions are met or not met between the two zones, it is inferred that certain macroeconomic features common to the CFA zone members but which are generally less pronounced in other countries might have been responsible for this finding. A number of such features relating to the extent of monetary growth, inflation rates, rate of depreciation of real and nominal exchange rates, domestic price variability, nominal exchange rate variability and the type of exchange rate system being operated were related to the tendency for PPP to be fulfilled across countries. But, while the direction of their observed effects are generally as expected, the effects do not exhibit statistical significance.

Benin: A Pulverized Party System in Transition

Abstract: Benin has seen a rapid proliferation of political parties since the country’s democratic transition in 1990. Recent counts suggest that over a hundred political parties are registered in this nation of just over 9 million people. No single party dominates the political landscape. Thus, compared to the one-party-dominant systems elsewhere on the African continent, the Beninese party system configuration shows an interesting contrast. This chapter seeks to answer two interrelated questions: First, how exactly does Benin’s party system compare to other party systems and, more specifically, how should it be classified? Second, what does the Beninese case suggest about the relationship between party system configurations and democratic outcomes?

Correction to: Multidimensional Poverty of Children in Mozambique

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.

International Monetary Fund, University of Essex and Institute for Fiscal Studies

Abstract: The established theory of tax progressivity cannot handle basic tax reform questions, such as whether an increase in personal allowances makes the tax system more progressive, because the core results assume that tax liability is never zero. This paper generalises the core theory to allow for zero tax payments, and applies the new framework to the analysis of allowances, income-related deductions and tax credits. Log concavity of the tax schedule - a property quite distinct from any existing notion of progressivity - emerges as the critical determinant of whether the distribution of the tax burden becomes more progressive as allowances are increased.