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.

On Dual Approaches to Demand Systems Estimation in the Presence of Binding Quantity Constraints

Abstract: Binding quantity constraints, especially non-negativity constraints, appear frequently in micro-level data sets. Two dual approaches to demand systems estimation in the presence of binding non-negativity constraints are reviewed. It is demonstrated that, in a demand systems context, the more commonly used approach for treating binding non-negativity constraints is incompatible with economic theory and thus produces inconsistent estimates of price response. Furthermore, Monte Carlo experiments indicate that bias can be substantial even if limit observations comprise a relatively small portion of the sample. The alternative, a direct maximum likelihood estimation approach, has desirable properties; however, analytical and computational difficulties severely hamper application. The numerical integration approach, employed here for direct maximum likelihood estimation, is presented. It is believed that this integration approach facilitates direct maximum likelihood estimation for some problems. Nevertheless, the ability to estimate complex demand systems remains constrained.

Donor Funding of Multilateral Aid Agencies: Determining Factors and Revealed Burden Sharing

Abstract: This paper reports an empirical study of the factors affecting burden sharing among OECD's 22 DAC members in 'bankrolling' the multilateral aid agencies. Annual data over 1970-2000, pooled across the donor countries, form the basis for the empirical estimation of each donor's share in the ODA aid receipts for each multilateral agency. Our findings suggest the existence of reverse exploitation, i.e., the financial burden of the agencies is disproportionally carried by the smaller donors. The study also finds that factors such as inherent donor generosity, donor concern for domestic egalitarianism, and the extent to which donors are pro-poor in their bilateral aid policies have an impact on their readiness to support multilateral agencies financially. Size of the donor government and its budgetary balance positively influence burden sharing of contributions to other multilateral agencies. But neither the phase of economic cycle nor the rate of economic growth affects the burden-sharing responsibility of donors. It was also observed that contributions by EU members to the EC do not appear to crowd-out their contributions to other multilateral aid agencies and that right-wing donor governments are generally more parsimonious with regard to financial assistance to multilateral aid agencies. The preferred alternative, particularly among EU member countries, appears to be the EC.

Legal Empowerment and Group-Based Inequality

Abstract: Legal empowerment has become widely accepted in development policy circles as an approach to addressing poverty and exclusion. At the same time, it has received relatively little attention from pol...