Showing papers in "Journal of Development Studies in 2016"
TL;DR: The idea behind "Give a Man a Fish" is as simple as it is radical: that labour given in exchange for a wage can no longer be the basis of entitlement to resources even for able-bodied adult men as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The idea behind “Give a Man a Fish” is as simple as it is radical: that labour given in exchange for a wage can no longer be the basis of entitlement to resources even for able-bodied adult men: th...
208 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the impact of mobile phone enhanced intervention in agricultural extension service delivery in India and found that the amount, quality and speed of service delivery, have improved significantly because of the intervention.
Abstract: This study examines the impact of mobile phone enhanced intervention in agricultural extension service delivery in India. Findings show that the amount, quality and speed of service delivery, have improved significantly because of the intervention. There are also benefits in terms of greater knowledge and awareness of new agriculture practice, farmers' aspiration to try new technology in the future and access to credit. The system does not discriminate farmers from disadvantaged and low education backgrounds. Thus, a system of well-used technology, which is assisted by trained village youths can serve as a tool for inclusive development.
100 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a collection of papers that examine whether and under what conditions cash transfers can be "transformative" are presented, including whether CTs can be catalysts leading to positive changes, material, subjective and relational in the lives of poor people.
Abstract: Cash transfers (CTs), for all their evident success in relieving poverty, have been criticised for failing to incorporate transformative elements into their programme design In recent years changes have been introduced into the design of CT programmes that go some way towards addressing this concern This article critically engages the meaning of transformative social protection and introduces a collection of papers that examine whether and under what conditions cash transfers can be ‘transformative’ Among the issues addressed are whether CTs can be catalysts leading to positive changes, material, subjective and relational in the lives of poor people; what are the social effects of CTs for beneficiaries, their households and communities; and can they foster horizontal relationships within communities and vertical relationship with the state through developing forms of social accountability and citizenship engagement?
97 citations
TL;DR: In recent years, the quest for "inclusive markets" that incorporate Africa's youth has become a key focus of national and international development efforts, with so-called bottom of the pyramid (BoP) as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In recent years, the quest for ‘inclusive markets’ that incorporate Africa’s youth has become a key focus of national and international development efforts, with so-called bottom of the pyramid (Bo...
95 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated whether Tanzanian rural households engage in internal migration as a response to weather-related shocks and found that for an average household, a 1 percent reduction in agricultural income induced by weather shock increases the probability of migration by 13 percentage points on average within the following year.
Abstract: We analyse whether Tanzanian rural households engage in internal migration as a response to weather-related shocks. We hypothesise that, when exposed to such shocks and a consecutive crop yield reduction, rural households use migration as a risk management strategy. Our findings confirm that for an average household, a 1 per cent reduction in agricultural income induced by weather shock increases the probability of migration by 13 percentage points on average within the following year. However, this effect is significant only for households in the middle of wealth distribution, suggesting that the choice of migration as an adaptation strategy depends on initial endowment. What is more, the proposed mechanism applies to households whose income is highly dependent on agriculture, but is not important for diversified livelihoods.
82 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors use survey data from smallholder coffee farmers in Uganda to analyse impacts on food security and dietary quality, showing that certified households have greater control of coffee production and monetary revenues from sales.
Abstract: Sustainability standards are gaining in importance in global markets for high-value foods. While previous research has shown that participating farmers in developing countries may benefit through income gains, nutrition impacts have hardly been analysed. We use survey data from smallholder coffee farmers in Uganda – certified under Fairtrade, Organic, and UTZ – to analyse impacts on food security and dietary quality. Estimates of instrumental variable models and simultaneous equation systems show that certification increases calorie and micronutrient consumption, mainly through higher incomes and improved gender equity. In certified households, women have greater control of coffee production and monetary revenues from sales.
81 citations
TL;DR: In this article, social protection interventions have been demonstrated to improve traditional measures of poverty by protecting people from risk, but less research has been conducted on their impacts on psychosocial d...
Abstract: Social protection interventions have been demonstrated to improve traditional measures of poverty by protecting people from risk. Less research has been conducted on their impacts on psychosocial d...
68 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used an asset-based approach to define vulnerability and apply propensity score matching analysis to assess the impact of contract farming on smallholder oil palm farming in Indonesia and the risk of falling into poverty.
Abstract: This article addresses smallholder oil palm farming in Indonesia and the risk of falling into poverty by comparing contract and non-contract smallholders. We use an asset-based approach to define vulnerability and apply propensity score matching analysis to assess the impact of contract farming. Data were collected from a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2010 of 245 oil palm smallholder households, 126 of which were contract smallholders. The study finds that approximately 40 per cent of oil palm smallholders can be classified as stochastic-transient poor. We also show that while contract participation reduces the negative impact of oil palm price shocks, this is not the case for production shocks. The study concludes that despite positive income effects, contract smallholders also remain vulnerable to poverty.
68 citations
TL;DR: Using a representative sample of more than 5,000 Vietnamese enterprises, Nguyen et al. as discussed by the authors explored the firm-level productivity effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of Vietnamese enterprises.
Abstract: Using a representative sample of more than 5,000 Vietnamese enterprises, we explore the firm-level productivity effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The data enables us to create 12 qu...
65 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address vulnerability of revenue to external shocks using export composition to capture economic structure and differentiating countries according to income levels, resource endowments, etc.
Abstract: This paper addresses vulnerability of revenue to external shocks using export composition to capture economic structure and differentiating countries according to income levels, resource endowments...
64 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a systematic review of over 90 social accountability interventions, including some involving social protection, is presented, and the authors argue that the politics of social protection and of social accountability resonate strongly with the broader project of transforming state-society relations in developing countries.
Abstract: Calls to deepen levels of social accountability within social protection interventions need to be informed by the now extensive experience of promoting social accountability in developing countries. Drawing on a systematic review of over 90 social accountability interventions, including some involving social protection, this paper shows that politics and context are critical to shaping their success. We argue that the politics of social protection and of social accountability resonate strongly with the broader project of transforming state-society relations in developing countries. This requires a reconceptualisation of social accountability and social protection in terms of the broader development of ‘social contracts’, and that the current emphasis on promoting bottom-up forms of accountability needs to be balanced by efforts to strengthen and legitimise public authority in developing countries.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors study changes in the last decade in the teff value chain, Ethiopia's most important staple food crop by area and value, and find improved processing costs and increasing willingness to pay for convenience and quality, as illustrated by the emergence of one-stop retail shops and the rise of more expensive teff varieties.
Abstract: We study changes in the last decade in the teff value chain, Ethiopia’s most important staple food crop by area and value. Upstream, there is increasing adoption of modern inputs and new varieties – especially by those farmers living close to cities – leading to higher land productivity. Mid- and downstream, we find improved processing costs and increasing willingness-to-pay for convenience and quality, as illustrated by the emergence of one-stop retail shops and the rise of more expensive teff varieties. Because of the large numbers of teff producers and consumers, this transformation has important implications on the country’s food security.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used a nationally representative survey in Uganda to study the links between social capital and financial access, and found that individual social capital seems to promote access especially to semiformal and informal financial institutions.
Abstract: We use a nationally representative survey in Uganda to study the links between social capital and financial access. Our results indicate a positive association between individual social capital and access to institutional credit, but no significant relationship between generalised trust and credit access. The effect of individual social capital is more pronounced for poorer people, in rural areas, and in areas where generalised trust is low. Individual social capital seems to promote access especially to semiformal and informal financial institutions.
TL;DR: This paper explored the reality beneath the outbreak of informal economic optimism, and consider why African labour markets are being painted in such rosy colours, revealing a less encouraging reality of catastrophic youth unemployment and expanding informality.
Abstract: Images of an 'African Boom' have presented us with labour markets full of dynamic potential: a declining dependency ratio; low levels of unemployment; and a vibrant middle class. This buoyant view of African labour markets conceals a less encouraging reality of catastrophic youth unemployment and expanding informality. How has the continent known for the world's highest share of informal labour become a beacon of prosperity? This article will explore the reality beneath the outbreak of informal economic optimism, and consider why African labour markets are being painted in such rosy colours.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors construct a simple theoretical model where, in a first step, climate shocks accelerate the transition from the traditional to the modern sector, leading rural workers to move to urban centres within national borders, while in a second step, downward pressures on wages due to the greater labour supply in cities push people to engage in international migration.
Abstract: This paper focuses on climate-induced migration. We construct a simple theoretical model where, in a first step, climate shocks accelerate the transition from the traditional to the modern sector, leading rural workers to move to urban centres within national borders, while in a second step, downward pressures on wages due to the greater labour supply in cities push people to engage in international migration. To test this hypothesis, we exploit a rich panel dataset, displaying a representative picture of bilateral migration flows and climatic data across 222 countries for the period 1960–2000. Findings suggest that in the next few years the climate-induced growth rate of migrant stocks might be in a range between 8.6 per cent and 12.8 per cent, especially from developing countries, where the level of rural employment is more likely to be affected by climatic shocks.
TL;DR: This article found that large farms not only have a lower value of output per hectare than small farms, but they also produce further from the efficiency frontier, suggesting that, despite the ongoing transformation of agricultural supply chains and economists' recommendations for small farmers to exit crop production, there may be sustained advantages for smallholder farms.
Abstract: Using a unique panel data set from rural Mexico, we find strong evidence of a negative relationship between farm size and both productivity and technical efficiency: large farms not only have a lower value of output per hectare than small farms, they also produce further from the efficiency frontier. Our findings suggest that, in spite of the ongoing transformation of agricultural supply chains and economists’ recommendations for small farmers to exit crop production, there may be sustained advantages for smallholder farms. Our analysis offers new insights into inverse-farm size relationship, the productivity–efficiency relationship, and the use of stochastic frontier techniques.
TL;DR: The multidimensional nature of poverty and vulnerability and the role of psychosocial dimensions in achieving wellbeing are increasingly being recognised as mentioned in this paper, yet development program assessments stil......
Abstract: The multidimensional nature of poverty and vulnerability and the role of psychosocial dimensions in achieving wellbeing are increasingly being recognised, yet development programme assessments stil...
TL;DR: The poor record of liberal reforms sponsored by the international community in post-colonization settings underscores the real politik of institutional change as mentioned in this paper, which is what we call a new normal in development.
Abstract: The poor record of liberal reforms sponsored by the international community in postcolonial settings underscores the real politik of institutional change. What we call a ‘new normal’ in development...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated changes in assets owned by the household head, his spouse, or jointly in response to shocks in rural agricultural households in Bangladesh with household survey panel data, and found that weather shocks adversely affect the asset holdings of household heads relatively strongly, while predicted negative shocks more strongly lead to assets of both spouses being drawn down.
Abstract: This study investigates changes in assets owned by the household head, his spouse, or jointly in response to shocks in rural agricultural households in Bangladesh with household survey panel data. Looking at changes within households over time, we find that weather shocks adversely affect the asset holdings of household heads relatively strongly, while predicted negative shocks more strongly lead to assets of both spouses being drawn down. The results, furthermore, suggest that jointly owned assets are not easily sold in response to shocks, and that women’s asset holdings and coping strategies are shaped by their lower involvement in agriculture.
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of a low-cost land certification program on the productivity of female-headed households was analyzed and it was shown that certification has a positive effect on land market participation and productivity.
Abstract: This paper analyses the impact of a low-cost land certification programme on the productivity of female-headed households. The hypotheses tested in the paper emphasise on the interaction between the constraints that female-headed households face in terms of insecure land tenure, lack of productive resources and suboptimal land market participation, on the one hand, and the tenure security benefits of certification on the other. Our findings show that land certification has a positive effect on land market participation and productivity. Our analysis also suggests higher marginal effects of certification on female-headed households’ productivity, compared to the male ones.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine evidence of the effects of national cash transfer programs on community interactions and discuss the transformative potential of such programmes, and find that the impact of cash transfer on community interaction is minimal.
Abstract: This article examines evidence of the effects of national cash transfer programmes on community interactions and discusses the transformative potential of such programmes. The findings indicate pos...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used household surveys and interviews to show that a majority of respondents lack a consistently reliable source of water, and to cope with poor access, households alter their daily routines, consume less water and identify and use back-up sources of water.
Abstract: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s water landscape is unjust, inequitable, and uneven. Water rationing and electricity outages affect water availability alongside an overall shortfall in water supply. Using household surveys and interviews, this paper shows that a majority of respondents lack a consistently reliable source of water. To cope with poor access, households alter their daily routines, consume less water, and identify and use back-up sources of water. It is crucial to understand the problems of water availability in the city in order to make more informed policy decisions and more justly provide water access.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined vulnerability in two Melanesian small island developing states: Solomon Islands and Vanuatu and found that vulnerability stems more from excess volatility in expected wellbeing than a particularly low expected level of wellbeing.
Abstract: This paper examines vulnerability in two Melanesian small island developing states: Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. With large proportions of the population living semi-subsistence lifestyles in rural areas, consumption poverty is notoriously difficult to measure. The paper therefore departs from the standard approach and assesses household vulnerability to multidimensional poverty. The paper employs cross-sectional data from a household survey. Results indicate that vulnerability is more widespread than poverty and that vulnerability stems more from excess volatility in expected wellbeing than a particularly low expected level of wellbeing, per se. Results point to a pressing need for formal social protection policies to be implemented.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors estimate households' willingness to pay for rural feeder roads in Ethiopia using purposefully collected data and compare the economic behaviour of households by remoteness to estimate the benefits of access to feed-er roads.
Abstract: We estimate households’ willingness-to-pay for rural feeder roads in Ethiopia. Using purposefully collected data, we compare the economic behaviour of households by remoteness to estimate the benefits of access to feeder roads. Although we cannot definitively assert a causal relationship, we cautiously estimate that gravel roads have internal rates of return of 12–35 per cent. These results suggest that rural feeder roads may have relatively high rates of return even in unfavourable settings where (a) small-scale farmers have low levels of marketed agricultural surplus, (b) non-farm earning opportunities are negligible, and (c) motorised transport services are not guaranteed.
TL;DR: In this paper, the short to medium term impact of rural-urban migration on an individual's subjective well-being in South Africa between 2008 and 2012 was quantified through different econometric specifications.
Abstract: This paper quantifies the short to medium term impact of rural-urban migration on an individual’s subjective well-being in South Africa between 2008 and 2012. We work through different econometric specifications; using instrumental variables to control for endogeneity caused by shock-induced self-selection, and Propensity Score Matching to control for migration self-selection bias. We find that rural-urban migration leads to a decrease in subjective well-being by 8.3 per cent. We suspect that the decreased well-being is a result of false expectations and changing relative groups used to peg aspirations, as well as the emotional cost of being away from family and a home environment.
TL;DR: In this article, the persistence of a tax system characterised by low revenue collection and extensive informality in Bangladesh is explained, which combines analysis of long-term formal and informal institutio...
Abstract: This paper explains the persistence of a tax system characterised by low revenue collection and extensive informality in Bangladesh. It combines analysis of long-term formal and informal institutio...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the potential of global connections for African workers, and consider the economic and political conditions needed for these workers to capture the gains of inclusion in the global economy.
Abstract: This introductory article explores the transformative potential of global connections for African workers. It challenges recent claims that African workers have become functionally irrelevant to the global economy by examining the shift of global demand for African workers from formal to increasingly informalised labour arrangements, mediated by social enterprises, labour brokers and graduate entrepreneurs. Focusing on global employment connections initiated from above and from below, we consider why global labour linkages have tended to increase rather than reduce problems of vulnerable and unstable working conditions within African countries, and consider the economic and political conditions needed for African workers to capture the gains of inclusion in the global economy.
TL;DR: The authors examine the determinants of public support for foreign aid in China and find that while political ideology and sense of national identity are the most important determinants for public support, several demographic characteristics, such as age, gender and income, are also important.
Abstract: In this study we examine the determinants of public support for foreign aid in China. We find that while political ideology and sense of national identity are the most important determinants of support for foreign aid, several demographic characteristics, such as age, gender and income, are also important. We also find that those living in the lower income western provinces and in provinces with higher poverty rates express less support for giving foreign aid. We draw policy implications from the findings for better targeting engagement strategies designed to garner support for foreign aid.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse household data from 270 finger millet producers in western Kenya and find that group membership increases the probability of market participation and is of particular importance for female farmers who obtain higher selling prices when participating in a group.
Abstract: The present study aims to contribute to the scarce literature on traditional food crop marketing by analysing the factors influencing (a) the household’s decision to participate in the market and (b) the selling prices obtained by the household. Using an econometric approach, we analyse household data from 270 finger millet producers in western Kenya. A main focus of the study lies on the role of gender and farmer group participation. Results show that group membership increases the probability of market participation and is of particular importance for female farmers, who obtain higher selling prices when participating in a group.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the role of inter-firm interaction and geographical proximity in the determination of productivity spillover effects from foreign to domestic firms and found that productivity spillovers diminished when the distance between foreign and domestic firms increases and that interactions among local firms amplify the spillovers.
Abstract: This paper investigates the role of inter-firm interaction and geographical proximity in the determination of productivity spillover effects from foreign to domestic firms. We developed an estimation approach using the Spatial Durbin model and applied this to a firm-level dataset from Vietnam from 2000–2005. We found that productivity spillovers diminished when the distance between foreign and domestic firms increases and that interactions among local firms amplify the spillovers. Within short distances, the presence of foreign firms creates positive backward, negative forward and horizontal spillovers. Based on the findings, several implications are extracted regarding promotion policy for foreign direct investment in developing countries.