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on Development |
| By: | Marianna Battaglia (Dpto. Fundamentos del Análisis Económico); Nina Pallarés (Dpto. Fundamentos del Análisis Económico) |
| Abstract: | Our study aims at estimating the e¿ects of the exposure to an unusual family planning program on child mortality and child health. The PNSRPF, carried out in Peru during the period 1996-2000, promoted for the ¿rst time in the country voluntary surgical contraception. Yet, many indigenous women from rural areas were sterilized using coercion. We use DHS self-reported information on sterilization among indigenous women, if and when it took place —corroborated by other o¿cial data at the aggregate level— to identify which provinces were exposed to the program and at which point in time. By exploiting the geographical and time variation in its implementation, we can compare provinces a¿ected by the program before (treated) with provinces a¿ected later (control), before and after the policy. Results suggest that children in treated provinces are less likely to die within their ¿rst year of life and are breast-fed for longer compared to children in control provinces. Women in treated areas are also more likely to use temporary contraceptive methods. Nonetheless, we observe di¿erential impacts by ethnic groups in treated provinces: while non-indigenous children bene¿t from the policy regardless of the contraceptive method adopted by their mothers, almost all its positive impacts are washed away for indigenous children whose mothers got sterilized. |
| Keywords: | family planning, child health, ethnic minority |
| JEL: | J13 J15 |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ivi:wpasad:2018-03&r=dev |
| By: | Carla Canelas; Miguel Niño-Zarazúa |
| Abstract: | In 2006, the Bolivian government introduced a large-scale cash transfer programme, Bono Juancito Pinto (BJP). Exploiting the exogenous variation of the programme expansion, this paper examines the impact of BJP on schooling and child labour. The analysis suggests that the transfer increases the likelihood of school enrolment but has no sizeable effect on the incidence of child labour. The results are in line with theoretical models that predict that if leisure and schooling decisions are substitutes, a school incentive will have either positive or neutral effects on child labour. Our findings support previous evidence that schooling and work decisions are not perfect substitutes among children. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2018-36&r=dev |
| By: | Asadullah, Niaz (University of Malaya); Maliki, (Indonesia National Planning and Development Agency (Bappenas)) |
| Abstract: | Using a nationally representative data set of Indonesian households and villages, we study the determinants of enrolment in Islamic schools (i.e., madrasahs) and private non-religious vis-Ã -vis public non-religious schools. Multinomial logit estimates indicate that madrasahs systematically attract children from poorer households, rural locations, and less educated parents while the opposite is true for private school enrolment. Moreover, girls are significantly more likely to be in madrasahs, irrespective of their locations, while boys enjoy a higher probability of enrolment in non-madrasah schools, particularly in urban areas. A significant effect of household income remains even after factoring out the influence of child characteristics, parental background, and village characteristics. Therefore policies that reduce household poverty are likely to reduce demand for Islamic schooling. However, the presence of a "girl effect" in madrasah enrolment independent of household income and location factors is puzzling and underscores the need to better understand the socio-cultural determinants of school choice in Indonesia. |
| Keywords: | Indonesia, madrasah education, poverty, gender, private school |
| JEL: | D04 I21 O15 |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11362&r=dev |
| By: | Virgi Sari |
| Abstract: | We examine the evolution of educational assistance in Indonesia, following two decades of government decentralization, and its effect on education quality. Using Indonesia Family Life Survey data, we exploit as exogenous rule the variation in the implementation of government decentralization to compute difference-in-difference estimators. Indicative evidence suggests decentralization has facilitated collusion between village authorities and marginalized private schools, with substantial increases in educational assistance and financial resources, especially to religious schools. Despite dominant rent-seeking behaviour and self-interest motives, increased public resource allocation to private schools impacted positively on student achievement. Our results also emphasize the role of social norms in undermining efficient public goods allocation after decentralization. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2018-37&r=dev |
| By: | Nigussie Abadi; Ataklti Techane; Girmay Tesfay; Daniel Maxwell; Bapu Vaitla |
| Abstract: | While the volume of remittances to developing countries has been growing significantly over the years, the impact of remittances on food security has not received much attention. To bridge the gap this paper has examined the impact of remittances on farm household’s food security status, using a sample of 301 farm households from two livelihood zones of the Tigray Regional State of Ethiopia. The average treatment effect (ATT) results show that households with access to remittance have significantly lower Coping Strategy index (CSI), Reduced Coping Strategy index (rCSI) and Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) on average as compared to households without remittance income. However, there is no significant difference in the ATT effect of remittances on Food Consumption Score (FCS) between treated and control households. These findings suggest that remittances lower the frequency and the severity of coping strategies, and households with remittances have i) lower anxiety about not being able to procure sufficient food; ii) higher ability to secure adequate quality food; and iii) lower experience of insufficient quantity of food intake than those without remittance. Thus, it is imperative to include migration and remittances as important components of food security programs and food security policies in Ethiopia and should go beyond just food production measures, and include measures that help in generating adequate levels of effective demand via income growth or transfers policies. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2018-40&r=dev |
| By: | Mark McGovern; David Canning; Till Bärnighausen |
| Abstract: | Standard corrections for missing data rely on the strong and generally untestable assumption of missing at random. Heckman selection models relax this assumption, but have been criticized because in practice they typically require a selection variable which predicts non-response but not the outcome of interest, and can impose bivariate normality. Using a copula methodology which does not rely on this assumption, we implement the selection model approach in data on HIV testing at a demographic surveillance site in rural South Africa which are affected by non-response. Randomized incentives are the ideal selection variable, particularly when implemented ex ante to deal with potential missing data. However, elements of survey design may also provide a credible method of correcting for non-response bias ex post. For example, although not explicitly randomized, allocation of food gift vouchers during our survey was plausibly exogenous and substantially raised participation, as did effective survey interviewers. Based on models with receipt of a voucher and interviewer identity as selection variables, our results imply that 37% of women in the population are HIV positive, compared to imputation-based estimates of 28%. For men, confidence intervals are too wide to reject the absence of non-response bias. Consistent results obtained when comparing different selection variables and error structures strengthen these conclusions. |
| Keywords: | Participation Incentives; Survey Design; Selection Bias; Non-Ignorable Missing Data; Selection Models; HIV |
| JEL: | C34 J11 I13 C35 |
| Date: | 2018–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qub:charms:1802&r=dev |
| By: | Christophe Muller (GREQAM - Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille - ECM - Ecole Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales) |
| Abstract: | Social programmes for poverty alleviation involve eligibility rules and transfer rules that often proxy-means tests. We propose to specify the estimator in connection with the poverty alleviation problem. Three distinct stages emerge from the optimization analysis: the identification of the poor, the ranking of their priorities and the calculus of the optimal transfer amount. These stages are implemented simultaneous by using diverse distribution regression methods to generate fitted-values of living standards plugged into the poverty minimization programme to obtain the transfer amounts. We apply these methods to Egypt in 2013. Recentered Influence Function (RIF) regressions focusing on the poor correspond to the most efficient transfer scheme. Most of the efficiency gain is obtained by making transfer amounts varying across beneficiaries rather than by varying estimation methods. Using RIF regressions instead of quantile regressions delivers only marginal poverty alleviation, although it allows for substantial reduction of the exclusion of the poor. |
| Keywords: | targeting,poverty,optimizing estimator |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01684570&r=dev |
| By: | Diego Aboal; Gustavo Crespi; Marcelo Perera |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the impact of a cluster tourism policy in the region of Colonia, Uruguay. The policy was implemented as part of an IDB-supported program. The study conducted a comparative analysis of Colonia vs. other tourism regions of the country applying a synthetic control method. This method of identifying the counterfactual is especially useful in comparative case studies where there are a limited number of control units. This is the first time that the synthetic control method has been applied to a cluster policy. The estimations show a positive impact of the cluster program on the inflow of international tourists to Colonia of 30 percent in the period 2008–2015; however, no significant impact on total expenditure was found. |
| Keywords: | Cluster Development Programs, Impact evaluation, cluster policy, impact evaluation, synthetic control methods |
| Date: | 2017–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:8510&r=dev |
| By: | Elisabetta Aurino (Imperial College London, UK); Jasmine Fledderjohann (Lancaster University, UK); Sukumar Vellakkal (BITS Pilano, India) |
| Abstract: | We investigated inequalities in learning achievements at 12 years by household food insecurity trajectories at ages 5, 8 and 12 years in a longitudinal sample of 1,911 Indian children. Estimates included extensive child and household controls, and lagged cognitive scores to address unobserved individual heterogeneity in ability and early investments. Overall, household food insecurity at any age predicted lower vocabulary, reading, maths and English scores in early adolescence. Adolescents from households that transitioned out from food insecurity at age 5 to later food security, and adolescents from chronically food insecure households had the lowest scores across all outcomes. There was heterogeneity in the relationship between temporal occurrence of food insecurity and cognitive skills, based on developmental and curriculum-specific timing of skill formation. Results were robust to additional explanations of the “household food insecurity gap”, i.e. education and health investments, parental and child education aspirations, and child psychosocial skills. |
| Keywords: | Cognitive skills, Learning, Adolescent, Food insecurity, India, Education inequality, Human capital, Longitudinal, Education, Lifecourse |
| JEL: | I24 I29 I39 H52 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2018:09&r=dev |
| By: | Imbert, Clément (University of Warwick,DepartmentofEconomics); Papp, John (R.I.C.E) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides new evidence on rural-to-urban migration decisions in developing countries. Using original survey data from rural India, we show that employment provision on local public works signicantly reduces seasonal migration. Workers who choose to participate in the program forgo much higher earnings outside of the village. Structural estimates imply that the utility cost of one day away may be as high as 60% of migration earnings. Up to half of this cost can be explained by higher living costs and income risk. The other half likely reects high non-monetary costs from living and working in the city. |
| Keywords: | Internal Migration ; Workfare Programs ; India ; Urban ; Rural |
| JEL: | H53 J22 J61 O15 R23 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1161&r=dev |