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on Development |
| By: | Kosec, Katrina; Kyle, Jordan; Takeshima, Hiroyuki |
| Abstract: | One argument in favor of quotas for women’s representation in political office is that female politicians can break down gender barriers more broadly, inspiring individual women to participate politically. In many African countries, where gender gaps in political participation are large, identifying effective strategies to reduce gender imbalances is critical. Recurring climate and conflict shocks are making this task more urgent, to ensure that women’s voices are included when designing responses to those shocks and as it is possible that climate and conflict shocks could widen participation gaps. Using data from 13 African countries on women’s representation in subnational political offices as well as survey data on individual political participation, we find, first, that women’s representation in local office is associated with higher political participation by individual women (but not by men) in this context. Second, using geo-referenced data on shocks, we show that violent conflict shocks in particular lower political participation for everyone, although the effects are stronger for men compared to women in the 12-month frame that we consider here. Third, we find that, when women leaders hold local political office, the negative effects of conflict shocks on political participation are mitigated for women. These analyses offer important new insights into the relationship between women’s political representation and women’s individual political activity within the context of shocks. |
| Keywords: | gender; women; women's participation; political systems; conflicts; shock; climate; fragility; AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; CENTRAL AFRICA; EAST AFRICA; NORTH AFRICA; SOUTHERN AFRICA; WEST AFRICA |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:2230&r=dev |
| By: | Dang, Hai-Anh (World Bank); Raju, Dhushyanth (World Bank); Tanaka, Tomomi; Abanokova, Kseniya (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | Ghana has managed to consistently keep its poverty rate lower than the regional average over the past 25 years, but this positive trend slowed down recently. We investigate the dynamics of overall, moderate, and extreme poverty in Ghana during 2005/06–2016/17, addressing the lack of actual panel data by constructing synthetic panel data from repeated cross-sectional data. While we find considerable conditional chronic (extreme) poverty rates hovering around 50-60 percent, there is more upward mobility than downward mobility. Poor households are also more likely to have enjoyed stronger consumption expenditure growth. Our findings suggest that factors such as education attainment, female household headship, urban residence, and non-agricultural work are positively correlated with poverty reduction. Compared to all other correlates, education attainment appears to be most effective in pushing households out of poverty and keeping them from falling into poverty. |
| Keywords: | poverty, poverty dynamics, pro-poor growth, synthetic panel, household surveys, Ghana, sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | C15 D31 I31 O10 O57 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16738&r=dev |
| By: | Champeaux, Hugues; Gautrain, Elsa; Marazyan, Karine |
| Abstract: | Bride price customs are widespread in many developing countries. While the economic literature has widely investigated the implications of such transfers on women's welfare, little is known about their consequences on men's premarital behavior. In this paper, we exploit a quasi-natural experiment of a school-building program in Indonesia (INPRES) to investigate the relationship between marriage norms and the internal migrations of young men in age to marry. Based on empirical and theoretical settings of the literature, we rely on the effects of the INPRES program on girls' education and the parents' expectations on their daughters' bride price. Combining anthropological, administrative, and individualbased datasets, we implement a triple-difference approach. We find that men with bride price customs were more likely to migrate to areas more economically attractive than their district of origin. In contrast, no evidence exists of such behavior for men from ethnic groups without marriage payments. We interpret these results as evidence for the fact that men migrate to accumulate resources at destination to meet the parents' bride price expectations and marry at home. We also highlight that these migration strategies are implemented by the less advantaged males in their origin marriage market (latter-borns or from lower social class). These findings suggest that the interaction between marital norms and policies can result in unintended consequences, such as increasing premarital migration. |
| Keywords: | migration, marriage market, cultural norms, Indonesia, marriage payments |
| JEL: | I15 J1 J12 O15 Z10 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1375&r=dev |
| By: | Hoddinott, John; Ahmed, Akhter; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Rakshit, Deboleena |
| Abstract: | There are few studies that rigorously assess how agricultural and nutrition related interventions enhance resilience and even fewer that incorporate a gendered dimension in their analysis. Mindful of this, we address three knowledge gaps: (1) Whether agricultural interventions aimed at diversifying income sources and improving nutrition have sustainable impacts (on asset bases, consumption, gender-specific outcomes and women’s empowerment, and on diets) that persist after the intervention ends; (2) whether such interventions are protective when shocks occur? and (3) whether these interventions promote gender-sensitive resilience. We answer these questions using unique data, a four-year post-endline follow up survey of households from a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a nutrition-and-gender-sensitive agricultural intervention in Bangladesh. We find that treatment arms that included both agriculture and nutrition training had sustainable effects on real per capita consumption, women’s empowerment (as measured by the pro-WEAI), and asset holdings measured four years after the original intervention ended. Treatment arms that included both agriculture and nutrition training (with or without gender sensitization) reduced the likelihood that households undertook more severe forms of coping strategies and reduced the likelihood that household per capita consumption fell, in real terms, by more than five percent between in the four years following the end of the intervention. The treatment arm that only provided training in agriculture had positive impacts at endline but these had largely faded away four years later. Our results suggest that bundling nutrition and agriculture training may contribute to resilience as well as to sustained impacts on consumption, women’s empowerment, and asset holdings in the medium term. These have implications for the design of future gender- and nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs. |
| Keywords: | resilience; agriculture; nutrition; gender; women's empowerment; income; shock; training; BANGLADESH; SOUTH ASIA; ASIA |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:2231&r=dev |
| By: | Singh, Tushar; Kishore, Avinash; Alvi, Muzna |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the relationship between agriculture, dietary diversity, and market access in Nepal, testing the complex causal chains involved, and the nuanced connections between production diversity and dietary diversity among smallholder farmers. While diversifying farm production could enhance dietary diversity, the case of Nepal indicates a varied and context specific relationship. Market access emerges as a crucial factor, often exerting a more significant impact on smallholder farm households than production diversity. Access to markets not only influences economic viability but also contributes directly to food and nutrition security, offering a practical solution to address dietary needs. Focusing on Nepal's diverse terrain, the study analyzes the interplay of remoteness, market access, irrigation availability, and complementary inputs in shaping farmers' decisions, providing valuable insights into sustainable agricultural strategies for improved dietary outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. |
| Keywords: | diets; diversification; energy demand; irrigation; agriculture; market access; smallholders; dietary diversity; food security; energy access; NEPAL; SOUTH ASIA; ASIA |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:2229&r=dev |
| By: | Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Lambrecht, Isabel |
| Abstract: | In places with few casual or salaried employment opportunities, investments in farm or non-farm assets may offer the main pathway to increased incomes locally, whereas others may seek alternative investment options elsewhere—as migrants. What factors, then, explain these investment choices? One theory suggests that aspirations that are ahead, but not too far ahead, of current levels provide the best incentive for promoting investment. If this theory holds, then estimates of the relationship between the aspirations gap and investment choices should take the form of a non-monotonic inverted U-shape. We test for such a relationship between the income aspirations gap and investments in migration, farm assets, and non-farm assets using data from a household survey in rural Tajikistan. We find evidence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between the income aspirations gap and measures of migration, with the strongest relationship found with international migration. Strikingly, we do not observe any association between the income aspirations gap and measures of investment in farm or non-farm assets. Exploring heterogeneity, we find that these results can vary by household poverty status and by the respondent’s gender. Investigating a possible mechanism, we find that the relationship between the income aspirations gap and migration seems to be driven by remittances, which outweigh migration costs and increase household income. |
| Keywords: | livelihoods; incomes; migration; investment; farms; agriculture; poverty; gender; remittances; TAJIKISTAN; CENTRAL ASIA; ASIA |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:2209&r=dev |
| By: | Abay, Kibrom A.; Abdelfattah, Lina; Elkaramany, Mohamed; Elsabbagh, Dalia; Kurdi, Sikandra |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the impacts of a traditional food distribution and a nutrition-sensitive food distribution intervention in the context of a rapidly increasing inflationary pressure in Egypt. Besides evaluating the relative and absolute impacts of these interventions on household food and nutrition security, we also examine their impacts on households’ preferences for in-kind versus cash transfers. We implement a clustered randomized control trial through which we randomly assigned communities into: (i) “nutrition-sensitive†food box, (ii) traditional “staple-heavy†food box, and (iii) control group. We find that the nutrition-sensitive food distribution cushioned falls in dietary quality and food security of targeted households relative to the control group while the impact of the traditional and staple-heavy food distribution appears to be negligible. The nutrition-sensitive food boxes increased beneficiary households’ dietary diversity by about 9 percent while also increasing energy, protein, and iron intake by 12, 13, and 19 percent, respectively. We also find that experience with the food boxes increases households’ preference for in-kind transfers, more so among households experiencing high inflation rates and among those households not covered by other food and cash transfer programs. Receiving food boxes increases preference for in-kind transfer by about 9-11 percentage points. Our findings have important implications for the debate on the efficacy of alternative interventions to support poor households as food prices rise and the relative efficacy of in-kind and cash-transfers. The lack of effectiveness of the staple-heavy food boxes suggests that the design and content of in-kind transfers are crucial when considering this policy option, including compared to cash. |
| Keywords: | food systems; inflation; households; nutrition; food security; cash transfers; diet; poverty; policies; EGYPT; ARAB COUNTRIES; MIDDLE EAST; NORTH AFRICA; AFRICA |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:2218&r=dev |
| By: | Pablo Astorga (Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI)) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses and documents new long-term income inequality series for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela based on dynamic social tables with four occupational groups. This enables the calculation of comparable Overall (4 groups) and Labor Ginis (3 groups) with their between- and within-groups components. The main findings are: the absence of a unique inequality pattern over time; country outcomes characterized by trajectory diversity and level divergence during industrialization, and by commonality and convergence post 1980; the occurrence of inequality-levelling episodes with different timing and length; and significant changes in trends, but also evidence indicating persistence. |
| Keywords: | economic development, industrialisation, income inequality, Latin America |
| JEL: | O10 N1 O15 O54 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hes:wpaper:0250&r=dev |
| By: | Coleman, Fiona M.; Ahmed, Akhter; Roy, Shalini; Hoddinott, John |
| Abstract: | Evidence shows social protection can improve diets, but little is understood about how effects vary within a household or what factors determine how food is allocated across different household members. We use individual food intake data from two randomized control trials to estimate intrahousehold dietary impacts of cash or food transfers, with or without nutrition behavior change communication (BCC), in two regions of Bangladesh. We assess whether intrahousehold impacts 1) are consistent with different allocation "rules" hypothesized in the literature, 2) differ by transfer modality, provision of BCC, or regional context. Results indicate that households distribute food equally among their members (men, women, boys, and girls), both in absolute terms and in proportion to individual-specific requirements and deficits. Patterns are similar across regions and do not depend on transfer modality or whether BCC is provided. Findings have implications for designing nutrition-sensitive social protection with different target groups prioritized. |
| Keywords: | social safety nets; diets; households; cash transfers; gender equity; nutrition; resource allocation; behaviour; food transfers; behavior change communication; BANGLADESH; SOUTH ASIA; ASIA |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:2221&r=dev |
| By: | Timu, Anne G.; Shee, Apurba; Ward, Patrick S.; You, Liangzhi |
| Abstract: | Smallholder farmers in low- and medium-income countries lack sufficient access to agricultural production credit that can help them adopt new technologies and improve their farm production. Compared to men, women smallholder farmers face additional social, and economic barriers that further limit their credit access. Bundling agricultural credit with insurance, or risk contingent credit (RCC), provides a mechanism for addressing some of the credit access constraints and reducing credit rationing among smallholder farmers. In this paper, we evaluate the gendered determinants of credit rationing and the gender differences of the effects of RCC innovation on credit uptake decisions. We use three-wave panel data from a randomized control trial (RCT) in Kenya. We find that female-headed households (FHH) are significantly more risk rationed (or demand-side credit constrained) compared to male-headed households (MHH), however, the gender of the household head does not significantly determine the household quantity rationing status (supply-side constrained). We also find that farmers randomly assigned to be offered the RCC are up to four percent more likely to take up credit. RCC’s impacts on credit uptake decisions do not vary with the gender of the household head, however, RCC has a differential positive and significant impact on the credit uptake decisions of farmers that were previously (at baseline) risk rationed. Based on these findings, we suggest that policies should focus on reducing gendered demand-side barriers to credit access, especially among poorer women households. Climate financing innovations such as RCC should also be designed and delivered in a gender-inclusive manner to accommodate women farmers who face time, liquidity, and financial literacy barriers. |
| Keywords: | smallholders; agricultural production; credit; agricultural technology; gender; insurance; climate resilience; rural finance; risk contingent credit (RCC); credit rationing; KENYA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:2215&r=dev |
| By: | Nicolai Suppa (University of Barcelona (GiM-IREA) and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford.); Sabina Alkire (Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford.); Ricardo Nogales (Universidad Privada Bolivana and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University Oxford.) |
| Abstract: | It is widely acknowledged that for efficient progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), their interlinkages have to be taken into account. The global Multidimensional Poverty Index is based on ten deprivations indicators each of which is aligned with specific SDGs, and the overlap of these deprivations already figures prominently in the way poverty is measured by this index, i.e. as multiple deprivation. In this paper we complement previous analyses with a novel account to explore how deprivations are interlinked and how these interconnections vary across the developing world. More specifically, we suggest to analyse deprivations within our measurement framework using profiles, bundles, and co-deprivations which each illuminate particular aspects of the joint distribution of deprivations. Additionally, we apply latent class analysis to corroborate our findings and to uncover additional insights. We use data for 111 countries representing 6.1 billion people to document key patterns at the global level and selected findings for world regions and countries, which may serve as a useful benchmark for more in-depth analyses. We also discuss how our approach may be adopted to different settings and how it can inform multi-sectoral policy programmes. |
| Keywords: | Multidimensional poverty; Global MPI; Joint distribution of deprivations. JEL classification: I32. |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:202321&r=dev |
| By: | Albert, Jose Ramon G. |
| Abstract: | This study provides an in-depth analysis of poverty dynamics in the Philippines, focusing on the period from 2003 to 2009. Utilizing panel data from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) to examine transitions into and out of poverty, it pays special attention to the near-poor population—those whose incomes hover just above the poverty line. Despite the Philippines experiencing an average growth of 4.8 percent in real gross domestic product during this period, the overall poverty incidence remained stagnant, highlighting a disconnect between economic growth and poverty reduction. This phenomenon is partly attributed to the country's low growth elasticity of poverty, indicating that economic growth has not been sufficiently inclusive or propoor. The study delves into the characteristics of the poor and near-poor, revealing that these groups have similar profiles: they are predominantly located in rural areas and face vulnerabilities such as labor and employment shocks, price shocks, and natural disasters. The study also explores the socioeconomic dimensions affecting Filipino households, including family size, employment type, education levels, and exposure to natural and man-made disasters. A significant contribution of this research is its analysis of poverty spells and transitions using the FIES panel data. It uncovers that while some households have escaped poverty, others have fallen into it, with the near-poor being particularly susceptible to downward mobility. The study also discusses the resilience and vulnerability of different household types to poverty, offering insights into the factors that enable sustained escapes from poverty. The findings underscore the importance of targeted social protection strategies and policy interventions to support the poor and vulnerable, especially the near-poor, in improving their livelihood prospects and mitigating the impacts of various shocks. The study's comprehensive analysis provides valuable input for policymakers in formulating effective measures to address poverty and inequality in the Philippines. Comments to this paper are welcome within 60 days from the date of posting. Email publications@pids.gov.ph. |
| Keywords: | panel data;poverty;near-poor |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2023-27&r=dev |
| By: | Daniel Aparicio-Pérez (Department of Finance and Accounting, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain); Jordi Ripollés (Institute of International Economics and Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to identify the heterogeneity in the resource-growth nexus and explore the relative importance of the potential factors that may drive it. By exploiting a panel dataset of 97 countries from 1990 to 2019, we employ the Group Fixed Effect estimator of Bonhomme and Manresa (2015) to endogenously identify groups of countries with different time-varying patterns of economic growth that, in addition, present a heterogeneous economic response to changes in natural resource wealth. Subsequently, we employ an ordered probit to characterize the identified heterogeneity, assessing the relevance of multiple institutional factors and other transmission channels. Our findings indicate that the effect of natural resources on economic growth varies significantly among groups of countries, particularly in relation to the quality of economic and political institutions, social capital, export diversification, and financial development. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth; Grouped fixed effects; Heterogeneity; Institutions; Natural resources; Ordered probit. |
| JEL: | C23 O13 O43 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jau:wpaper:2024/02&r=dev |
| By: | Martina Bozzola; Emilia Lamonaca; Fabio Gaetano Santeramo |
| Abstract: | Climate change and trade are closely related. Climate may alter the comparative advantages across countries, which may in turn trigger changes in trade patterns. Trade itself may constitute an adaptation strategy, moving excesses of agri-food supply to regions with shortages, and this in turn may explain changes in land-use. We investigate these linkages, showing that the changes in climate affect counties’ trade value and contribute to reshaping trade patterns. First, we quantify the long-term impacts of climate on the value of agri-food exports, implicitly considering the ability of countries to adapt, and show that higher marginal temperatures and rainfall levels tend to be beneficial for countries’ exports. Following a gravity model approach, we then link the evolving trade patterns to climate change adaptation strategies. We find that the larger the difference in temperatures and rainfall levels between trading partners, the higher the value of bilateral exports. Furthermore, while developed and developing exporters are both sensitive to climate change and to cross-countries heterogeneity in climate, we found their responses to changes in climate to be quite diverse. |
| Keywords: | Climate normal, Climate heterogeneity, Export, Economic development |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsc:rsceui:2023/40&r=dev |
| By: | Andlib, Zubaria; Sadiq, Maqsood; Scicchitano, Sergio |
| Abstract: | There is a large literature on intergenerational social and educational mobility in developed countries, but the evidence in developing countries is still scant In the current literature, household background has been predicted as a significant determinant of individuals' current and future social status because it influences almost every aspect of their liv es . W e examine various channels through which household socio economic background and other household and individual characteristics affect individuals' educational and social opportunities in a developing economy , Pakistan. To accomplish the objectives, we have used a rich dataset: the Pakistan Standards of Living Measurement (PSLM) survey 2019 20, which contains information on individuals and their real parents. The empirical analysis highlights that the level of parents' education is more relevant than the level of parents' occupation skills in individuals' social and educational opportuni ties. In addition, household wealth, region and province of reside nce, migration status, and disabilities are also significant predictors of intergenerational mobilities in Pakistan. Our results narrate an unequal and dual labour market in Pakistan. Based on empirical outcomes, the study has offered suitable policy implications for developing economies and Pakistan in particular. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational mobility, inequality of opportunities, household characteristics, developing economy, sustainable development goals |
| JEL: | J08 J21 J24 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1367&r=dev |
| By: | Berrospi, Maria Lucia; Ceballos, Francisco; Hernandez, Manuel A.; Paz, Cynthia |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound effects on livelihoods and food security across rural populations worldwide. This study offers a long-term assessment of the impacts of the pandemic and the path to recovery among smallholder agricultural households in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. We rely on a unique longitudinal survey of 1, 262 households collected over four survey rounds between 2019 and 2022. The results show substantial recoveries in incomes, food security, and dietary diversity in the region by mid-2022 compared to 2020, but at levels still worse than pre pandemic ones. There is also a sustained increase in the intention to emigrate. The households that were initially more affected in terms of food security and nutrition but recovered faster include those located in one (San Marcos) of the three departments and families living above the poverty line, while smallholders affected by the ETA and IOTA tropical storms, non-coffee producers, and indigenous populations have taken longer to recover. In addition, we provide quantitative estimates for a subsample of households interviewed during a fifth survey round at the end of 2022, showing an average decline of about 16 percent in total household income three years after the start of the pandemic, mainly driven by a decrease in agricultural income, combined with a 26 percent increase in expenditures and an important surge in indebtedness. Overall, the study offers valuable lessons regarding the recovery of vulnerable households following a major global crisis and in a context of additional shocks, remarking the importance of continue monitoring the situation of vulnerable households, especially those exposed to recurrent (weather) shocks that also have a more exhausted portfolio of coping mechanisms & express a higher willingness to emigrate. |
| Keywords: | Coronavirus; coronavirus disease; Coronavirinae; COVID-19; food security; dietary diversity; migration; expenditures; debt; shocks; agriculture; households; rural population; recovery; long-term effects; GUATEMALA; LATIN AMERICA; CENTRAL AMERICA; NORTH AMERICA |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:2219&r=dev |