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- No 2. / (4) Foreign Policy Through the Prism of Domestic Policy: Kazakhstan’s Aspiration to Become An ODA Donor
- Title_Foreign Policy Through the Prism of Domestic Policy: Kazakhstan’s Aspiration to Become An ODA Donor Author_Arailym Sailaubek, Sangbum Shin Pages_48-61 Abstract_Why did Kazakhstan, as an authoritarian post-Soviet state with moderate economic performance, become an Official Development Assistance (ODA) donor? In this article, we argue that state identity has a causal and constitutive effect on Kazakhstan’s foreign policy through discursive development encounters between Kazakhstani state actors and representatives of the international development community. The research questions are addressed by applying discourse analysis to official documents and media articles from Kazakhstan and international sources, along with the ODA dataset collected during fieldwork, focusing on 2013-2019. The article concludes by stating that Kazakhstan's decision to become an ODA donor is primarily motivated by the political elite's desire to boost national prestige and patriotic spirit among the population through the implementation of the domestic development rogram "Kazakhstan 2050," which would include the country on a list of 30 developed countries, the condition of which is to provide and institutionalize ODA. Keywords_ODA, Kazakhstan, KazAID, identity theory, political elite, social constructivism, non-DAC donor]
- IPAID 2024.02.28
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8
- No 2. / (3) Applying Intergroup Contact Theory to a National Sporting event in South Sudan
- Title_Applying Intergroup Contact Theory to a National Sporting event in South Sudan Author_Mitsuaki Furukawa Pages_36-47 Abstract_ This paper attempts to use Allport’s (1954) intergroup contact theory (ICT) as a framework for analysing sport for development and peace (SDP) programming aimed at achieving the goals of social change in South Sudan, where ethnic tensions are increasing. The results showed that in an vironment of increasing inter-ethnic tensions, the national sport event designed programmes with optimal conditions for the development of contact effects that an change perceptions of other ethnic groups through contact and reduce inter-ethnic prejudice. And this perception was found to be entrenched even more than a year later. This suggests that ICT is a useful conceptual framework for designing, delivering and evaluating SDP programmes in conflict-affected countries. In addition to the four optimal conditions for the contact effect of Allport, the paper proposes an additional important condition for conflict-affected countries: a space for peaceful coexistence. Keywords_intergroup contact theory, sport, development, peacebuilding, South Sudan, conflict
- IPAID 2024.02.28
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7
- No 2. / (2) Partnership Modalities for Traditional Leaders and Local Government Authorities in Ghana : The Prospects and
- Title_ Partnership Modalities Author_Stephen Afranie, Kwabena Boateng, Martin Kudwo Akotey Pages_23-35 Abstract_ In Africa, traditional leaders and local government authorities have co-existed since the inception of colonial rule. Before this era, traditional leaders in their communities were tasked by tradition to settle disputes, mobilize resources, and maintain law and order, among others. However, colonial rule transformed the powers and functions of traditional leaders and, by extension, the relationship between them and government officials. The researchers examined the partnership modalities between traditional leaders and local government authorities in Ghana through a desk review approach. The paper found that the relationship between the two stakeholders concerning community development has been a mixture of conflict and cordiality. The tempestuous relationship between them has been primarily due to the relegation of traditional leaders to the background in local governance. Two partnership modalities namely the cat and ostrich approaches, have been established to manage the relationship between traditional leaders and local government authorities. While the cat approach fosters the incorporation of traditional leaders in local government through legislation, the ostrich approach acknowledges the relevance of traditional leaders. In the face of the challenges that beset local governance such as inadequate personnel and inability to mobilise resources, the paper recommends the integration of traditional leaders in local governance structures to help mitigate these challenges. Keywords_Traditional leaders, Partnership, Modalities, Local government authorities, Local governance
- IPAID 2024.02.28
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6
- No. 2 / (1) The Corruption Trap in Africa: Causes and Consequences
- Title_The Corruption Trap in Africa Author_Sara El Asy Pages_5-22 Abstract_The relationship between corruption and economic development remains controversial, with one strand of literature arguing that "corruption sands the wheels of economic development" and another that "corruption greases the wheels of development.” This paper contributes to the literature on the corruption trap by assessing its causes and consequences using unbalanced panel data for 40 African countries during the 1995-2019 period. The empirical findings reveal evidence of the persistence of corruption in Africa. Granger Panel Causality tests highlight that development levels and economic freedom have bi-directional causality with corruption, while there is a unidirectional causality going from corruption to development assistance level, globalization, inequality levels, CO2 emissions, and the natural resources rents. Hence, the difficulty of changing the high corruption equilibrium in Africa and other developing regions is associated with its persistence on the one hand and its causes and consequences on the other, which must be incorporated to create effective anti-corruption policies. Keywords_perceived corruption, economic development, grease or sand the wheel hypothesis; Trap, granger causality, panel data, Africa
- IPAID 2024.02.28
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5
- No 1. / (5) Determinants of VietGAP Adoption by Tea Farmers in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam
- Title_ Determinants of VietGAP Adoption by Tea Farmers in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam Author_Le Thi Dung, Yoo Chung Sik, Joo Young Kyoo, Nguyen Thanh Phong, To The Nguyen Pages_58-68 Abstract_ Although the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued a Good Agriculture Practice (VietGAP) procedure for tea production, the number of VietGAP-certified farmers still needs to grow. This research aimed to determine the determinants of VietGAP adoption in tea production in Thanh Ba District, one of the largest and highest tea production areas in Phu Tho Province. It applied a binary logit model to analyze data from 100 Vietnamese tea farmers. It found that age, tea revenue, access to credit, cooperative membership, and VietGAP training have a positive and statistically significant effect on encouraging the conversion decision of farmers. The study’s findings presented helpful information that the Vietnam Government may use insofar as how to apply and popularize VietGAP tea production to produce safer products, increase farmers’ income and protect the natural environment. Keywords_ VietGap adoption, tea production, logit model, Thanh Ba district
- IPAID 2023.06.26
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4
- No 1. / (4) An Investigation into the Spatial Rice Market Integration in Bangladesh : Application of Vector Error Correc
- Title_ An Investigation into the Spatial Rice Market Integration in Bangladesh : Application of Vector Error Correction Approach Author_Ehsanur Rauf Prince, Basanta Kumar Barmon, Teresa Islam Pages_43-57 Abstract_ Market integration is a metric for market efficiency, notably pricing efficiency. This paper examined the type and degree of market integration in Bangladesh using the latest available weekly rice market price data from the six district markets in Bangladesh from January 2014 to December 2018. The findings demonstrated that the wholesale price series of rice are stationary at first difference, but non-stationary at levels. The vector error correction model is then implemented after the Johansen-Juselius approach has been used to examine the cointegrating relationship between the various district markets. The negative and statistically significant coefficients of error correction term for the rice markets in the Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet districts show that short-run dynamics are convergent with longterm equilibrium. According to the estimated results of the error correction model, there is an equilibrium relationship between the rice markets in Dhaka with rice markets in Barishal, Chattogram, Dinajpur, and Khulna over the long run. In the short run, the calculated coefficient values, however, indicate that there is only a weak transmission of price changes from one district market to another within the same week. Keywords_ market integration, spatial price transmission, agricultural trade, error correction model, Bangladeshi rice market, agricultural market integration
- IPAID 2023.06.26
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3
- No 1. / (3) Promoting the Utilization of Antenatal and Postnatal Care in Rural Cambodia
- Title_ Promoting the Utilization of Antenatal and Postnatal Care in Rural Cambodia Author_Kaoru Ishiguro Pages_30-42 Abstract_ Mortality rates among mothers and neonates are high in Cambodia, and the government has created an initiative to reduce them. Antenatal and postnatal care services are key to this reduction; thus, this study empirically elucidated factors for promoting antenatal and postnatal care in rural Cambodia. Interviews were conducted with 283 mothers, who were asked about their attendance at antenatal and postnatal care. Data were analyzed through logistic regression, and determinants that impact respondents’ attendance were examined. This study found that antenatal care is impacted by age, number of children, household size and income, and access to information. However, she is less likely to attend antenatal care if she is involved in certain social groups. A mother is more likely to attend postnatal care if she is older, has fewer children, delivered her baby at a public health center, and received information from the village head. Social capital and unequal access to sources of information impact women’s attendance. Keywords_ antenatal and postnatal care, access to pregnancy information sources, social capital, rural Cambodia
- IPAID 2023.06.26
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2
- No 1. / (2) In Pursuit of Power : The Case of Ayala Energy Corporation’s Renewable Energy Investments in Southeast Asia
- Title_ In Pursuit of Power : The Case of Ayala Energy Corporation’s Renewable Energy Investments in Southeast Asia Author_Joefe B. Santarita Pages_20-29 Abstract_ The Philippine government attempts to embrace energy transition initiatives to generate energy from renewable sources in recent decades. Due to several domestic, external, and financial challenges, however, the said initiatives are not met diligently and on time. Thus, the said plan is now heavily dependent on the contribution of the private sector in harnessing power from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar among others. One of the said companies is ACEN Corporation (ACEN), formerly AC Energy Corporation, which is considered one of the largest renewable energy (RE) enterprises in the archipelago and continues to aspire as the largest listed renewable energy platform in the region (ACEN, 2022a). This paper contends that the energy transition of a Southeast Asian country to RE is primarily driven by private sectors through various modes of cooperation. The role of private enterprises in energy transition initiatives is best exemplified by ACEN. The pursuit of power is noticeable in three transformative shifts. The first shift is the company’s RE investments domestically in several places in the archipelago. The second shift is the outbound investments in wind and solar farms in various countries in the region either through partnerships, joint ventures, or mergers and acquisitions. The third shift is an offshoot of the second shift which is the crossborder electricity sales in the neighboring states such as Singapore and Vietnam. Moreover, this paper also looks at the mechanisms, conditions, and incentives that were offered to ACEN as enticing packages to invest in. Keywords_ partnership, cooperation, renewable energy, transition
- IPAID 2023.06.26
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1
- No. 1 / (1) The Microfinancing Village Household and Loan Return: Do Credit Source, Education, Land Assets, and Gender ?
- Title_The Microfinancing Village Household and Loan Return: Do Credit Source, Education, Land Assets, and Gender Matter? Author_Vange Mariet Ocasio Pages_5-19 Abstract_Disbursements of small-scale credit to poor entrepreneurial households in developing countries have become a popular tool for promoting self-sufficiency and alleviating poverty. The success of such programs, however, has been inconsistent across self-sufficiency and poverty measures. This study explores the effects of small-scale loans, household assets, and other household characteristics on household income. The study uses longitudinal survey data collected by the World Bank and the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies from over 1,700 households in rural Bangladesh. The results suggest that microloans disbursed by microfinance institutions and other formal programs have a positive impact on income for borrowers. Loans received from relatives and other noninstitutional moneylenders, however, only benefit male borrowers. The findings document differential impacts by loan source, gender, education assets, and labor assets. Households that are resource poor in land assets and education, benefit the most from receiving small-scale credit. This study provides important policy insights. The results suggest that one-size-fits-all approaches to development finance may not be appropriate given that program outcomes can be sensitive to credit source, borrower’s gender, and other household characteristics. To address endogeneity issues in the data, the study relies on a quasi-experiment survey design to reduce bias in the estimates. A quasi-experiment imposes a cutoff criterion for eligibility to allow us to trace treatment group impacts. A panel data model was also used to further control for unobserved effects. Keywords_rural finance, development, microfinance, poverty, gender, loan return, bangladesh
- IPAID 2023.06.26