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- No.2 / (5) Agricultural Employment, Wages and Poverty in Developing Countries
- Title_ Agricultural Employment, Wages and Poverty in Developing Countries Author_ Katsushi IMAI, Raghav GAIHA & Constanza DI NUCCI Pages 145-185 Abstract_ Drawing upon panel data estimations, we have analyzed relationships between agricultural productivity, employment, technology, openness of the economy, inequality in land distribution and poverty. First, we have identified a number of important factors affecting agricultural productivity, such as agricultural R&D expenditure, irrigation, fertilizer use, agricultural tractor/machinery use, reduction in inequality of land distribution, and reduction in gender inequality. Second, while agricultural wage rates are negatively associated with agricultural productivity and food price in terms of levels, rising agricultural wage rates are positively correlated with growth in agricultural land and/or labor productivity as well as with growth in food prices, particularly after 2000. Contrary to the International Labor Organization’s 2012 claim of a widened gap between wage and labor productivity, this finding suggests a narrowing gap once the conditional relationship between the two is taken into account. Third, agricultural employment per hectare tends to increase agricultural productivity after taking account of the endogeneity of the former, while growth in agricultural employment per hectare tends to increase growth in non-agricultural employment over time with adjustment for the endogeneity of the former. Fourth, both agricultural growth and non-agricultural growth tend to lead to a reduction in overall inequality. Finally, increases in agricultural productivity (which is treated as endogenous) will reduce poverty significantly through contributing to overall economic growth. Overall, policies to increase agricultural productivity and agricultural employment are likely to increase non-agricultural growth, overall growth and reduce poverty. The presence of institutional frameworks to promote greater equality between men and women is likely to be one of the key factors, consistent with the important role of women in promoting agricultural productivity in developing countries. Keywords_ Agriculture, Poverty, Employment, Wage
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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9
- No.2 / (4) If Finance Works, Microfinance Works
- Title_ If Finance Works, Microfinance Works: Contextual Evaluation and the Irrelevance of Randomized Controlled Trials Author_ Salim RASHID Pages 117-144 Abstract_ The choice to highlight microfinance as a primary means of poverty alleviation in the Millennium Development Goals should have brought clarity to the role and functioning of this widely used instrument. Instead, it seems to have generated a fog. It is time to take a fresh look and start from first principles to clear the air. Microfinance is micro finance―it is finance writ small. If finance works, microfinance works. Much of the confusion surrounding microfinance is due to it being treated as a new economic phenomenon. With the Bangladeshi case in mind, this article poses a series of specific questions about the research field. It argues that many interesting and constructive questions have been missing from the agenda. And rather than bringing clarity, the current focus on randomized controlled trials is merely serving to distract. Keywords_ Microfinance, Microcredit, Grameen Bank, Poverty, Randomized Controlled Trials, RCT, Bangladesh
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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8
- No.2 / (3) Inclusive Economic Growth in Nepal
- Title_ Inclusive Economic Growth in Nepal Author_ Chandan SAPKOTA Pages 77-116 Abstract_ Inclusive economic growth is one of the most prominent development agendas. However, a systematic evaluation of progress toward greater inclusivity in the developing countries, and the required strategic foci for the future, remain largely absent from debates in both the academic and policymaking spheres. This paper applies and complements the Asian Development Bank’s inclusive economic growth framework by including an intra-country analysis, and in particular, the convergence and divergence across a range of relevant indicators among consumption quintiles in Nepal. It finds three stark disparities: (i) Nepal’s GDP growth and per capita growth remain the lowest in South Asia; (ii) the slow growth rate has failed to create adequate job opportunities, resulting in large-scale out-migration of workers from all consumption quintiles; and (iii) despite the overall inclusive pattern of growth over the last decade, there remains large disparities in the reach and utilization of social services and economic opportunities among the poorest quintiles. In addition, the pattern of growth could be made more inclusive by creating new opportunities and ensuring that the existing ones are shared more proportionately with the bottom quintiles. Keywords_ Inclusive Growth, Nepal, Poverty, Employment, Social Protection, Governance
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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7
- No.2 / (2) Household Incomes and Poverty Dynamics in Rural Kenya
- Title_ Household Incomes and Poverty Dynamics in Rural Kenya: A Panel Data Analysis Author_ Milu MUYANGA & Phillip MUSYOKA Pages 43-76 Abstract_ This study uses both descriptive and econometric methods to analyze rural household income and poverty incidences over time and the drivers of welfare dynamics in rural Kenya. The analysis uses balanced panel data from 1,299 households in rural Kenya collected by Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Research and Development, Egerton University. The results reveal considerable variation in regional welfare dynamics over time in rural Kenya, but with overall decreasing poverty levels between 2000 and 2007. Welfare dynamics are associated with demographic factors such as household dependency burden, and the gender and educational attainment of household heads. Households with high dependency ratios and those under single-female headship are more likely to to transition into poverty. These findings underscore the importance of post-secondary education, access to land, physical infrastructure, markets, and drought shocks for the welfare of rural households. Keywords_ Poverty, Income Dynamics, Poverty Dynamics, Panel Data, Kenya
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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6
- No.2 / (1) The “Great Myanmar Poverty Debate”
- Title_ The “Great Myanmar Poverty Debate” Author_ Paul SHAFFER Pages 1-42 Abstract_ There is a “micro-macro paradox” in poverty measurement. In a number of countries, declines in income or consumption poverty found in nationally representative household survey data are at odds with people’s perceptions of worsening poverty or deprivation more broadly. The objective of this article is to offer a number of potential explanations for this paradox and to present the case of Myanmar where many of these same issues have recently played out. It is argued that there are plausible explanations which reconcile, in part, apparently conflicting positions in Myanmar’s “Great Poverty Debate.” Keywords_ Poverty, Measurement, Methods, Asia, Myanmar
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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5
- No.1 / (5) The Limits of Legal Intervention in Customary Practices
- Author_ The Limits of Legal Intervention in Customary Practices: Understanding the Unpopularity of Ghana’s PNDC Law 111 on Intestate Succession among the Anlo and Asante Author_ Victor Selorme GEDZI Pages 99-125 Abstract_ This study analyzes the level of popularity among the Anlo and the Asante in Ghana of PNDC Law 111 on intestate inheritance. Reasons for the promulgation of Law 111 include the removal of laws that discriminate against women and children, determination of intestacy and substitution for legal practices on inheritance after death, and provision of a uniform intestate inheritance law that is nationally applicable. The research uses both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The research finds that a lack of education, awareness of the law, rights-consciousness, financial resources and enforcement of the law provides only a partial explanation of the unpopularity of PNDC Law 111. More important is that certain contextual realities confronting the Anlo and the Asante were not adequately considered when the law was being drafted. This makes the law appear to some as an imposition. As a result, many remain unwilling to give up cultural institutions of intestate inheritance that appear to benefit them. Thus, it appears ineffective to use legislation alone to change such cultural practices. These findings are significant as they highlight the relatively low levels of popularity and observance of Law 111 among the research population, and the challenges facing the law moving forward. This greater appreciation of these difficulties allows the study to suggest effective interventions. Keywords_ Customary Law, Women’s Rights, Legal Pluralism, Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty, Africa, Widows, Inheritance.
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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4
- No.1 / (4) Rising Income Inequality amid Declining Poverty: The Experience of China and India
- Title_ Rising Income Inequality amid Declining Poverty: The Experience of China and India Author_ Shalendra D. SHARMA Pages 45-74 Abstract_ The unprecedented decline in poverty rates in China, and to a lesser extent, in India, has been accompanied by a sharp increase in income inequality, including new forms of impoverishment and destitution. What explains this paradoxical outcome where high GDP growth that has helped reduce absolute poverty has also resulted in widening income inequalities? What are the potential socioeconomic and political implications? And, how best to mitigate and reverse this growing socioeconomic polarization and promote more inclusive and balanced economic growth? This paper addresses these interrelated questions. Keywords_ Income Inequality, Inclusive Growth, Poverty Rates, China and India, Globalization
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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3
- No.1 / (3) Rising Income Inequality amid Declining Poverty
- Title_ Rising Income Inequality amid Declining Poverty: The Experience of China and India Author_ Shalendra D. SHARMA Pages 45-74 Abstract_ The unprecedented decline in poverty rates in China, and to a lesser extent, in India, has been accompanied by a sharp increase in income inequality, including new forms of impoverishment and destitution. What explains this paradoxical outcome where high GDP growth that has helped reduce absolute poverty has also resulted in widening income inequalities? What are the potential socioeconomic and political implications? And, how best to mitigate and reverse this growing socioeconomic polarization and promote more inclusive and balanced economic growth? This paper addresses these interrelated questions. Keywords_ Income Inequality, Inclusive Growth, Poverty Rates, China and India, Globalization
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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2
- No.1 / (2) Growth versus Nutrition Debate in India
- Title_ Growth versus Nutrition Debate in India: An Intra-Country Analysis of the Dichotomy Author_ Neetu CHOUDHARY Pages 19-44 Abstract_ This paper inquires into the mainstream debate on the growth–nutrition dichotomy, with its particular relevance for India. The contention is that in the case of India the much hyped dichotomy is intriguing because well-being in general and nutritional well-being in particular continues to be placed in the context of growth performance. The paper argues that this focus on growth is misleading, not only because it fails to analyze the apparently enigmatic incidence of child malnutrition in India, but more so because it constrains a realistic understanding of the issue and therefore distorts policy interventions. By situating the issue in the diverse socio-economic contexts of 28 states in India, this paper attempts to offer insight into the debate by accommodating the role of gender and other socio-behavioral factors into a framework for analyzing child malnutrition. To this end, the paper first conducts a cluster analysis to extend the existence of the growth-nutrition dichotomy to the inter-state level in India and then explains the same through a multidimensional conceptual perspective on (mal-)nutritional dynamics. In the process, the paper underscores that the theoretical foundation for a necessarily positive growth-nutrition linkage is shaky. While economic growth has the potential to better nutrition security, it is not sufficient in itself and does not necessarily stand in all contexts due to inherent characteristics of child nutrition, wherein the role of gender and government action come to play predominating roles as underlying factors. Keywords_ Nutrition, Gender, Growth, State, Care behavior
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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1
- No.1 / (1) A Test of Separability of Consumption and Production Decisions of Farm Households in Ethiopia
- Title_ A Test of Separability of Consumption and Production Decisions of Farm Households in Ethiopia Author_ Christophe MULLER Pages 1-18 Abstract_ In this paper, I test and reject the separability of production and consumption decisions of agricultural households in Ethiopia, using data from a rural household survey conducted in 1994 and an estimated labor demand equation. I also elicit socio-demographic and asset variables that are positively linked with agricultural labor demand.These results reflect the limited development of fully organized labor markets in rural Ethiopia. They also imply that price subsidies, taxes and other purely market-driven agricultural policies may have only limited or perverse impacts. They should be complemented by policies directly affecting household decisions, such as food aid, technology transfer, free supply of fertilizers and so on. Keywords_ Agricultural Household, Separability, Ethiopia
- IPAID 2020.12.03