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11
- No.2 / (6) Small Businesses in Kenya
- Title_ Small Businesses in Kenya: Transition from Informal to Formal Enterprises Author_ Jacob C. NG’ANG’A & Anne GITONGA Pages 167-189 Abstract_ The Kenyan economy is broadly characterized by twoparallel sectors: the formal comprised of registered businesses andthe informal defined by the economic activities of non-registeredbusinesses. Despite the several advantages of registering abusiness, only a minority of businesses in Kenya are registered.This paper addresses the question of why a large number of smallbusinesses in Kenya opt to operate informally. The findings showthat firm age, size of business, owner’s experience, business sector,gender of owner and type of business premise influence the choiceto register a business. The paper recommends that the governmentsimplify registration and link it to licensing, decentralize andautomate registration, and enforce registration without directlylinking it to tax obligations. Keywords_ Small businesses, Registration, Informal sector
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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10
- No.2 / (5) State-led Malaria Control Efforts in the Developing World
- Title_ State-led Malaria Control Efforts in the Developing World Author_ Natasha M. EZROW Pages 135-166 Abstract_ The state can play a critical role in combating disease.However, international approaches in the most vulnerablecountries have tended to undermine state building to the detrimentof effective disease management. Though well intentioned, verticalprograms executed by international agencies and NGOs can createislands of excellence that leave a tremendous void once they exittheir target country. Ministries of health devote considerableresources to dealing with vertical programs, and, public healthcareinstitutions are weakened because other health issues are neglected.Moreover, external agencies have great difficulty adequatelymeeting local needs when projects circumvent the publichealthcare system. Finally, tackling disease requires a responsefrom the state that goes beyond the public health care system toconfront the challenges of prevention, detection and treatment,both at the national and local levels. This paper explores the impactthat the state can have in mitigating the spread of one particulardisease, malaria, and critically examines the role of verticalprograms. Vietnam is presented as a case study. Keywords_ Malaria, Vietnam, Public healthcare, State building, Vertical programs
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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9
- No.2 / (4) Micro-determinants of Income Inequality and Consumption in Rural Bangladesh
- Title_ Micro-determinants of Income Inequality and Consumption in Rural Bangladesh Author_ Sanzidur RAHMAN Pages 107-134 Abstract_ The paper examines the extent to which household andregional characteristics influence income inequality andconsumption/welfare based on an in-depth survey of 406households from 21 villages in three regions of Bangladesh.Results show that the overall Gini coefficient for rural incomes is0.43 but Gini-decomposition revealed that the contribution ofmixed crop production to inequality is just 10 percent while “GreenRevolution” technology contributes almost 29 percent. Landownership, farm capital assets, modern irrigation, non-agriculturalincome, and household head’s education significantly increaseconsumption. Tenants and households with more dependents aredoubly disadvantaged and consume significantly less. Regionalfactors also significantly influence inequality and consumption.Consumption is significantly higher in regions with developedinfrastructure. Comilla is the region with the highest level ofinequality and a significantly lower level of consumption. Thus anintegrated policy of investments in modern irrigation, cropdiversification, tenancy reform, mass education and ruralinfrastructure is necessary to increase consumption/welfare andreduce income inequality in Bangladesh. Keywords_ Income inequality, Gini-decomposition analysis, Consumption or welfare determinants, Bangladesh
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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8
- No.2 / (3) The Future of UN Development Assistance
- Title_ The Future of UN Development Assistance Author_ Stephen BROWNE Pages 81-106 Abstract_ While the UN did not set out to be a developmentorganization, this function now constitutes the fourth and largestpillar of the “second UN” of organizations, taking on the roles ofnorm-setter, dispenser of technical assistance, and source of ideasand research. The UN has adapted to change in its other mainfunctions, but its development role has been disadvantaged by theparallel structures bequeathed to it. In this role, the UN has becomeless cohesive and more marginalized in spite of the fact that thereare growing development challenges requiring urgent responsesfrom the world organization. A new blueprint for reform in 2006remains only partially implemented and provides an agenda forchange which should be pursued. In 2015, the UN passed animportant watershed with the expected agreement of a new set ofdevelopment goals. “The UN we want” for “the world we want”thus becomes an urgent priority. In the future, the technicalfoundations of the present development UN need to be downplayedin favor of the normative. With the support of the “first” UN ofmember-state governments, successful change can come throughnew enlightened leadership within the “second” UN oforganizations, able to respond to the messages and opinionsemanating from the “third” UN: the global public in whose namethe UN was originally conceived. Keywords_ United Nations, UN development system, UN reform, MDGs
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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7
- No.2 / (2) Evidence-based Policymaking
- Title_ Evidence-based Policymaking? Revisiting the “Known,” the Assumed and the Promoted in New Social Development Policy Author_ Johan SANDBERG Pages 47-80 Abstract_ Supported by a virtual plethora of impact evaluations,conditional cash transfers (CCTs) have been widely promoted fortheir ability to simultaneously pursue short-term povertyalleviation through income support and long-term povertyreduction through human capital investments. In particular, theirclaim to fame lies in their perceived capacity to enable a break inintergenerational transmission of poverty. This study presents aninquiry into such capacities. First, it filters that which is “known”from that which remains assumed through a synthesis of systematicreviews. The inquiry corroborates existing research and finds thatevidence concerning CCTs’ impact pertains almost exclusively toshort-term effects from a handful of localized cases, providingscarce information on the programs’ alleged long-term capabilities.That is, existing evidence lacks any demonstrated effects onlong-term poverty reduction and human capital enhancement—thetwo overriding goals of the programs. More importantly, itcontributes to existing research and problematizes CCTs’promoted long-term impact by further qualifying the “known” andby analyzing the empirical foundations of the programs’ implicitassumptions. Findings of largely untested theoretical assumptionspertaining to the human capital–social mobility nexus furtherchallenge the basis for CCTs’ promoted capacity to enable a breakin intergenerational transmission of poverty. These findings aredeemed particularly relevant to developing countries in Africa andAsia and their efforts to adequately incorporate CCTs into povertyreduction strategies and policies. Keywords_ Social policy, Poverty, Development, Conditional cash transfers, Impact evaluations, Latin America
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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6
- No.2 / (1) Held Back
- Title_ Held Back: Explaining the Sluggish Pace of Improvement to Basic Education in Developing Democracies–The Cases of India and Brazil Author_ Lindsey CARSON, Joanna V. NORONHA & Michael J. TREBILCOCK Pages 1-46 Abstract_ Despite the widely accepted relationship between qualityprimary education and sustainable, equitable development, two ofthe world’s fastest-growing democracies—India and Brazil—continue to trail their regional and economic peers in basic learningoutcomes. Using a supply and demand framework, this articleidentifies six institutional factors that we hypothesize may havebeen determinative in shaping education outcomes in bothcountries: actual popular demand, availability of information aboutpublic education quality, impact of private school alternatives,financial allocations, incentive structures for educationalpersonnel, and the influence of political institutions on theresponsiveness of public leaders. Our analysis reveals theinterrelationships among these six factors and their connections tobroader economic, political, social, and historical realities in eachcountry. We conclude by identifying central elements of publicaccountability mechanisms that seem to be the most appropriateinstitutional venues to create and maintain the type of sustained,focused public pressure necessary to achieve lasting improvementsto access and quality. Keywords_ Basic education, India, Brazil, Decentralization and service delivery, Accountability
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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5
- No. 1 / (5) Impact of Smoking on Nutrition and the Food Poverty Level in Tanzania
- Title_ Impact of Smoking on Nutrition and the Food Poverty Level in Tanzania Author_Asmerom KIDANE, John MDUMA, Alexis NAHO, & Teh Wei HU Pages 131-149 Abstract_ This study considers the effect of household cigarette expenditure on food poverty indicators in Tanzania. We first compare expenditure patterns as well as the household size of non-smokers and smokers. We find that the majority of non-smokers and smokers have low incomes, and that the mean total per capita expenditure (proxy for income) of non-smokers is slightly higher than those of smokers. On the other hand, the mean household size of non-smokers was smaller compared to that of smokers suggesting that smokers should have spent more on food. Next, we estimate and compare daily calorie intake between both groups. Almost 19 percent of non-smokers were found to be below the poverty line. The corresponding value for smokers was almost 24 percent. Estimates from a multiple linear regression on the determinants of per capita daily calorie intake reveal that per capita cigarette consumption appears to negatively affect daily calorie intake significantly. Given that the majority of all respondents belong to a low income group, this suggests that expenditure on cigarettes may be at the expense of calorie intake. Keywords_ Smoking, Nutrition, Calories, Poverty, Tanzania
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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4
- No.1 / (4) The Determinants of Non-Farm Income Diversification in Rural Ethiopia
- Title_ The Determinants of Non-Farm Income Diversification in Rural Ethiopia Author_ Zerihun Berhane WELDEGEBRIEL, Giuseppe FOLLONI & Martin PROWSE Pages 109-130 Abstract_ Diversification has long been viewed as a risk minimization strategy in the face of increasing climatic andeconomic risks in developing countries. This paper examines the determinants of non-farm income diversification in rural Ethiopia for a four-wave panel of 1240 households from the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey over the period 1994–2009. The paper makes a conceptual distinction between non-farm and off-farm income and uses fixed and random-effects models to control for unobserved characteristics. The results suggest that the variables that determine non-farm diversification—consumption per capita and livestock holdings—belong to pull factors and reflect a strategy by wealthier households. Coupled with instrumental variable estimations to ascertain the direction of causality, these findings lend support to the argument that the main motivation for increasing non-farm diversification is likely to be accumulation. Keywords_ Non-farm diversification, Fixed and Random-effects, Rural Ethiopia
- IPAID 2020.12.03
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3
- No.1 / (3) On a New Path
- Title_ On a New Path: Microfinance as a Tool to Help Bedouin Women Extricate Themselves from Poverty in Israel Author_ Nuzha ALLASSAD ALHUZAIL Pages 77-107 Abstract_ The lives of Bedouin women in Israel who live in poverty are complex and difficult. They suffer from dual discrimination—by the Bedouin society in which they live and by the state of which they are citizens. Microfinance provides a tool with which these women can improve their lives. Based on in-depth interviews with 15 Bedouin women participating in a microfinance program, this study finds that their efforts to extricate themselves from poverty perpetuate the polarity of their lives: they experience personal strengthening in the process of gaining economic independence, but also the weakening of family support during that process. The women must also overcome a lack of state support for their business initiatives. Nevertheless, these women are able to manage these difficulties and improve the conditions of their lives. In the process, they became important agents of change in Bedouin communities and in the wider society of Israel. Keywords_ Bedouin women, Poverty, Microfinance, Microcredit, Social change, Bedouin society, Negev
- IPAID 2020.12.02
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2
- No.1 / (2) How Did East Asian Countries Overcome the Food Problem?
- Title_How Did East Asian Countries Overcome the Food Problem? The Experiences of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Indonesia Author_ Richard GRABOWSKI Pages 44-75 Abstract_ This paper develops a semi-open dualistic model of the development process. Within this context rapid structural change and development is likely to be stymied by low productivity in staple food production. This will result in labor being relatively expensive, even when it is physically abundant. Thus solving the food problem is essential for successful economic development. However, different countries have resolved this problem in very different ways. The experiences of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia are used to illustrate the problem and the different ways each country has evolved to solve it. These experiences have implications for today’s developing countries. Keywords_ Food problem, Agriculture, Structural change, East Asia, Southeast Asia
- IPAID 2020.12.02
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1
- No.1 / (1) How do Ex Ante Simulations Compare with Ex Post Evaluations?
- Title_ How do Ex Ante Simulations Compare with Ex Post Evaluations? Evidence from the Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs Author_ Phillippe LEITE, Ambar NARAYAN & Emmanuel SKOUFIAS Pages 1-43 Abstract_ We compare the ex ante simulation of the impacts of conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs against the ex post estimates of impacts obtained from experimental evaluations. Using the data on program-eligible households in treatment areas from the same baseline surveys used for the experimental evaluations of CCT programs in Mexico and in Ecuador, we use a micro-simulation model to derive ex ante estimates of the impact of the programs on enrollment rates and poverty. Our estimates reveal that ex ante predictions of certain impacts of CCT programs using the micro-simulation model match up well against the benchmark estimates of ex post experimental studies. The findings seem to support the use of this model to assess the potential impact and cost efficiency of a CCT program ex ante, for the purpose of informing decisions about the design of the program. Keywords_ Conditional Cash Transfers, Micro-simulation, Experimental evaluation
- IPAID 2020.12.02