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The effect of mini‐grid rural electrification on urbanization: Evidence from the pilot mini‐grid systems in Ghana Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2024-02-23 Justice Gyimah, Yang Liu, George Nyantakyi, Xilong Yao
Mini‐grid electrification constitutes an increasingly important solution to universal access to energy, notably in off‐grid rural Africa. Rural electrification has important implications for mitigating the immigration trends of the rural population toward urban regions. In this study, we adopted a mediation model to investigate the direct and indirect effects of mini‐grid electrification on the urbanization
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Electoral cycles and public spending during the pandemic Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2024-02-20 Michael Lokshin, Aylén Rodriguez‐Ferrari, Iván Torre
This paper uses a newly assembled dataset on various types of social protection spending in 154 countries during the COVID‐19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 to analyze the effect of the electoral cycle on the size and composition of the social protection stimulus budget. The analysis shows that the longer the time since the last election in a country—and thus the sooner the next election date—the larger
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Empowering women through microcredit in Djibouti Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2024-02-07 Mohamed Abdallah Ali, Mazhar Mughal, Dina Chhorn
In this study, we construct original measures of women's empowerment in economic, social, and interpersonal dimensions to estimate the effect of microcredit on women's empowerment in Djibouti. Using survey data covering 2060 Djiboutian households, we examine the extent to which access to microcredit, the amount of loans obtained, and their duration modify women's status at home. We employ an instrumental
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Active conflict and access to education: Evidence from a series of conflict-related shocks in Yemen Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2024-01-31 Safa Almoayad, Eliana Favari, Saamira Halabi, Siddharth Krishnaswamy, Almedina Music, Sharad Tandon
Using a high-frequency survey in Yemen, we demonstrate how school attendance responds to a series of conflict-related shocks. First, there are a number of plausibly exogenous events that significantly change the severity of violence but have limited impacts on school attendance. These events include the capture of the southern capital by secessionist forces, an unexpected partial ceasefire, and the
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The effect of capital structure on the financial sustainability of microfinance institutions: A meta-analysis Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2024-01-19 Muleye Tarekegn Dirse, Gurudutta P. Japee
Considering the trend toward microfinance institutions (MFIs) commercialization that fundamentally reshapes their capital structure, this meta-analysis, by synthesizing data from a wide range of studies, aims to investigate the impact of different sources of finance on the financial sustainability of MFIs and determine the optimal order in which these sources should be utilized. In this study, 166
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Connecting the fields: How ICT improve agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2024-01-11 Louis de Berquin Eyike Mbongo, Yannick Fosso Djoumessi
This study seeks to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the influence of information and communication technology (ICT) on agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), both through direct and indirect mechanisms. Utilizing data gathered from a sample of 20 sub-Saharan African nations spanning the period from 1995 to 2014, we employ a rigorous examination through static and dynamic panel models
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Spatial tax regimes and location choices of manufacturing firms: Survey evidence in southern Tunisia Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-12-23 Rawaa Laajimi
We conducted a survey of 179 manufacturing firms in southeastern Tunisia to investigate the determinants of their location choices, with a specific focus on the role of place-based fiscal regimes. The data analyzed using Multiple Factor Analysis and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis reveal that manufacturing firms in this region can be categorized into distinct groups based on the relative strength of
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Drivers of changes in child nutritional conditions: A panel data-based study on Indonesian households, 1997–2014 Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-12-19 Maria C. Lo Bue
Using panel data from Indonesia, this paper analyzes short and long-term drivers of nutritional conditions among children aged 0–15 years. I estimate a Mundlak model in order to better account for the relatively larger “between” variation that is found in the data, and to control for endogeneity biases that may arise due to the correlation of unobserved heterogeneity and observed explanatory variables
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The impact of CO2 emissions and climate on economic growth and productivity: International evidence Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-12-14 Nikos Rigas, Konstantinos Elias Kounetas
In this study, we apply a detailed country level data in the 1961–2015 period to investigate the relationship between weather variables, CO2, share of renewable energy sources, gross domestic product, and total factor productivity in a standard Cobb–Douglas production function by using an instrumental variable approach. Our findings suggest that economic growth has been positively affected by temperature
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Average and heterogeneous effects of smallholder farm sizes on dietary diversity in northern Ghana Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-12-12 Kwabena Nyarko Addai, John N. Ng'ombe, Omphile Temoso
The relationship between farm size and dietary diversity has recently gained attention among development practitioners and policymakers. To study this issue, we utilized cross-sectional data from 900 farm households in Northern Ghana. The analysis employs three econometric approaches—ordinary least squares, two-stage least squares, and instrumental variable (IV) quantile regression. We subjected our
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The effect of crime on mental health in South Africa Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-11-17 Magda Tsaneva, Lauren-Kate LaPlante
This paper examines the impact of district-level crime rates in South Africa on individual depression symptoms. We use panel data from the National Income Dynamics Survey collected between 2008 and 2014 and estimate an individual fixed effects regression model, thus controlling for characteristics of the individual's environment that could affect crime and mental health. We find that an increase of
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Migration, income pooling and food deprivation Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-11-14 Gift Dafuleya
Income pooling in the context of geographically stretched households, that is, households with migrants who maintain close relations and economic ties with household members left behind, is examined in this article. The focus is also directed at evaluating whether migration assists in reducing food deprivation in the household of origin. A model to generalise the relationship between the migrant and
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Transferring remittances through central banks: A tool applied to the Guatemalan exchange rate Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-11-09 Arnoldo López-Marmolejo, Daniel Ventosa-Santaulària
Countries where the volume of remittances received represents a significant proportion of their gross domestic product usually face short-term pressures on their exchange rates that are unrelated to their economic fundamentals. In this article, we analyze how a remittance payment system involving the central banks of the source and destination countries of such remittances could mitigate the pressures
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Revenue losses from corporate tax avoidance: Estimations from the UNUWIDER Government Revenue Dataset Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-11-08 Alessandro Chiari
Corporate profit shifting to tax havens negatively impacts corporate tax revenue, particularly in low-income countries. Two studies published in 2016 and 2018 have proven this correlation using data from 2013. In this paper, I use the 2021 version of the UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (GRD) to estimate government revenue losses in 2019 and to observe possible changes associated with the release
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The case for mixed methods research: Embracing qualitative research to understand the (informal) economy Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-11-07 Edward Cartwright, Eghosa Igudia
Economics has long shunned qualitative research methods, such as interviews, focus groups and observational studies, in preference for quantitative methods, such as empirical analysis of secondary data and field experiments. Moreover, recent years, with advances in econometric theory, have seen a notable increase in the size and quality of data sets that are needed to publish quantitative research
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Household grain storage decision in a transitory economy: Market liberalization and off-farm employment Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-11-03 Xiaoyun Wei, Qingen Gai, Qinghua Shi
The grain storage held by rural households, given its significant quantity and crucial role in household operations, plays a vital role in ensuring food security. This paper constructs a theoretical framework that encompasses household decisions regarding off-farm employment, savings, and consumption, as well as the production, selling, and storage of grain. The theoretical model, driven by motivations
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Reassessing the relationship between women's empowerment and fertility: Evidence from India Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-11-01 Nayana Bose, Shreyasee Das
An overwhelming body of evidence supports a negative relationship between women's empowerment and fertility. In this paper, we evaluate whether this relationship holds in a setting with a high degree of son preference and limited access to abortion services by focusing on rural India. We exploit the reforms to the Hindu Succession Act that improved female empowerment by mandating equal inheritance
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Recreation and social obligations during Covid in India: Does social distancing act as a barrier? Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-10-24 Nidhi Kaicker, Aashi Gupta, Raghav Gaiha
Using three-stage least squares, the present study examines how the household expenditure on socialising activities, including eating out, entertainment and religious and social obligations changed during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Our results suggest a negative impact of COVID-19 cases on the socialising expenditure shares of the households. Further, a higher spending on food is associated with
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Financial inclusion, vulnerability coping strategies and multidimensional poverty: Does conceptualisation of financial inclusion matter? Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-10-22 Chei Bukari, Isaac Koomson, Samuel Kobina Annim
Policy emphasis on financial inclusion and deepening has shifted away from measures capturing formal financial services only and towards the development of more inclusive financial markets which account for both formal and informal services. This study examines the effect of financial inclusion and vulnerability coping strategies on multidimensional poverty, where the conceptualisation of financial
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Violence in pandemic times: The dynamic relationship between COVID-19 and intimate partner violence Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-10-17 Wilson Hernández, Angelo Cozzubo, José Carlos Aguilar, Jorge M. Agüero, José Mendoza
Intimate partner violence (IPV) increased during the COVID-19 lockdown, but few studies use national data and explore underlying mechanisms. To address this gap, we study the changes in IPV during the first ten months of the pandemic in Peru. We study the number of calls received by the national helpline for domestic violence victims, Línea 100, using an event study model. Results show that during
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Oil discovery, boom-bust cycle and manufacturing slowdown: Evidence from a large industry level dataset Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-10-17 Nouf Alsharif, Sambit Bhattacharyya
We investigate the effects of giant oil discovery and boom-bust price cycle on manufacturing using a large dataset of up to 49,481 two-digit industry-years across 136 countries over the period 1962 to 2012. We find that oil discovery reduces growth in manufacturing value added and wages. The effect on employment is insignificant. We also find strong association between oil discovery and manufacturing
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Do fertilizer and seed subsidies strengthen farmers' market participation? Evidence from Tanzania's subsidy program Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-10-09 Takefumi Fujimoto, Aya Suzuki
This study examines whether the Tanzanian subsidy for inorganic fertilizers and improved seeds encourages farmers to participate in the input and grain markets. Using six waves from 2008–2009 to 2020–2021 of the National Panel Survey, we investigated whether the subsidy affected farmers' purchases and expenditures for all conceivable inputs, including nonsubsidized inputs (organic fertilizers, traditional
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Relative contributions of indirect taxes and inflation on inequality: What does the Turkish data reveal? Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-10-06 Selçuk Gemicioğlu, Burça Kızılırmak, Uğur Akkoç
One way inflation affects consumption inequality is through its varying impact on the purchasing power of different households. Indirect taxes, which affect commodity price levels, are another effective factor influencing consumption inequality. Turkey is a highly unequal country with a long history of high inflation. Moreover, indirect taxes have been used frequently as a policy tool in the last decades
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The classical and neoclassical perspectives: A theoretical framework for studying the advent and growth of mobile money—The Tanzanian experience Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-09-29 Deogratius Joseph Mhella
The article addresses the need for comprehensive analytical frameworks or perspectives in mobile money research. It also proposes and develops a conceptual framework utilizing classical and neoclassical perspectives. The interdisciplinary nature of mobile money studies and the need for robust analytical frameworks or perspectives pose a significant challenge to researchers, creating a political-economic
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Impact of financial inclusion on household welfare in Liberia: A gendered perspective Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-09-29 Francis F. B. Mulbah, Dennis Etemesi Olumeh, Vida Mantey, Billy Okemer Ipara
Financial inclusion (FI) is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly zero poverty, gender equality, and reduced inequalities, but there is limited evidence of its impacts on household welfare in fragile and post-conflict countries (FPCCs). This study analyses the impact of FI on household welfare in Liberia using the Liberian Household Income and Expenditure Survey of 2016–2017
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Does household welfare change with finance access? The case of women and the youth in The Gambia Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-09-19 Laston Petro Manja, Isatou A. Badjie
Poor access to finance remains one of the key challenges faced by households and businesses in The Gambia in the face of an underdeveloped financial market. Yet, women and the youth are further disadvantaged as they are reported to face peculiar challenges in finance access, in spite of efforts taken by different stakeholders, including the government. Therefore, this study examines the impacts of
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Estimating the health production function for Pakistan: Do environmental factors matter? Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-09-15 Abdul Majid Awan, Muhammad Azam Khan, Saleem Khan
It is essential for sustainable economic development to comprehend how environmental factors impact public health. This study analyses this relationship in the context of Pakistan using long-term data. This study aims to determine how environmental factors influence health production function in Pakistan to enlighten policy decisions that can improve human life and advance the cause of sustainable
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Finding the right products for export diversification Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-08-27 Taylan Yenilmez
The Ricardian comparative advantage model suggests doing what you are best at. Meanwhile, many development experiences resulted in producing the impossible. Do the two prescriptions lead to an antagonism that the industrial policy must side by one? Or can industrial policy consider the current comparative advantage while aiming for significant changes in the export basket? This paper answers yes by
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Economic transition, dualism and informality in India: Nature and patterns of household-level transitions Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-08-22 Surbhi Kesar
We examine the Indian economy during a peak period of high growth between 2005 and 2012 to analyse the nature and patterns of household-level transitions across different sectors, characterised by varying degrees of formality/informality and various production structures and labour processes. We find that even within this brief period, there has been a huge volume of household-level transitions across
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Asset accumulation, financial inclusion and subjective well-being: The role of financial formality in South Africa's households Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-08-21 Kudakwashe Joshua Chipunza, Ashenafi Beyene Fanta
Asset building and financial inclusion programmes have contributed to the enhancement of consumers' welfare through asset accumulation. Employing the FinScope consumer survey for South Africa, we extended the analysis of the relationship between financial inclusion and asset holding by examining whether this, in turn, improves consumers' subjective well-being (SWB). Financial inclusion was captured
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Financial inclusion and healthcare in Africa: Examining the moderating role of education Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-08-17 Muhamadu Awal Kindzeka Wirajing, Ali Haruna, Tii N. Nchofoung
The 2023 Sustainable Development Goal Report reveals that Africa is still struggling in its pursuit to achieve universal healthcare coverage. However, financial risk protection and human capital development could come to the rescue by facilitating the attainment of quality healthcare services. This study examines the effect of financial inclusion on healthcare in Africa, spanning from 2000 to 2021
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(En-)‘lightening’ children: Assessing the impacts of access to electricity on learning achievement levels Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-08-13 Somdeep Chatterjee, Shiv Hastawala, Jai Kamal
The welfare impacts of electrification are well documented in the literature, including the effects of electricity on school enrolment. However, the spillover effects of electrification on children's achievement levels are scarce. We use three complementary but distinct econometric models to establish a causal relationship between electrification and test scores using nationally representative household
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Predicting FDI inflows: Exploring a nonlinear relationship between peace years, oil wealth, and the rule of law Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-08-09 Hye-Sung Kim, Jeheung Ryu
Despite previous studies investigating the impacts of various factors such as peace years, natural resources, and the rule of law on foreign direct investment (FDI), empirical findings remain inconclusive. Therefore, this study investigates the interplay between these factors in shaping host country conditions that facilitate FDI inflows. Using generalized additive models, we examine the simultaneous
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“Rely (only) on the rigorous evidence” is bad advice Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-08-02 Lant Pritchett
A popular interpretation of “evidence-based” decision-making is “rely (only) on the rigorous evidence” (RORE) via “systematic” reviews that: use objective protocols to generating the potentially relevant papers from the literature; then filter those to retain only the small subset that provide impact estimates regarded as “rigorous”; and summarize only those estimates. I use two sets of cross-country
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Financial inclusion, gender gaps and agricultural productivity in Mali Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-07-27 Babajide Fowowe
Mali is a prominent fragile and post-conflict country, and armed rebellions have cumulatively resulted in over 20 years of conflict since independence. Agriculture is the mainstay of the Malian economy and accounts for about 40% of GDP and employs 80% of the active population. However, the agricultural sector has performed sub-optimally and food security has not been attained. Financial exclusion and
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Effects of regulatory burden and corruption on firm performance: Evidence from Moldova Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-07-28 Shawn W. Tan, Dea Tusha
Firms in Moldova face a high level of regulatory burden, as proxied by the number of inspections by public authorities. At the same time, they face high levels of corruption. We examine the effect of frequent inspections on four measures of firm performance: labour and total factor productivity, and levels of tangible and intangible assets. We also investigate how corruption affects the relationship
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Whither ethics in research? Randomized controlled trials at the nexus of technocratization and Eurocentrism Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-07-18 Bikalp Chamola
The use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as a methodological approach has become ubiquitous across disciplines, particularly in development economics. Building on the existing scholarship critiquing the widespread deployment of RCTs, this paper argues that the lack of a nuanced engagement with the concept of objectivity creates fertile grounds for the technocratization of social science research
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Poor economics and its missing mechanisms: The case for causal mediation Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-07-18 Sunil Mitra Kumar, Ragupathy Venkatachalam
A key aim of studying development is to understand the factors that shape socioeconomic progress and explain inequalities. In empirical work, the predominant focus has been on posing these questions in the language of causal inference: how one or more variables effect an outcome of interest, with the estimation of Average Treatment Effects (ATE) becoming prioritised as the key objective. The ‘credibility
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Years of life lost to revolution and war in Iran Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-07-19 Mohammad Reza Farzanegan
How was life expectancy in Iran affected by the Islamic Revolution and subsequent war with Iraq? This study examines the joint effect of regime change and the war against Iraq on life expectancy in Iran between 1978 and 1988. If there had been no revolution and war in Iran, how would the life expectancy of Iranians have developed? To answer this question, we use a synthetic control model to construct
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Building smallholder farmers' capacity to adopt climate-smart agricultural practices in flood prone areas: Lessons from Bangladesh Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-07-19 Asma Akter, Mohammad Shah Jahan, Xianhui Geng, Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso, Fazlul Hoque, Adnan Adeel
Currently, there is an increased interest in promoting climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs) around the globe, however, application of these practices may vary for different climate risk hotspots. Although, climate field schools (CFS) are conducted with the aim of empowering farmers with knowledge on the various agricultural practices, little attention has been devoted to building the capacity
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The welfare implications of COVID-19 for fragile and conflict-affected regions Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-07-06 Chrysostomos Tabakis, Gi Khan Ten, David Newhouse, Utz Pape, Michael Weber
Understanding the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic for households' welfare in regions subject to fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) is important to inform programs and policies in this context. Harmonized data from high-frequency phone surveys indicates that, at the onset of the pandemic, a higher fraction of respondents in FCV regions relative to non-FCV ones faced adverse household income
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Inclusive growth in the face of increasing urbanization: What experience for African countries? Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-07-05 Borice Augustin Ngounou, Honoré Tekam Oumbe, Bruno Emmanuel Ongo Nkoa, Edmond Noubissi Domguia
Urbanization and inclusive growth in Africa are very closely linked, and the literature is extremely fertile. The objective of this paper is to determine the effects of urbanization on inclusive growth in a sample of 48 African countries. We specify and estimate respectively a panel data model, fixed effects, Driscoll and Kraay, generalized least squares, robustness via Lewbel two-stage least squares
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Crime and economic growth: A case study of Manaus, Brazil Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-07-04 Pedro Drugowick, Paula Carvalho Pereda
Brazil became the seventh largest economy in the world in 2012. In the same year, the country was responsible for 13% of all worldwide murders. Despite the economic advances, crime is increasing over time in the country. This study explores the impact of organized crime on local economies, focusing on the case of Manaus, Brazil, and the emergence of the criminal group Família do Norte (FDN). We employ
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An introduction to rural and agricultural development in the digital age Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-07-01 Wanglin Ma, Andy McKay, Dil B. Rahut, Tetsushi Sonobe
This special issue contributes to the development economics literature by highlighting the role of information communication and technologies (ICTs) in supporting rural and agricultural development. It is comprised of nine papers. Key findings from this special issue include: (1) internet use increases rural consumption diversity and agricultural productivity; (2) smartphone use empowers rural women
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Correction to “Exchange rate pass-through to import prices: Evidence from a heterogeneous panel of West African countries” Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-06-21
Kinda, M. T., & Barry, H. (2021) Exchange rate pass-through to import prices: Evidence from a heterogeneous panel of West African countries. Review of Development Economics, 25, 2454–2472 https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.12803. The authors would like to acknowledge that the passage of text beginning the fourth paragraph of this paper, from “Assuming that export prices are determined by a markup over marginal
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Material and nonmaterial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from a low-income country Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-06-19 Rebecca Lohmann, Lisa Hoffmann
How have COVID-19-related restrictions affected consumption levels and life satisfaction in low-income countries? We conducted phone surveys with 577 households in Liberia to compare consumption patterns across three points in time: November 2019 (pre-COVID-19), May 2020 (short term), and September 2020 (medium term). This article analyzes the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the related restrictions
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Consumption risk-sharing under terror shocks: Evidence from value-chain network rosters in Nigeria Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-06-15 Chuku Chuku, Chisom Ubabukoh
Households in Nigeria live in inherently risky environments; accentuated by the preponderance of terror incidences, banditry, and farmer–herder-related clashes that are more concentrated in the northern than southern parts of the country. This study examines the proposition that households with a robust network roster—especially networks related to ethnicities and financial remittances from outside
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Urban strategy in an era of public policy assessment: Beyond the methodological divide Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-06-12 Nestor Garza, Jennifer Garza
This article presents the one-sided intellectual influence of Economics on Urban Studies & Planning, the case of two social science disciplines with different epistemologies and approaches to policy advice. Subsequently, it presents the emergence of the so-called evidence based policy (EBP) approach in Economics, comprising experimental (randomized control trial) and quasi-experimental (difference-in-differences
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Hand pollination, mass spraying, and hybrid seedlings: Do these technologies affect the welfare of smallholder cocoa farmers in Ghana? Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-06-09 Bright O. Asante, Kwabena N. Addai, Stephen Prah, Omphile Temoso, John N. Ng'ombe
Adoption of cocoa production technologies has the potential to improve productivity and welfare of smallholder producers in low-income countries. While studies investigating synergies in agricultural technologies are growing, empirical evidence on the determinants and impacts of adopting multiple cocoa production technologies on smallholder farmers' welfare is scarce. Therefore, this study contributes
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Some questions of ethics in randomized controlled trials Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-05-26 Reetika Khera
Questions of ethics in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in development economics need greater attention and a wider perspective. RCTs are meant to be governed by the three principles laid out in the Belmont Report, but often violated them, for example, when local laws are flouted. In other cases, the framework of the Belmont Report itself has proved inadequate: for instance, when there are unintended
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International or national implementers—Who is better? Evidence from a framing experiment Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-05-30 Lennart C. Kaplan, Jana Kuhnt, Katharina Richert
Behavioral economics has shown that changing small features in framing a context or action may drastically change behavior. A key factor characterizing most development interventions is the salience of either a local or an international implementer. Using the setup of an intervention conducted in Indonesia, we show that the study population in the Acehnese context exhibits higher levels of support
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Challenges in water and sanitation services: Do natural disasters make matters worse? Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-05-26 Jayash Paudel
This article exploits a plausibly exogenous variation in peak ground acceleration to evaluate the impact of the 2015 earthquake on water and sanitation services among affected households in Nepal. Estimates from a difference-in-differences research design show that the severity of the earthquake is associated with a 9.4 percentage point decline in the likelihood of washing hands, a 6.63 percentage
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Temporary migrants and gender housework division among left-behind household members Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-05-20 Tien Manh Vu
We examine whether Vietnamese migrant workers induce a shift in gender roles in housework division among the household members left behind. Using two waves of the Vietnamese Household Living Standard Survey (2006–2008), we apply the first-difference method and estimate a simple household fixed effects model with instrumental variables for robustness checking. We find that temporary female migrants
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Population density, urbanisation and agricultural mechanisation in modern Ghana Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-05-17 Frances Warren
Farmers' technological choices take place within farming systems that are shaped by population pressure, connectivity to urban markets and agro-ecological conditions. The relationship between these drivers and agricultural technology use is ambiguous. On the one hand, population growth can increase the supply of labour, driving down wage rates and reducing the incentives for mechanisation. On the other
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Open-access renewable resources and pollution: Trade and policy implications in a two-country model Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-05-15 Gökhan Güven, Selim İnançlı
We examine the interaction between the relative inter-industry pollution externality and resource stock externality of harvesting in deciding trade patterns and welfare gains from trade in a two-country model (less-developed countries) with renewable resources in the absence of resource management. This paper focuses on the impacts of trade policies on resource conservation and welfare outcomes in
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The perils of embedded experiments Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-05-04 Jean Drèze
There is growing interest in experiments conducted by researchers and policymakers as a team. The attraction of these ‘embedded experiments’ is that they seem to facilitate speedy translation of research into policy. This approach, however, can trivialise public policy and compromise the independence of the researchers. It is also a fountain of ethical dilemmas including consent issues, conflicts of
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Trade liberalization, wilful credit defaults and bank bribery in a credit-constrained economy Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-04-26 Sushobhan Mahata, Rohan Kanti Khan, Ranjanendra Narayan Nag, Sharmi Sen
The rising incidence of credit defaults may cause credit crunch. This affects the ability of firms to finance working capital and also fixed capital formation. Naturally, this is a major macroeconomic shock. This paper is an attempt to address the microeconomic foundation of such macroeconomic shock. We provide a theoretical framework to explain the economic rationale behind ‘wilful corporate defaults’
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The New Development Bank and the structure of the multilateral development financial system Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-04-19 Fang Ye
This paper investigates the influence of the New Development Bank (NDB) on the structure of the multilateral development financial system, using social network analysis. The findings show that some emerging economies have been significantly affected by establishment of the NDB, whereas developed countries still dominate. Although the influence of BRICS countries has increased, they still play a relatively
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Asymmetric impacts of ICT and energy intensity on agricultural productivity: Evidence from Asia-Pacific region Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-04-14 Arindam Paul, Dukhabandhu Sahoo, Amrita Jena
In the contemporary times of rising food insecurity and malnutrition, the agricultural sector needs more attention. This study aims to investigate the asymmetric impacts of information and communication technologies (ICTs), energy intensity, urbanization, and inequality on agricultural productivity for 20 Asia-Pacific countries from 1990 to 2020. To investigate asymmetric impacts, the study employs
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On the inclusiveness of rural road improvement: Evidence from Morocco Review of Development Economics (IF 1.43) Pub Date : 2023-03-28 Yasuharu Shimamura, Satoshi Shimizutani, Eiji Yamada, Hiroyuki Yamada
This paper explores the heterogeneous impact of a rural road improvement project on the economic activities and living standards of households in Morocco. Road pavement improvements are expected to promote better market access, encourage the transformation of traditional agricultural activities, and create opportunities for new economic activities. However, benefits may not extend evenly across different