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- Nerini, Francesco Fuso, et al.
(author)
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Sustainable Development in the Wake of Covid-19
- 2024
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The ´decade of action´ to achieve the ambitious 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 is off to a very challenging start. With progress on the achievement of most SDGs already lagging behind even before the Covid-19 crisis – our analysis finds that the pandemic negatively affects the achievement of 144 targets (almost 90%) of the SDGs. However, 66 targets (ca. 40%) could potentially benefit from the changes spurred by the crisis, given that the appropriate decisions are made. Holistic response and leadership are needed to ensure an inclusive economic recovery while protecting the environment. Furthermore, our analysis of the literature documents the unprecedented speed of the international community to assess the impacts of the pandemic. Future research should gather data to better understand the impacts of the pandemic locally and globally, and produce long-term analyses to inform the sustainable recovery across all SDGs.
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| 2. |
- Bali Swain, Ranjula, 1968-, et al.
(author)
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COVID-19 pandemic waves : Identification and interpretation of global data
- 2024
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In: Heliyon. - : Elsevier. - 2405-8440. ; 10:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The mention of the COVID-19 waves is as prevalent as the pandemic itself. Identifying the beginning and end of the wave is critical to evaluating the impact of various COVID-19 variants and the different pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical (including economic, health and social, etc.) interventions. We demonstrate a scientifically robust method to identify COVID-19 waves and the breaking points at which they begin and end from January 2020 to June 2021. Employing the Break Least Square method, we determine the significance of COVID-19 waves for global-, regional-, and country-level data. The results show that the method works efficiently in detecting different breaking points. Identifying these breaking points is critical for evaluating the impact of the economic, health, social and other welfare interventions implemented during the pandemic crisis. Employing our method with high frequency data effectively determines the start and end points of the COVID-19 wave(s). Identifying waves at the country level is more relevant than at the global or regional levels. Our research results evidenced that the COVID-19 wave takes about 48 days on average to subside once it begins, irrespective of the circumstances.
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| 3. |
- Bali Swain, Ranjula, 1968-, et al.
(author)
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Does Foreign Aid Improve Gender Performance In Recipient Countries?
- 2020
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In: Journal of International Development. - : Wiley. - 0954-1748 .- 1099-1328. ; 32:7, s. 1171-1193
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An explicit goal of foreign aid is to promote female empowerment and gender equality in developing countries. We investigate if foreign aid achieves this intended goal by examining its impact on the gender performance of recipient countries at the country level. Employing structural equation models, our results suggest that aid alone, even when targeted to directly improve gender outcomes, is unlikely to shift systemic inequalities. Aid will need to bolster civil society efforts that challenge institutional structures and norms in order to impact gender outcomes at the country level.
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| 5. |
- Bali Swain, Ranjula, 1968-, et al.
(author)
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Financial inclusion and nutrition among rural households in Rwanda
- 2024
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In: European Review of Agricultural Economics. - : Oxford University Press. - 0165-1587 .- 1464-3618.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Using Rwandan Integrated Household Living Conditions surveys (2013/2014 and 2016/17), we investigate whether financial inclusion leads to improved nutrition in rural Rwanda. Our empirical evidence shows a robust positive impact of financial inclusion by formal financial institutions, although informal institutions like tontines were ineffective in improving food expenditure or nutrition. Furthermore, the heterogeneous marginal effects of financial inclusion reduce the gender gap between the food expenditure and nutrition of female- and male-headed households. The results, hence, suggest that the country should promote formal financial inclusion to provide wide-ranging welfare effects by improving food security, nutrition and food expenditure in its rural communities.
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| 6. |
- Bali Swain, Ranjula, 1968-, et al.
(author)
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Group-based financial services in the global south : Examining evidence on social efficacy
- 2021
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In: The Routledge Handbook of Feminist Economics. - London : Routledge. - 9780429020612 - 9780367074142 ; , s. 433-440
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Women’s community-based savings clubs were observed as early as the late 19th century across the Global South. Microfinance promised to provide financial services to the poor (predominantly women in the Global South) that lack access to formal banking. This chapter provides a synthesis of the existing evidence on the impact credit services have had. It covers two specific issues: the impact of credit on poverty and its impact on women’s empowerment. The chapter uses an analytical framework drawn from a coalescence of basic methodological principles within feminist economics scholarship described by Power as the “social provisioning approach.” Specifically, it also uses well-being as a central measure of economic success and the notion that human agency is important. From the perspective of a “social provisioning” framework, impact on income alone would give us at best a partial picture on the social efficacy of credit.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Bali Swain, Ranjula, 1968-, et al.
(author)
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Introduction
- 2022
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In: The Informal Sector and the Environment. - Abingdon : Routledge. - 9781003223856 - 9781032122663 - 9781032122687 ; , s. 1-15
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The informal sector is core to the growth and livelihoods of many economies and is seen as both a highly dynamic sector and a fragile one. It provides significant amounts of employment across the world but the quality of this employment is often problematic, with employment in this sector characterised by ‘small or undefined work places, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, low levels of skills and productivity, low or irregular incomes, long working hours and lack of access to information, markets, finance, training and technology’. As with all areas of regulatory control, there are two types of environmental regulation policies: command and control policies and economic incentives. Many studies suggest that informal economic activity should be formalised. Since pollution is an externality from production, government attempts to reduce it often take the form of taxes on pollutants and subsidies on the disposal of waste. This chapter presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.
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| 10. |
- Bali Swain, Ranjula, 1968-, et al.
(author)
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Microfinance and Poverty Reduction in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam
- 2008
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In: African and Asian Studies. - 1569-2094 .- 1569-2108. ; 7:2-3, s. 191-215
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- One common solution to resolve poverty is providing microfinance to the poor. Microfinance has been claimed to positively impact the livelihoods of the poor through accumulation of social, human, financial, natural, and physical assets. This paper empirically examines if microfinance contributes to the reduction of poverty in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. Analysing household survey data collected in 2006, from Hoa An commune in the Mekong Delta area, it investigates if microfinance leads to accumulation of assets. It further investigates how poor women are enabled to adopt livelihood strategies that lead to poverty reduction. Information is collected by implementing a household survey. This is further supplemented with qualitative information from Participatory Rural Appraisal, interviews with key informants and focus group discussions with members and non-members of the microfinance programs in the area. The main findings suggest that the process of accumulation of assets, leads to creation of livelihoods that result in increased household income and poverty reduction.
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