| 1. |
- Allakulov, Umrbek, et al.
(author)
-
Transparency, governance, and water and sanitation : Experimental evidence from schools in rural Bangladesh
- 2023
-
In: Journal of Development Economics. - : Elsevier. - 0304-3878 .- 1872-6089. ; 163
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Can transparency interventions improve WASH service provision? We use a randomized experiment to evaluate the impacts of a transparency intervention, a deliberative multi-stakeholder workshop initiated with a community scorecard exercise, in schools in rural Bangladesh. To measure impacts, we combine survey data, direct observations, and administrative data. The intervention leads to moderate but consistent improvements in knowledge of WASH standards and practices, and institutions for WASH service management, but does not improve school WASH service provision or change WASH facility use patterns. Drawing on rich descriptive data, we suggest several reasons why the intervention we evaluate did not improve WASH service outcomes and propose ways to improve the design of future interventions.
|
|
| 2. |
- Almas, Ingvild, et al.
(author)
-
The macroeconomics of pandemics around the world : Lives versus livelihoods revisited
- 2023
-
In: Journal of Development Economics. - 0304-3878 .- 1872-6089. ; 163
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic led governments around the world to impose unprecedented restrictions on economic activity. Were these restrictions equally justified in poorer countries with fewer demographic risk factors and less ability to weather economic shocks? We develop and estimate a fully specified model of the macroeconomy with epidemiological dynamics, incorporating subsistence constraints in consumption and allowing preferences over lives versus livelihoodsto vary with income. Poorer countries' demography pushes them unambiguously toward laxer policies. But because both infected and susceptible agents near the subsistence constraint will remain economically active in the face of infection risk and even to some extent under government containment policies, optimal policy in poorer countries pushes in the opposite direction. Moreover, for reasonable income -elasticities of the value of a statistical life, the model can fully rationalize equally strict or stricter policies in poorer countries.
|
|
| 3. |
- Andersen, Thomas Barnebeck, et al.
(author)
-
The heavy plow and the agricultural revolution in Medieval Europe
- 2016
-
In: Journal of Development Economics. - : Elsevier. - 0304-3878 .- 1872-6089. ; 118, s. 133-149
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This research sheds new light on the much-debated link between agricultural productivity and development. We do so by estimating the causal impact of a large shock to agricultural productivity—the introduction of the heavy plow in the Middle Ages—on long run development. We build on the work of Lynn White, Jr. (1962), who argued that it was impossible to take proper advantage of the fertile clay soils of Northern Europe prior to the invention and widespread adoption of the heavy plow. We implement the test in a difference-in-difference set-up by exploiting regional variation in the presence of fertile clay soils. Using a high quality dataset for Denmark, we find that historical counties with relatively more fertile clay soil experienced higher urbanization after the heavy plow had its breakthrough, which was around AD 1000. We obtain a similar result, when we extend the test to European regions. Our findings substantiate that agricultural productivity can be an important driver of long-run development.
|
|
| 4. |
- Andersson, Camilla, 1979-, et al.
(author)
-
Impacts of the Productive Safety Net Program in Ethiopia on livestock and tree holdings of rural households
- 2011
-
In: Journal of Development Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0304-3878 .- 1872-6089. ; 94:1, s. 119-126
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We evaluated the impacts of the Ethiopian Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) on rural households' holdings of livestock and forest assets/trees. We found no indication that participation in PSNP induces households to disinvest in livestock or trees. In fact, households that participated in the program increased the number of trees planted, but there was no increase in their livestock holdings. We found no strong evidence that the PSNP protects livestock in times of shock. Shocks appear to lead households to disinvest in livestock, but not in trees. Our results suggest that there is increased forestry activity as a result of PSNP, and that improved credit access encourages households to increase their livestock holdings.
|
|
| 5. |
- Bengtsson, Niklas
(author)
-
Efficient informal trade : Theory and experimental evidence from the Cape Town taxi market
- 2015
-
In: Journal of Development Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0304-3878 .- 1872-6089. ; 115, s. 85-98
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Informal sectors in developing countries are often thought of as responses to rigid and cumbersome market regulations. In this paper I study informal trade as a first-best outcome. In the model I propose rigid regulations can be necessary to achieve efficiency even though they are always sidestepped. The key assumption is that the regulations define the trading parties' fall-back position in case the informal bargaining process breaks down. I set up a field experiment to test the model's mechanisms in the Cape Town market for metered taxis. Consistent with the model, I find that sidestepping the regulations increase cost efficiency (taxis take the shortest route). The price is however unaffected, suggesting informal bargaining leads to a Pareto improvement.
|
|
| 6. |
- Bengtsson, Niklas
(author)
-
How responsive is body weigth to transitory income changes? Evidence from rural Tanzania
- 2010
-
In: Journal of Development Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0304-3878 .- 1872-6089. ; 92:1, s. 53-61
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We use time-series of rainfall to estimate the response of body weight to transitory changes in household income in rural Tanzania. We find that the response of body weight to income changes is positive on average, but that the impact is highest for female children, and lower for adults. For female children, a ten-percent increase in household income implies an increase in body weight by about 0.4 kg. In contrast, the body weight of adolescents and young adults is virtually invariant to income changes.
|
|
| 7. |
- Bertoli, Simone, et al.
(author)
-
Can selective immigration policies reduce migrants' quality?
- 2016
-
In: Journal of Development Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0304-3878 .- 1872-6089. ; 119, s. 100-109
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Destination countries can adopt selective immigration policies to improve migrants' quality. Screening potential migrants on the basis of observable characteristics also influences their self-selection on unobservables. We propose a model that analyzes the effects of selective immigration policies on migrants' quality, measured by their wages at destination. We show that the prevailing pattern of selection on unobservables influences the effect of an increase in selectivity, which can reduce migrants' quality when migrants are positively self-selected on unobservables. We also demonstrate that, in this case, the quality-maximizing share of educated migrants declines with the scale of migration.
|
|
| 8. |
- Björkman Nyqvist, Martina, et al.
(author)
-
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s learning and wellbeing : Evidence from India
- 2023
-
In: Journal of Development Economics. - : Elsevier Ltd. - 1872-6089 .- 0304-3878. ; 164
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated school closure on primary school children’s learning and mental wellbeing in Assam, India. Using a comprehensive dataset that tracked and repeatedly surveyed approximately 5000 children across 200 schools between 2018 and 2022, we find that children lost the equivalent of nine months of learning in mathematics and eleven months in language, during the pandemic. Children lacking resources and parental support experienced the largest losses. Regular practice, teacher interaction, and technology were associated with less learning loss. Over the same period, children’s psychological wellbeing improved. Our research provides valuable insights for designing post-emergency programs. • During the pandemic primary school children in Assam lost 9–11 months of learning.• Children with fewer resources and support at home lost the most.• Teachers’ calls, regular practice, and technology were associated with smaller losses.• Children’s psychological well-being improved during the pandemic.
|
|
| 9. |
- Bonnier, Evelina, et al.
(author)
-
Preparing for genocide : Quasi-experimental evidence from Rwanda
- 2020
-
In: Journal of Development Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0304-3878 .- 1872-6089. ; 147
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper shows how state-controlled community meetings can facilitate large-scale mobilization of civilians into violence. We analyze a Rwandan community program that required citizens to participate in community work and political meetings every Saturday in the years before the 1994 genocide. We exploit cross-sectional variation in meeting intensity induced by exogenous weather fluctuations, and find that a one standard-deviation increase in the number of rainy Saturdays before the genocide decreased civilian violence by 17 percent. We find evidence that the meetings provided an arena for local elites to spread propaganda and bring people together. In research and policy, community meetings are often treated as positive, community building forces. Our results indicate that they can also lead to negative outcomes. This should, however, not suggest that such meetings are inherently destructive. Instead, community meetings should be understood as powerful tools and their effects depend on the political intention of the leaders.
|
|
| 10. |
- Burchardi, Konrad B., et al.
(author)
-
Testing willingness to pay elicitation mechanisms in the field : Evidence from Uganda
- 2021
-
In: Journal of Development Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0304-3878 .- 1872-6089. ; 152
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Researchers frequently use variants of the Becker–DeGroot–Marschak (BDM) mechanism to elicit willingness to pay (WTP). These variants involve numerous incentive-irrelevant design choices, some of which carry advantages for implementation but may deteriorate participant comprehension or trust in the mechanism, which are well-known problems with the BDM. We highlight three such features and test them in the field in rural Uganda, a relevant population for many recent applications. Comprehension is very high, and 86 percent of participants bid optimally for an induced-value voucher, with little variation across treatments. This gives confidence for similar applications, and suggests the comprehension-expediency trade-off is mild.
|
|
