The World Health Organization has labeled the problem of arsenic contamination of groundwater in South Asia as “the largest mass poisoning in human history.” Various technical solutions to the problem fall into one of two broad categories: (i) cleaning contaminated water before human consumption and (ii) encouraging people to switch to less contaminated water sources. In this paper, we review research on the behavioral, social, political, and economic factors that determine the field-level effectiveness of the suite of technical solutions and the complexities that arise when scaling such solutions to reach large numbers of people. We highlight the conceptual links between arsenic-mitigation policy interventions and other development projects in Bangladesh and elsewhere, as analyzed by development economists, that can shed light on the key social and behavioral mechanisms at play. We conclude by identifying the most promising policy interventions to counter the arsenic crisis in Bangladesh. We support a national well-testing program combined with interventions that address the key market failures (affordability, coordination failures, and elite and political capture of public funds) that currently prevent more deep-well construction in Bangladesh.
{"title":"Evaluating Strategies to Reduce Arsenic Poisoning in South Asia: A View from the Social Sciences","authors":"Matthew Krupoff, A. Mobarak, A. Geen","doi":"10.1162/adev_a_00148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/adev_a_00148","url":null,"abstract":"The World Health Organization has labeled the problem of arsenic contamination of groundwater in South Asia as “the largest mass poisoning in human history.” Various technical solutions to the problem fall into one of two broad categories: (i) cleaning contaminated water before human consumption and (ii) encouraging people to switch to less contaminated water sources. In this paper, we review research on the behavioral, social, political, and economic factors that determine the field-level effectiveness of the suite of technical solutions and the complexities that arise when scaling such solutions to reach large numbers of people. We highlight the conceptual links between arsenic-mitigation policy interventions and other development projects in Bangladesh and elsewhere, as analyzed by development economists, that can shed light on the key social and behavioral mechanisms at play. We conclude by identifying the most promising policy interventions to counter the arsenic crisis in Bangladesh. We support a national well-testing program combined with interventions that address the key market failures (affordability, coordination failures, and elite and political capture of public funds) that currently prevent more deep-well construction in Bangladesh.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":"37 1","pages":"21-44"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43077907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
It is well established that misallocation of factor resources lowers productivity. In this paper, I use data from both formal and informal firms to study distortions in input and output markets as sources of misallocation in the Indian manufacturing sector. My work extends the seminal work of Hsieh and Klenow (2009). I consider output, capital, raw material, energy, and service sector distortions in a monopolistically competitive framework to measure the aggregate dispersion in total factor revenue productivity (TFPR). I also decompose the variance in TFPR and show that raw material and output distortions play a major role in defining aggregate misallocation.
{"title":"Analyzing the Sources of Misallocation in Indian Manufacturing: A Gross-Output Approach","authors":"S. Kabiraj","doi":"10.1162/adev_a_00152","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/adev_a_00152","url":null,"abstract":"It is well established that misallocation of factor resources lowers productivity. In this paper, I use data from both formal and informal firms to study distortions in input and output markets as sources of misallocation in the Indian manufacturing sector. My work extends the seminal work of Hsieh and Klenow (2009). I consider output, capital, raw material, energy, and service sector distortions in a monopolistically competitive framework to measure the aggregate dispersion in total factor revenue productivity (TFPR). I also decompose the variance in TFPR and show that raw material and output distortions play a major role in defining aggregate misallocation.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":"37 1","pages":"134-166"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1162/adev_a_00152","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47721869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper uses historical fluctuations of weather variables within counties in the People's Republic of China to identify their effects on economic growth from 1996 to 2012. We find three primary results. First, higher temperatures significantly reduce the growth rate of county-level gross domestic product per capita: an increase in the annual average temperature of 1°C lowers the growth rate by 1.05%–1.25%. The effect of higher temperatures is nonlinear. Second, fluctuations in temperature and precipitation not only have a level effect, they also have a substantial cumulative effect. Third, weather fluctuations have wide-ranging effects. Beyond their substantial effects on the growth rate of agricultural output, they also affect nonagriculture sectors, labor productivity, and investment. Our findings provide new evidence for the impact of weather changes on economic development and have major implications for adaptation policies.
{"title":"Could Weather Fluctuations Affect Local Economic Growth? Evidence from Counties in the People's Republic of China","authors":"Chengzheng Li, Jiajia Cong, Haiying Gu","doi":"10.1162/adev_a_00154","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/adev_a_00154","url":null,"abstract":"This paper uses historical fluctuations of weather variables within counties in the People's Republic of China to identify their effects on economic growth from 1996 to 2012. We find three primary results. First, higher temperatures significantly reduce the growth rate of county-level gross domestic product per capita: an increase in the annual average temperature of 1°C lowers the growth rate by 1.05%–1.25%. The effect of higher temperatures is nonlinear. Second, fluctuations in temperature and precipitation not only have a level effect, they also have a substantial cumulative effect. Third, weather fluctuations have wide-ranging effects. Beyond their substantial effects on the growth rate of agricultural output, they also affect nonagriculture sectors, labor productivity, and investment. Our findings provide new evidence for the impact of weather changes on economic development and have major implications for adaptation policies.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":"37 1","pages":"201-224"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45564485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We conducted a randomized experiment targeting 322 Japanese high school students to examine the impacts of a newly developed English-language learning program. The treated students were offered an opportunity to communicate for 25 minutes with English-speaking Filipino teachers via Skype several times a week over a 5-month period as an extracurricular activity. The results show that the Skype program increased the interest of the treated students in an international vocation and in foreign affairs. However, the students did not improve their English communication abilities, as measured by standardized tests, probably because of the program's low utilization rate. Further investigation showed that the utilization rate was particularly low among students demonstrating a tendency to procrastinate. These results suggest the importance of maintaining students’ motivation to keep using such information and communication technology-assisted learning programs if they are not already incorporated into the existing curriculum. Having procrastinators self-regulate may be especially crucial.
{"title":"Impacts of an Information and Communication Technology-Assisted Program on Attitudes and English Communication Abilities: An Experiment in a Japanese High School","authors":"Yuki Higuchi, M. Sasaki, Makiko Nakamuro","doi":"10.1162/adev_a_00151","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/adev_a_00151","url":null,"abstract":"We conducted a randomized experiment targeting 322 Japanese high school students to examine the impacts of a newly developed English-language learning program. The treated students were offered an opportunity to communicate for 25 minutes with English-speaking Filipino teachers via Skype several times a week over a 5-month period as an extracurricular activity. The results show that the Skype program increased the interest of the treated students in an international vocation and in foreign affairs. However, the students did not improve their English communication abilities, as measured by standardized tests, probably because of the program's low utilization rate. Further investigation showed that the utilization rate was particularly low among students demonstrating a tendency to procrastinate. These results suggest the importance of maintaining students’ motivation to keep using such information and communication technology-assisted learning programs if they are not already incorporated into the existing curriculum. Having procrastinators self-regulate may be especially crucial.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":"37 1","pages":"100-133"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1162/adev_a_00151","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49397556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Despite their predictable and regular incomes, Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong, China commonly finance large expenses through interest-bearing loans rather than savings. Our analysis of survey data and records of a credit cooperative for migrant workers suggests that this cannot be explained by their inability to save, financial illiteracy, short time horizon, or limited liability. Instead, we speculate that the strict schedules and high interest rates of these loans create a disciplining effect that these individuals find desirable. This may help them avoid unnecessary consumption or demands from their social network. However, interventions should also consider that these workers often receive nonmonetary reciprocal benefits from members of their social network.
{"title":"The Borrowing Puzzle: Why Do Filipino Domestic Workers in Hong Kong, China Borrow Rather than Dissave?","authors":"Wooyoung Lim, Sujata Visaria","doi":"10.1162/adev_a_00150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/adev_a_00150","url":null,"abstract":"Despite their predictable and regular incomes, Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong, China commonly finance large expenses through interest-bearing loans rather than savings. Our analysis of survey data and records of a credit cooperative for migrant workers suggests that this cannot be explained by their inability to save, financial illiteracy, short time horizon, or limited liability. Instead, we speculate that the strict schedules and high interest rates of these loans create a disciplining effect that these individuals find desirable. This may help them avoid unnecessary consumption or demands from their social network. However, interventions should also consider that these workers often receive nonmonetary reciprocal benefits from members of their social network.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":"37 1","pages":"77-99"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48796493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper investigates trade volatility in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Plus Three (ASEAN+3) and its links with output volatility, export diversification, and free trade agreements. To achieve this research objective, we apply several econometric estimators to data from all ASEAN+3 member states over the period 1990–2016. We first find evidence of a positive relationship between output volatility and trade volatility. Second, we reveal that the way export diversification is measured can influence its impacts on bilateral export volatility. Moreover, the relationship between income volatility, trade volatility, and export diversification seems to depend on country size and the level of economic development.
{"title":"Trade Volatility in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Plus Three: Impacts and Determinants","authors":"T. Nguyen, T. Pham, T. Vallée","doi":"10.1162/adev_a_00153","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/adev_a_00153","url":null,"abstract":"This paper investigates trade volatility in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Plus Three (ASEAN+3) and its links with output volatility, export diversification, and free trade agreements. To achieve this research objective, we apply several econometric estimators to data from all ASEAN+3 member states over the period 1990–2016. We first find evidence of a positive relationship between output volatility and trade volatility. Second, we reveal that the way export diversification is measured can influence its impacts on bilateral export volatility. Moreover, the relationship between income volatility, trade volatility, and export diversification seems to depend on country size and the level of economic development.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":"37 1","pages":"167-200"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42693846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Households in developing countries predominantly rely on solid fuel for cooking, which is injurious to both the environment and human health. The provision of clean energy for cooking, therefore, is essential for safeguarding the environment and human health, primarily of women and children in developing countries. Using the 2014–2015 Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey and robust econometric methods, this study analyzes different types of energy used for cooking among urban households in Pakistan. The study shows that although urban households in Pakistan mostly use gas for cooking, the use of solid fuels, particularly among poor and relatively less educated households, is pervasive. The econometric findings confirm that households with a higher level of education and wealthy families mainly use clean energy, such as gas, and are less likely to use dirty solid fuels, such as cake dung and crop residue for cooking. Considering the expansion of middle-class households and anticipating their demand for clean fuel for cooking, this study suggests ensuring an adequate supply of clean sources of energy to meet future demand as well as augmenting the affordability and awareness among households who are still dependent on solid fuels.
{"title":"Understanding Households’ Choice of Cooking Fuels: Evidence from Urban Households in Pakistan","authors":"D. Rahut, Akhter Ali, K. Mottaleb, J. Aryal","doi":"10.1162/adev_a_00146","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/adev_a_00146","url":null,"abstract":"Households in developing countries predominantly rely on solid fuel for cooking, which is injurious to both the environment and human health. The provision of clean energy for cooking, therefore, is essential for safeguarding the environment and human health, primarily of women and children in developing countries. Using the 2014–2015 Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey and robust econometric methods, this study analyzes different types of energy used for cooking among urban households in Pakistan. The study shows that although urban households in Pakistan mostly use gas for cooking, the use of solid fuels, particularly among poor and relatively less educated households, is pervasive. The econometric findings confirm that households with a higher level of education and wealthy families mainly use clean energy, such as gas, and are less likely to use dirty solid fuels, such as cake dung and crop residue for cooking. Considering the expansion of middle-class households and anticipating their demand for clean fuel for cooking, this study suggests ensuring an adequate supply of clean sources of energy to meet future demand as well as augmenting the affordability and awareness among households who are still dependent on solid fuels.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":"37 1","pages":"185-212"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1162/adev_a_00146","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46717555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper explores financial spillovers between emerging Asia and advanced economies using principal component analysis to extract common shocks in Asia. We first investigate stock market spillovers across the regions and find that spillovers from emerging Asia became significant after the global financial crisis. However, our industry-level analysis shows that the increased spillovers can be attributed to the first principal component (PC) in the manufacturing sector rather than to the first PC in the financial sector. This implies that the rise of the Asian manufacturing sector in the global market played a key role in enhancing the stock market spillovers. We next examine bilateral spillovers in short-term and long-term rates. In the tapering period, we find significant spillovers in long-term rates from the first PC in emerging Asia to Europe and the United States. However, these spillovers were much smaller than the stock market spillovers in magnitude.
{"title":"Financial Spillovers in Asian Emerging Economies","authors":"Shin-ichi Fukuda, M. Tanaka","doi":"10.1162/adev_a_00142","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/adev_a_00142","url":null,"abstract":"This paper explores financial spillovers between emerging Asia and advanced economies using principal component analysis to extract common shocks in Asia. We first investigate stock market spillovers across the regions and find that spillovers from emerging Asia became significant after the global financial crisis. However, our industry-level analysis shows that the increased spillovers can be attributed to the first principal component (PC) in the manufacturing sector rather than to the first PC in the financial sector. This implies that the rise of the Asian manufacturing sector in the global market played a key role in enhancing the stock market spillovers. We next examine bilateral spillovers in short-term and long-term rates. In the tapering period, we find significant spillovers in long-term rates from the first PC in emerging Asia to Europe and the United States. However, these spillovers were much smaller than the stock market spillovers in magnitude.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":"37 1","pages":"93-118"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1162/adev_a_00142","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41383727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Using a recently constructed dataset that draws on the China Employer–Employee Survey, this paper provides new evidence on the earnings gap between rural migrant and urban manufacturing workers in the People's Republic of China. When we only control for province fixed effects, we find that rural migrant workers are paid 22.3% less per month and 32.2% less per hour than urban workers. We find that the gap in hourly earnings is larger than the gap in monthly earnings because rural migrant workers tend to work an average of 5.6% more hours per month than urban workers. Using these data, we also find that 87.4% of the monthly earnings gap and 73.9% of the hourly earnings gap can be attributed to differences in the individual characteristics and human capital levels of rural migrant and urban workers. Furthermore, we find that this unexplained earnings gap varies among different groups of workers. The earnings gap is much larger (i) for workers in state-owned enterprises than in nonstate-owned enterprises, (ii) for college-educated workers than workers with lower levels of educational attainment, and (iii) in Guangdong province than in Hubei province.
{"title":"Wage Differential between Rural Migrant and Urban Workers in the People's Republic of China","authors":"Hong Cheng, Dezhuang Hu, Hongbin Li","doi":"10.1162/adev_a_00140","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/adev_a_00140","url":null,"abstract":"Using a recently constructed dataset that draws on the China Employer–Employee Survey, this paper provides new evidence on the earnings gap between rural migrant and urban manufacturing workers in the People's Republic of China. When we only control for province fixed effects, we find that rural migrant workers are paid 22.3% less per month and 32.2% less per hour than urban workers. We find that the gap in hourly earnings is larger than the gap in monthly earnings because rural migrant workers tend to work an average of 5.6% more hours per month than urban workers. Using these data, we also find that 87.4% of the monthly earnings gap and 73.9% of the hourly earnings gap can be attributed to differences in the individual characteristics and human capital levels of rural migrant and urban workers. Furthermore, we find that this unexplained earnings gap varies among different groups of workers. The earnings gap is much larger (i) for workers in state-owned enterprises than in nonstate-owned enterprises, (ii) for college-educated workers than workers with lower levels of educational attainment, and (iii) in Guangdong province than in Hubei province.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":"37 1","pages":"43-60"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1162/adev_a_00140","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43301539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
By classifying international green and non-green trade for the period 1980–2015, this study investigates trends in green trade, exports, and imports as shares of total trade, exports, and imports, respectively. The general findings are that these green shares increased during the review period, albeit with the green shares for member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showing different trends than those of nonmember countries. Further, three countries at different stages of economic development—the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the United States—each exhibit different trends in green trade over time. In particular, the green trade, export, and import shares of the People's Republic of China decreased over time, which is in contrast to the increases observed for the Republic of Korea and the United States during the review period. The findings suggest that efforts to persuade developing countries to accept international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions should also consider the transboundary transmission of these emissions and their health effects.
{"title":"Green Trade Patterns and the Transboundary Transmission of Greenhouse Gas Emissions","authors":"S. Kang","doi":"10.1162/adev_a_00143","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/adev_a_00143","url":null,"abstract":"By classifying international green and non-green trade for the period 1980–2015, this study investigates trends in green trade, exports, and imports as shares of total trade, exports, and imports, respectively. The general findings are that these green shares increased during the review period, albeit with the green shares for member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showing different trends than those of nonmember countries. Further, three countries at different stages of economic development—the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the United States—each exhibit different trends in green trade over time. In particular, the green trade, export, and import shares of the People's Republic of China decreased over time, which is in contrast to the increases observed for the Republic of Korea and the United States during the review period. The findings suggest that efforts to persuade developing countries to accept international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions should also consider the transboundary transmission of these emissions and their health effects.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":"37 1","pages":"119-139"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1162/adev_a_00143","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42591214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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