Journal of International Development最新文献

The view of informal employment as a last resort in the labour market has recently been challenged by numerous studies documenting the existence of a high degree of heterogeneity within the formal and informal sectors. In particular, informal self-employment/employment may be voluntary or forced. There is currently not much theoretical support for these observations. We develop a theoretical model of the labour market with both formal and informal firms and a distribution of managerial skills in the population. Consistent with existing empirical evidence, this setup reconciles the undesirable and productive forms of self-employment that coexist in the economy.

This paper examines the impact of mobile money account ownership on farmers' participation in farmer-based organisations (FBOs), structured market and off-farm work. Relying on recursive bivariate probit model, our results reveal that owning a mobile money account increases the likelihood of farmers' participating in an FBO, structured market and off-farm work by 15.4%, 33.3% and 37.5%, respectively. Furthermore, mobile money account ownership is influenced by socioeconomic and institutional factors as well as the presence of mobile money vendors within a community. Our finding calls for sustained efforts to deepen digital financial inclusion for increased participation in FBOs, structured market and off-farm work.

In this study, we re-examined the pollution haven and halo hypotheses in Brazil for approximately five decades (1970–2019) while controlling for the effects of income, renewable energy and natural resource depletion. For clearer insights, the study employed both the conventional autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and the enhanced kernel regularized least squares (KRLS) techniques. Notably, the KRLS is a flexible machine learning nonlinear analytical technique that explains the interactions of the regressand and the regressors both at the average and across a range of quantiles. After ascertaining cointegration through the bounds tests and the Bayer–Hanck procedures, the following empirical outcomes emerged: The ARDL result suggests the acceptance of the pollution haven hypothesis in Brazil in both the short and long runs. However, the KRLS technique reveals that foreign direct investment (FDI) could enhance environmental quality (pollution halo) within the 25th quantile of the distributions of CO₂ emissions. However, at the 50th and 70th quantiles, the pollution haven hypothesis is rectified. This suggests the adoption of varying policy options to ensure continuous inflows of FDI without compromising environmental quality. Additionally, among the control variables, a U-shaped environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) structure is revealed from the influence of gross domestic product (GDP); renewable energy ensures a clean environment at all times, while resource rent ensures a clean environment only at the 25th and 50th quantiles of the distributions. Policies that could lead to clean environments in Brazil have been provided.

In this paper, the outline of national guideline for gender-sensitive post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA) that was developed based on the experiences of 2019 Iran floods is presented. Accordingly, at first, the baseline information on female-headed households, elderly, disabled women and the employment situation of females that should be collected before the disaster is introduced. Then, the mechanism for evaluation the effects and impacts of disasters on women and girls is presented. Finally, considering the recovery strategies, their needs in recovery and reconstruction are addressed. The results can be used in other countries to develop the gender-sensitive PDNA guidelines.

The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has generated a rich literature. In this paper, we examine the effect of ICT use on alcohol consumption in a sample of 120 developing countries. To do so, we specify and estimate a panel data model first by pooled ordinary least squares (POLS) and second by feasible generalised least squares (F-GLS) over the period 2000–2020. The robustness of the results is tested by using the system generalised method of moments (S-GMM), taking into account regional specificities and cultural variables. The main result reveals that ICT use significantly reduces alcohol consumption. However, the effects of ICTs are mediated by economic, political and institutional governance. We suggest qualitative improvements in technological infrastructure for continued mitigation of alcohol consumption in developing countries.

Theoretically, the impact of human development on energy poverty could occur through a number of channels, for instance, through improved social mobility and employability. In this study, we elaborate on these channels and examine how human development affects energy poverty in Africa, where access to electricity is a challenge for many. We proxy human development with scores on the human development index (HDI), human capital and education levels and analyse panel data on 40 African countries from 2000 to 2018. Employing a battery of estimation methods, the results suggest that an increase in human development generally improves energy poverty.

This paper contributes to the debate on the role of innovation and intellectual property rights (IPRs) in catch-up policies in developing countries (DCs). We survey the literature on four key points. First, we review the neoclassical and evolutionary theoretical foundations of innovation and catch-up. Second, we examine why some countries lag behind, in particular in terms of path dependency and multiplicity of convergence dynamics. From this follows the question of how to foster innovation in DCs. We examine the issues of IPRs protection in a third point and industrial policies in a fourth point. Strengthening IPRs protection is often recommended by international institutions. However, the related literature shows that their impact is strongly non-linear, as the optimal level for DCs is initially low, then increases as the countries develop. This result is robust to a wide range of models and methods. Finally, the literature reveals that industrial policies can be crucial in fostering innovation in DCs, even though their implementation faces serious challenges, in particular the appropriate targeting of industrial policies, and rent-seeking behaviours in a deteriorated institutional environment.

Most studies on the impacts of non-tariff measures (NTMs) on economic outcomes are at the macro-level with limited micro-level studies. This study uses primary data on 604 commercial farm households in Ghana to examine the relationship between NTMs and household welfare outcomes. The results show that NTMs are positively associated with assets, household expenditure and income but negatively associated with food expenditure, household dietary diversity score (HDDS) and poverty probability index (PPI). We find that the results are not likely to be driven by unobserved heterogeneity. Our results suggest that the potential mechanisms through which NTMs influence welfare outcomes are household income and expenditure. The main implication of the study is that a reduction in the number of customs formalities and the cost of testing and certification can facilitate trade and contribute to the economic development of commercial farm households.

The Chinese government's ambitious plans to modernize the countryside have significant impacts for rural populations. Upgrading or relocating villages is one component of this vision with profound implications for rural citizens. We use multiple social science research methods to investigate ongoing rural transformation in two villages designated for Village Redesign in Anhui Province, China. We show that the Village Redesign process is negatively impacting on the migration–development nexus and the resultant limbo deepens the precarity of high-mobility, translocal households who already experience secondary forms of citizenship and limited social protections. This study raises further questions about the ongoing transformation of rural China and questions the modernizing rural agenda of the Chinese state.

This paper investigates how external debts influence sustainable development in emerging economies and low-income countries from 101 countries from 2016 to 2020. External debt significantly aids countries in achieving their sustainable development goals but affects individual goal differently. While external debts promote well-being, education quality, gender equality, employment, economic growth, and institutional strength, they negatively affect the sustainability of cities, communities, and ecosystems. Long-term external and public debts make a significant contribution to promoting sustainable development,  but excessive external borrowing could hamper sustainable development progress.