Urbanization, informal economy, and ecological footprint quality in South Asia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Unbreen Qayyum ◽  
Samina Sabir ◽  
Sohail Anjum
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Ecological Footprint

Microinsurance and Rural Health

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Abdul Hamid
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Financial Risk ◽  
Access To Healthcare ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Financial Protection ◽  
Health Shocks ◽  
Financial Risk Protection ◽  
Risk Protection

Health microinsurance (HMI) has been used around the globe since the early 1990s for financial risk protection against health shocks in poverty-stricken rural populations in low-income countries. However, there is much debate in the literature on its impact on financial risk protection. There is also no clear answer to the critical policy question about whether HMI is a viable route to provide healthcare to the people of the informal economy, especially in the rural areas. Findings show that HMI schemes are concentrated widely in the low-income countries, especially in South Asia (about 43%) and East Africa (about 25.4%). India accounts for 30% of HMI schemes. Bangladesh and Kenya also possess a good number of schemes. There is some evidence that HMI increases access to healthcare or utilization of healthcare. One set of the literature shows that HMI provides financial protection against the costs of illness to its enrollees by reducing out-of-pocket payments and/or catastrophic spending. On the contrary, a large body of literature with strong methodological rigor shows that HMI fails to provide financial protection against health shocks to its clients. Some of the studies in the latter group rather find that HMI contributes to the decline of financial risk protection. These findings seem to be logical as there is a high copayment and a lack of continuum of care in most cases. The findings also show that scale and dependence on subsidy are the major concerns. Low enrollment and low renewal are common concerns of the voluntary HMI schemes in South Asian countries. In addition, the declining trend of donor subsidies makes the HMI schemes supported by external donors more vulnerable. These challenges and constraints restrict the scale and profitability of HMI initiatives, especially those that are voluntary. Consequently, the existing organizations may cease HMI activities. Overall, although HMI can increase access to healthcare, it fails to provide financial risk protection against health shocks. The existing HMI practices in South Asia, especially in the HMIs owned by nongovernmental organizations and microfinance institutions, are not a viable route to provide healthcare to the rural population of the informal economy. However, HMI schemes may play some supportive role in implementation of a nationalized scheme, if there is one. There is also concern about the institutional viability of the HMI organizations (e.g., ownership and management efficiency). Future research may address this issue.

Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in South Asia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihir Bhatt ◽  
Ronak B. Patel ◽  
Kelsey Gleason ◽  
Mehul Pandya
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
The Impact

Both the impact and the frequency of natural disasters and extreme events in South Asia are steadily increasing due to growing exposure and vulnerability. These vulnerabilities are compounded by fast economic growth and an increase in natural disasters across the region. Disaster losses in South Asia are rising and are felt across many domains. From the formal to the informal economy, natural disasters have increasingly strong impacts in terms of lives lost, social impact, and impediments to growth. New challenges in disaster risk reduction are emerging due to an increase in the duration and frequency of natural disaster events attributable to climate change. Though both climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction efforts exist to some degree throughout South Asia, integrating climate change adaptation into disaster risk reduction is critical to successful and inclusive growth of economies in the region. Challenges remain, and national and subnational governments are making some progress in policies aimed at both climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. However, many of these efforts are planned, designed, and implemented separately, with limited understanding of how disaster and climate risk are linked. Moreover, progress is hindered by poor understanding of how integration of these concepts can result in better governance of risk in South Asia. Additionally, political will, capacity constraints, and institutional barriers must be overcome. Efforts by the international community are making progress in unifying these concepts, yet gaps and challenges still exist. The benefits of converging climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction in Asia are significant, from minimizing climate-related losses to more efficient use of limited resources and more effective and sustainable development.

scholarly journals The Impact of Tax and Expenditures Policies on Income Distribution: Evidence from Pakistan

ETIKONOMI ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-384
Author(s):  
Suhrab Khan ◽  
Ihtisham Ul haq Padda
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
Social Expenditure ◽  
Policy Tool ◽  
Social Expenditures ◽  
The Impact

Tax and social expenditure policies have a crucial role in income distribution. This study explores the potential role of taxation and social expenditure policies in income redistribution in South Asia. For this purpose, empirical analysis is conducted by Fixed Effect (FE) and Instrumental Variable (IV) FE models. The analysis suggests that both taxation and social expenditures policies effectively reduce income inequality in South Asia. These findings indicate that social spending and taxation can be used as a policy tool to redistribute income in developing countries. The results also indicate that higher social spending, increased direct taxes, and more reliance on foreign debts can ameliorate the income distribution. Based on the results, it can be suggested that for this region, with the low level of taxes, direct taxes, a large informal economy, and other weak features of tax administration, more reliance on direct taxes and social expenditure policies should be the primary tool for income redistribution.JEL Classification: H2, H5, I3How to Cite:Khan, S., & Padda, I. U. H. (2021). The Impact of Tax and Social Expenditure Policies on Income Distribution: Evidence from South Asia. Etikonomi, 20(2), xx – xx. https://doi.org/10.15408/etk.v20i2.18121.

scholarly journals The Shadow Economy-Environmental Quality Nexus In OECD Countries: Empirical Evidence From Panel Quantile Regression

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Khanh Chu ◽  
Dung Phuong Hoang
Keyword(s):  
Quantile Regression ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Ecological Footprint ◽  
Shadow Economy ◽  
Trade Openness ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Causality Test ◽  
Panel Quantile Regression ◽  
Determining Factors ◽  
The One

Abstract This study explores the determinants of ecological footprint by integrating the influence of the shadow economy. The findings based on the panel quantile regression indicate that the environmental effects of the shadow economy, trade openness, energy intensity, renewable energy, and income are not homogeneous across various levels of ecological footprint. The shadow economy-ecological footprint nexus follows an inverted U-shaped pattern. Initially, the higher size of the informal economy leads to more ecosystem degradation. When the shadow economy increases to certain thresholds, its environmental impact reverts to benefit. Such threshold changes with the evolution of ecological footprint. Specifically, it first rises then decreases along with the degradation of the ecosystem. Moreover, the heterogeneous panel causality test reports the one-way directional running from the shadow economy to the ecological footprint in OECD countries. The significant and heterogeneous relationships between ecological footprint and its determining factors are also established.

scholarly journals Assessing the causes for a relatively lower caseload of Covid-19 in South Asia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anum Niazi ◽  
Shandana Kifayat ◽  
Nasir Javed ◽  
Muhammad Salar Khan
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
National Governments

In the wake of the ongoing spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of affected persons has already surpassed 6 million globally. Advanced healthcare systems in North America and Western Europe have registered the highest number of cases. On the contrary, some of the weakest healthcare systems of the world, including those in South Asia, have observed significantly fewer cases of Covid-19. This article assesses the potential causes of a relatively lower caseload and lethality caused by Covid-19 in South Asia. Some of the key factors which might be creating favorable conditions for the relatively lower and less lethal spread of the virus in South Asia include an inconducive climate, reduced percentage of the elderly population, possible immunity due to existing disease trends, unfavorable blood group distribution, early lockdown restrictions, and lesser inbound and outbound movements as compared to Europe and North America. These observations are subject to discussion because most of the research is still preliminary, and the landscape of the disease is still shifting significantly on a daily basis. Lower incidence of Covid-19 in South Asia might well relate back to inadequate testing facilities and weak reporting protocols. The stigma associated with the illness and misinformation regarding treatment and healthcare administration might further lead to underreporting of the Covid-19 caseload. Various factors such as poverty, high population density, a large informal economy, and poor sanitation make South Asia particularly vulnerable. All these factors, combined with the recent easing of lockdown restrictions in the region, could lead to spikes in rates of Covid-19 infections. Therefore, we suggest the local governments collaborate and share technical and healthcare expertise to devise and implement comprehensive strategies to stop the spread of the disease. South Asia should swiftly mobilize local resources, quickly ramp up capabilities, and thoroughly implement the proposed guidelines. The public should practice prevention and precaution. The national governments (with the help of community elders and scholars) should address stigma related to Covid-19. Finally, the international community must increase its technical assistance to mitigate the threats of the pandemic in populous South Asia.

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