scholarly journals Symposium on Consumption Smoothing in Developing Countries

1995 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 81-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Case

This symposium explores how households in low-income countries, even without access to formal credit and insurance markets, find ways to smooth consumption in the face of large shocks to their income. This general area of risk sharing and consumption smoothing has received a great deal of attention from development economists in the last five years. The papers highlight the extent to which theoretical work in mechanism design, contract theory, and information economics has informed recent work in development economics. These papers also underscore the ways large, detailed household level data sets have recently been applied in developing country research.

1995 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Besley

The design credit and risk institutions in low-income countries provides one of the most exciting testing grounds for theories of contracting with imperfect information and limited enforcement. This paper reviews some of the recent literature, with a special focus on nonmarket institutions that cope with risk and provide credit. This literature attempts to bring together insights from economic theory, especially information economics, contract theory, and mechanism design theory. However, it is also applied, being motivated by the circumstance of the poor countries that their authors have visited and studied.


Soundings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (78) ◽  
pp. 38-49
Author(s):  
Md Fahad Hossain ◽  
Saleemul Huq ◽  
Mizan R. Khan

The impacts of human-induced climate change are manifested through losses and damages incurred due to the increasing frequency and intensity of climatic disasters all over the world. Low-income countries who have contributed the least in causing climate change, and have low financial capability, are the worst victims of this. However, since the inception of the international climate regime under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), loss and damage has been a politically charged issue. It took about two decades of pushing by the vulnerable developing countries for the agenda to formally anchor in the climate negotiations text. This was further solidified through establishment of the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) and inclusion of stand-alone Article 8 on loss and damage in the Paris Agreement. Its institutionalisation has only done the groundwork of addressing loss and damage however - the key issue of finance for loss and damage and other matters has remained largely unresolved to date – particularly since Article 8 does not have any provision for finance. This has been due to the climate change-causing wealthy developed nations' utter disregard for their formal obligations in the climate regime as well as their moral obligation. In this article, we tease out the central controversies that underpin the intractability of this agenda at the negotiations of the UNFCCC. We begin by giving a walk-through of the concept and history of loss and damage in the climate regime. Then we present a brief account of losses and damages occurring in the face of rising temperature, and highlight the key issues of contention, focusing on the more recent developments. Finally, we conclude by suggesting some way forward for the twenty-sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP26) taking place in Glasgow, UK in November 2021.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathis Wackernagel ◽  
David Lin ◽  
Mikel Evans ◽  
Laurel Hanscom ◽  
Peter Raven

Mainstream competitiveness and international development analyses pay little attention to the significance of a country’s resource security for its economic performance. This paper challenges this neglect, examining the economic implications of countries resource dynamics, particularly for low-income countries. It explores typologies of resource patterns in the context of those countries’ economic prospects. To begin, the paper explains why it uses Ecological Footprint and biocapacity accounting for its analysis. Data used for the analysis stem from Global Footprint Network’s 2018 edition of its National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts. Ranging from 1961 to 2014, these accounts are computed from UN data sets. The accounts track, year by year, how much biologically productive space is occupied by people’s consumption and compare this with how much productive space is available. Both demand and availability are expressed in productivity-adjusted hectares, called global hectares. Using this biophysical accounting perspective, the paper predicts countries’ future socio-economic performance. This analysis is then contrasted with a financial assessment of those countries. The juxtaposition reveals a paradox: Financial assessments seem to contradict assessments based on biophysical trends. The paper offers a way to reconcile this paradox, which also elevates the significance of biophysical country assessments for shaping successful economic policies.


Policy Papers ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (76) ◽  
Author(s):  

As part of its work to help low-income countries (LICs) manage volatility, the IMF has recently developed an analytical framework to assess vulnerabilities and emerging risks that arise from changes in the external environment (see IMF, 2011a). This report draws on the results of the first Vulnerability Exercise for LICs (VE-LIC) conducted by IMF staff using this new framework. The report focuses on the risks of a downturn in global growth and of further global commodity price shocks, and discusses related policy challenges. The report is organized as follows: Chapter I reviews recent macroeconomic developments, including the spike in global commodity prices earlier this year. Chapter II assesses current risks and vulnerabilities, including how a sharp downturn in global growth and further commodity price shocks would affect LICs. Chapter III discusses policy challenges in the face of these risks and vulnerabilities.


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (94) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaromir Benes ◽  
Andrew Berg ◽  
Rafael Portillo ◽  
Mai Dao ◽  
Alfredo Baldini ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 184-191
Author(s):  
Elias Ali Yesuf ◽  
Eva Grill ◽  
Günter Fröschl ◽  
Damen Haile-Mariam ◽  
Daniela Koller

Abstract Background Valid performance indicators help to track and improve health services. The aim of this study was to test the face and content validity of a set of performance indicators for service delivery in district health systems of low-income countries. Methods A Delphi method with three stages was used. A panel of experts voted (yes vs no) on the face value of performance indicators. Agreement on the inclusion of indicators was a score of >75% and ≥50% during stages one and two, respectively. During stage three, indicators with a mean score of ≥3.8 on a five-point scale were included. The panel also rated the content validity of the overall set of indicators. Results The panel agreed on the face value of 59 out of 238 performance indicators. Agreement on the content validity of the set of indicators reached 100%. Most of the retained indicators were related to the capacity of health facilities, the quality of maternal and child health services and HIV care and treatment. Conclusions Policymakers in low-income countries could use a set of performance indicators with modest face and high content validity, and mainly aspects of capacity and quality to improve health service delivery in districts.


2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 757-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
DEBRA K. ISRAEL

This paper uses household-level survey data from a 1989 Harris poll conducted in 12 developing and three developed countries to examine the empirical relationship between the support for paying higher taxes for environmental protection and per capita national income. Results from ordered probit estimation suggest that as per capita real gross domestic product rises, controlling for other household characteristics, the strength of the support for somewhat higher taxes for environmental protection is falling for low-income countries and rising for high-income countries. The evidence also suggests that environmental protection may be important to people in developing countries during the process of economic growth. The high level of support for environmental protection found among the lower-income African countries included in this study is one result that warrants additional research. Higher economic growth rates are also found to be associated with greater support for environmental protection.


2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Nawaz Hakro ◽  
Muhammed Akram

This paper has analyzed the incidence of government expenditures on health and education by using the benefit incidence approach. Recent household level data from the Pakistan Standards of Living Measures (PSLM) has been used to calculate the incidence for Pakistan overall, and at provincial and regional levels, of different education and health services. GINI and concentration coefficients have been used to measure the benefit inequalities of public expenditure. The results demonstrate that education expenditures are progressive in overall Pakistan. The progressiveness hypothesis regarding health expenditure is accepted partially, as the expenditure is progressive for Pakistan overall, but regressive at regional and provincial level of services. Efforts should be directed towards the horizontal and vertical equity in the allocation of resources both at the provincial and regional levels, and greater targeting of rural and low-income groups can make the expenditure programs more effective and result oriented.


Author(s):  
Mihai Antonia ◽  
Horia Tigau

Abstract Our study contributes to bridging the empirical gap between regional disparities and entrepreneurship, using a spatial panel framework. Regional disparities in Romania increased after the communist period and even more after the EU accession. Using NUTS3 level data provided by The Romanian National Institute of Statistics, for the period 2008-2018, we investigate the impact of entrepreneurship on regional disparities. We have found new details regarding the link between entrepreneurial activity and inequality. Entrepreneurship matters but, most importantly, it matters differently in developed, emerging and low-income countries. The results suggest that entrepreneurship does not have a significant impact on regional disparities in Romania.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document