The determinants of under-5 age children malnutrition and the differences in the distribution of stunting–A study from Armenia

Stunting undermines economic growth by perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty and labour market performance. Studies have captured the trend in stunting and present distributional evidence of policy effects in the country contexts. We identify the determinants of U5 (under 5 years of age) malnutrition for the poor and the Nonpoor and compare the distribution of stunting at four time points (2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015) over a 15-year period between different groups of population. Further, we decompose the gap in malnutrition into causes of differences in stunting between worse-off and better-off socioeconomic groups of the population and estimate the magnitude of distributional differences in stunting between two socioeconomic groups. We also present the inequality trend over time that provides insights into the dynamicity of the effect of different determinants on stunting at different time points. Using 35,490 observations from Armenian Demographic and Health Survey Data [four waves: Year2015,9533; Year2010,8644; Year2005,8919; Year2000,8334], we apply regression-based decomposition method and inequality measures to identify the determinants of malnutrition and distribution of stunting between and within socioeconomic groups. Although the proportional difference in prevalence of stunting between worse-off and better-off children of 13 months and above are reduced by 9.5% in 2015 compared to 2000, the association between socioeconomic position and stunting is statistically significant among children aged 13 months and above in 2000, as well as among children of 36 months and above in 2015. This study demonstrates that the less of socioeconomic distribution of the population, but rather more of the effect from in-country region and settlement of residence are significantly associated with stunting. The approach of our analysis is potentially also a useful tool to generate evidence for decision making towards achieving SDGs 2.2. We conclude that development in childhood is not independent from the distributional effect of region specific development initiatives. Understanding the regional characteristics and resources allocated for the maternal and child health is the necessity to address stunting.

Global Disparities of Greenhouse Gases Emission in Agriculture Sector: Panel Club Convergence Analysis

A lot has been discussed about the greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions in the existing studies, the study on the club convergence of GHGs emissions is limited particularly for the agriculture sector. This study tries to investigate the convergence hypothesis across 93 countries spanning 1980–2017. To examine the convergence hypothesis, we implement the novel Phillips and Sul test. Results obtained from this test show the evidence of divergence when we consider all 93 countries as a group. This implies that GHGs across the countries are following different convergence paths. To capture this, we further apply clustering algorithms and results show the existence of five clubs of convergence and one group stating the need for altered the polices at the club level to achieve a single steady-state in GHGs emission. Moreover, our findings recommend that the mitigation policies would be considered the presence of different clubs of regions with different convergence paths in terms of GHGs emissions and account for the distributional effect of transfers across countries.

The impact of air pollution on birthweight: evidence from grouped quantile regression

Estimates of the average effect of pollution on birthweight might not provide a complete picture if more vulnerable infants are disproportionately more affected. To address this, I focus on the distributional effect of particulate matter pollution (PM$$_{2.5}$$ 2.5 ) on birthweight. To estimate the impact, this paper uses grouped quantile regression, a methodology developed by Chetverikov et al. (Econometrica 84(2): 809–833, 2016), which allows estimating the impact of a group-level treatment on an individual-level outcome when there are group-level unobservables. The analysis reveals nonhomogeneous effects indicating that pollution disproportionately affects infants in the lower tail of the conditional distribution, whereas average effects suggest only minimal and not economically significant impact of pollution on birthweight. The findings are also consistent across different specifications.

THE ROLE OF INHERITANCE AND TAXATION ON WEALTH AND INCOME DISTRIBUTION IN BRAZIL AND THE STATE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the role of inheritance and donation on the distribution of wealth and income in Brazil and the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Although several scholars coming from branches of Social Sciences have already scrutinized the influence that slavery and colonial exploitation had - and still have - in the Brazil’s development, no work in the economic literature has thus far attempted to estimate Brazil’s current inheritance stock in monetary terms. With this in mind, this paper has three specific goals: i) to estimate, in accordance with an original framework, the inheritance stock of Brazil (and Rio Grande do Sul) and their flow with respect to national income and household disposable income; ii) to measure potential revenue through the application of a more progressive taxation of inheritance and donations based on inheritance stock estimates and iii) to simulate the distributional effect of reallocating these new fiscal resources. It is important to note, however, that the simulations presented in this paper are static exercises, and do not intend to capture general equilibrium or behavioral effects.

Greenhouse gas emissions convergence in Spain: evidence from the club clustering approach

This study examines the convergence of greenhouse gas emissions per capita across the 19 Spanish regions using the Phillips-Sul club convergence approach over the period spanning from 1990 to 2017. The results indicate the presence of four clubs which converge to different equilibria in emissions per capita and three clubs in terms of income per capita, which involves different regions. These findings suggest that mitigation policies should explicitly consider the presence of different clubs of regions with different convergence paths in terms of emissions and income per capita and address the distributional effect of transfers across regions.

Energy Justice and the Design of Climate Change Legislation

The concept of energy justice can be applied to the specific problem of making climate change mitigation laws and policies that are fair and equitable. This chapter inquires into the design of climate change laws to minimize undue adverse effects on low-income households. It examines the literature about the risk of climate change policies being regressive in their distributional effect. It examines carbon pricing, consumer fuel subsidies, transport, electric vehicle incentives, and energy efficiency in housing. It finds that laws can be improved to achieve justice goals, but it is often difficult. The recycling of carbon price revenues for the benefit of low-income households is important, as is the reduction of distinctions between the policy spheres of climate change and social welfare. It is concluded that climate change laws can be made more just, and more effective, if distribution is a central part of their design.