Determinants of crop residue burning practice in the Terai region of Nepal

The open burning of agricultural crop residue is a key environmental issue facing the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, the Indo-Gangetic plain in particular. There is a varying intensity in the incidence of open agricultural burning in this region, and multiple drivers that determine why farmers in this region decide to burn their crop residues. While there have been research studies conducted for other countries in the region, research into the determinants of crop-burning in the Nepalese context is missing. Using primary data from a survey of 388 farming households across three districts of the Nepal Terai―Nawalparasi, Rupandehi and Kapilvastu―applying a recursive bivariate probit model, this study seeks to find out what drives the Nepalese farmers to burn their crop residue instead of using them in a sustainable manner and suggest policy recommendations for mitigation. Our findings show that the major determining factors that influence the farmers’ behavior in Nepal are livestock ownership, combine harvester use and awareness level of the farmers. While the effects of crop residue burning is transboundary in nature, the mitigation measures require to be region specific. Based on the findings, the study proposes raising livestock, using technology like Happy Seeders or upgrade the combine harvesters, raising awareness and changing perception of farmers, and promoting alternative uses of crop residue as viable mitigation measures.

The Effects of Openness on Managerial Innovation in Cameroonian Companies

The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of openness on the adoption of managerial innovation by Cameroonian companies, as well as comparing the share of managerial innovation resulting from inter-organizational networks of the same group and of different groups. Noting a lack of such a study on Cameroon, this study used data from the Centre de Recherche en Economie et Gestion (CEREG) to achieve the objective. Using a binary probit model and a recursive bivariate probit model, the authors found that, first, a company that collaborates with other companies has an increased probability of 0.37 of adopting new managerial practices, compared to another company that does not collaborate. Second, a company belonging to a group that collaborates with companies of a different group has an increased probability of 0.30 of adopting new managerial practices, compared to a company that only collaborates with companies of the group to which she belongs. Business leaders should cooperate with all market players.

Which intermediate import source is best for innovation in MNEs?

PurposeThis paper explores the importance of the importing intensity for different intermediate inputs depending on their source (internal sourcing or intra-firm trade versus external sourcing or foreign suppliers) for different types of innovation (product and process innovation) and applied to MNEs (foreign versus domestic).Design/methodology/approachThe sample contains 2,448 firm-year observations (2006–2016) of firms located in Spain that belong to an MNE group. The authors applied a conditional mixed process to a panel recursive bivariate probit model with robust standard errors.Findings The authors obtained three key results. First, intermediate imports do not always contribute to improving innovation, since their effects vary depending on their source. Second, intermediate imports from foreign suppliers (external source) are more advantageous for product innovation than those from intra-firm trade (internal source). Third, intermediate imports from intra-firm trade are more important for process innovation than those from foreign suppliers. Thus, the impact of importing intermediate inputs on innovation is contingent on the source of the imports, the ownership of the MNE and the type of innovation.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to this topic with new insights and results for MNEs. It identifies which import source is best for innovation depending on the type of innovative result expected. Moreover, it helps to uncover simultaneity and causal relationships between product and process innovation, issues which have not previously been considered in the literature.

ICT adoption and tourism consumption among rural residents in China

Little is known about the tourism consumption of the rural population in developing and emerging countries. This note fills the gap by investigating how information and communication technology (ICT) adoption influences tourism participation decisions and expenditure of rural residents in China. We estimate the data of 11,000 samples from the China Labor-force Dynamic Survey data, using both recursive bivariate probit and treatment effects models. Findings reveal that ICT adoption increases the probability of tourism participation among rural Chinese residents by 18.6% but decreases the expenditure of tourism participants by 442 Yuan/capita on average. We also show that ICT adoption empowers rural women for tourism consumption. Our findings highlight the importance of improving the rural ICT infrastructure and promoting ICT adoption among rural residents to boost rural tourism consumption and social welfare.

Recursive Bivariate Probit Analysis of Injury Severity and Non-Truck Improper Actions in Large Truck-Related Crashes on Florida Suburban Roads

This study investigated the hierarchical connection among injury severity, non-truck improper actions, and contributing factors in large-truck-involved crashes. Data for 4 years (2011–2014) of crashes that involved a large truck (≥ 10,000 lb) and a non-truck vehicle were collected from suburban roads in Florida, U.S. A recursive bivariate probit model was fitted with collected data to identify the cause-effect chain, including contributing factors influenced by improper actions, the effects of improper actions on injury severity, and contributing factors indirectly affecting injury severity in large-truck-related crashes. Study results indicate that non-truck vehicle improper actions, such as excessive speed, careless driving, failure to yield right-of-way, and others, significantly increase the likelihood of fatal and severe injury in large-truck crashes, and factors such as crash month, darkness, intersection-related, surface and shoulder width, truck parking, truck driver age, non-truck driver age, and non-truck alcohol/drug impaired indirectly influence injury severity through their impacts on non-truck improper actions. Two factors—truck right-turn and non-truck driver physical defects—affect injury severity and non-truck improper actions simultaneously. Other factors, including crash year, annual average daily traffic, speed limit, crash type, truck type, truck speed, truck alcohol/drug-impaired, and motorcycle involvement, directly contribute to injury severity in large-truck crashes and have no influence on non-truck improper actions.

The Association of Advanced Math Course-Taking by American Youth on Subsequent Receipt of Public Assistance

Helping people move to independence is often cited as a primary goal of public assistance policies in the United States. Over the past several decades, welfare reform efforts in the US have promoted the idea of a work-first approach. Research shows that this approach has discouraged or at least made it harder for some students to attend college while meeting the work requirements for aid. How can those students who need public assistance increase their chances of finding a sustainable job and thus not need to rely on the public support system after high school? To address this question, this study used a sample of 3,384 student responses from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health and a recursive bivariate probit model to analyze the association between advanced math course-taking in high school and the probability of subsequent receipt of public assistance. The empirical results suggest that taking advanced math courses in high school is associated with a lower probability of receiving public assistance for recent graduates. These findings are particularly important for school social workers who work in conjunction with teachers and school counselors to help at-risk students improve their chances of future financial independence.

Determinants of financing constraints

Using a recursive bivariate probit model and survey data covering the period 2014–2018, the present paper aims to assess which factors in the financial market (supply side) have a higher impact on firms’ likelihood to be financially constrained. The results show that after controlling for potential endogenous bias due to unobservable firm characteristics, being an innovative firm increases the probability of being financially constrained between 21 and 32%. The nature of the innovation strategy also seems to influence the severity of financing constraints. For financially constrained firms, the main factors that limit future financing for growth ambitions are the lack of collateral, bureaucracy, and too high a price. Findings also indicate that measures to facilitate equity investments and making existing public measures easier are the most important factors for future financing while tax incentives only play a minor role.

The Effects of Digitalization on Entrepreneurial Innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa

The objective of this study is to show the effects of digitalization on the innovative capability of companies in Sub-Saharan Africa. To meet this objective, the authors used the World Bank data (Enterprise Survey) on survey of service companies and manufacturing industries in 2016. Making use of a binary probit model and a recursive bivariate probit model, they found that digitization has a significant effect on business innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, they found that when a company has a website, its probability of introducing an innovation in to the market increases by 27% as compared to companies without a website. However, when a company has its own website, the probability to introduce an incremental innovation is 0.34 higher than radical innovation. Thus, they can recommend to entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa to invest not only in the digitalization of their companies but also and above all in research and development, which is a translational and inevitable determinant for radical innovation.

Location and economic resilience in rubber farming communities in southwest China

PurposeIn rural areas, geographic location is key to market access and labor mobility of farm households. This paper aims to investigate the opportunities and constraints of smallholder rubber farmers in southwest China to adjust to the changes in economic and institutional conditions, namely the declining rubber prices, emerging land rental markets and growing off-farm job opportunities.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical basis is a dataset of some 600 rubber farmers in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, collected in March 2015. The study uses instrumental variable and recursive bivariate probit models to account for possible endogeneity and selection bias.FindingsWith rubber prices in decline, the elevation of rubber plantations is an essential factor for the costs of access to the local factor markets and influences farm households' possibilities to adopt coping strategies. Notably, we find a U-shape type of relationship between the location and renting-out land due to the decline in rubber profitability. Rubber producers in low elevations are better bestowed with access to local markets. Households in high elevations, where rubber planting came in later, can shift to new crops like tea. However, the economic resilience of farmers in middle elevations is low due to their higher adjustment costs.Originality/valueThe paper provides a constructive basis for designing more location-specific development policies and can help avoid the past often ineffective blanket measures. Its implications have significant relevance for areas with similar conditions, for example, the remote, ethnic minority–dominated and mountainous rural areas in China.

Do surges in foreign direct investment inflows lead to surges in economic growth? Evidence from developing countries

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether surge in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows leads to surge in economic growth in 52 developing countries for the period 1990-2014. Design/methodology/approach The author used a threshold approach to identify surge incidences in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth rates and FDI inflows (measured as percentage of GDP) for each country included in the sample. Three different criteria are used to identify surge instances. As a preliminary analysis the author used the probit and complementary log–log regression methods to estimate the likelihood of growth surge occurrence. To correct the potential endogeneity problem the author jointly estimated the growth surge and FDI surge equations using the recursive bivariate probit (RBP) regression. Findings The author found that East Asia and the Pacific region has highest rate of growth surge incidences followed by South Asia. The results suggest that surge in FDI inflows significantly increases the likelihood of growth surge. The finding is robust to alternative surge definitions and methods of estimation. Practical implications The analysis reveals that inbound FDI flow is a critical driver of economic growth in developing countries. Large FDI inflows matters for achieving rapid economic growth. Therefore developing countries should adopt favourable policies to attract more FDI. Policymakers should focus on improving the investment climate of the country to boost domestic investment and to attract larger amount of FDI into the economy. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge this is the first study to examine whether surge in FDI inflows stimulates surge in economic growth in developing countries. The analysis reveals that FDI surge is a robust predictor of rapid economic growth in developing countries.