Gender Differences in Child Malnutrition in Ethiopia: Evidence from Three Decomposition Techniques

Ethiopia has one of the highest under-five child mortality rate in the world, which is higher for boys than for girls. Malnutrition is a major contributing factor to child mortality and that is why we assess the differences in child malnutrition status of boys and girls. Specifically, we study the extent to which the gender differences in malnutrition are associated with observable factors and socio-economic characteristics and to what extent these differences are unexplained and attributable to factors such as latent parental preferences, societal biases, and other unobservable factors. We use data from the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey and evaluate three anthropometric status measures – wasting, stunting, and being underweight. We utilize a reduced-form demand for nutrition framework and several decomposition techniques: Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition for non-linear models, Machado-Mata quantile decomposition, and the recentered influence function. The results indicate that measurable socioeconomic and locational characteristics have significant and plausible associations with malnutrition by gender. We also find that 3% to 4% of the difference in the anthropometric status may be attributable to unobservable factors that may include implicit parental preferences. This approach is useful in evaluating gender differences in other human capital development outcomes such as health and education, as well as those in malnutrition.

Gender Earnings Gap among Urban Youth Adults in Bangladesh: A Comparative Static Analysis

Despite the importance and recognition of young women's engagement in income-generating activities for socio-economic development, the gender earnings gap still persists across countries, especially in developing countries like Bangladesh. This study presents two datasets from the most recent past to provide fresh evidence for Bangladesh’s urban labor market that has yet to be closely studied. Using individual-level data from the BBS’s (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force Surveys (LFS) conducted in 2010 and 2015, we have explored the gender earnings gap among the youth (aged 18 to 35 as per Bangladesh’s National Youth Policy 2017) working and earning in the urban labor markets of Bangladesh by applying the three approaches: Mincerian regression, Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition and Quantile regression. The first approach confirms that young women earn significantly less than young men in the urban labor markets after controlling the influences of the covariates. The detailed decomposition results of the second approach indicate that gender differences in hours worked, education, firm characteristics and locations also contribute to the gender earnings gap and the market discrimination against the youth women’s earnings remain the same over the years. The third approach using the lens of distribution perspective shows that earnings gaps persist up to the 25th percentile of distribution in 2010 though it persists across the entire earnings distribution in 2015. The results suggest that engaging more women in income-generating activities, increasing the number of hours worked, improving access to higher education and creating enabling working environment for women might reduce the gender earnings gap.

Investigating the Causality Between Remittances, Infant Mortality, and Economic Growth in India: A Cointegration and Vector Error Correction Model Analysis

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of remittances on human development as measured by infant mortality rates and real GDP per capita in India using time series data for the 1975-2018 period. By employing the Zivot-Andrews single-break unit root test and cointegration analysis using the Johansen procedure, a stable long-run relationship is found among the variables. Consequently, by estimating a VECM with dummy variables, results indicate that, in the long run, both remittances and real GDP per capita have a negative and significant impact on infant mortality rates in India. With infant mortality rate as a dependent variable, the adjustment coefficient for the cointegrating vector is negative and significant as the theory predicts. A Granger Block causality test is also conducted, and results indicate that remittances do not Granger cause real GDP and infant mortality rate; however, it is found that infant mortality rate and real GDP per capita Granger cause remittances. Policy implications are discussed.

An Elementary Mathematical Model for MMT (Modern Monetary Theory)

In recent years, a school of economics called MMT (Modern Monetary Theory) has been attracting attention, but it has not been analyzed theoretically or mathematically. This study aims to provide a theoretical basis for the skeleton of the MMT argument, while maintaining the basics of the neoclassical microeconomic framework, such as utility maximization of consumers by means of utility functions and budget constraint, profit maximization of firms in monopolistic competition, and equilibrium of supply and demand of goods. Using a simple static model that includes economic growth due to technological progress, we will argue that: 1) a continuous budget deficit is necessary to maintain full employment when the economy is growing, and that this deficit does not have to be covered by future surpluses; 2) Inflation is caused when the actual budget deficit exceeds the level necessary and sufficient to maintain full employment. In order to avoid further inflation, it is necessary to maintain a certain level of budget deficit; 3) A shortfall in the budget deficit leads to recession and involuntary unemployment. To recover from this, a budget deficit that exceeds the level necessary to maintain full employment is required. However, since a continuous budget deficit is necessary after full employment is restored, the deficit created to overcome the recession does not need to be covered by future budget surpluses, nor should it be.

Occupational Differences by Race and Ethnicity in the United States, 2007-2018

This study examines the extent and reasons for differences in occupational distributions by race and ethnicity in the U.S. labor market from 2007 to 2018. Using IPUMS data, the study found that racial differences in occupational distributions were lower than ethnic disparities in occupational distributions. Racial disparity in occupational distributions increased slightly, while the ethnic disparity in occupational distributions decreased from 2007 to 2018. Most importantly, racial and ethnic disparities in occupational distributions were found to be not only due to observed socio-demographic variables of workers but also due to other unexplained factors. The effect of unexplained variables had more pronounced effects on the racial differences in occupational distributions than on the ethnic differences in occupational distributions.

Champions during Crises Scenarios: High Growth and Persistent High Growth Firms

Our paper aims to participate to the growing policy discussion on high-growth firms (HGFs) by analyzing persistence of high growth patterns over crisis. During downturn periods, such as post pandemic one, policy makers seek sources to maintain competitiveness and accelerate growth. Being dynamic players in economic growth and job creation, persistent high-growth firms are notable candidates for assuming that role under such circumstances. Therefore, in this study we explore the determinants and characteristics of HGFs and persistent high-growth firms (PHGF) in a crisis scenario.We use a sample of 190,247 firms from 2007 to 2014. We estimate a multinomial probit model with independent idiosyncratic components across the different categories (i.e. HGFs, PHGFs and other firms) using full maximum likelihood. In a second phase we explore which characteristics of HGFs affect the probability of being a PHGFs.HGFs are characterized by higher productivity and leverage, and PHGFs systematically differ from other HGFs only in what regards degree of international involvement. HGFs probability of maintaining high growth rates is very low.HGFs are essentially one-hit wonders and it is debatable whether policymakers can enhance economic results by targeting them. Policy makers should be directed towards those firms which have in principal the potential to be winners, but only through policy intervention these aided firms can realize their great potential (i.e. pick and build winner).

Plus a Life Sentence? Incarceration’s Effects on Expected Lifetime Wage Growth

The United States incarcerates citizens at rates higher than those of any other developed nation, with impacts on not only government budgets but economic growth rates. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth for 1997, we model the effects of incarceration on wage growth rates using inverse probability weighted regression adjusted (IPWRA) propensity score matching to recognize the selection bias among the members of the sample who serve prison terms. Results show that incarceration reduces average lifetime income growth by one-third even for a relatively short earning period, with that depth depending on length of sentence, employment history, and education level in some surprising ways.

Implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): The Effects of Trade Procedures on Trade Flows

In January 2018, the 10th African Union (AU) Summit of African Heads of States and Governments was held in Kigali. At this occasion, 44 countries had signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. In this study, it is pointed out that the implementation of AfCFTA cannot be done without harmonized trade procedures. Using a gravity model of 49 African countries over the 2010-2015 periods, the study estimates the impact of inefficient trade procedures on intra-African trade. The results show that trade procedures such as the number of documents required to import goods and Border compliance negatively affect intra-African trade. This suggests the need of harmonization and rationalization of trade procedures to boost intra-African trade.

Lack of Reform Effect on Exchange Efficiency- Empirical Evidence from Saudi Market Index –

As development of financial markets has been a growing issue after the financial crisis 2008, this paper has tested efficiency on one of the largest emerging securities markets in the world. It examines lack of reform impact on efficiency of Saudi stock exchange (TASI index) employing random walk hypothesis (RWH) through a battery of parametric and nonparametric tests including autocorrelations, unit root, variance ratio (VR) and Brock, Dechert, and Scheinkman (BDS) test.The study specifically aims to test weak form efficiency before and after massive efforts implemented to reform Saudi exchange. Findings have concluded in a consensus verdict that there is no change observed in TASI index behaviour, and hence it rejected to be a weak-form efficient market. Thus, policy makers and regulators should initiate further reforms; deep regulations and reorganization development to address inefficiency.

Institutional Quality and Health Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa

The objective of this research is to identify the institutional dimensions that are the most relevant to the improvement of health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. To this end, institutional quality measures are integrated into a health production model. This model is estimated by the Two-stage least squares method on a panel of 45 countries observed over the period 1996-2018. The data used are from the World Bank. The results show that the most relevant institutional dimensions that improve health outcomes in the region are by order: rule of law, control of corruption, government effectiveness, voice and accountability and political stability and absence of violence. For these reasons, African decision-makers who often have limited resources can focus on a few key components of these institutional qualities or their combinations to improve health outcomes in their countries.