Off the Hook: Measuring the Impact of Mobile Telephone Use on Economic Development of Households in Uganda using Copulas

It is now widely understood that mobile phone use has beneficial effects on development in developing countries, but little is known about the effects at the household level. We examine the impact of mobile telephone use on household income using a unique cross-sectional data set from Uganda. We use a novel econometric technique to handle endogeneity, which models the correlation between the endogenous regressor and the error term with copulas. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the copula method has been applied in the economic development literature. We find a positive impact of mobile phone use on income.     

Does Changing Economic Well-Being Shape Resentment About Inequality in China?

The political consequences of income inequality in China have attracted increasing attention among researchers, and conventional wisdom states that economic development can mitigate negative views on inequality. I investigate the effects of subjective and objective changes in economic well-being on public opinion concerning income inequality based on a 2004 Chinese national survey. On the one hand, I find weak evidence of a negative correlation between perceived better economic well-being and negative opinion about inequality in China. On the other hand, I identify consistent evidence of a negative correlation between objective intergenerational upward mobility and negative views about inequality. It is worth noting that while the effect of intergenerational upward mobility is large, it is unable to completely reverse negative views about inequality among Chinese citizens. Hence, I suggest that economic development plays only a limited role in mitigating anger about inequality in China.     

Higher education and economic growth in Africa

This paper uses panel data over the 1960–2000 period, a modified neoclassical growth equation, and a dynamic panel estimator to investigate the effect of higher education human capital on economic growth in African countries. We find that all levels of education human capital, including higher education human capital, have positive and statistically significant effect on the growth rate of per capita income in African counties. Our result differs from those of earlier research that find no significant relationship between higher education human capital and income growth. We estimate the growth elasticity of higher education human capital to be about 0.09, an estimate that is twice as large as the growth impact of physical capital investment. While this is likely to be an overestimate of the growth impact of higher education, it is robust to different specifications and points to the need for African countries to effectively use higher education human capital in growth policies.     

On the problem of identifying the engines of economic growth

This article investigates the empirical relationship between sectoral growth and income growth and in so doing casts doubt on previous studies which have argued that either export or agricultural growth enhances total income growth. It is shown that the evidence from the correlation and regression models used to date is inconclusive and that much of the measured impact of sectoral growth on overall income growth may be spurious in the sense that it can be explained by growth in the underlying inputs. Professor Rittenberg’s research interests include sources of economic growth, stabilization/liberalization policies, and Third World debt, with particular emphasis on the Turkish economy.     

Left and right among local elites: Comparative figures from Switzerland,Spain, Germany and the Netherlands

This paper examines whether or not the classical ideological cleavage — the left—right dimension — is still valid and determines the choices made in politics. It looks at the extent to which the left‐right concept features in the views of local elites in four European countries. A strong relation is found between the left‐right self‐placement of local elites and their party membership, their opinion about income distribution, the role of government and economic growth. The left‐right dimension is still relevant in the belief system of local elites, but does not determine day‐to‐day decisions. Six factors are discussed which might explain these findings: the validity of this research; the specific characteristics of local‐level policy making; differences between politicians and public administrators; the fragmentation of local politics; the theory on latent and manifest ideologies by Bluhm; and the consensus theory of Wildavsky. It is concluded that more research is needed to test the last two theories, because they seem to be the most promising.     

A Research Note on the Cost of Not Being White in Brazil

This research note revisits the theme of “the cost of not being white in Brazil.” Based on 1996 National Household Survey (PNAD) data, the results point out to still sizeable and significant monetary disadvantages suffered by nonwhites in the Brazilian labor market. It is estimated that about 18 percent of the white-nonwhite income gap can be attributed to differential rates of return to human capital investments and to other individual characteristics between the race/color groups. Nelson do Valle Silva is Researcher at Laboratorio Nacional de Computacao Cientifica and Professor at Instituto Universitario de Pesquisas do Rio de Janeiro. His most recent books areMobilidade Social no Brasil, Sao Paulo: Makron Books, 1999 (with J. Pastore) andCor e Estratificacao Social no Brasil Rio: Contracapa, 1999 (with C. Hasenbalg and M. Lima). He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Michigan.     

Economic growth,income inequality and poverty in china under economic reforms

China's gross domestic product (GDP) more than quadrupled between 1978 and 1996 under economic reforms. Per capita disposable incomes more than tripled in the cities and almost quadrupled in the rural areas. However, rapid economic growth brought about large income inequality which slowed down poverty reduction. In 1995, there were still 70–170 million people living in poverty. This article aims to assess the relationship between economic growth, income inequality and poverty using both secondary and household survey data. The main findings are (1) urban/rural divide and spatial inequality are two major factors accounting for overall income inequality; (2) non‐wage and non‐farm incomes are more unequally distributed than wage and farm incomes; and (3) the incidence of poverty is very sensitive to the changes in per capita income and inequality.     

Inequality and Economic Growth: The Empirical Relationship Reconsidered in the Light of Comparable Data

Almost all the recent empirical work on the relationship between income inequality and economic growth has used inequality data that are not consistently measured. This article argues that this is inappropriate and shows that the significant negative correlation often found between income inequality and growth across countries may not be robust when income inequality is measured in a consistent manner. However, evidence is found of a significant negative correlation between consistently measured inequality of expenditure data and economic growth for a sample of developing countries.     

Bureaucratic Corruption and Income: Evidence from the Land Sector in Bangladesh

We examine, for the first time, the effects of corruption on income using household survey data from a developing country. Estimating the effects of corruption on income is challenging because of the simultaneous relationship between the two variables. We use a two-step instrumental variable approach to identify the effects of corruption on income. We find that after adjusting for simultaneity bias the act of bribery reduces income and that higher bribes have a negative effect on income. Taken together, our results provide a possible explanation why a vicious cycle between corruption and income inequality does not exist in the land sector in Bangladesh.     

Public Attitudes to Local Government in Turkey: Research on Knowledge,Satisfaction and Complaints

This study examines prevailing characteristics of public attitudes to local government in Turkey based on the findings of a questionnaire based research project. The level of public knowledge of local government, people's satisfaction with local service provision, public views and complaints about local services are analysed. The findings show that the level of public knowledge of local government is low and people do not complain about local government services although the level of satisfaction is low. The belief that complaints would have no effect is the main reason for not complaining. The impact of sex, age, education, income, length of residence in the locality, housing tenure, and political opinion on public attitudes to local government is also assessed. Of these variables, age, education and income levels are found to be significant.     

Income portfolios in rural Ethiopia and Tanzania: Choices and constraints

The article analyses the different income portfolios of households using survey data from rural Ethiopia and rural Tanzania. It suggests that the different portfolios held by households cannot be explained by their behaviour towards risk as is usually suggested. It is better explained by differences in ability, location, and in access to credit. A logit analysis of households with different income portfolios, controlling for the effects of location, suggests that entry into high‐return activities is determined by investment in particular skills or by access to capital.     

Cash Crops and Food Security: Evidence from Ethiopian Smallholder Coffee Producers

One of the central questions in food policy debates has been the role of cash cropping for achieving food security in low-income countries. We revisit this question in the context of smallholder coffee production in Ethiopia. Using data collected by the authors on about 1600 coffee farmers in the country, we find that coffee income is associated with improved food security, even after controlling for total income and other factors. Further analysis suggests that one possible pathway is linked to being better able to smooth consumption across agricultural seasons.     

Do Relative Income and Income Inequality Affect Consumption? Evidence from the Villages of Rural China

This article examines how a household's consumption rate is affected by its relative income and income inequality within a community. Based on the theory of social status seeking in consumption, we test hypotheses related to these factors using a unique panel data set of rural households in China observed within a few hundred villages between 2003 and 2006. We find that the household's consumption rate is negatively related to the relative income position after controlling for the absolute income, and positively related to the income inequality of the village. We confirm these with different measurements of relative position.     

Level of living and fertility among a rural population of the Philippines

This study examines the issue of whether the relationship of fertility to measures of economic resources is different at lower income levels than at higher levels. Testing was done in a rural Philippine setting in 1978-79. 3 measures of economic resources were utilized -- income, quality of housing, and provision of schooling for children. The data were drawn from a survey of rural families residing in 5 muncipalities of Iloilo province, on Panay Island in the central Philippines. In the study design, villages (or barangays) were selected from the 5 municipalities to obtain equal numbers of 3 agricultural types -- upland, rainfed lowland, and irrigated lowland farms. Interviews were conducted during a 4-month period in late 1978 and early 1979. Completed interviews of 1077 married women were obtained from 1066 households in 46 villages. These women were under age 50. The number of children ever born was used as the measure of fertility. To derive household income for the families in the survey both farm production and nonfarm income were converted into Philippine pesos. For a measure of housing quality, an index was formed based on 7 household items which could be considered amenities for the family and on the reported construction materials for 5 parts of the dwelling. This sample of households in the rural villages of Iloilo Province exhibited evidence of a threshold in the relationship between housing quality and fertility and between per capita income and fertility. For those families with per capita income less than 200 pesos per year, there was a strong positive relationship between 2 of the economic resource measures and fertility. This threshold for families of very low income showed support for the presence of limiting factors other than contraception. When the contracepting women of low income were removed from the analysis, the slope below the threshold became steeper. The poor nutrition and poor health that are associated with very low income can result in lower fecundity, thus biologically or nonvolitionally limiting fertility from what it could be with conditions of good health and nutrition. Among the families with higher per capita income, there was a negative relationship between per capita income and fertility. Housing quality yielded the strongest evidence of the threshold effect. Education of the children was not related to fertility in this model. Study findings indicate that for about 1/3 of this rural population initial increases in their economic level or living standard could result in increasing fertility up to a threshold level.     

Is Corruption Really Bad for Inequality? Evidence from Latin America

This article presents new evidence on the relationship between corruption and income inequality. Using a panel data methodology, we find that lower corruption is associated with higher income inequality in Latin America. This result is in contrast to other empirical studies but it makes sense in Latin America for a number of reasons. The finding of an inverse relationship between inequality and corruption suggests that institutional reform policies by themselves may be misguided.     

Transforming Gender Relations through the Market: Smallholder Milk Market Participation and Women`s Intra-household Bargaining Power in Ethiopia

We study the relationship between smallholder milk market participation and women`s intra-household bargaining position in Ethiopia, using a quasi-experiment and propensity score matching. In market participant households, milk income is higher and its control has shifted from women to men. Our data also indicate that men transfer this income partly to their wives. Qualitative findings indicate that men see this as recognition for their wife’s household maintenance responsibility. Women argue however that transferring income is also men`s tactic for reducing intra-household conflict. Overall, dependency between husbands and wives seems higher and a woman’s bargaining position stronger in participant households.     

Is global inequality getting better or worse? A critique of the World Bank’s convergence narrative

The dominant narrative of global income inequality is one of convergence. Recent high-profile publications by Branko Milanovic and the World Bank claim that the global Gini coefficient has declined since 1988, and that inter-country inequality has declined since 1960. But the convergence narrative relies on a misleading presentation of the data. It obscures the fact that convergence is driven mostly by China; it fails to acknowledge rising absolute inequality; and it ignores divergence between geopolitical regions. This paper suggests alternative measures that bring geopolitics back in by looking at the gap between the core and periphery of the world system. From this perspective, global inequality has tripled since 1960.     

INNOVATION,PUBLIC POLICY AND PUBLIC SERVICES DELIVERY IN THE UK. THE WORD THAT WOULD BE KING?

This paper explores the dialogue about innovation in public services currently found within public policy and creates an interaction between research and practice about its strengths and limitations. It argues that this dialogue is a flawed one, often both at odds with the existing evidence and lacking a holistic understanding of the nature of innovation and its distinctive policy and managerial challenges. It therefore synthesizes existing research to challenge current public policy thinking about the role and determinants of innovation in public services. It concludes by offering five lessons towards effective policy‐making and implementation that would provide a more sophisticated and evidence‐based approach to the encouragement and sustenance of public service innovation – and four key areas for further research.     

The economic and demographic determinants of international migration in Rural Egypt

This study uses data collected in rural Egypt to estimate a micro‐level model of the economic and demographic determinants of international migration. This model uses predicted income functions to establish origin incomes (incomes excluding remittances). Three findings are noteworthy. First, the results suggest that education may not necessarily be positively correlated with migration. Second, the data indicate that the relationship between income and migration is that of a flat, inverted U‐shaped curve. Third, when the combined effects of income and land are considered, males from poor and landless households have the highest propensity to migrate. Poverty and landlessness combine to push rural Egyptians to work abroad.     

Health,Poverty and Service Use Among Older West Indian Women in Greater Hartford

SUMMARY

This study brings to light the phenomenon of aging in the West Indian migrant community in the United States. It presents the results of a cross-sectional exploratory survey of 107 community-dwelling West Indian women aged 55 years and over living in the Greater Hartford region of Connecticut. The data analysis reveals positive self-reports of health and few limiting or disabling conditions. However, there is substantial income inequality, a negative relationship between age group and income and limited use of services among those women most likely to require them. The findings suggest that some of the qualities which contributed to West Indians becoming the “Black success model” in the U.S. may be counterproductive for successful aging. A community-based strategy for addressing these issues is outlined.