An Empirical Investigation into Measurement and Determinants of Food Security

We examine the association between calorie-based indicators and experiential indicators of food security using data from slum households of Kolkata surveyed in 2010–2011. Experiential indicator is constructed following the United States Household Food Security Survey Module. Calorie based indicator is constructed using household-specific calorie norms. Modelling techniques take account of potential endogeneity in the relationship. The two indicators are aligned in the same direction implying more accurate targeting. However, there is a lack of one-to-one correspondence between the two measures and the drivers of calorie deprivation and food insecurity also differ, suggesting a one-size-fits-all policy cannot address both concerns simultaneously.     

Judicial Independence, Judicial Promotion and the Enforcement of Legislative Wealth Transfers—An Empirical Study of the New Zealand High Court

This paper investigates the Landes-Posner thesis on judicial independence using data on public law decisions in which the government was the defendant decided in the New Zealand High Court over the period 1958–2001. We use survival analysis to examine whether successive New Zealand governments have promoted judges from the High Court to the Court of Appeal (which stands above the High Court) on the basis of political considerations, the quality of the judge's decision-making or both. Our findings suggest that the quality of decision-making has generally been important. Consistent with the weak form of the Landes-Posner hypothesis we find no evidence that governments have used their powers to punish judges who decided cases against them. On the contrary, we find some support for the strong form of the Landes-Posner thesis that governments positively use their powers to secure judicial independence.     

Impact of trade and investment on income surge in Bangladesh: Evidence from trade liberalization regime

Trade and investment are crucial drivers of economic growth. Successful execution of trade and investment policy can elevate a developing country to a sustained growth path and make it self-reliant. Bangladesh implemented a trade liberalization policy in the 1980s, deviating much from its conservative trade policy. This article assesses the impacts of trade, investment in physical as well as human capital, and a few trade policy variables on income surge for the liberalized regime. The econometric analysis finds that export, import, and domestic investment stimulate income. The impact of foreign investment is not conducive. Public spending on education also contributes to the income surge. Among the policy variables, trade openness and currency depreciation produce a beneficial impact. Population growth retards economic growth. The baseline results hold in the estimations involving several specifications of variables and testified as robust. The article views that a comprehensive approach to trade and investment policy would ensure the comparative advantage of trade and the well-being of Bangladesh.     

Adaptation to Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines and Space Law

Space exploration is a mechanism whereby, with the use of astronomy and space technology, humans are able to explore outer space and the universe at large. In this article, the authors address space debris issues with a discussion of future space law issues along with a brief elaboration of how the adaptation took place for space debris mitigation guidelines. The history of space law formulated during the United Nations’ General Assembly is justified, along with the resolutions that took place throughout recent years. The authors also elaborate on the importance of theoretical modeling and how it could be adopted into practice utilizing the established debris mitigation guidelines. Legal and political constraints are also highlighted, along with where the future focus on legal factors should be when considering space debris mitigation.     

Sharecropping contracts in rural India: A note

In this article we examine the terms of sharecropping contracts using data from rural India. We examine the effect of - (1) the sharing of input costs between landlord and tenant; (2) the tenant's capacity to borrow; and (3) the existence of outside employment opportunities for the tenant — on the share parameter. We regress the share paid by the household on a set of cultivating household and village level characteristics and find that cost sharing and the existence of outside employment opportunities significantly affect the share parameter.     

The Impact of Resource Inflows on Child Health: Evidence from Kwazulu-Natal,South Africa, 1993–98

This paper investigates changes to the health status of young children (aged 0–5 years) in the Kwazulu-Natal province of South Africa during 1993–98. In our estimation we explicitly take into account the potential endogeneity of household resources in affecting child health. In particular, we examine whether the effect of resources is differentiated by the source, the age and the sex of the recipient. Finally, we also take into account the panel structure of the data and conduct (household level) fixed effects estimation of the determinants of child health. The estimation results show that the state of child health has experienced marked improvement following the dismantling of apartheid. Our results point to the role of household resources and health infrastructure availability in improving the health status of children.     

Asset quality determinants of Indian banks: Empirical evidence and policy issues

The Indian banking industry has been suffering from a huge number of nonperforming loans, and the loan asset quality has been deteriorated over the years. This has led to significant capital erosion of many banks in India. The surge in corporate defaults leading to an enormous rise in nonperforming loan assets has been impairing the performance of Indian banking industry in particular and economic growth in general. Hence, it is intuitive to ask what are the determinants of poor asset quality of Indian banks. To answer this question, using a sample of 47 commercial banks over a sample period of 2000 to 2014, our study examines the bank‐, industry‐, and macroeconomic‐specific determinants of asset quality of Indian banks. Our empirical analysis also accommodates the impact of different ownership structures (public and private sector) and the impact of financial crisis while analysing the determinants of poor asset quality of Indian commercial banks. Results reveal that bank‐, industry‐, and macroeconomic‐specific factors are responsible for the burgeoning nonperforming loan assets of Indian commercial banks. The results are qualitatively similar across different ownership structures. The findings suggest that forecasting models for nonperforming assets should also consider macroecomomic‐ and industry‐specific factors along with the bank‐ specific factors.     

A Distributional Analysis of the Gender Wage Gap in Bangladesh

This article empirically investigates the gender wage gap in Bangladesh during the period 2005–2009. Applying unconditional quantile regression models, the article demonstrates that women are paid less than men throughout the wage distribution and the gap is higher at the lower end of the distribution. Discrimination against women is the primary determinant of the wage gap. The article also demonstrates that the observed gender wage gap is likely to be underestimated if we ignore selection in full-time employment. A number of policy implications are discussed.