Natural Resource Revenues and Public Investment in Resource-rich Economies in Sub-Saharan Africa

Submitted by Samuel Wakuma on

The general policy prescription for resource‐rich countries is that, for sustainable consumption, a greater percentage of the windfall from resource rents should be channeled into accumulating foreign assets such as a sovereign public fund as done in Norway and other developed but resource‐rich countries. This might not be a correct policy prescription for resource‐rich sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries, where public capital is very low to support the needed economic growth. In such countries, rents from resources serve as an opportunity to scale‐up the needed public capital.

Policy Design

Effect of education on migration decisions in Ghana: a rural-urban perspective

Submitted by Samuel Wakuma on

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of education on migration decisions focusing on rural and urban in-migrants by comparing the 2005/2006 and 2012/2013 rounds of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS5 and GLSS6). After correcting for selectivity bias, the authors observed that anticipated welfare gain and socio-economic variables such as sector of employment, sex, experience, age, educational level and marital status significantly affect an individual’s migration decision

Policy Design

A Decision Support Tool for Rural Water Supply Planning 20-06

Submitted by Eugenia Leon on
EfD Authors:

Over a dozen studies have examined how households who travel to collect water (about one quarter of humanity) make choices about where and how much to collect. There is little evidence, however, that these studies have informed rural water supply planning in anything but a qualitative way. In this note, we describe a new web-based decision support tool that planners or community members can

Policy Design, Water

Household fuelwood consumption in western rural China: ethnic minority families versus Han Chinese families

Submitted by Eugenia Leon on

This paper examines ethnic differences in fuelwood consumption in rural households, using an original survey dataset from two western Chinese provinces with large ethnic minority populations. We use a Heckman two-stage selection model to explain the quantity of fuelwood consumed conditional on a decision to use fuelwood. We find that ethnic minority families are more likely than majority Han Chinese families to use fuelwood.

Energy, Policy Design

Have the Special Economic Zones Succeeded in Attracting FDI?—Analysis for India

Submitted by Tanay Ray Bhatt on
EfD Authors:

The introduction of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in India has injected hope for augmented economic growth in recent future. The motive behind establishment of SEZs was mainly to fuel rapid economic growth, provide world class infrastructure and employment, promote exports, increase foreign exchange reserves and attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The main objective of the paper is to investigate whether the enactment of SEZ policies had any impact on inflow of FDI among Indian states.

Policy Design

Cash Transfers to Individuals based on Biometric Identification are Feasible and will bring Large Gains to the Economically Insecure

Submitted by Tanay Ray Bhatt on
EfD Authors:

This discussion paper by Arka Roy Chaudhuri and E Somanathan discusses the potential of biometric identification to facilitate cash transfers in India.

Policy Design

Regulation and Contract Design: The Impact of Relationship Specific Investment

Submitted by Tanay Ray Bhatt on
EfD Authors:

A primary explanation for variation in contract structure is the extent to which contracting parties make investments specific to their transaction. Investment decisions are typically endogenous in contract choice, however, frustrating attempts at causal verification. I analyze the impact of a major environmental regulation, the Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990, on coal procurement strategies of U.S. utilities. I exploit a key feature of the Amendment's design to define a difference‐in‐difference model that is arguably less susceptible to endogeneity concerns.

Policy Design