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522. After a Decade of Growth in Africa, Little Change in Poverty at the Grassroots
- Author:
- Boniface Dulani, Robert Mattes, and Carolyn Logan
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afrobarometer
- Abstract:
- New data from Round 5 of the Afrobarometer, collected across an unprecedented 34 African countries between October 2011 and June 2013, demonstrates that “lived poverty” remains pervasive across the continent. This data, based on the views and experiences of ordinary citizens, counters projections of declining poverty rates that have been derived from official GDP growth rates. For the 16 countries where these questions have been asked over the past decade, we find little evidence for systematic reduction of lived poverty despite average GDP growth rates of 4.8% per year over the same period. While we do see reductions in five countries (Cape Verde, Ghana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe), we also find increases in lived poverty in five others (Botswana, Mali, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania). Overall, then, despite high reported growth rates, lived poverty at the grassroots remains little changed. This suggests either that growth is occurring, but that its effects are not trickling down to the poorest citizens (in fact, income inequality may be worsening), or alternatively, that actual growth rates may not match up to those being reported. The evidence also suggests, however, that investments in infrastructure and social services are strongly linked with lower levels of lived poverty.
- Topic:
- Poverty, Inequality, Economic Growth, and Social Services
- Political Geography:
- Africa
523. Say on Pay Laws, Executive Compensation, CEO Pay Slice, and Firm Value Around the World
- Author:
- Ricardo Correa and Uger Lel
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Abstract:
- Using a sample of about 90,000 observations from 38 countries over the 2001-2012 period, we provide three novel findings regarding say on pay (SoP) laws. First, we find robust evidence that SoP laws reduce CEO pay growth rates at firms. Second, such laws decrease the portion of total top management pay captured by CEOs. Firm values are higher following SoP laws in part because of this reduction in managerial pay inequality. Third, mandatory SoP laws only affect the CEO pay growth rates whereas advisory SoP laws influence various aspects of executive pay policies. These results are robust to instrumental variable estimation and nearest neighbor matching methods.
- Topic:
- Labor Issues, Inequality, Leadership, and Business
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
524. Pro-poor growth and poverty reduction in Nigeria
- Author:
- John E. Ataguba, Chukwuma Agu, and Hyacinth Ichoku
- Publication Date:
- 11-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
- Abstract:
- The government of Nigeria has placed poverty reduction at the centre of the country’s economic policy and development programs since independence. Though this was not explicitly targeted in earlier development plans (1962 to 1975) of the country, it featured in more pronounced ways in latter programs and projects, many of which specifically targeted elimination of poverty. These targeted programs and projects covered a wide range of sectors of the economy including agriculture, health, education, housing and finance. In fact, they became so commonplace, scattered and ubiquitous that the Obasanjo regime (1999-2007) had to set out to rationalize and merge them in 1999. The various institutions that have arisen from the disparate poverty reduction programs were then consolidated into the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP). This, headed by the President, was charged with the sole mandate of eradicating poverty. There are different opinions that exist regarding the level of success of these programs and policies. Some people believe that these programs have had positive impact on the poor while others believe that they have made the poor poorer.
- Topic:
- Poverty, Inequality, Economic Growth, and Economic Policy
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Nigeria
525. Agglomeration in Europe in the Context of Socio-Ecological Transition
- Author:
- Constantin Zaman and Izabela Marcinkowska
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Social and Economic Research - CASE
- Abstract:
- This paper analyses the spatial distribution of economic activity in the European Union at NUTS2 level over the 2001-2010 period. The aim of the study is twofold: (i) to provide descriptive evidence of the agglomeration distribution in Europe and its evolution over time across countries; (ii) to identify the nature of agglomeration and the factors that determine its level, with particular attention paid to the socio-ecological transformation occurring in Europe. The study concludes that: a) the changes in agglomeration are sensitive to demographic transformations taking place; b) the ecological transformation has a mixed effect, depending on each country; c) significant differences are observed between new and old Member States; the crisis has had a significant influence on agglomeration but only in Western Europe.
- Topic:
- European Union, Inequality, Economy, and Agglomeration
- Political Geography:
- Europe
526. Rethinking Earnings Determinants in the Urban Areas of Bolivia
- Author:
- Beatriz Muriel H.
- Publication Date:
- 12-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
- Abstract:
- This paper analyzes the factors that explain earnings in levels and inequality in the urban areas of Bolivia, considering not only the usual individual characteristics (education, experience, gender, and ethnicity) but also firm characteristics. Given the information available at the firm level in the household surveys, two simple models were developed: one for independent workers (for which there is relatively detailed firm-level data), and the other for dependent workers (where firm variables were approximated by sector, size, and by the legal condition of the workers). The main econometric results show that: i) earnings regressions that include only individual variables present highly biased (overestimated) coefficients; ii) firm characteristics are fundamental factors for explaining earnings for independent workers, almost doubling R2 and explaining 45.5% of observed earnings inequality; and iii) firm proxies for dependent workers are also relevant; however, they explain wages at a lower percentage (11.8%), which may be due to non-detailed firm data and to the relatively higher importance of education for these workers. These new findings represent a contribution to the empirical literature on earnings determinants for urban Bolivia as well as to the vision of labor income and poverty problems.
- Topic:
- Inequality, Urban, Earnings, and Wages
- Political Geography:
- South America and Bolivia
527. Deconstructing “Democracy” in Afghanistan
- Author:
- Anna Larson
- Publication Date:
- 05-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
- Abstract:
- Despite widespread concerns about fraud, foreign interference and ineffectiveness, there remains a clear appetite among many Afghans for a system of democratic representation. However, this must be centred firmly around their own priorities if it is to take lasting root. Building on two years of research in six contrasting provinces, this report explores Afghan perspectives on democracy and their possible implications for the future. The research brought together the opinions of men and women from diverse social backgrounds, living on both sides of the rural/urban divide and in areas with varying security levels. Across this array of different hopes, expectations and concerns this revealed, three key themes emerged. • The issue of Afghan ownership against foreign imposition was a hot topic for many respondents. While many people saw “democracy” as an unwelcome imposition of Western culture and values, there was generally strong support for the idea of selecting representatives via elections. Others also spoke of the need to fix Afghan democracy within an “Islamic framework,” though this was rarely defined. • Democracy and democratic participation were also viewed as a distant second priority to ensuring security and stability. Immediate concerns over the threat of violence that political engagement often entails were framed against a more general call for a “politics of consensus” and a deep suspicion of political parties. • There were also sharp contrasts in people’s perspectives on the nature of equality and representation, specifically regarding who should be represented, and how. However, there was an almost unanimous call for greater equality of access to decision-making, service provision and resources, and in this respect many saw Afghanistan’s current “democracy” as little more than a front for the powerful to accumulate wealth and extend their reach.
- Topic:
- Imperialism, Democracy, Inequality, and Political Parties
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East
528. Headscarf Ban and Discrimination
- Author:
- Dilek Cindoğlu
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
- Abstract:
- The headscarf ban applied in institutions of higher education, in the public sector, and as this research has shown, in the private sector, reveals the perspectives of the state and its institutions and as well of the society on human, women’s and citizens’ rights. The restrictions and barriers to entry of women to study and work in institutions of higher education and public sector institutions, in place since the 1960s, rest on a mentality that views women’s choices to wear headscarves as an attack on the secular regime, instead of treating their choices as a manifestation of their freedom of religion and belief. Consequently, the practices that were initially violating freedom of belief gradually deteriorated to cause further violations of rights to education, to employment, to equal access to public life and of basic rights and liberties such as the right to equality. The headscarf ban in institutions of higher education has for many years been and remains to be a widely debated and contested issue. Though there is a wealth of analysis, dialogue, debate and research on the subject, it is largely restricted to whether the headscarf ban in universities is justified or not. The impact that the ban has had on headscarved women’s lives have, on the other hand, been absent in the debates and analyses on the headscarf ban. A question that has not been featured in research and public debates so far is despite the public sector ban on the headscarf what are the experiences of those headscarved women at work who were able to graduate from university, but did not abandon their choice to wear headscarf to practice their faith and without? In other words, what is the impact of the headscarf ban in the public sector on the professional lives of higher educated headscarved women? Does this ban, which applies to public sector institutions, also hinder or restrict professional headscarved women as they apply for or work in private sector jobs? What obstacles are there for professional headscarved women to entering job markets in Turkey and to advancing their careers? This report is a product of TESEV Democratization Program’s quest to answer these questions. It examines one of the greatest roadblocks on Turkey’s path to democratization, the headscarf ban, and the implications of the ban on public and private sector employment to document the myriad forms of discrimination and rights violations that headscarved women face immediately after they decide to become working professionals. Though some forms of workplace discrimination 6 that headscarved women face also affect non-headscarved professional women with similar socio-economic backgrounds, the headscarf is the primary source of the majority of discrimination faced by professional headscarved women. Again, this report shows that the ban on the public sector spilled over to the private sector. Cases of discrimination and rights violations that are believed to have diminished and to even have been reversed in favor of headscarved women during the two terms of the AK Party administration continue to be recorded, especially and more vehemently in the private sector.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Gender Issues, Religion, Women, Inequality, and Discrimination
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Middle East
529. China and World Development beyond the Crisis
- Author:
- Dic Lo
- Publication Date:
- 10-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- Recent international opinions on China and world development have focused on the Sino-US economic nexus. The neo-liberal theory of “China causing global imbalances” claims that the particular way through which China has integrated itself into the world market is to the detriment of the economies of the advanced countries. The critical theory of “China facing internal and external dependence”, in contrast, claims that the real victim has been the economic development of China itself and the majority of developing economies. The objective of this paper is to clarify the analytical efficacy of these two theories, and, on that basis, to assess the validity of their implied policies. The paper also seeks to explore into the construction of an alternative policy line that suits better the needs of the social and economic development of China and the developing world.
- Topic:
- Development, Inequality, Social Policy, and Economic Development
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
530. Poverty in Afghan Policy: Enhancing Solutions through Better Defining the Problem
- Author:
- Paula Kantor and Adam Pain
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
- Abstract:
- Over the past few years, Afghan policymakers have put aside strategies encouraging pro-poor growth in favour of solutions that focus on expanding GDP. In addition, existing solutions to poverty are becoming increasingly technically-oriented and fail to take local social realities and power structures into account. This briefing paper calls for policymakers and programmers to refocus on poverty and its social causes as a way to ensure that efforts to improve the lives of rural Afghans meet with lasting success.
- Topic:
- Poverty, Inequality, Economic Growth, and Rural
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East