World Development

Volume 93, Issue 5, May 2017

1. Title:Urban Governance and the Politics of Climate change

Authors:Vanesa Castán Broto

Abstract:Cities and urban areas are increasingly recognized as strategic arenas for climate change action. Processes of urban governance addressing climate change reconfigure the politics of climate change. Practitioners and scholars may be interested in the transformation of urban governance that follows global advances in climate change and urban policy. They may specifically be interested in how the urban governance of climate change is achieved and with what consequences for international development. This review evaluates the deep changes in urban governance that follow attempts to address climate change and how, in turn, attempts to govern climate change in urban areas reconfigure discourses informing the politics of climate change. The review shows that efforts to institutionalize climate change governance in urban areas reflect the conditions of specific contexts; that cities and sub-national entities have gained traction in international climate policy through heterogeneous forms of network governance; that governing climate change in urban areas relates to the production and deployment of new climate rationalities, or governmentalities; and that governing experiences in cities are reconfiguring discourses of climate change governance toward an increasing emphasis on experimentation as a means to deal with the open ended processes of governing urban areas.

2. Title:Money Flows, Water Trickles: Understanding Patterns of Decentralized Water Provision in Tanzania

Authors:Ruth D. Carlitz

Abstract:Over the past three decades, an increasing number of low- and middle-income countries have decentralized water provision to the local government level, and have sought to more thoroughly involve users in service delivery. Such reforms reflect the twin goals of encouraging greater responsiveness to local needs and promoting sustainability. This study illustrates how the aims of decentralization can be undermined in the absence of robust democratic competition, and how governments interpret “demand” by voters in such settings. Focusing on the Tanzanian water sector, the paper first traces the distribution of money for water from the central government to the district level. Next, I consider how district governments use these funds to distribute water infrastructure within their jurisdictions, using geo-referenced data on all 75,000 water points serving rural Tanzanians. I find that the central government’s allocation of money to districts is fairly unresponsive to local needs. However, the pattern of distribution cannot primarily be explained by politics, with the exception of consistent favoritism of the Minister for Water’s home district. Political favoritism is more pronounced at the local level. Within districts, the distribution of new water infrastructure is skewed to favor localities with higher demonstrated levels of support for the ruling party. In addition, wealthier and better-connected communities—those with the resources to more effectively express their demands—are significantly more likely to benefit from new construction. This suggests that “demand-responsive” approaches to water provision can entrench regressive patterns of distribution.

3.Title:Ethnic Integration and Development in China

Authors:Enze Han, Christopher Paik.

Abstract:This paper pursues an inquiry into the relationship between ethnicity and development in the largest authoritarian country in the contemporary world, the People’s Republic of China. It engages the theoretical literature on ethnic diversity and development in general, but also pays special attention to political economy logics unique to authoritarian systems. Focusing on the western part of China over a decade since the launch of China’s Western Development Program (xibu da kaifa) in 2000, this paper utilizes the data from two censuses (2000 and 2010) together with nighttime streetlight imagery data to analyze the overall relationship between ethnicity and development provision. It also analyzes changes in such a relationship during this period. The paper finds that ethnic minority concentration negatively correlates with economic development in both the years 2000 and 2010 across the western provinces. It also finds that counties in non-autonomous provinces, which are historically more integrated with the rest of China than autonomous provinces, have a positive and systematic correlation between changes in ethnic minority concentration and changes in development during the 10-year period. The counties in autonomous provinces, on the other hand, show the opposite trend. Using three case studies of Tibet, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang, the paper concludes that although there is in general a tendency for ethnic minority concentrated areas to be less developed, ultimately which groups prosper more or less depends upon specific economic development and which political control logics the Chinese state implements.

4. Title:Soil Properties, Crop Yield, and Economics under Integrated Crop Management Practices in Karnataka, Southern India

Authors:Suhas P. Wani, K.H. Anantha, Kaushal K. Garg.

Abstract:Considering the importance of sustainable production practices with greater resource use efficiency, a study was conducted during 2009–12 to understand the soil properties, crop yield, and economics as affected by the integrated crop management (ICM) practices under the Bhoochetana (soil rejuvenation) program in Karnataka, India. Results from 3776 crop-cutting studies on different crops (cereals, pulses, and oilseeds) revealed that there is a vast spatial variability in case of various soil nutrients across different taluks of Karnataka. Balanced fertilizer application, both in rainfed and irrigated areas, directly influenced crop yields. Yields of cereals, legumes, and oilseeds were 3590, 1400, and 2230 kg ha−1 with improved management practices as compared to 2650, 1030, and 1650 kg ha−1 with conventional farming practices, respectively. Average net income estimated from conventional farming was Rs. 26,290 ha−1, while it was Rs. 35,540 ha−1 from improved management practices, which indicated that ICM practices resulted in an additional 35% income. The oilseeds performed better in terms of achieving higher net income and benefit–cost ratio while the cereals and legumes also have shown significant improvement in yield compared to the yields from conventional farming practices. The detailed findings on soil properties, yields of crops, and economics suggested that there is a vast potential for crop productivity improvement through ICM practices across different soil types and rainfall zones of Karnataka, India.

5. Title:Using National Statistics to Increase Transparency of Large Land Acquisition: Evidence from Ethiopia

Authors:Daniel Ayalew Ali, Klaus Deininger, Anthony Harris.

Abstract:Almost a decade after the rise in land demand triggered by the 2007/08 commodity price boom, most potential target countries still lack access to relevant information on a routine basis. This has reduced their ability to effectively regulate, monitor, and attract responsible investors rather than speculators in their effort to increase agricultural productivity and have benefits accrue to the host communities. The example of Ethiopia shows how building on existing data collection efforts allows to address this challenge and help formulate policies that guide the path forward. Using the 2013/14 nationally representative smallholder and commercial farm surveys, we find that (i) for most crops commercial farms’ yields are higher than smallholders’, with a peak in the 10–20-ha bracket; (ii) commercial farms create few permanent jobs (with just one permanent job per 20 ha) and use only 55% of the land transferred to them; and (iii) after a peak in 2008, formation of new commercial farms is down to the pre-2007 levels. These findings imply that having reliable data on commercial farms, collected on regular intervals, could generate feedback loops for policy formulation and also provide vital information to assess and take regulatory actions aimed at improving the performance and attracting higher levels of investment to the sector.

6. Title:Linking Economic Complexity, Institutions, and Income Inequality

Authors:Dominik Hartmann, Miguel R. Guevara, Cristian Jara-Figueroa, Manuel Aristarán, César A. Hidalgo.

Abstract:A country’s mix of products predicts its subsequent pattern of diversification and economic growth. But does this product mix also predict income inequality? Here we combine methods from econometrics, network science, and economic complexity to show that countries exporting complex products—as measured by the Economic Complexity Index—have lower levels of income inequality than countries exporting simpler products. Using multivariate regression analysis, we show that economic complexity is a significant and negative predictor of income inequality and that this relationship is robust to controlling for aggregate measures of income, institutions, export concentration, and human capital. Moreover, we introduce a measure that associates a product to a level of income inequality equal to the average GINI of the countries exporting that product (weighted by the share the product represents in that country’s export basket). We use this measure together with the network of related products—or product space—to illustrate how the development of new products is associated with changes in income inequality. These findings show that economic complexity captures information about an economy’s level of development that is relevant to the ways an economy generates and distributes its income. Moreover, these findings suggest that a country’s productive structure may limit its range of income inequality. Finally, we make our results available through an online resource that allows for its users to visualize the structural transformation of over 150 countries and their associated changes in income inequality during 1963–2008.

7. Title:Enabling Mini-Grid Development in Rural India

Authors:Stephen D. Comello, Stefan J. Reichelstein, Anshuman Sahoo, Tobias S. Schmidt.

Abstract:Rural electrification rates in India lag behind government goals, in part due to the inability of distribution companies (discoms) to fund central grid expansion. In the absence of central grid electrification, mini-grids offer significant potential for an immediate pathway toward rural electrification and the attendant gains in economic growth and productivity. Yet private investment in mini-grids has been virtually absent in India. Using a comprehensive life-cycle cost analysis, we find that mini-grids based on solar PV power and storage are more economical than incumbent energy services available to households without central grid connection.Under current law, a prospective entrepreneur in India does not require a license or certification in order to build a mini-grid and subsequently provide electricity services in the area covered by said installation. Conversely, there is no legal or regulatory framework that specifies what is to happen if the central grid were to be extended to an area that is already covered by a mini-grid. We report detailed survey evidence from interviews with entrepreneurs, analysts and policymakers whose assessments converge on the same point: mini-grid investments would be jeopardized in the event of central grid extension, precisely because discoms would, by regulatory order, provide electricity services at highly subsidized rates, well below their full economic cost. Our fieldwork suggests that the threat of central grid extension is a gateway barrier preventing mini-grid development in India.The issues associated with the gateway barrier have common elements with the so-called holdup problem as identified in the economics of organizations. There have been two recent federal policy guidelines and one actual state-level policy addressing the regulatory status of mini-grids. We examine the effectiveness of these policies/proposals in terms of an entrepreneur’s willingness to develop mini-grids in the future.

8. Title:Does Local Development Influence Outmigration Decisions? Evidence from Indonesia

Authors:Smriti Tiwari

Abstract:This paper takes advantage of the exogenous phasing of the district-level elections in Indonesia to establish an unbiased causal impact of local economic development conditions on outmigration decisions. Does the change in service delivery due to decentralization affect the internal migration, a phenomenon not new to Indonesia and driven by the historic uneven development across the archipelago? Furthermore, because the services are no longer centered in Java and Bali, will the migration to these historically popular provinces change? If yes, to what extent? This discussion is of central importance not only in the Indonesian context – where rising population pressures in Java and Bali provinces are the government’s ultimate challenge – but also in the development literature, where empirical research on such questions is made impossible by the lack of appropriate data and context. Two different datasets, the Indonesian Family Life Survey and the Indonesian Census, are used to conduct the analyses. They provide consistent results. A household in a district that went through election is 19% less likely to be a migrant-sending household. This is true particularly for districts that are in Java and Bali. A household in a district in Java and Bali that went through election is 27% less likely to be a migrant-sending household.

9. Title:Understanding and Resolving Conflict Between Local Communities and Conservation Authorities in Colombia

Authors: K. De Pourcq, E. Thomas, B. Arts, A. Vranckx, T. Léon-Sicard, P. Van Damme

Abstract:Conflicts between indigenous and local communities, on the one hand, and national protected area administrations on the other are pervasive. A better understanding of these park-people conflicts would assist in suitable policy changes to constructively address them while concurrently pursuing conservation and livelihood goals. We interviewed 601 people living inside or along the borders of fifteen Colombian NPAs to identify five main categories of park-people conflicts. Based on interviews with 128 community leaders and 76 institutional-level respondents -mainly park officers- we discuss the five principal factors underlying the identified conflicts and present a conflict framework relating the dominant sources to the most prominent conflict manifestations. Finally, we detail five strategies toward conflict prevention. While simultaneous interventions at multiple levels would be ideal or preferred, our analysis suggests that the incidence of park-people conflicts in Colombia can be substantially lowered through (i) making the environmental legislative body more socially inclusive; and (ii) adequately empowering NPA administrations. We expect our findings to be valuable for managing conflict contexts in protected areas in other tropical countries. Further research is necessary to determine the most effective interventions for both conflict resolution and meeting conservation goals.

10. Title:Vulnerability to Cumulative Hazards: Coping with the Coffee Leaf Rust Outbreak, Drought, and Food Insecurity in Nicaragua

Authors:Christopher M. Bacon, William A. Sundstrom, Iris T. Stewart, David Beezer.

Abstract:Recurrent food insecurity in the highlands of Central America has been exacerbated by the recent convergence of a coffee leaf rust outbreak that began defoliating crops in 2011 and a drought that started in 2014. In the context of these multiple challenges, this paper explores how seasonal hunger is related to smallholder organizational affiliation, farm and farmer characteristics, and post-hazard household-level coping strategies. The study integrates qualitative research, hydro-climatic data analysis, and a survey of 368 households completed in 2014. A number of household capacities correlate significantly with shorter periods of seasonal hunger: households with larger farms, with off-farm employment, and that produce more than half of their food, maintain more fruit trees, and harvest more coffee reported fewer lean months. We find evidence consistent with path dependence in how households cope with a sequence of environmental hazards, as the reported use of less preferred coping responses to past events (e.g., Hurricane Mitch and the 2009 drought) tended to correlate with their continued use after subsequent hazards. A comparison of coping responses of households affiliated with a farmer-to-farmer institution promoting subsistence-oriented production with those affiliated with cooperatives prioritizing sustainable coffee exports shows that farmer institutions were not strongly correlated with the number of lean months or coping mechanisms.

11. Title:Inequality between and Within Skill Groups: The Curious Case of India

Authors:Manisha Goel

Abstract:Wage inequality has risen in India over the past three decades. A similar phenomenon has been documented widely for other developing countries. However, unlike in other countries, which saw widening wage structures both between and within skill groups, I show that inequality in India increased between groups but fell within them over the period 1983–2005. Returns to education increased with the wages of college graduates rising relative to high school graduates who, in turn, earned increasingly more than less educated workers. But workers within education groups witnessed lower wage dispersion over time. Defining demographic groups more narrowly, by additionally including characteristics such as experience, gender, industry, and state, among others, regression results show that inequality increased between them while simultaneously declining within them, as indicated by a compression of the residual wage inequality. Decomposition analysis attributes the decline in wage dispersion within groups to falling returns to unobservable characteristics. This, previously undocumented, divergent trend in inequality between and within skill groups in India cannot be explained by the three main arguments in the extant literature for why developing countries have witnessed a rise in wage inequality in recent decades following trade liberalization—greater imports of skill-complementary technology, offshoring, and reallocation of skilled labor toward exporting firms. I provide several pieces of suggestive evidence to argue that reduction in labor market frictions and growth in offshored tasks from developed countries that are routine in content, but performed by high-skilled workers, can lead to the divergent trends in inequality between and within groups. Compositional changes in the labor force do not account for the inequality patterns witnessed in India.

12. Title:The Role of Accountants in Indian Self-Help Groups: A Trade-off between Financial and Non-Financial Benefits

Authors:Lore Vandewalle