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From Protection to Competition: Assessing the Impact of De-reservation on India's MSMEs and Exporting Enterprises

India's policy of reserving certain products exclusively for small-scale industries (SSI) aimed to promote the labour-intensive sector and promote employment. However, this policy was criticised for h...

by Rahees K A | On 19 Feb 2026

Price Discovery in Indian Government Securities Market, Monetary Management and the Cost of Government Borrowing

Over 2017-18 there was a sharp rise in Indian government securities (G-Secs) interest rates unrelated to fundamentals. Examining each of the standard explanatory variables shows them to be inadequate...

by Ashima Goyal | On 29 Mar 2019

Sectoral amd Skill Contributions to Labor Productivity in Asia

Using a decomposition approach on data collected by the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) as well as World Input-Output data, it shows that in most Asian economies the services sector makes the la...

by Matthias Helble | On 12 Mar 2019

Skill Mismatch and Returns to Education in Manufacturing: A Case of India’s Textile and Clothing Industry

The paper attempts to measure the incidence and extent of skill/education mismatch and analyse the economic returns/cost to over/under education in one of India’s largest labour intensive industries:...

by Prateek Kukreja | On 04 Feb 2019

Explaining the contractualisation of India’s workforce

The employment structure of India’s organised manufacturing sector has undergone substantial changes over the last decade with a steep rise in the use of contract workers in place of directly hired wo...

by Radhicka Kapoor | On 03 Feb 2019

Responses to Trade Opening: Evidence and Lessons from Asia

In various Asian countries, international trade has raised productivity, lowered mark ups through import competition (while increasing them through cheaper inputs that can be imported), raised wages,...

by Devashish Mitra | On 22 Jan 2019

Productivity and Trade Growth in Services: How Services Helped Power Factory Asia

This paper uses a theory-based measure of productivity-based comparative advantage to examine the trade performance of developing Asian economies in manufacturing and services over the 1995–2011 perio...

by Ben Shepherd | On 20 Jan 2019

Data Localisation in India: Questioning the Means and Ends

This paper classifies the arguments around data localisation into three broad categories - the civil liberties perspective; the government functions perspective and the economic perspective. It examin...

by Rishab Bailey | On 12 Jan 2019

Exporting and Firm Performance: Evidence from India

In this paper the positive correlation between firm productivity and export status is well established. This correlation can arise from multiple alternative casual models. It has investigated these re...

by Apoorva Gupta | On 12 Jan 2019

Services Policies and Manufacturing Exports

This paper uses a structural gravity model to show the effects of services policies on manufacturing exports. Whereas the previous literature has focused on indirect effects of policies—flowing throug...

by Ben Shepherd | On 28 Dec 2018

The Servicification of Manufacturing in Asia: Redefining the Sources of Labor Productivity

Services are playing an increasingly important role in the global economy. Over the last few decades, the sector’s contribution to output, employment, and value-added trade has grown quite dramaticall...

by Valerie Mercer-Blackman | On 21 Dec 2018

Rationale and Institution for Public – Private Partnerships

Private–public partnership (PPP) methods are considered to be an effective way to narrow the gap between demand and supply of social infrastructure. If successfully pursued, PPP can deliver benefits t...

by Jungwook Kim | On 19 Sep 2018

Bride Price and Female Education

The paper examines how the effects of school construction on girls’ education vary with a widely-practiced marriage custom called bride price, which is a payment made by the husband and/or his family...

by Nava Ashraf | On 17 Sep 2018

Vietnam’s Low National Competitiveness, Causes, Implications and Suggestions for Improvement

This study provides an in-depth analysis of main causes of Vietnam’s low competitiveness from the country’s perspective. These are structural problems due to its factor-based growth model, expansionar...

by LE Quoc Phuong | On 11 Sep 2018

Misallocation in the Market for Inputs: Enforcement and the Organization of Production

The strength of contract enforcement determines how firms source inputs and organize production. Using microdata on Indian manufacturing plants, it shows that production and sourcing decisions appear...

by Johannes Boehm | On 03 Sep 2018

Assessing the Effects of Simple and Complex Innovation Strategies on the Performance of Firms in the Philippines

Innovation is the synergistic use of resources, technology, capital, and information to achieve growth at different levels of the economy. Many studies abroad have already supported the hypothesis tha...

by Connie Bayudan-Dacuycuy | On 27 Aug 2018

Green Energy Finance in India: Challenges and Solutions

The paper presents a granular understanding of the associated challenges of mobilizing such finances, drawing from the Indian perspective. It contributes to the present understanding by identifying th...

by Gopal K. Sarangi | On 24 Aug 2018

Managing Credit Risk and Improving Access to Finance in Green Energy Projects

The cost of finance has a relatively high impact on the returns and viability of clean energy projects compared with fossil fuel-based energy projects, because the operating costs for renewable energy...

by Purkayastha Dhruba | On 13 Aug 2018

Productivity Growth in Organized Manufacturing in Telangana

This paper makes an attempt to estimate Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth by using both growth accounting approach and production function approach. Kendrick, Solow and Tornqvist-Theil indices ar...

by G. Alivelu | On 26 Jun 2018

Trade Costs, Time, and Supply Chain Reliability

This paper uses measures of international transport time, in median and standard deviation, based on shipment-level data from the Universal Postal Union, to analyze the effect of time on trade costs....

by Utsav Kumar | On 14 Jun 2018

The Morbidity Cost of Air Pollution: Evidence from Consumer Spending in China

This paper provides knowledge the first analysis of the morbidity cost of PM2.5 for the entire population of a developing country. To address potential endogeneity in pollution exposure, it constructs...

by Panle Jia Barwick | On 12 Jun 2018

Market Integration, Demand and the Growth of Firms: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in India

In many developing countries, the average firm is small, does not grow and has low productivity. Lack of market integration and limited information on non-local products often leave consumers unaware...

by Robert T. Jensen | On 12 Jun 2018

Determinants of Dividends among Indian Firms—An Empirical Study

The study aims to understand the determinants of dividend trends of Indian firms. The study was based on a sample of 31,234 firms representing 15 different industry sectors. Construction materials...

by | On 31 May 2018

Energy Productivity And Energy Demand: Experimental Evidence From Indian Manufacturing Plants

This paper studies a field experiment among energy-intensive Indian manufacturing plants that offered energy consulting to raise energy productivity, the amount plants can produce with e...

by Nicholas Ryan | On 30 May 2018

Skill Development and Productivity of the Workforce

Skill development is an important driver to address pov - erty reduction by improving employability, productivity and helping sustainable enterprise development and in - clusive growth. It facil...

by A Srija | On 28 May 2018

The Impact of New Drug Launches on Life-Years Lost in 2015 from 19 Types of Cancer in 36 Countries

This study employs a two-way fixed effects research design to measure the mortality impact and cost-effectiveness of cancer drugs: it analyzes the correlation across 36 countries between relative mort...

by Frank R. Lichtenberg | On 02 May 2018

Growth, Employment and Output Generation in MSME in India: An Analysis

The paper have attempted to understand the dynamics of MSMEs –that is to say,how much the number of units is increasing and how much is the contribution of MSME’s in the economy? We have also expl...

by | On 30 Apr 2018

Broadband Adoption and Firm Performance: Evidence from Informal Sector Firms in India

Using unit level data for informal manufacturing sector, drawn from the Government of India’s National Sample Survey Organization , this paper addresses the impact of broad...

by Kausik Chaudhuri | On 25 Apr 2018

India and Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) Agreement: Concerns and Way Forward

Services are a major component of global gross domestic product and employment, and a rising component of global trade and investment flows. This is the largest sector of the Indian ...

by Avantika Kapoor | On 25 Apr 2018

Country Origin of Foreign Direct Investment in Indi an Manufacturing and Its Impact on Productivity of Domestic Firms

The paper investigated the productivity enhancing e ffects of FDI in Indian manufacturing firms, with a particular focus on the differences in FDI i mpact according to the county of origin of FDI....

by Bishwanath Goldar | On 19 Apr 2018

Revisiting Rates of Return to Agricultural R&D Investment

This study proposes the use of partial least squares to determine the key parameters of the perpetual inventory method model of capital stock as a new approach to calculate research and development (R...

by Alejandro Nin Pratt | On 13 Apr 2018

Special Economic Zones for Myanmar

This report examines the current state of Myanmar’s industrial sector, draws comparisons to its neighboring countries, and discusses the potential impacts of SEZ policy on the economy. A key finding...

by Amit K. Khandelwal | On 12 Apr 2018

Effects of Contract Governance on Public Private Partnership (PPP) Performance

This paper empirically examines the impact of differences in contract attributes on project outcomes. The hypothesis is to test whether better incentive structure and stricter administrative controls...

by Chandan Kumar | On 05 Apr 2018

Agricultural Productivity Shocks, Labor Reallocation, and Rural-Urban Migration in China

This paper analyses the way households in rural China use rural-urban migration and off-farm work as a response to negative productivity shocks in agriculture. I employ various waves of a longitudin...

by Luigi Minale | On 04 Apr 2018

Climate Policy under Cooperation and Competition between Regions with Spatial Heat Transport

The paper builds a novel stochastic dynamic regional integrated assessment model (IAM) of the climate and economic system including a number of important climate science elements that are missing in m...

by Yongyang Cai | On 04 Apr 2018

Demand for Textile and Clothing Exports of Pakistan

This study says that for a long time, textile and clothing have played an important role in the economic development of the country.

by Afia Malik | On 26 Mar 2018

The Role of Total Factor Productivity Growth in Middle-Income Countries

We examine the importance of total factor productivity (TFP) growth in middle-income countries based on cross-country panel data for the period 1975–2014. We find that TFP growth contributed signific...

by | On 23 Mar 2018

The State of the World's Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture: Managing Systems at Risk

The issue of land and water for crops. It examines the kinds of production responses needed to meet demand. It also assesses the potential of the world’s land and water resources to support these de...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 22 Mar 2018

Investment Choice with Managerial Incentive Schemes

In this paper we show that firms might get an additional strategic benefit from using marginal-cost-reducing investments in conjunction with a managerial incentive scheme. While both these instrumen...

by | On 12 Mar 2018

Budget 2018: Maharashtra Budget Speech Part 1

Budget speech of the Finance Minister of Maharashtra.

by Sudhir Mungamtiwar | On 12 Mar 2018

Managing Financial Globalization: Insights from the Recent Literature

This paper seeks to draw lessons for developing countries based on a survey of the recent literature on financial globalization. First, while capital account openness holds promises (by potentially lo...

by Shang-Jin Wei | On 10 Mar 2018

Seeing the Forest for the Trees? An Investigation of Network Knowledge

The paper studies a dynamic model of the decision to continue or abandon a research project. Researchers improve their ideas over time and also learn whether those ideas will be adopted by the scienti...

by | On 07 Mar 2018

Learning When to Quit: An Empirical Model of Experimentation

The paper studies a dynamic model of the decision to continue or abandon a research project. Researchers improve their ideas over time and also learn whether those ideas will be adopted by the scienti...

by Bernhard Ganglmair | On 06 Mar 2018

An Alternative Argument of Green Solow Model in Developing Economy Context

The paper attempts to understand the significance of the Green Solow Model, in the context of a developing country such as India. It gives particular importance to the role of population density, in...

by | On 27 Feb 2018

State Level Fiscal Reforms in India: Some Core Issues

This paper has introduced instability in the budgets and has added to the burden of public debt.

by K.K. George | On 15 Feb 2018

Broadband Adoption and Firm Performance: Evidence from Informal Sector Firms in India

Using unit level data for informal manufacturing sector, drawn from the Government of India’s National Sample Survey Organization, this paper addresses the impact of broadband adoption on firm perfo...

by | On 13 Feb 2018

In the Long Run We are Dead, says Keynes Amen, says the Government!

This is a dreamy and populist Budget talking high numbers while missing out on empirical realities. The irony is that, looked at closely, it has neither pleased the free market theorists nor has it do...

by K.R. Shyam Sundar | On 09 Feb 2018

Trade in Intermediate Goods: Implications for Productivity and Welfare in Korea

The paper find technical changes and the degree of inefficiency are related with the magnitude of multipliers, but we leave a fundamental identification problem to future research.

by Kim Gui | On 30 Jan 2018

The Effect of Restructuring on Labor Reallocation and Productivity Growth: An Estimation for Korea

The paper says that the productivity growth of the service sector would foster economy-wide productivity and it can be achieved by the mitigation of misallocation of resources in service sectors.

by Choi Hyelin | On 26 Jan 2018

Mitigating Threats to Girls's Education in Conflict Affected Contexts: Current Practice

Conflict amplifies existing power dynamics and inequalities in families and societies because of the insecurity and fear caused by the upheaval of support structures. Conflicts generally result in the...

by | On 22 Jan 2018

Selection, Firm Turnover, and Productivity Growth: Do Emerging Cities Speed up the Process?

This paper identifies and estimates the impact of firm entry and exit on plant-level productivity in Ethiopia as part of a selection mechanism that might be driving aggregate productivity growth in ci...

by Patricia Jones | On 16 Jan 2018

Financial Literacy in Japan: Determinants and Impacts

Financial literacy is gaining increasing importance as a policy objective in many countries. However, internationally comparable information on financial literacy is still scarce. Recently, the Bank o...

by Naoyuki Yoshino | On 21 Dec 2017

Consumption- and Productivity-Adjusted Dependency Ratio with Household Structure Heterogeneity

This study constructs a new dependency ratio measure by taking into account the consumption needs of the young and elderly people, and the productivity of middle-aged people. Different from the way th...

by Xuehui Han | On 21 Dec 2017

The Value of Pharmacogenomic Information

This paper studies of couple evidence from a real-world implementation of pharmacogenomic testing with a discrete event simulation model. It uses the framework to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of va...

by John A. Graves | On 18 Dec 2017

Mechanics of Replacing Benefit Systems with a Basic Income: Comparative Results from a Microsimulation Approach

Recent debates of basic income (BI) proposals shine a useful spotlight on the challenges that traditional forms of income support are increasingly facing, and highlight gaps in social provisions that...

by James Browne | On 15 Dec 2017

Outlook for the Philippine Economy and Agro-Industry to 2030: The Role of Productivity Growth

This study provides growth projections for the Philippine agriculture based on growth in productivity differentiated by basic sector, using a computable general equilibrium model.

by Roehlano M. Briones | On 14 Dec 2017

Global Investment Competitiveness Report 2017/2018 : Foreign Investor Perspectives and Policy Implications

This inaugural issue of the World Bank Group’s Global Investment Competitiveness Report presents novel analytical insights and empirical evidence on foreign direct investment’s (FDI) drivers and contr...

by World Bank [WB] | On 08 Dec 2017

India and Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) Agreement: Concerns and Way Forward

Services are a major component of global gross domestic product and employment, and a rising component of global trade and investment flows. This is the largest sector of the Indian economy contributi...

by | On 30 Nov 2017

Temperature Effects on Productivity and Factor Reallocation: Evidence from a Half Million Chinese Manufacturing Plants

This paper uses detailed production data from a half million Chinese manufacturing plants over 1998-2007 to estimate the effects of temperature on firm-level total factor productivity (TFP), factor in...

by Peng Zhang | On 28 Nov 2017

Knowledge attitude and practice survey on social protection schemes in selective districts

The study focus on the existing social assistance schemes targeted towards the extreme poor.

by Rabia Tabassum | On 16 Nov 2017

The Service Sector in India

The service sector is the largest and fastest growing sector in India and has the highest labor productivity, but employment has not kept pace with the share of the sector in gross domestic product an...

by | On 10 Nov 2017

Inequality and Expectations in a Model of Technology Adoption and Growth

This paper highlights the role of initial wealth inequality in determining the technology adoption decision of firms, which in turn impacts upon the overall productivity in an economy. Wealth inequali...

by Surbhi Badhwar | On 08 Nov 2017

An Assessment of Pakistan's Export Performance and the Way Forward

This paper examines in detail Pakistan’s export performance in the light of emerging global challenges and identifies key structural and policy issues that stifle Pakistan’s exports.

by Afia Malik | On 25 Oct 2017

Affordable Housing in Urban India

The report narrates that threefold increase in percapita income in urban areas is expected during this period of time.

by S.V. Ranganath | On 12 Oct 2017

Does Financing Constraints Matter for Outward Foreign Direct Investment Decision ? Evidence from India

Even though the firm internationalization through exports or foreign direct investment (FDI) has increased in recent years, there is only limited evidence on the effect of financing constraints on fir...

by | On 10 Oct 2017

Measuring Competition in the Banking Sector of Pakistan: An Application of Boone Indicator

The banking sector of Pakistan has witnessed a notable transformation in its structure and business activities following the implementation of financial sector reforms since the early 1990s. Specific...

by Mahmood ul Hasan Khan | On 09 Oct 2017

The Macroeconomic Benefits of Tax Enforcement in Pakistan

The benefits of improved tax enforcement in Pakistan through simulations of a model of the Pakistani economy is studied. We begin by documenting that the effective tax rate facing firms is increasin...

by Ethan Ilzetzki | On 04 Oct 2017

Bolder Disinvestment or Better Performance Contracts? Which Way Forward for India’s State-Owned Enterprises

This paper analyses the performance of India’s Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) using measures of labour and overall efficiency and productivity indicators as opposed to financial returns. Using meth...

by Ajay Chhibber | On 03 Oct 2017

East Asian Financial and Economic Development

Japan, an isolated, backward country in the 1860s, industrialized rapidly to become a major industrial power by the 1930s. South Korea, among the world’s poorest countries in the 1960s,joined the rank...

by Randall Morck | On 25 Sep 2017

Drivers of Farmers' Income: The Role of Farm Size and Diversification

The study finds that a U-shaped relationship exists between farm size and farm / farmer's income. The results also show that both on-farm and off-farm diversification have an inverted U-shape relatio...

by Varun Kumar Das | On 18 Sep 2017

Growth Effects of Economic Globalization: A Cross-Country Analysis

This paper analyses the effect of economic globalization indicators on economic growth through the channels of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) by using panel data approach and conducting policy simula...

by Sovna Mohanty | On 13 Sep 2017

Trade Potential of the Fishery Sector: Evidence from India

The contribution of fisheries sector to Indian merchandise trade and to world fishery trade is substantial. The items traded have gained reputation over the years which will help to keep the momentum...

by Veena Renjini K K | On 13 Sep 2017

Structural Change and Labour Productivity Growth in India: Role of Informal Workers

Labour productivity in an economy or industry may increase due to intrinsic increase in productivity (due to capital deepening or TFP growth) or due to the reallocation of workers to more productive s...

by Rosa Abraham | On 11 Sep 2017

Current Challenges for the Economy and Priorities of the New Government

As this paper has observed that the macro fundamentals were indeed pointing to this slowdown, notwithstanding the smart recovery in two years of 2009-2011, immediately after the global economic meltdo...

by S Jagadeesan | On 25 Aug 2017

Access & Utilisation of Health Care Services in urban low-income settlements, Surat, India

The report says that the urban poor constitutes nearly one-fourth of India’s urban population and is growing at three times of the national population growth rate.

by Akash Acharya | On 22 Aug 2017

Demonetisation: Macroeconomic Implications for Indian Economy

The present paper attempts to explore the macroeconomic implications of the “demonetisation” exercise announced on November 8, 2016, for the Indian economy on three board parameters of growth, distrib...

by Pradymna Rawat | On 09 Aug 2017

International Trade and Productivity Growth: Evidence from the Organised Manufacturing Sector in India

The present study is an attempt to examine the impact of international trade on manufacturing productivity in India. The literature on international trade suggests that the productivity of domestic ma...

by R Rijesh | On 09 Aug 2017

Factors Influencing Indian Manufacturing Firms’ Decision to Hire Contract Labour

The study attempts to investigate the factors affecting a firm’s decision to hire contract workers. The information from a specially commissioned survey of manufacturing firms undertaken in 2014 by IC...

by Jaivir Singh | On 08 Aug 2017

Decoding the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) Report 2017: Structuring Partnerships, Changing Mindsets and Nurturing Creativity

The purpose of this research is to elucidate and analyse the underlying thinking behind the CFE strategies in order to determine potential gaps that could arise as the strategies are implemented in po...

by Tan Tai Loong Alex | On 01 Aug 2017

Economic Impacts of Child Marriage

The international community is increasingly aware of the negative impacts of child marriage on a wide range of development outcomes. Ending child marriage is now part of the Sustainable Development Go...

by Quentin Wodon | On 31 Jul 2017

The Economic Impacts of the Clean Power Plan: How Studies of the Same Regulation can Produce such Different Results

The main objective of the paper is to of add clarity to the debate over the economic effects of regulations like the CPP. It is shown that studies of the same regulation using similar methodologies c...

by Noah Kaufman | On 28 Jul 2017

Causal Impact of the Adoption of Soil Conservation Measures on Farm Profit, Revenue and Variable Cost in Darjeeling District, India

This study attempts to evaluate the effects of on-farm soil conservation practices on farm profit and its components, revenue, and variable cost. Since farmers self-select themselves as adopters of a...

by Chandan Singha | On 27 Jul 2017

The Health Burden of Dust Pollution in the Textile Industry of Faisalabad, Pakistan

The study focuses on the high incidence of occupational health hazards faced by women and men working in the textile industry of Pakistan. One of the most relevant risk factors is exposure to airborne...

by Muhammad Khan | On 27 Jul 2017

Rethinking the Development of Post-War Sri Lanka Based on the Singapore Model

This study explores three major points, namely, Singapore's development process,Singapore's model of economic development, and the economic challenges of post-war Sri Lanka. This study explores pages...

by Sanika Sulochani Ramanayake | On 25 Jul 2017

Sustainable Energy Access Planning: A Framework

This report presents a framework for sustainable energy access planning that planners and policy makers can use to design cost-effective clean energy supply systems that both poor and nonpoor can sust...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 24 Jul 2017

Aid for Trade in Asia and the Pacific: Thinking Forward About Trade Costs and the Digital Economy

This report takes stock of how AfT has contributed to these trends and considers some constructive ways to move forward, to continue to address trade costs in Asia and the Pacific.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 17 Jul 2017

Reforming the Financing System for the Road Sector in the People’s Republic of China

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) implemented a Fuel Tax Reform in 2009 that made significant changes to the way the country funds and delivers its ‘ordinary road’ program.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 17 Jul 2017

Aid for Trade in Asia and the Pacific: Promoting Connectivity for Inclusive Development

This report highlights emerging trends in AfT in the context of evolving trade performance in Asia and the Pacific.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 13 Jul 2017

Asia Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Finance Monitor 2014

This publication reviews various country aspects of SME finance covering the banking sector, nonbank sector, and capital markets. It is expected to support evidence-based policy making and regulations...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 11 Jul 2017

Innovative Strategies in Technical and Vocational Education and Training for Accelerated Human Resource Development in South Asia: Bangladesh

This publication is complemented by critical analyses to determine key issues, challenges, and opportunities for innovative strategies toward global competitiveness, increased productivity, and inclus...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 10 Jul 2017

Economic Analysis of Climate-Proofing Investment Projects

This report describes the conduct of the cost-benefit analysis of climate proofing investment projects. An important message is that the presence of uncertainty about climate change does not invalidat...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 10 Jul 2017

Innovative Strategies in Technical and Vocational Education and Training for Accelerated Human Resource Development in South Asia: Sri Lanka

This publication is part of a series of six country reports on technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Each report presents cur...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 29 Jun 2017

Transforming Towards a High-Income People's Republic of China: Challenges and Recommendations

This report summarizes findings and policy recommendations for the government's 13th Five-Year Plan.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 29 Jun 2017

Roadmap for Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration and Deployment in the People’s Republic of China

This report is an assessment of the potential, the barriers and the challenges in demonstrating and deploying Carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the People's Republic of China. It identifies unique l...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 26 Jun 2017

Asian Development Outlook 2015 Supplement: Growth Holds Its Own in Developing Asia

The report says Asia’s developing economies remain on track to post growth of 5.8% in 2015 and 6.0% in 2016, as the region’s economies remain resilient to continued economic weakness in industrialized...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 26 Jun 2017

Myanmar Transport Sector Policy Note: How to Improve Road User Charges

This report presents a preliminary economic analysis of road user costs and fees, partly drawing from the World Bank’s Road User Charge (RUC) model and analysis framework, and a review of the tolling...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 01 Jun 2017

Envisioning Tax Policy for Accelerated Development in India

The objective of the paper is to highlight the reforms needed in the tax system to improve the revenue productivity of the tax system to conform to the vision of accelerating economic growth and dev...

by M. Govinda Rao | On 26 May 2017

Competition Issues in India's Online Economy

The world of high technology companies is seen as a dynamic area with a rapid pace of creative destruction. There is, however, a class of industries where there are strong network effects, where the m...

by Smriti Parsheera | On 25 May 2017

Finding Balance 2016: Benchmarking the Performance of State-Owned Enterprises in Island Countries

This study of state-owned enterprises performance in the Pacific emphasizes political commitment to reform as a key driver for commercial results.

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 23 May 2017

Cities as Engines of Inclusive Development

This paper argues that the recent policy rhetoric towards cities in India has been shaped by their increasing economic importance in national output generation, as well as a series of prominent glob...

by Indian Institute for Human Settlements | On 05 May 2017

Cost Channel, Interest Rate Pass-Through and Optimal Policy under Zero Lower Bound

This paper analyzes optimal monetary policy under zero lower bound in the presence of cost channel. Cost channel introduces trade-o¤ between output and inflation when economy is out of ZLB. As a res...

by Taniya Ghosh | On 04 May 2017

Can Conditional Transfers Eradicate Child Marriage?

Conditional cash transfers are increasingly being used by policymakers as a strategy to postpone the marriage of adolescent girls in developing countries. While this approach has met with success in t...

by | On 27 Apr 2017

World Employment Social Outlook

Over the past two decades, significant progress has been made in reducing poverty in the majority of countries. In emerging and developing countries, taken as a whole, it is estimated that nearly 2 bi...

by International Labour Organization [ILO] | On 14 Apr 2017

Discrimination as Favoritism: The Private Benefits and Social Costs of In-group Favoritism in an Experimental Labor Market

In this paper, we examine labor market favoritism in a unique laboratory experiment design that can shed light on both the private benefits and spillover costs of employer favoritism (or discriminatio...

by | On 30 Mar 2017

Anger Management: Aggression and Punishment in the Provision of Public Goods

The ability to punish free-riders can increase the provision of public goods. However, sometimes the benefit of increased public good provision is outweighed by the costs of punishments. One reason a...

by | On 21 Feb 2017

Latest Highlights of Union Budget Rally 2017

These are the latest union budget highlights. Gear up to enjoy subsidies, pay newer taxes and enjoy greater freedom, as that covers a major part of the Union Budget 2017.

by | On 01 Feb 2017

Going Cashless: Is India Ready for Digital?

Cash, alas, is not free; its use comes at a significant cost. I have studied the cost of cash in over 70 countries, in research outlined in a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, titled ‘The...

by | On 04 Jan 2017

Economic Impacts of Inadequate Sanitation in India

The Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) has launched a multicountry Economics of Sanitation Initiative (ESI) to study the economic impacts of poor sanitation and the costs and benefits of improved sani...

by | On 27 Dec 2016

Cost of Controlling Water Pollution and its Impact on Industrial Efficiency

This paper estimates the cost of effluent discharge regulations for firms located in the lower Kelani River catchment in Sri Lanka. The river provides water for many economic purposes including drin...

by Asha Gunawardena | On 23 Dec 2016

Costs of Selected Policies to Address Air Pollution in China

Air pollution has been one of the most pernicious consequences of China’s last three decades of economic transformation and growth. Although Chinese governments—federal, provincial, and municipal—have...

by | On 23 Dec 2016

The State of India's Pulses Sector

Pulses in India have recently become a topic of concern among policymakers. Members of the Opposition, for instance, have pointed to the 'exceptionally high' cost of certain pulses as an indication of...

by | On 15 Dec 2016

E-governance, Accountability, and Leakage in Public Programs: Experimental Evidence from a Financial Management Reform in India

In collaboration with the Government of Bihar, India, a large-scale experiment is conducted to evaluate whether transparency in fiscal transfer systems can increase accountability and reduce corrupt...

by Abhijit Banerjee | On 02 Dec 2016

Asymmetric Impact of Relative Price Shocks in Presence of Trend Inflation

This study examines whether skewness of cross sectional distribution of relative price shocks has asymmetric impact on aggregate inflation. The empirical evidence from various countries suggests tha...

by Sartaj Rather | On 16 Nov 2016

Endogenous Leadership in a Federal Transfer Game

Conventional wisdom suggests that, to negate fiscal externalities imposed by provinces which spend too much and raise lower local resources, central authority should always be a first mover in the t...

by Bodhisattva Sengupta | On 14 Nov 2016

Black Money, Corruption and Demonetisation

The demonetisation of currency after a long period of 38 years was a welcome and bold step taken by the Government of India on November 8, 2016. The last demonetisation was implemented in 1978 by wi...

by Martin Patrick | On 11 Nov 2016

Green Jobs Assessment

The study focuses on four industries, which were identified by the Government as the growth poles of Mauritius’ economy: sugar agriculture, textiles, tourism (hotels) and financial services.3 The empl...

by International Labour Organization [ILO] | On 08 Nov 2016

Costs and Benefits of Urbanization: The Indian Case

Urbanization has both benefits and costs. In a market economy, the trade-off between benefits and costs determines the level, speed, and place of urbanization. This paper summarizes research finding...

by Kala Seetharam Sridhar | On 28 Oct 2016

Student Responses to the Changing Content of School Meals in India

Can countries with binding budget constraints increase the benefits of school transfers through better program design? A cost-neutral change is used in the design of India’s school meal program to s...

by Farzana Afridi | On 20 Oct 2016

Agriculture 2.0: Towards a Global Revolution for Sustainability

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on zero hunger is a top priority on the international agenda, and eliminating hunger globally is naturally and inevitably tied to farming. Therefore, the SDGs ha...

by | On 19 Oct 2016

Refugee Compacts: An Initial Framework

This brief outlines a particular iteration of a compact approach that incorporates critical components—such as shared outcomes for refugees, host country ownership and focus on longer-term transition,...

by Cindy Huang | On 10 Oct 2016

Productivity Dynamics in India's Service Sector: An Industry-Level Perspective

The rapid rise of service sector in India, as in its developing counterparts in Asia, follows the pattern of skipped industrialization and raises concern for sustaining economic growth in India. Whil...

by K L Krishna | On 10 Oct 2016

Outward FDI, Exports and Technological Efforts: A Study of Indian Manufacturing Firms

In this study the hypotheses that the choice between OFDI and export decision of the firms depends on the firm level productivity is tested. Here, the productivity levels of OFDI firms vis a vis exp...

by Ronny Thomas | On 03 Oct 2016

Integrated Model of Computable General Equilibrium and Social Cost Benefit Analysis of an Indian Oil Refinery: Future Projections and Macroeconomic Effects

Social Cost Benefit Analysis has long been used as a useful tool to appraise the value of a range of investment projects. Various aspects of this method have been subject to scrutiny over the decade...

by Shovan Ray | On 30 Sep 2016

Evaluating Asian FTAs: What do Gravity Equation Models Tell Us?

This research evaluates the performance of free trade agreements by analyzing the determinants of trade flows of Asian economies for a panel of thirty-one countries during 2007-2014 using a Gravity...

by Sunder Ramaswamy | On 29 Sep 2016

The Worldwide Shift of FDI to Services- How does it Impact Asia? New Evidence from Seventeen Asian Economies

The productivity spillovers of industry-level FDI on both, the sector of manufacturing and the sector of services, in seventeen South and East Asian economies. Using a dynamic panel GMM methodology,...

by Nadia Doytch | On 29 Sep 2016

Coping with Water Scarcity. Challenge of the 21st Century

Produced on the occasion of World Water Day 2007, which focused on the issue of water scarcity, this publication addresses the challenges of water scarcity in relation to climate change, rural areas,...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 16 Sep 2016

Water for India’s Poor: Who Pays the Price for Broken Promises?

The poor do not consume as much water as the rest of the population, but despite the promises, despite the bland assertions of politicians and policy makers, they can and frequently do pay for what li...

by | On 16 Sep 2016

Making Pulses Affordable Again: Policy Options from the Farm to Retail in India

Rising prices and declining consumption of pulses cause concern in terms of both nutrition and food inflation in India. This paper outlines policy strategies to increase the availability of pulses at...

by P.K. Joshi | On 16 Sep 2016

Harvesting Solar Power in India!

This is particularly so when the current solar power capacity in the country has just touched 8000 MW by July end, 2016, and no country in the world has such an ambitious target as India has set out...

by Ashok Gulati | On 16 Sep 2016

Changing Nature of FDI: Need to Re-examine the Productivity Spillovers

FDI productivity and technology spill over theories were developed during a period when manufacturing sector dominated FDI flows, and European and the US MNEs enjoyed higher productivity levels compar...

by N S Siddharthan | On 11 Sep 2016

ICT Investments and Growth of Small and Medium Firms: A Study of Food Processing Industry in India

The objective of the present study is to examine the effect of ICT investments on the sales growth of SMEs from the food processing industry in India. Secondary data is collected from the Prowess d...

by Navyashree G. R. | On 08 Sep 2016

Who Takes a Call on Price Stability, the Government or the RBI?

The question here is, whether it’s the responsibility of the Government or the Central Bank to ensure price stability in an economy? For instance, what was the role of the RBI when the prices of pulse...

by Deepthi Mary Mathew | On 07 Sep 2016

Ecosystem-based Adaptation: A Win–Win Formula for Sustainability in a Warming World?

Many national and international environmental agreements acknowledge that the impoverishment of ecosystems is limiting the world’s capacity to adapt to climate change and that ecosystem-based adaptati...

by | On 05 Sep 2016

How Can India Help Prevent Food Price Volatility?

This article is about India's role in reducing food price volatility in the world. India has come a long way from a ‘ship to mouth existence’ to a country that is ready to confer legal right to food t...

by M. S. Swaminathan | On 02 Sep 2016

Should Countries Be More Like Shopping Malls? A Proposal for Service Performance Guarantees

Many developing countries have made progress in political openness and economic management but still struggle to attract private sector investments, at least outside of narrow, resource-based enclaves...

by Alan Gelb | On 01 Sep 2016

ICT in Agriculture: Connecting Smallholders to Knowledge, Networks, and Institutions

Enhancing the ability of smallholders to connect with the knowledge, networks, and institutions necessary to improve their productivity, food security, and employment opportunities is a fundamental de...

by World Bank [WB] | On 01 Sep 2016

Learning and Behavioral Spillovers of Nutritional Information

This paper provides evidence for informational spillovers within urban slums in Chandigarh, India. I identify three groups, a treatment group, a neighboring spillover group, and a nonadjacent pure con...

by | On 30 Aug 2016

The Integration of China and India into the World Economy: A Comparison

China and India have successfully integrated into the world economy. Once specialised in textiles, they have developed new export-oriented sectors linked to the information and communication technolog...

by | On 24 Aug 2016

Food Security and Agricultural Development in Times of High Commodity Prices

Efforts to promote food security must distinguish between short-term and medium-term measures, but also between countries with agricultural potential and without such potential, argues this paper. Fur...

by | On 24 Aug 2016

On What States do Prices Depend? Answers from Ecuador

This paper argues that differences in the cost structure across sectors play an important role in the decision of firms to adjust their prices. It develops a menu-cost model of pricing in which retail...

by Craig Benedict | On 18 Aug 2016

Vital Stats: Parliament during Monsoon Session 2016

The Monsoon Session of Parliament concluded on August 12, 2016. The session had 20 sittings, during which various Bills were passed, including a Constitutional Amendment Bill enabling the levy of a G...

by Kusum Malik | On 16 Aug 2016

An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Food Security

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healt...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 16 Aug 2016

The Clinical and Public Health Challenges of Diabetes Prevention: A Search for Sustainable Solutions

The economic cost of dealing with the consequences of diabetes is not only a threat to health systems but is a far broader economic and social problem and thus a threat to future long-term sustainable...

by Nicholas J Wareham | On 16 Aug 2016

Gender Dimensions at Work and Employment: A Case of Sexual Harassment

The present study is an effort towards the effective implementation of this welfare piece of legislation for women and deals with employer’s perspective on sexual harassment, existing mechanism for...

by Shashi Bala | On 10 Aug 2016

Productivity of Agricultural Credit in India: Assessing the Recent Role of Institutional Credit to Agriculture in India using State Level Data

the study has been able to highlight the increasing role that agriculture credit is playing in supporting agriculture production in recent times- credit accounted for 16% of the total value of paid...

by Sudha Narayanan | On 10 Aug 2016

Signing away Sovereignty: How Investment Agreements Threaten Regulation of the Mining Industry in the Philippines

In the last decade, the resource-rich Philippines has bet heavily on the mining industry as a development strategy, an approach that has come under growing scrutiny. With 47 large-scale mines in oper...

by Cecilia Olivet | On 10 Aug 2016

Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in LDCs

70% of the population engaged in agriculture. The vast majority of the poor and food insecure are in rural areas. Therefore poverty alleviation and food security must start in these areas. The most cr...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD | On 09 Aug 2016

Anatomy of Input Demand Functions for Indian Farmers across Regions

This study models the optimum use of production inputs and analyse the behaviour of input demand functions of agricultural production through restricted transcendental logarithm profit function for...

by Shrabani Mukherjee | On 04 Aug 2016

Food Scurity and Nutrition: The Drivers of Change

This section looks at a range of factors that enable progress towards food security and nutrition goals. The list of factors – economic growth, agricultural productivity growth, markets (including int...

by Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO] | On 03 Aug 2016

Benefits of Coastal Shipping: Scope for Sea Change in Domestic Freight Transportation in India

The share of coastal shipping in the modal mix of domestic freight transportation in India is currently very low despite it being more costeffective, fuel-efficient and environment-friendly compared...

by Lavanya Ravikanth Anneboina | On 03 Aug 2016

Tobacco Regulation and Cost-Benefit Analysis: How Should we Value Foregone Consumer Surplus?

This paper outlines the history of the FDA’s recent attempts to regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products and how they have valued foregone consumer surplus in cost-benefit analyses. It discusses...

by Helen Levy | On 03 Aug 2016

Roads to Innovation: Firm-Level Evidence from China

Although both infrastructure and innovation play an important role in fostering a country’s economic growth, discussion in the literature about how the two are connected is limited. This paper examine...

by Xu Wang | On 25 Jul 2016

Social Sector in India: Issues and Challenges

The social sector is usually defined as dealing with social and economic activities carried out for the purposes of benefiting society, and in the main nonprofit, not-for-profit, philanthropic and mis...

by Padmaja Mishra | On 19 Jul 2016

Examination of Affordable Housing Policies in India

This paper criticizes the Government of India's programmes for affordable housing in India, namely the Rajiv Awas Yojana and Housing for All 2022. It analyses the efficacy of these policies in being a...

by Anindo Sarkar | On 18 Jul 2016

Rising Food Prices in South Asia: A Policy Framework to Mitigate Adverse Effects

The recent commodity boom has seriously affected South Asia, particularly due to higher food prices and their impact on the welfare of poor and vulnerable populations. This paper describes the food cr...

by S.Mahendra Dev | On 12 Jul 2016

Economic Dynamics and Technology Diffusion in Indian Power Sector

There is a growing concern among policy makers about how electricity is generated and consumed in the context of energy security and global climate change. In such a scenario, renewable energy sources...

by B. Sudhakara Reddy | On 11 Jul 2016

India –Pakistan Trade: Textiles and Clothing

This study analyses the reasons for low levels of trade, the nature of trade in this sector and the intra-industry trade between the countries. The study also throws light on the informal trade in tex...

by Nisha Taneja | On 11 Jul 2016

Energy Security for India: Petroleum Demand Estimations and Projections

Crude oil and other petroleum products play an important role in India’s energy security and in sustaining its high growth rate. Against that background, this document empirically analyses petroleum d...

by Pradeep Agrawal | On 07 Jul 2016

The Effect of Pollution on Worker Productivity: Evidence from Call-Center Workers in China

The paper investigates the effect of pollution on worker productivity in the service sector by focusing on two call centers in China. Using precise measures of each worker’s daily output linked to dai...

by Tom Chang | On 30 Jun 2016

Can Labour Market Imperfections Explain Changes in the Inverse Farm Size-Productivity Relationship?: Longitudinal Evidence from Rural India

To understand whether and how inverse relationship between farm size and productivity changes when labor market performance improves, we use large national farm panel from India covering a quarter-cen...

by IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute | On 29 Jun 2016

Farm Women Friendly Hand Book

This Handbook contains special provisions and package of assistance which women farmers can claim under various on-going Missions/ Submissions/ Schemes of DAC & FW, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer...

by Ministry of Agriculture GOI | On 29 Jun 2016

Impact of Ownership Structure on Agency Cost of Debt in India

The paper attempts to answer the question namely the management-principal or the principal-principal is given more significance by the debt holders in the Indian context. It also examines the relation...

by Sakina Kachwala | On 29 Jun 2016

Best Practices in Regulation of Private Education

Current paper aims to understand how the governments in different parts of the world have leveraged upon the private sector to achieve specific educational goals. The idea here is not to recommend o...

by Centre for Civil Society CCS | On 29 Jun 2016

Capabilities and Skills

This paper discusses the relevance of recent research on the economics of human development to the work of the Human Development and Capability Association. The recent economics of human development b...

by James J. Heckman | On 28 Jun 2016

Can Labor Market Imperfections Explain Changes in the Inverse Farm Size–Productivity Relationship? Longitudinal Evidence from Rural India

The existence of an inverse relationship between farm size and output per unit of land is well documented. However, little research focuses on if and how an inverse relationship between farm size and...

by Klaus Deininger | On 27 Jun 2016

Choosing a Partner for Social Exchange: Charitable Giving as a Signal of Trustworthiness

People benefit from being perceived as trustworthy. Examples include sellers trying to attract buyers, or candidates in elections trying to attract voters. In a laboratory experiment using exchange ga...

by Sebastian Fehrler | On 24 Jun 2016

Poverty, Markets and Elementary Education in India

Over the last decade, trans-national and local advocacy networks have been projecting the low-cost unregulated schools market in India as a cost-efficient, high-quality and equitable solution for educ...

by | On 22 Jun 2016

Draft National Forest Policy, 2016

There was a felt to revise the National Forest Policy, 1988 to integrate the vision of sustainable forest management based on the principles of ecosystem approach, landscape level planning and the...

by Indian Institute of Forest Management IIFM | On 21 Jun 2016

Nutrition and Agriculture

Agriculture and nutrition are linked in many ways. People have long recognized the most obvious connection—food security is one of the three pillars of good nutrition, along with good care and good he...

by Lawrence Haddad | On 17 Jun 2016

A Joined-Up Approach to Delivering the Global Goals for Sustainable Development

The sustainable management and restoration of our landscapes – achieving land degradation neutrality - will deliver many co-benefits. From biodiversity conservation and combating climate change to ens...

by | On 17 Jun 2016

Farms, Families, and Markets: New Evidence on the Completeness of Markets in Agricultural Settings

The farm household model has played a central role in improving the understanding of small-scale agricultural households and non-farm enterprises. Under the assumptions that all current and future mar...

by Daniel LaFave | On 17 Jun 2016

Optimal Unemployment Benefit Policy and the Firm Productivity Distribution

This paper provides a novel justification for a declining time profile of unemployment benefits that does not rely on moral hazard or consumption-smoothing considerations. It considers a simple search...

by Tomer Blumkin | On 15 Jun 2016

The Effect of Political and Labour Unrest on Productivity: Evidence from Bangladeshi Garments

The paper examines the effects of political strikes and labour unrest on production in 33 large ready-made garment factories in Bangladesh. We find that the political strikes (hartals) lasting one or...

by | On 08 Jun 2016

The Economics of Copyright and the Internet: Moving to an Empirical Assessment Relevant in the Digital Age

Technology and the Internet have triggered important changes to how creative works are created, accessed and how creators and copyright-based industries generate their revenues. In this chapter, the e...

by Sacha Wunsch-Vincent | On 08 Jun 2016

Compendium on Soil Health

Government of India is promoting integrated nutrient management (INM) balanced and judicious use of chemical fertilizers, bio-fertilizers and locally available organic manures like farmyard manure,...

by Ministry of Agriculture GOI | On 08 Jun 2016

Global Commodity Prices and Inflation in a Small Open Economy

Global commodity prices surge of 2007-08 sent an inflationary shock across the countries. 2014 global prices descend resulted in significant disinflation in many countries and...

by Muhammad Nadim Hanif | On 06 Jun 2016

Property Rights and Gender Bias: Evidence from Land Reform in West Bengal

While land reforms are typically pursued in order to raise productivity and reduce inequality across households, an unintended consequence may be increased within-household gender inequality. We analy...

by | On 03 Jun 2016

Honor and Stigma in Mechanisms for Environmental Protection

Honor and stigma play a role in environmental protection. Environmental honors are bestowed on people and firms who go out of their way to do right by the environment. Similarly, environmental stigm...

by Prasenjit Banerjee | On 03 Jun 2016

The Tradeoffs between GHGs Emissions, Income Inequality and Productivity

Rising emission of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) and growing economic inequalities have emerged as key challenges for policymakers over the past two decades and the problems are likely to intensify in th...

by Unmesh Patnaik | On 03 Jun 2016

Height and Cognition at Work: Labor Market Productivity in a Low Income Setting

This paper evaluates the relative importance of these mechanisms that potentially underly the link between adult stature and labor market productivity. Drawing on twelve waves of longitudinal survey...

by Daniel LaFave | On 31 May 2016

Can Industry be the Key to Pro-poor Growth? An Exploratory Analysis for India

This study focuses on the manufacturing sector in the Indian context. Though both components – organized and unorganized – have been looked into, the emphasis is on the employment aspect of the organi...

by | On 27 May 2016

Understanding Productivity in the Pakistani Garment Sector: Comparisons with Bangladesh

The report is on a pilot project in the ready-made garment sector in Pakistan. The pilot had two objectives. The first objective was to develop a methodology for benchmarking productivity in the garme...

by | On 26 May 2016

Comparative Cost-efficacy of Hepatitis-B-Vaccination in Indian Infants

Universal Hepatitis B Vaccination of newborns in India is being launched at the recommendation of Indian Academy of Pediatrics, without estimating in any detail the morbidity and mortality due to sequ...

by Anant Phadke | On 26 May 2016

Conservation of Biodiversity: Opportunities and Challenges

This essay includes a review of major strategies for preservation of earth’s biodiversity including the biodiversity “hotspots,” “Wildlands Project,” and the “consensus” strategy. The essay includes a...

by | On 25 May 2016

Degradation and Loss of Peri-Urban Ecosystems

Rapid degradation of peri-urban ecosystems is resulting in a loss of associated ecosystem services. Water provision, storm- and waste-water regulation, along with protection from natural disasters and...

by Rockeffeller Foundation RF | On 25 May 2016

World Employment and Social Outlook 2016 – Transforming Jobs to End Poverty

This edition of the World Employment and Social Outlook (WESO) examines the relationship between decent work and poverty reduction. It starts by documenting trends in poverty around the world while pa...

by International Labour Organisation ILO | On 19 May 2016

The Republic of Korea’s Economic Growth and Catch-Up: Implications for the People’s Republic of China

This study investigates the economic growth and catch-up of the Republic of Korea over the past half-century. The gap of output per worker between the Republic of Korea and United States has decreas...

by Jong-Wha Lee | On 19 May 2016

Occupational Health and Safety and the Poorest

The decline of jobs with secure and lasting contracts and work-related social benefits as well as the corresponding rise in precarious and unprotected work are phenomena affecting both industrialized...

by Anna Marriot | On 18 May 2016

Does Size Matter? The Productivity of Government Expenditures and the Size of States: Evidence from India

Some politicians argue for the splitting and combining of states to increase government productivity, but there is a dearth of empirical evidence on the optimal size of a state. Using data from Indian...

by Cornelis Haasnoot | On 18 May 2016

Vital Stats: Parliament Functioning in Budget Session 2016

The Budget Session 2016 was scheduled from February 23 to March 16, and from April 25 to May 13, 2016. However, during the recess period, Parliament was prorogued to allow the government to issue an...

by Kusum Malik | On 17 May 2016

Where All the Water Has Gone? An Analysis of Unreliable Water Supply in Bangalore City

The demand for urban water supply service is increasing rapidly as globalisation accelerates economic development and brings improvements in living standards in India with the interactive effects of...

by | On 12 May 2016

Limits to Arbitrage: The Case of Single Stock Futures and Spot Prices

Market frictions limit arbitrage, but these frictions affect different stocks differently. Using intraday data on a liquid single stock futures and spot market, we examine the arbitrage efficiency of...

by Nidhi Aggarwal | On 02 May 2016

Social and Economic Impact Analysis of Vadinar Refinery of Essar Oil: The Case of a Mega Refinery

The paper is a case study of Vadinar refinery in Gujarat. It examines the costs and benefits associated with one of the world's mega refinery projects highlighting the welfare impacts on society. The...

by Sumana Chaudhuri | On 02 May 2016

Reserve Currencies: Can Multiplicity Work?

The paper analyzes the potential rise of new reserve currencies in the context of the economic and political determinants of an international currency. Two models analyze the role of soft political p...

by | On 02 May 2016

Weathering the Storm: Ownership Structure and Performance of Microfinance Institutions in the Wake of the Global Financial Crisis

This study investigates the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis on the performance of different microfinance ownership types. The analysis in this study relies on a novel methodological frame...

by Mahinda Wijesiri | On 02 May 2016

Taxes: Price of Civilization or Tribute to Leviathan?

The report considers the question of taxes as price versus tribute for contemporary India and makes three points. First, if the accounting cost of services provided exceeds the economic cost (the min...

by | On 15 Apr 2016

Rules of the Monetary Game

Aggressive monetary policy actions by one country can lead to significant adverse cross-border spillovers on others, especially as countries contend with the zero lower bound. If countries do not inte...

by Prachi Mishra | On 31 Mar 2016

FDI, Technology Transfer and Spillover: A Case Study of India

As developing countries increasingly open their economies to foreign direct investment (FDI) one of their principal objective has been to achieve technology transfer from foreign firms to host country...

by | On 22 Mar 2016

Budget Speech Odisha-Part 1: 2016-17

Budget Speech by Pradip Kumar Amat.

by Pradip Kumar Amat | On 21 Mar 2016

Aid for Trade in Asia and the Pacific - Thinking Forward About Trade Costs and the Digital Economy

Aid for Trade (AfT) flows have increased each year since 2006 in the region. And while regional aggregate trade costs continue to fall, many subregions continue to struggle with trade costs that are s...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 17 Mar 2016

Reforming the Financing System for the Road Sector in the People's Republic of China

This report recommends the creation of a National Roads and Funding Administration and a central road trust fund with dedicated revenues; changes to roles and responsibilities of different levels of g...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 17 Mar 2016

Maldives Overcoming the Challenges of a Small Island State Country Diagnostic Study

This report identifies four critical constraints to inclusive growth in the Maldives: (1) inadequate and poor quality maritime infrastructure that constrains connectivity, limits provision of basic go...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 17 Mar 2016

Price Control on Bt Cotton Seeds in India: Impact on Seed Providers

This paper attempts to examine the impact of such price controls on the revenue and profitability of the seed providers in India. Using a panel data for 9 cotton growing states in India over 2002- 200...

by Anchal Arora | On 16 Mar 2016

Structural Transformation in the North-Eastern Region of India: Charting out an agriculture-based development policy

In this paper we attempt to explore the process of structural transformation in the North Eastern States of India, positing it in the paradigm of agriculture led development. The paper tries to examin...

by Alwin D’souza | On 16 Mar 2016

Imperfect Certification under Cournot Duopoly

Environmental quality is often a credence good and consumers are unable to distinguish between green and brown products. The paper aims to investigate the role of certification in providing informatio...

by Charu Grover | On 15 Mar 2016

Cross-Country Analysis of Composition of Human Capital and Total Factor Productivity Growth depending on its Distance to Frontier

This paper empirically examines human capital’s contribution to economy-wide technological progress and also on technical efficiency gain depending on its distance to frontier in a panel of 75 countri...

by Sujata Basu | On 15 Mar 2016

Science Research and Knowledge Creation in Indian Universities: Theoretical Perspectives and Econometric Evidence

This paper presents an economic analysis of science research and knowledge creation in Indian universities. We posit that faculty’s research effort is an outcome of her optimum time allocation decisio...

by Sabyasachi Saha | On 15 Mar 2016

Asia SME Finance Monitor 2014

Asia has been continuously growing, and this growth has alleviated poverty and increased the number of middle income countries in the region. However, the recent regional and global economic slowdown...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

Innovative Strategies in Technical and Vocational Education and Training for Accelerated Human Resource Development in South Asia Bangladesh

Improving the quality of skills among its labor force will help further economic growth in Bangladesh. Thus, there is an urgent need to provide better access to TVET to help increase productivity and...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

Economic Analysis of Climate - Proofing Investment Projects

Recent years have witnessed a large number of studies and reports aimed generally at providing estimates of the economic costs of climate change and of the economic costs of adaptation to climate chan...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 15 Mar 2016

Global Health Donors Viewed as Regulators of Monopolistic Service Providers: Lessons from Regulatory Literature

Controlling healthcare costs while promoting maximum health impact in the recipient countries is one the biggest challenges for global health donors. This paper views global health donors as the regul...

by Han Ye | On 14 Mar 2016

Productivity, Energy Intensity and Output: A Unit Level Analysis of the Indian Manufacturing Sector

This study examines the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth of the preexisting units on a balanced sample for ten years (1998-1999 to 2007- 2008) following the Levinsohn and Petrin (2003) technique...

by Santosh Kumar Sahu | On 11 Mar 2016

Recreational Value of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems in India:A Partial Estimate

Recreation is an important ecosystem service in coastal and marine ecosystems. The methodology for valuing recreational services is well developed in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, this...

by Pranab Mukhopadhyay | On 10 Mar 2016

In Search of a Better Match: Qualification Mismatches in Developing Asia

This paper empirically tests the role of search frictions in driving qualification mismatches in the labor market. Using new data from several low-income economies in urban Asia we find that overeduca...

by Kenn Chua | On 10 Mar 2016

Information Frictions and Adverse Selection: Policy Interventions in Health Insurance Markets

This paper develops and implements a general framework to study insurance market equilibrium and evaluate policy interventions in the presence of choice frictions. Friction-reducing policies can incre...

by Benjamin R. Handel | On 09 Mar 2016

Unraveling Firms: Demand, Productivity and Markups Heterogeneity

The paper develops a new econometric framework that simultaneously allows recovering heterogeneity in demand, TFP and markups across firms while leaving the correlation among the three unrestricted. W...

by Emanuele Forlani | On 09 Mar 2016

Human Factors Determine Extreme Weather Impact

The beginning of 2011 was marked by a series of rain-related disasters in various parts of the globe. Australia experienced one of the most severe (and most probably the costliest) wave of floods in i...

by S. Rajaratnam International Studies | On 03 Mar 2016

Railroads of the Raj: Estimating the Impact of Transportation Infrastructure

How large are the benefits of transportation infrastructure projects, and what explains these benefits? To shed new light on these questions, I collect archival data from colonial India and use it to...

by Dave Donaldson | On 29 Feb 2016

Impact of the ASEAN Economic Community on ASEAN Production Networks

Empirical evidence suggests that the emergence of international production networks in East Asia results from market-driven forces such as vertical specialization and higher production costs in the ho...

by Kornkarun Cheewatrakoolpong | On 29 Feb 2016

Joining Pre-existing International Production Networks: Implications for India’s Economic Integration to East Asia

This study provides a conceptual framework to explain what kinds of difficulties a late-follower will suffer from when it tries to join pre-existing International Production Networks (IPNs). We consid...

by Jeongmeen Suh | On 29 Feb 2016

The Future of Australia's Productivity: Some Insights from Productivity Analysis

The Productivity Commission program of studies on the productivity of different sectors — to date, Mining, Electricity, gas and water, and Manufacturing — provide some insight into what lies behind th...

by Jenny Gordon | On 29 Feb 2016

Low Carbon Lifestyles

The toolkit contains a list of practical climate friendly initiatives that can be adopted by individuals, educational institutions, and workplaces with detailed calculations of annual CO 2 emissions r...

by Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Chang GOI | On 29 Feb 2016

Growth Pole Programme For Unorganised Sector Enterprise Development

Government of India constituted the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) in September 2004 as an advisory body and a watchdog for the informal sector to bring about im...

by National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorgan NCEUS | On 29 Feb 2016

The New Economic Case for Migration Restrictions: An Assessment

In this paper, a review of the literature on the global efficiency consequences of migration and assess a new strand of that literature. This is the new economic case for migration restrictions, which...

by Michael Clemens | On 27 Feb 2016

Rising Milk Price – A Cause for Concern on Food Security

Continuous rise in food prices has been posing a serious policy challenge in India. Milk is a major contributor to the food price rise due to its high growth in demand in the domestic and internationa...

by S. Rajeshwaran | On 27 Feb 2016

Climate, Food, and the New North-South Divide

Global efforts to tackle climate change and food security are hampered by North-South differences over cost sharing. But rising interdependence and the South’s new pragmatism and bargaining power are...

by | On 26 Feb 2016

Economic Survey 2015-16-Volume I

This year’s Economic Survey comes at a time of unusual volatility in the international economic environment. Markets have begun to swing on fears that the global recovery may be faltering, while ris...

by Arun Jaitley | On 26 Feb 2016

Indian Railway Budget Speech 2016-17

Speech of Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu introducing the Railway Budget for 2016-17.

by Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu | On 25 Feb 2016

Combed Cotton Yarn Exports of Pakistan to the US: A Dispute Settlement Case

On December 24, 1998 the Government of Pakistan (GOP) received a Call Notice from the US Government for consultation regarding the establishment of quantitative restraints on Pakistani exports of Comb...

by S. M. Hussain | On 25 Feb 2016

Integration and Trade Specialization in East Asia

The 1990s saw East Asia becoming more integrated as trade barriers fell, trade intensity and intra-industry trade increased, and production networks formed. This greater integration has resulted in ch...

by Yose Damuri | On 24 Feb 2016

Migrant Workers and the Right to Labour

There has been some public discussion on the issue of labour migrants and its supposed impact on the productivity of the national labour force. How true is this? Or is this simply another episode in t...

by | On 24 Feb 2016

Recent Trends in China’s Trade

Who would have thought thirty years ago China could become one of the world’s most influential trading nations? At that time the Chinese government was reluctant to open up its door for foreigners and...

by Alice Wang | On 24 Feb 2016

Impact of Management Practices on Employee Effectiveness in South Asia

South Asian organizations in countries like Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are trying to professionalize management practices in recent years. Inspite of such efforts, employees indiscipli...

by Zafar Qureshi | On 24 Feb 2016

Cost Effectiveness Assessment of Green House Gas Mitigation Options: A Proposed Methodology

The World Bank has been requested by the government of India to undertake a study, “Strategies for Low Carbon Growth.” The study considers different options for low-carbon growth trajectories to fisca...

by Ministry of Environment and Forests GOI | On 24 Feb 2016

Grid – Connect Electricity Supply in India

This paper describes the methodology, data and key assumptions used for the power sector supply-side module of the India Low Carbon Growth study and presents preliminary results. The module is used to...

by World Bank | On 24 Feb 2016

Financial Sector Reform: Longer-Run Policy Responses to the Asian Crisis

The Asian financial crisis of 1997 involved significant economic and social costs for the affected economies, but also highlighted fundamental weaknesses in the structure and operations of their finan...

by Kevin Davis | On 24 Feb 2016

Beyond Petroleum: Limits of Risk Management

The cost of the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico has now surpassed the US$3bn mark. That may prove to be a drop in the ocean compared to what will come if governments, businesses and civil-society gr...

by | On 23 Feb 2016

Industrial Growth And Environmental Industrial Growth And Environmental Industrial Growth And Environmental Degradation: Degradation: Degradation: A Case Study Of Tiruppur Textile Cluster A Case Study Of Tiruppur Textile Cluster A Case Study Of Tiruppur Textile Cluster

The rapid economic growth achieved after globalization by most of the developing countries, has imposed considerable social costs and has become a major threat to sustainable development. However it i...

by Prakash Nelliyat | On 23 Feb 2016

Dissecting the China Puzzle: Asymmetric Liberalization and Cost Distortion

In this paper we attempt to explain the China Puzzle: coexistence of accelerating economic growth and worsening growth outlook. The root cause lies in China’s unique liberalization approach, i.e., the...

by Huang Yiping | On 22 Feb 2016

Changing Population In Japan And A Life-Long Active Society To Cope With It

Japan's ageing population also has a sort of depth. By “depth,” I mean that within the older population itself the proportion of very old people aged 75 years old and over is increasing particularly r...

by Atsushi Seike | On 21 Feb 2016

Are Returns To Private Infrastructure In Developing Countries Consistent With Risks Since The Asian Crisis?

This paper presents a basic assessment of the financial performance of infrastructure service operators in developing countries. It relies on a new database of 120 companies put together to track the...

by Maria Pinglo | On 21 Feb 2016

The Economic Effects of a Borrower Bailout Evidence from an Emerging Market

This paper studies the credit market implications and real effects of one the largest borrower bailout programs in history, enacted by the government of India against the backdrop of the 2008–2009 fin...

by Xavier Giné | On 21 Feb 2016

How Much Could South Asia Benefit from Regional Electricity Cooperation and Trade?

The South Asia region is lagging behind many regions in the world in regional electricity cooperation and trading, despite the huge anticipated benefits. This study uses an electricity planning model...

by Govinda Timilsina | On 21 Feb 2016

Pro-Poor Solid Waste Management

MarijkHuysman bases her lecture on the importance of accessible and effective urban waste collection services for public health, environmental conditions, productivity and aesthetics of cities. Yet ev...

by | On 19 Feb 2016

Myanmar: The Key Link between South Asia and Southeast Asia

This paper examines the road and railway links in Myanmar connecting northeast India on the one side with the rest of Southeast Asia on the other. It also discusses the importance of new deep-sea port...

by Hector Florento | On 16 Feb 2016

Interest Rate Spread in Bangladesh: An Analytical Review

Lower spread is a vital indicator of the efficiency and competition in the financial system and conducive to higher economic growth of a country via investment spending. In Bangladesh, the spread in t...

by Shamim Ahmed | On 15 Feb 2016

Future Prospects of Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garments Industry and the Supportive Policy Regime

Emergence of the global market has heightened the role of trade in world economy and made industrialization as an integral system of global trade and production. Bangladesh economy at present is more...

by Md. Nehal Ahmed | On 15 Feb 2016

Inflation in Bangladesh: Supply Side Perspectives

This policy note is an exploratory attempt to verify the popular argument that cost side factors are no less contributory than demand side factors in stimulating inflation in the Bangladesh economy. T...

by Md. Alauddin Majumder | On 15 Feb 2016

Asia-Pacific Human Development Report 2006: Trade on Human Terms

This report highlights that free trade can benefit the poor of Asia-Pacific if countries adopt bold new policies that harness trade and economic growth to promote people’s well-being. It also highligh...

by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | On 12 Feb 2016

Daughters, Dowries, Deliveries: The Effect of Marital Payments on Fertility Choices in India

This paper investigates the effect of the differential pecuniary costs of sons and daughters on fertility decisions. The focus is on dowries in India, which increase the economic returns to sons and d...

by Marco Alfano | On 11 Feb 2016

Aquaculture: Issues and Opportunities for Sustainable Production and Trade

This issue paper – published in the context of the ICTSD project on Fisheries, International Trade and Sustainable Development – aims to contribute to debates to develop fisheries and trade policies a...

by | On 08 Feb 2016

How Soon Is Now? Evidence of Present Bias from Convex Time Budget Experiments

Empirically observed intertemporal choices about money have long been thought to exhibit present bias, i.e. higher short-term compared to long-term discount rates. Recently, this view has been called...

by Uttara Balakrishnan | On 07 Feb 2016

Leader Networks and Transaction Costs: A Chinese Experiment in Interjurisdictional Contracting

Do leader networks promote efficient intergovernmental contracts? We examine a groundbreaking policy in China where subprovincial governments freely traded land conversion quotas and investigate the r...

by Nancy H. Chau | On 07 Feb 2016

Temporary and Permanent Migrant Selection: Theory and Evidence of Ability-Search Cost Dynamics

The migrant selection literature concentrates primarily on spatial patterns. This paper illustrates the implications of migration duration for patterns of selection by integrating two workhorses of th...

by Joyce Chen | On 07 Feb 2016

Impact of Financial Liberalisation and Deregulation on Banking Sector in Pakistan

The study analyses market perception about the performance of Pakistani commercial banks due to financial liberalisation and deregulation measures taken by the central bank over the last two decades....

by Kalbe Abbas | On 06 Feb 2016

Market Imperfections and Dividend Policy Decisions ofManufacturing Sector of Pakistan

Dividend policy is an important issue of corporate finance and the present study examines the effect of market imperfections such as asymmetric information, agency costs and transaction cost of issuin...

by Darakhshan Younis | On 03 Feb 2016

Does Inside Ownership Matters in Financial Decisions and Firm Performance: Evidence from Manufacturing Sector of Pakistan

This study provides the evidence on the effect of managerial ownership on the firm’s performance and financial policies (debt and dividend) for 140 listed manufacturing firms of Pakistan.

by Haris Arshad | On 03 Feb 2016

Structural Change, Global Imbalances, and Employment in the Least Developed Countries

This paper addresses the effects of changes in the level and composition of global demand, and especially of global rebalancing, on trade flows and employment from a demand perspective. It emphasizes...

by International Centre for Sustainable Trade and Development | On 03 Feb 2016

Analysing the Price Cost Markup and Its Behaviour over the Business Cycles in Case of Manufacturing Industries of Pakistan

The issue of imperfect competition in economic theory has been repeatedly discussed given its importance in the distribution of economic resources. In this study, market power measured by price over...

by Salman Ahmad | On 03 Feb 2016

Developing Technologies for Sustainable Fisheries in Asia

Governments in Asia must prioritise technologies that improve fishery productivity to meet the growing local and international demand for fish. This increased productivity must be sustainable, however...

by The WorldFish Center TWC | On 01 Feb 2016

World’s Youth 2013: Data Sheet

Girls and boys in developing countries are enrolling in secondary school in greater numbers than ever before, giving them knowledge and skills for healthy, productive lives. While this is good news, m...

by | On 01 Feb 2016

Climate Justice: Sharing the Burden

It is now beyond scientific doubt that the emissions of greenhouse gases need to be reduced significantly to prevent dangerous interference in the climate system and avoid dramatic consequences of glo...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

Is Sustainable Recovery Possible for Haiti?

In Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, the earthquake of 7.0 on the Richter scale in early January 2010 had devastating effects. The Government estimates that more than 200,000 people (o...

by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs | On 31 Jan 2016

Sri Lanka Demographic Transition Facing the Challenges of an Aging Population with Few Resources

This report discusses some of the economic implications of demographic transition in Sri Lanka, focusing n employment and productivity related issues on one side; and performance of cash transfer prog...

by World Bank [WB] | On 31 Jan 2016

Climate-Smart Agriculture in Sri Lanka

The climate-smart agriculture (CSA) concept reflects the ambition to improve the integration of agriculture development and climate responsiveness. CSA aims to achieve food security and broader develo...

by World Bank [WB] | On 30 Jan 2016

Improving Transparency in Public Procurement in Bangladesh: Interplay between PPA and RTI Act

This advisory note, while accepting the existing limitations of the transparency regime in public procurement process of the country, argues that the Right to Information (RTI) Act has the potential t...

by . BRAC | On 30 Jan 2016

Impact of Debt on Aggregate Investment and Productivity in Developing Asian Countries

This study attempts to investigate the empirical relationship between debt and productivity and debt and investment for the Developing Asian Countries over the period of 1984-2007. The study uses two...

by Hasan Shahzad | On 30 Jan 2016

The Parameters of a National Minimum Hourly Wage

Both academic and political debates over the minimum wage generally focus on the minimum wage rate. However, the minimum wage is a complex institution composed of a wide variety of parameters. In t...

by Vinish Kathuria | On 28 Jan 2016

Promoting Land Development in India and China: Imperatives for Institutional Changes

This paper compares the experiences in India and China and draws lessons for policy formulation. The important lessons are: (a) self-financing nature of FLC/SWC is a crucial factor for achieving effec...

by Jeemol Unni | On 28 Jan 2016

Economic Rationale, Subsidy and Cost Sharing for Watershed Projects: Imperatives for Institutions and Market Development

This paper seeks to examine the experiences with respect to subsidies and cost-sharing in the light of the various watershed programmes supported by the state as well as donor agencies and other non-g...

by Amita Shah | On 28 Jan 2016

Promoting Agricultural Growth in Myanmar: A Review of Policies and an Assessment of Knowledge Gaps

This paper reviews the agricultural policy environment in Myanmar up until 2014 with an eye towards identifying policies that can help to accelerate productivity and profitability in the agricultural...

by Ulrike Nischan | On 28 Jan 2016

Agriculture and Structural Transformation in Developing Asia: Review and Outlook

Extrapolating from past trends, and taking to account emerging conditions, many countries of developing Asia will be expected to move on to the next phase of agricultural development; however even in...

by Roehlano M. Briones | On 25 Jan 2016

Total Factor Productivity of the Software Industry in India

This paper uses the Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) to estimate change in total factor productivity (TFP) and its constituent components for software companies in India during 1999–2008. On average...

by Nira Ramachandran | On 24 Jan 2016

Opportunities and Challenges in Rice Seeds Trade Between India and Bangladesh

Rice, a major staple crop for India and Bangladesh is important not only for ensuring food security, but also the livelihood security of large number of small and marginal farmers engaged in rice cult...

by Neha Jain | On 23 Jan 2016

Creating Alliances for Renewable Energy Investment: Lessons from China and India

Alliances’ of public and private actors can play a crucial role in accelerating the transition to sustainable energy systems, and these groupings can be ‘engineered’. Based on research findings from I...

by Institute of Development Studies IDS | On 23 Jan 2016

Import Penetration And Price-Cost Margins In Indian Manufacturing Industries

An econometric analysis of the impact of import liberalization on price-cost margins in Indian industries in the post-reform period is carried out using firm-level data for eight manufacturing industr...

by Bishwanath Goldar | On 22 Jan 2016

Manual on Good Agricultural Marketing Practices for Cotton

In spite of the advances in cotton production, it has to propagate the cause at the national & international level by joining the forces and harmonizing of the interest of the producers, users & other...

by Department of Agriculture & Cooperation GOI | On 22 Jan 2016

Productivity in the Era of Trade and Investment Liberalization in India

Very recent years India has witnessed wide-ranging economic reforms in her policies governing international trade and FDI flows. As per the findings of the paper, some of the important determinants of...

by Ram Upendra Das | On 21 Jan 2016

Financial Crisis of 2008 and Shifting Economic Power Is there Convergence

This paper analyses shifts in economic power over the last almost five decades. Developing countries and regions have increased their share of incremental world income and incremental world exports ov...

by Manmohan Agarwal | On 21 Jan 2016

Urbanization, gender and urban poverty: Paid work and unpaid carework in the city

This collaborative working paper, and the shorter technical briefing note derived from it, discuss hidden dimensions of urban poverty, and the different ways in which they impact men and women. This g...

by | On 19 Jan 2016

Does Gender Matter for Firm Performance? Evidence from Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Using 2005 firm level data for 26 ECA countries, this paper estimates performance gaps between male- and female-owned businesses, while controlling for their location by industry and country. We find...

by Shwetlena Sabarwal | On 19 Jan 2016

Raising Agricultural Productivity and Making Farming Remunerative for Farmers

The paper identifies five important aspects of agriculture that need immediate attention to bring economic advantages to millions of farm families. First, output per hectare, which is a common measu...

by Niti Aayog GOI | On 18 Jan 2016

Public Infrastructure as a Determinant of Intertemporal and Interregional Productive Performance in China

This paper focuses on the question whether public infrastructure capital matters for labor productivity in China, both over time and across regions. It finds that public infrastructure is a significan...

by | On 15 Jan 2016

Closing The Gender Gap In Climate-Smart Agriculture

In this brief review of recent approaches relevant to climate smart agriculture (CSA) programs, the researcher presents ideas on why emerging CSA policies and plans lack the attention to gender that w...

by Sonja Vermeulen | On 14 Jan 2016

The International Development Strategy Beyond 2015: Taking Demographic Dynamics into Account

Demographic dynamics have strong repercussions for development and need to be addressed in the definition of the global development strategy for post 2015. Despite divergent trends across countries, i...

by | On 11 Jan 2016

Operational Guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

The vision of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) will be to ensure access to some means of protective irrigation to all agricultural farms in the country, to produce ‘per drop more crop’,...

by Ministry of Agriculture GOI | On 11 Jan 2016

Trade and Environment Review 2009/2010

UNCTAD´s Trade and Environment Review 2009/2010focuses on the 140 plus low-income and least developed countries, which have not caused the economic, financial, climate and food crises, but have to bea...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD | On 09 Jan 2016

Banking Crises and 'Japanization': Origins and Implications

Japan’s “two lost decades” perhaps represent an extreme example of a weak recovery from a financial crisis, and are now referred to as “Japanization.” More recently, widespread stagnation in advanced...

by Masahiro Kawai | On 07 Jan 2016

The Impact of Household Health Shocks on Female Time Allocation and Agricultural Labor Participation in Rural Pakistan

There have been few empirical studies in the developing world and the agricultural sector, on the impact of negative health shocks on household well-being. Does the pervasive effect of a negative hous...

by | On 07 Jan 2016

Better Hospitals, Better Health Systems: The Urgency of a Hospital Agenda

This paper outlines the nature of the issues surrounding hospitals in emerging markets and makes the case for early action to bridge the abyss of neglected hospital investments and the path needed to...

by | On 06 Jan 2016

Summary of Indonesia's Poverty Analysis

Economic growth averaging 5.8% since 2010 has helped to lift 3.3 million Indonesians out of poverty. Yet 28 million were still living below the government’s poverty line in March 2014. Indonesia’s nat...

by Priasto Aji Aji | On 01 Jan 2016

Social Protection Brief: Social Security Reform and Economic Modeling Capacity Building in Indonesia

While official poverty in Indonesia is relatively low at 12%, an additional 27% of the population live just above the poverty line and small shocks can drive them back into poverty. Poor and vulnerabl...

by Kefei You | On 01 Jan 2016

Social Protection Brief: Social Security Reform and Economic Modeling Capacity Building in Indonesia

While official poverty in Indonesia is relatively low at 12%, an additional 27% of the population live just above the poverty line and small shocks can drive them back into poverty. Poor and vulnerabl...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 01 Jan 2016

Service Sector Productivity and Economic Growth in Asia

This paper explores the impacts of more rapid growth in labor productivity in the service sector in Asia based on an empirical general equilibrium model. The model allows for input-output linkages and...

by Jong-Wha Lee | On 30 Dec 2015

Sukha Mukti Abhiyan

Meaningful participatory processes of natural resource management lead to enhanced productivity, equity, sustainability and self-reliance. This is evident from the experiments at Sukhomajri, Ralegan-S...

by People's Science Institute PSI | On 29 Dec 2015

Financial Health and Firm Productivity: Firm-Level Evidence from Viet Nam

This paper empirically investigates whether financial health shores up firm productivity. It presents productivity as another driving factor in translating financial development into real economic pro...

by Shandre Thangavelu | On 29 Dec 2015

Labour Cost and Export Behaviour of Firms in Indian Textile and Clothing Industry

The implementation of the Agreement on Textile and Clothing (ATC) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) renders both threats and opportunities to India’s Textile and Clothing (T&C) industry in the wak...

by Vinoj Abraham | On 26 Dec 2015

Vital Stats: Functioning of Parliament in Winter Session 2015

This note presents data regarding Parliament’s productivity during Winter Session 2015.

by Kusum Malik | On 26 Dec 2015

Housing Policies for Asia: A Theoretical Analysis by Use of a Demand and Supply Model

The main objective of this paper is to give an overview of the most commonly used housing policies and to illustrate their economic impact. To facilitate the analysis, we first introduce a simple two-...

by Naoyuki Yoshino | On 24 Dec 2015

nabling Trade: Increasing the Potential of Trade Reforms

It has become clear that as governments pursue trade facilitation, those that take a “horizontal” approach achieve the most success. This approach involves identifying industries with the highest pote...

by | On 22 Dec 2015

Technology and Innovation Report 2015

Building productive capacities and promoting sustainable industrialization have an important role to play across the spectrum of the integrated 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Agenda reco...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UN | On 22 Dec 2015

The Global Information Technology Report 2014

The Global Information Technology Report provides a comprehensive assessment of networked readiness, or how prepared an economy is to apply the benefits of information and communications technologies...

by | On 21 Dec 2015

Can Improved Cooking Stoves Work? The Nepal Chulo Experience

What motivates rural households to switch from older cooking methods to newer, more improved, ones? Improved cooking stoves (ICS) technology has demonstrated capacity to reduce health hazards from smo...

by Dipika Gawande | On 18 Dec 2015

The Economic Case for Devoting Public Resources to Health

Major health problems persist, particularly in tropical countries, which are still struggling with infectious diseases while increasingly having to deal with noncommunicable diseases. Several classic...

by David E. Bloom | On 17 Dec 2015

SkyShares: Modelling the Distributive and Economic Implications of a Future Global Emissions Budget

The SkyShares model helps policy-makers explore a range of diffe ent policy scenarios. It enables users to relate a target limit for temperature change to a global emissions ceiling; to allocate this...

by Owen Barder | On 11 Dec 2015

Climate-Smart Agriculture: Smallholder Adoption and Implications for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

There are a wide range of agriculture-based practices and technologies that have the potential to increase food production and the adaptive capacity of the food production system, as well as reduce em...

by | On 09 Dec 2015

Notes on Land, Long Run Food Security and the Agrarian Crisis in India

These Notes are mainly about three interconnected themes; the international and Indian ‘take’ on control over land (and water); the distinction between an agricultural crisis and an agrarian crisis;...

by Sheila Bhalla | On 09 Dec 2015

Comparing Emissions Mitigation Efforts across Countries

A framework for comparing mitigation effort is drawn, drawing from a set of principles for designing and implementing informative metrics. A template for organizing metrics on mitigation effort is pr...

by William Pizer | On 09 Dec 2015

Climate Change: Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation

This Food Policy Report presents research results that quantify the climate-change impacts, assesses the consequences for food security, and estimates the investments that would offset the negative co...

by International Food Policy Research Institute | On 07 Dec 2015

The Sun Gets Bigger

The government should encourage the use of solar energy.

by T.N. Ninan | On 04 Dec 2015

The Future of Forests: Emissions from Tropical Deforestation With and Without a Carbon Price, 2016-2050

The future of tropical deforestation is projected from 2016-2050 with and without carbon pricing policies, based on 18 million observations of historical forest loss spanning 101 tropical countries.

by Jonah Busch | On 04 Dec 2015

What do Economists have to say about Climate Impacts on South Asia?

South Asia’s changing climate has had many different impacts including changes in ecosystems, more severe storms, rainfall that is more concentrated in a few days per year leading to more floods and m...

by E. Somanathan | On 01 Dec 2015

Employment and Economic Class in the Developing World

This paper introduces a model for generating national estimates and projections of the distribution of the employed across five economic classes for 142 developing countries over the period 1991 to 20...

by | On 10 Nov 2015

Tolerance and Respect for Economic Progress

Our tradition of debate in an environment of respect and tolerance. By upholding it, by fighting for it, the students can repay their teachers and your parents. And you will be doing our country a gre...

by Raghuram G. Rajan | On 03 Nov 2015

Non-Standard Work and Workers: Organizational Implications

In this paper provides an overview of the research on nonstandard work with a view to answering the following questions: (i) why do organizations use nonstandard workers, (ii) how has the practice of...

by | On 03 Nov 2015

Productivity and Efficiency Impacts of Zero Tillage Wheat in Northwest Indo-Gangetic Plains

Conservation agriculture (CA) technologies are being developed for the cereal production systems of South Asia to address the multifaceted problems of decelerating agricultural productivity, resource...

by Vijesh Krishna | On 02 Nov 2015

Skyrocketing Prices of Pulses and the Agrarian Crisis: Impact of Neo-liberal Policies

This interview with Vijoo Krishnan, Joint Secretary All India Kisan Sabha, on the agrarian crises leading to farmer suicides and rising prices of food grains traces backs the agrarian crises to the ne...

by Vijoo Krishnan | On 02 Nov 2015

Costs of Providing Sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services in Rural and Peri-Urban India

Water, sanitation and hygiene services are central to addressing poverty, livelihoods and health. They are also critical in addressing the needs of poor communities and in achieving the Millennium Dev...

by M.V. Ramachandrudu | On 29 Oct 2015

Evaluating the Targeting Effectiveness of Social Transfers: A Literature Review

Many methodologies exist for dividing a population into those who are classified as eligible for social transfers and those who are ineligible. Popular targeting mechanisms include means testing, prox...

by | On 29 Oct 2015

Development Central Banking: A Review of Issues and Experiences

The paper argues that central banks should play a broader role in helping developing countries meet their key challenges, such as generating productive employment, helping to allocate investment to pr...

by | On 28 Oct 2015

Improving the Environmental Performance of Pakistan's Textile Sector

Pakistan's textile industry, the country's largest manufacturing industry and second largest employer, is also responsible for large discharges of waste water. Three steps can help improve the environ...

by Vaqar Ahmed | On 22 Oct 2015

An Exploratory Analysis of Deprivation and Ill-Health led Poverty in Urban India: A Case Study of Delhi

This paper examines the multi-dimensional nature of urban poverty with special emphasis on ill-health led deprivation. As a driver of poverty, ill-health reduces the income earning potential and incre...

by Samik Chowdhury | On 20 Oct 2015

The Influence of Industry Financial Composition on the Exports from Pakistan

the influence of the industry financial composition on the export flow between Pakistan and its trading partners is determined. The importing countries are split according to their OECD membership st...

by Aadil Nakhoda | On 16 Oct 2015

The Economic Cost of Out-of-School Children in Southeast Asia

This publication is the result of UNESCO Bangkok’s project in cooperation with Educate A Child (EAC) which seeks to eradicate obstacles, both in policy and practice, that would prevent children in Sou...

by Save Children | On 15 Oct 2015

Utilization of ICDS Services and their Impact on Child Health Outcomes Evidence from Three East Indian States

The study analyses a rural household’s decision to participate in a public pre-school intervention called the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), and evaluates its impact on anthropometric out...

by Meenakshi J V | On 15 Oct 2015

Rainbow Revolution in Bihar: Problem and Prospect

Green revolution has made the country self-sufficient in food grain production, mainly rice and wheat. We now need to usher in a rainbow revolution which encompasses not only agriculture but the allie...

by R K P Singh | On 13 Oct 2015

Soil Health: Issues and Concerns - A Review

This paper brings out the importance of soil fertility management (SFM) with respect to agricultural production and livelihood contribution to the rural people. It looks into the farmers' own knowledg...

by B. Suresh Reddy | On 08 Oct 2015

World Social Protection Report 2014-15: Building Economic Recovery, Inclusive Development and Social Justice

This ILO flagship report provides a global overview of the organization of social protection systems, their coverage and benefits, as well as public expenditures on social protection. The report follo...

by Internaional Labour Organization [ILO] | On 07 Oct 2015

Attempting the Production of Public Goods through Microfinance: The Case of Water and Sanitation

This paper evaluates the attempt to create public goods via microfinance loans. Microfinance loans in the production of goods with public goods characteristics signify an emergent micro-privatisation....

by Philip Mader | On 06 Oct 2015

The Power of Parity: How Advancing Women's Equality can Add $12 trillion to Global Growth

In this report, MGI explores the economic potential available if the global gender gap were to be closed. The research finds that, in a full-potential scenario in which women play an identical role...

by Jonathan Woetzel | On 30 Sep 2015

Food Security, Productivity, and Gender Inequality

This paper examines the relationship between gender inequality and food security, with a particular focus on women as food producers, consumers, and family food managers. The discussion is set against...

by Bina Agarwal | On 29 Sep 2015

Impact of Climate Change on Yield of Major Food Crops in Tamil Nadu, India

This study uses panel data for 39 years and 13 districts to estimate the yield sensitivity of major food crops to climate change in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It first estimated the margina...

by V. Saravanakumar | On 25 Sep 2015

Environmental Regulations and Compliance in the Textile Processing Sector in Pakistan: Empirical Evidence

This paper, seeks to understand why firms in the garment and textile sector choose to comply with or ignore Pakistan’s environmental regulations and effluent standards. Based on survey of 60 firms, it...

by Ghulam Samad | On 23 Sep 2015

Manufacturing or Services? An Indian Illustration of a Development Dilemma

Manufacturing has historically offered the fastest path out of poverty, but there is mounting evidence that this path may be all but closed to developing countries today. Some have suggested that ser...

by Amrit Amirapu | On 23 Sep 2015

The Percolation of Public Expenditure: Food Subsidies and the Poor in India and Philippines

This paper measures the percolation of food subsidy expenditures to the poor. The paper proposes a metric that takes into account the depth and width of income transfer. The metric is applied to food...

by Shikha Jha | On 18 Sep 2015

The Global Innovation Index 2015: Effective Innovation Policies for Development

The Global Innovation Index (GII) aims to capture the multi-dimensional facets of innovation and provide the tools that can assist in tailoring policies to promote long-term output growth, improved pr...

by | On 18 Sep 2015

Growth and Structure of the Services Sector in India

The Services sector accounts over one half of India’s GDP. The examination of the Services sector at a reasonably disaggregated level is necessary because the services sector (tertiary sector) is very...

by | On 18 Sep 2015

Losing Our Minds? New Research Directions on Skilled Migration and Development

This paper critiques the last decade of research on the effects of high-skill emigration from developing countries, and proposes six new directions for fruitful research. The study singles out a cor...

by Michael Clemens | On 16 Sep 2015

Price Rigidity, Inflation and the Distribution of Relative Price Changes

This study examines whether skewness of the cross sectional distribution of relative price changes is positively associated with aggregate inflation as predicted by the Menu cost model of Ball and Man...

by Sartaj Rather | On 14 Sep 2015

Steel's a Steal

Steel is a basic input for the entire engineering industry (cars, household goods, machinery of all kinds), and for the infrastructure sector (roads, railways, power, real estate, etc). Raise the cost...

by T.N. Ninan | On 12 Sep 2015

The Impact of Conditional Cash Transfers on the Matriculation of Junior High School Students into Rural China’s High Schools

The goal of this study is to examine whether promising a Conditional Cash Transfer (conditional on matriculation) at the start of junior high increases the rate at which disadvantaged students matricu...

by Fan Li | On 09 Sep 2015

Employment and Wages in Indian Manufacturing: Post-Reform Performance

This work is a contribution to the Employment Policy Department’s focus on employment and growth in G20 developing economies. Much discussion on employment and growth in developing economies analyses...

by | On 27 Aug 2015

Skill Gaps in the Workplace: Measurement, Determinants and Impacts

This paper identifies the key factors determining the correct identification of skill gaps within firms. The impact of skill gaps on average training expenditures and labour costs is also measured. Th...

by Luis Ortiz | On 26 Aug 2015

The Youth Guarantee Programme in Europe: Features, Implementation and Challenges

The recommendation to establish a Youth Guarantee was adopted by the Council in April 2013 in response to unprecedented levels of youth unemployment, which reached 23.5 per cent in Europe at the end o...

by | On 24 Aug 2015

On Reckoning Level Differentials in the Measurement of Progress: An Illustration in the Context of Deliveries Assisted by Skilled Health Personnel

The paper highlights that performance assessments should account for non-linear dynamics of progress, whereby an improvement at a higher level represents greater achievement than an equal improvement...

by William Joe | On 21 Aug 2015

Demand for Watershed Services: Understanding Local Preferences through a Choice Experiment in the Koshi Basin of Nepal

This study undertakes a choice experiment in order to identify differences in local demand for watershed services in the Koshi basin of Nepal. The paper first examines the possibility of using a non-m...

by Rajesh Kumar Rai | On 20 Aug 2015

Public Debt Management in India and Related Issues

This study focuses on the marketable domestic public debt of the Government of India (GoI) in terms of size, magnitude, policy and approach followed and also discusses issues and challenges on debt m...

by Lakshmanan L | On 13 Aug 2015

Land Marked by Policy Distortions

Of all the markets in which politicians interfere with prices, the land market is probably the last that will be reformed.

by T.N. Ninan | On 08 Aug 2015

Research Productivity in Management Schools of India: A Directional Benefit-of-Doubt Model Analysis

Given the growing emphasis on research productivity in management schools in India, composite indicator (CI) of research productivity is developed, using the directional benefit-of-doubt (D-BOD) model...

by Biresh K Sahoo | On 20 Jul 2015

Adoption of Voluntary Environmental Practices: Evidence from the Textile and Apparel Industry in Sri Lanka

This study examines voluntary adoption of environmental management practices in the textile and apparel sector in Sri Lanka. The textile and apparel industry contributes to 58% of total industrial exp...

by D. W. Kinkini Hemachandra | On 17 Jul 2015

The Role of Gender in Scholarly Authorship

Gender disparities appear to be decreasing in academia according to a number of metrics, such as grant funding, hiring, acceptance at scholarly journals, and productivity, and it might be tempting to...

by Jevin D. West | On 15 Jul 2015

The Impact of Temperature on Productivity and Labor Supply: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing

Cross-country studies have found that hotter years are associated with lower output in poor countries. Using high-frequency micro-data from manufacturing firms in India, we show that worker heat stre...

by Anant Sudarsan | On 07 Jul 2015

Agricultural Credit and its Impact on Farm Productivity: A Case Study of Kailali District

This study was carried out by Banking Development and Research Unit of Nepal Rastra Bank, Dhangadhi Office. The study aims at exploring the problems related to the procurement and use of agricultural...

by Nepal Rastra Bank NRB | On 26 Jun 2015

Trade Liberalisation and Women’s Employment Intensity: Analysis of India’s Manufacturing

In the context of increasing contribution of developing countries in world trade, an important question is whether trade can be used as an instrument to stimulate higher participation of women in the...

by Purna Banerjee | On 25 Jun 2015

Assessing Development Assistance for Mental Health in Developing Countries: 2007–2013

Despite an expanding body of evidence suggesting that sustainable mental health care can be effectively integrated into existing health systems at relatively low cost, mental health has not received s...

by Barnabas J Gilbert | On 16 Jun 2015

Policy Note 2014–2015 on Agriculture Department of Tamil Nadu Government

Agriculture sector covers largest segment of livelihood and plays a significant role in the overall socioeconomic fabric of the nation.Tamil Nadu, through the Second Green Revolution, has initiated ma...

by | On 12 Jun 2015

An Enquiry in to the Employment of the Organized Sector in India

The paper attempts to analyze the trends in the organized sector employment of India for the period 1961 to 2010. It is found that the organized employment is in the state of decline, exhibiting a dow...

by G Burange | On 08 Jun 2015

Report of the Sixty-Seventh World Health Assembly on Financing of Administrative and Management Costs

An external review, commissioned by the Programme, Budget and Administration Committee of the Executive Board, was prepared in May 2013, providing detailed analysis of WHO’s administrative and managem...

by World Health Organisation (WHO) | On 26 May 2015

Instability and Regional Variation in Indian Agriculture

This study has taken up two seemingly different but connected aspects of Indian agriculture, the first part dealing with the analysis of agricultural instability at the national and state levels and t...

by Ramesh Chand | On 13 May 2015

Building the Skills for Economic Growth and Competitiveness in Sri Lanka

Despite armed internal conflict and the global financial crisis, Sri Lanka has made remarkable progress in recent years, enjoying healthy economic growth and substantially reducing poverty. Moreover,...

by Halil Dundar | On 07 May 2015

Growing through Cities in Developing Countries

This paper examines the effects of urbanization on development and growth. It begins with a labor market perspective and emphasizes the importance of agglomeration economies, both static and dynamic....

by | On 24 Apr 2015

ASEAN Community 2015: Managing Integration for Better Jobs and Shared Prosperity

This joint study of the Asian Development Bank and the International Labour Organization examines the impact of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) on labor. It highlights the challenges and opportunit...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 22 Apr 2015

Separating Shocks from Cyclicality in Indian Aggregate Supply

An ongoing debate on the shape of the Indian aggregate supply curve (AS) raises interesting econometric and policy issues. Systematic steps were taken to improve the estimation. On adding better vari...

by Ashima Goyal | On 02 Apr 2015

Impact of India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement: A Cross-Country Analysis using Applied General Equilibrium Modelling

The study attempted to analyse the long-term effects of the FTA on India. It is argued that after full trade liberalization, India’s allocative efficiency will increase, but the terms of trade effect...

by | On 23 Mar 2015

What Holds Back Manufacturing in South Asia

The recent South Asian (other than that of Bangladesh) experience of a growing merchandise trade deficit and the challenge of job creation have forced attention back on the role of manufacturing. Bang...

by | On 09 Mar 2015

Cost of Providing Sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services: An Initial Assessment of LCCA in Andhra Pradesh

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services levels remain stubbornly low in rural India despite high levels of public expenditure during recent decades. In many areas, this is a result of service le...

by V Ratna Reddy | On 18 Feb 2015

Declining Free Healthcare and Rising Treatment Costs in India: An Analysis of National Sample Surveys, 1986-2004

This paper focuses on the trends in health seeking behaviour of people and the cost of treatment by examining the National Sample Survey data pertaining to three rounds -1986-87, 1995-96 and 2004. Wit...

by Anil Gumber | On 13 Feb 2015

Asymmetric Price Adjustment - Evidence for India

The study tries to examine whether there exists asymmetry in the price adjustment of firms while using the commodity wise whole sale price indices belonging to three different sectors - primary, manuf...

by Sartaj Rather | On 12 Feb 2015

Report of the Working Group on Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, Secondary Agriculture and Policy Required for Internal and External Trade

The report reviews existing agricultural marketing system. It deals with improving efficiency and reducing transaction cost in Agricultural Marketing by strengthening the physical markets, encouraging...

by Planning Commission | On 11 Feb 2015

Enhancing Water-Use Efficiency of Thermal Power Plants in India: Need for Mandatory Water Audits

In view of the very high share of water consumption in thermal power plants, this policy brief highlights the water-use scenario in this sector and emphasizes the need for third party/mandatory and re...

by R K Batra | On 05 Feb 2015

Water Scarcity & Climate Change: Growing Risks for Businesses & Investors

This report outlines the wide-ranging risks investors and companies face from water scarcity and how global climate change will heighten those risks in many parts of the world. The report makes clear...

by | On 04 Feb 2015

The Productivity of Agricultural Credit in India

This study examines the nature of the relationship between formal agricultural credit and agricultural GDP in India, specifically the role of the former in supporting agricultural growth, using state...

by Sudha Narayanan | On 23 Jan 2015

A Farming System Model to Leverage Agriculture for Nutritional Outcomes

The objective of paper is to demonstrate feasibility of nutrition-sensitive agriculture. The proposed model is being tested in two select locations to demonstrate improvement in nutrition status throu...

by M S Swaminathan | On 21 Jan 2015

Agriculture and Child Under-Nutrition in India: A State Level Analysis

The literature review on agriculture-child nutrition linkage indicates that the evidence base is weak and inconclusive (Kadiyala et al., 2013). This paper explores the possible linkages between agri...

by | On 24 Dec 2014

Housing and Labor Productivity of Female Tea Pluckers in Sri Lanka

This study analyzes the link between labor productivity of tea-plantation workers in Sri Lanka and their living conditions. The results indicate a significant negative relationship between Indoor Air...

by Ajantha Kalyanaratne | On 16 Dec 2014

The Impact of India's Rural Employment Guarantee on Demand for Agricultural Technology

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is approaching eight years of implementation. Since 2006, it has offered up to 100 days per year of guaranteed public works employm...

by Anil K. Bhargava | On 28 Nov 2014

What Explains the Productivity Decline in Manufacturing in the Nineties in India?

This paper uses the data envelopment analysis (DEA) based Malmquist productivity index to estimate total factor productivity growth (TFPG), technical change, and efficiency change for a panel of firms...

by Saon Ray | On 18 Nov 2014

Cause of death among reproductive age group women in Maharashtra, India

Reliable data on mortality and morbidity among women of reproductive age group are scarce in India. The present study is the Maharashtra component of a large multicentric task force study on the c...

by Ragini Kulkarni | On 11 Nov 2014

Structural Transformation and the Rural-Urban Divide

Development of an economy goes hand in hand with a declining importance of agriculture in output and employment. Given the primarily rural population in developing countries and their concentration in...

by Amartya Lahiri | On 06 Nov 2014

Women and Labour Markets in Asia: Rebalancing for Gender Equality

The report is a joint undertaking by the ADB and the ILO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, reflecting the high-level commitment of both organizations to gender equality in the region, as an...

by International Labour Organisation ILO | On 29 Oct 2014

The Evolution of Institutions in India and its Relationship with Economic Growth

The tepid-to-torrid transformation in India’s economic growth since the early 1980s is one of the big stories of recent times. Whereas “Midnight’s children” saw their standard of living double ove...

by Arvind Subramanian | On 22 Oct 2014

The Impact of Climate Change on Rice Prduction in Nepal

This paper examines the sensitivity of rice yield in Nepal to changes in climate variables and the magnitude of potential impacts on rice productivity in the future. The findings draw attention to the...

by Prakash K. Karn | On 22 Oct 2014

Four Facts on India’s Growth in the 2000's

This paper marks the first attempt at examining the growth performance across Indian states for the 2000s, a period also marked by the global financial crisis. Four key finding emerge from the paper...

by Arvind Subramanian | On 21 Oct 2014

From “Hindu Growth” to Productivity Surge: The Mystery of the Indian Growth Transition

Most conventional accounts of India’s recent economic performance associate the pick-up in economic growth with the liberalisation of 1991. This paper demonstrates that the transition to high growth o...

by Dani Rodrik | On 21 Oct 2014

The Soya Project: Farm Evangelists

In 2008, two earnest young men set out to boost soya bean yields in the semi-arid region of Bundi in Rajasthan. Rainfall there is meagre and the soil lacks nutrients. But there are ready buyers for so...

by Civil Society | On 20 Oct 2014

Analytics of Food Inflation in India

Food inflation in India has remained stubborn in recent years. A number of proximate factors such as increasing demand particularly arising from higher rural wages, rising agricultural cost of produ...

by Thangzason Sonna | On 14 Oct 2014

Notes on Land, Long-run Food Security and the Agrarian Crisis in India

These Notes are mainly about three interconnected themes; i) the international and Indian ‘take’ on control over land (and water); ii) the distinction between an agricultural crisis and an agrarian...

by Sheila Bhalla | On 01 Oct 2014

The Cult of Statistical Significance - A Review

A review and extended discussion is presented of The Cult of Statistical Significance: How the Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice and Lives by Deirdre McCloskey and Stephen Ziliak, a work that rai...

by Sripad Motiram | On 29 Sep 2014

Creative Productivity Index: Analysing Creativity and Innovation in Asia

This report presents the results and analysis of the Creative Productivity Index (CPI) for a select number of Asian economies. The CPI was built by The Economist Intelligence Unit. The Asian Developme...

by Asian Development Bank Institute | On 19 Sep 2014

Rising Food Prices in South Asia: A Policy Framework to Mitigate Adverse Effects

The global economic crises that started in 2008 have exposed commodity markets to increasing price volatility and raised concerns for higher inflation, food security and poverty reduction. This seri...

by S.Mahendra Dev | On 12 Sep 2014

Unemployment Burden and its Distribution: Theory and Evidence from India

To develop a measure of unemployment that takes into account both the level and intensity of unemployment and that satisfies several desirable properties, including distribution sensitivity (dealing w...

by Sripad Motiram | On 25 Aug 2014

Budget 2014-15: The Continuing Neglect of the 'Rural'

The Union Budget remains significant for the agricultural sector in the country for at least the following two reasons. First, the budget comes in the background of an agrarian crisis in the country,...

by Arindam Banerjee | On 04 Aug 2014

Examining the Impact of Climate Change on Migration through the Agricultural Channel: Evidence from District Level Panel Data from Bangladesh

This paper studies how changes in climatic variables such as temperature and rainfall impact migration through agriculture. Bangladesh is recognized as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate...

by Paritosh Roy | On 31 Jul 2014

Employment Stagnancy in India: Policy Plus Monetary reform

The Indian economy is witnessing a dichotomous trend- an increasing share of employment in industry with decline in Value Added to output. When compared to other Asian economies, we’re adding workers...

by Aritra Chakrabarty | On 10 Jul 2014

Speech of the Minister for Railways 2014-15

Railway budget 2014-15.

by D.V. Sadananda Gowda | On 09 Jul 2014

India's Public Distribution System: A National and International Perspective

This study examines the impact of India's Public Distribution System (PDS) on poor households in terms of income gains, reductions in the incidence and severity of poverty, as well as nutritional impr...

by R. Radhakrishna | On 07 Jul 2014

Determinants for the Demand and Supply of Texile Exports of Pakistan

This study analyses the demand and supply side determinants of textile and garments’ exports of Pakistan using time series data for the period 1972– 2010. Eight trading partners (US, UK, Canada, It...

by Rabia Latif | On 01 Jul 2014

Inter-Regional Report on Labour Migration and Social Protection

Since the 1970s in particular, the countries of Western Asia and those of the Asia-Pacific region have been closely linked to each other through highly extensive movements of people. Opportunities cre...

by United Nations Economic and Social Commission (UNESCAP) | On 17 Jun 2014

Price, Markups and Trade Reforms

This paper examines how prices, markups and marginal costs respond to trade liberalization. Multi-product firms are used in the study. [BREAD WP No. 418].

by Jan De Loecker | On 02 Jun 2014

Employment, Wages and Productivity in Indian Agriculture

Employment in agriculture almost stagnates.In certain sub-sectors of agriculture like livestock, forestry and fishing employment has in fact, declined during the 1990s (1994-00). There are mixed trend...

by Brajesh Jha | On 23 May 2014

The Indian Labour Market: An Overview

The present study analyses the labour market situation in India over the last two decades. Given the growth profile, which has been quite robust in recent years, one pertinent question is whether Indi...

by Arup Mitra | On 23 May 2014

Higher Education in Asia: Expanding Out, Expanding Up

This report presents data and analysis to better understand the factors driving the expansion in undergraduate and graduate education across Asia. By looking at the system as a whole, the authors eval...

by David W. Chapman | On 16 May 2014

Agricultural Research and Productivity Growth in India

This research report, which examines the effects of research and development on productivity in India, finds that India is still benefiting from these investments. The report shows that the public ben...

by Robert E Evenson | On 29 Apr 2014

Addressing the Global Food Crisis: Key trade, investment and commodity policies in ensuring sustainable food security and alleviating poverty

The recent global food crisis can be seen as a wake-up call which can be turned into an opportunity by developing countries and the international community to revitalize global agriculture producti...

by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development | On 22 Apr 2014

The Economic Cost of General Strikes in Nepal

This paper reviews the key aspects of general strikes and analyses the economic cost of such strikes in Nepal. Data analysis shows that average direct cost of general strikes stood at NRs. 1.8 billi...

by Min Bahadur Shrestha | On 11 Apr 2014

Do Population Trends Matter to Agricultural Productivity? A Case Study of Bangladesh

The paper examines two questions: (i) do population trends impede agricultural productivity? or (ii) it promote agricultural productivity or both? [BIDS}.

by Rafiqul Huda Chaudhury | On 04 Apr 2014

Direct and Indirect use of Fossil Fuels in Farming: Cost of Fuel-price Rise for Indian Agriculture

This paper focusses on the interaction between fossil fuels and farming in India, to capture total intensity of fossils in farming and offer some evidence on inflationary impact of fossil fuel price i...

by Mukesh Kumar Anand | On 13 Mar 2014

Higher Wages, Cost of Separation and Seasonal Migration

In this paper, an attempt is made to study the phenomenon of seasonal migration in India and its determinants by using the recent (2007-08) National Sample Survey (NSS) data. It was found that prese...

by Jajati Keshari Parida | On 11 Mar 2014

The Governance Of Global Value Chains

This article builds a theoretical framework to help explain governance patterns in global value chains. It draws on three streams of literature – transaction costs economics, production networks, and...

by Gary Gereffi | On 10 Mar 2014

Economic Growth, Health and Poverty: An Exploratory Study for India

This article analyses the possible links between economic growth, poverty and health, using panel data for the Indian states. The findings indicate that, though growth tends to reduce poverty, signifi...

by Indrani Gupta | On 04 Mar 2014

Banks Competition, Managerial Efficiency and the Interest Rate Pass-through in India.

If banks solve an inter-temporal problem under adverse selection and moral hazard, then bank specific factors, regulatory and supervisory features, market structure, and macroeconomic factors affect ...

by Jugnu Ansari | On 21 Feb 2014

Using IPRs to Protect Niches? Evidence from the Indian Textile and Apparel Industry

This paper focuses on the Indian T&A sector and on non-patent IP rights, such as trademarks, industrial designs, copyrights, and geographical indication as well as informal protections to examine whet...

by Suparna Karmakar | On 28 Jan 2014

Financing Infrastructure in Bangladesh – Some Options

This paper seeks to outline the infrastructure needs of Bangladesh with respect to domestic sources of finance. While infrastructure encompasses energy, transportation, telecommunications, water and...

by Ishraq Ahmed | On 22 Jan 2014

How to Evaluate Rural Development Schemes

In 2000-01, almost Rs 10,000 crore was spent on rural development schemes. The central government has almost a dozen major schemes in operation. But how is the success or failure of these schemes to b...

by Arpita Bedekar | On 31 Dec 2013

A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Aadhaar

This study estimates the costs and benefi ts of Aadhaar. The analysis takes into account the costs of developing and main- taining Aadhaar, and of integrating Aadhaar with the schemes over the next t...

by National Institute of Public Finance and Policy NIPFP | On 11 Dec 2013

Remoteness and Unbalanced Growth: Understanding Divergence Across Indian Districts

The existing literature on Indian growth finds no evidence of convergence across states. This represents a puzzle given the relatively free flows of capital, labor and commodities across state borde...

by Samarjit Das | On 27 Nov 2013

Asymmetric Information and Middleman Margins: An Experiment with West Bengal Potato Farmers

A study middleman margins, trading mechanisms and the role of asymmetric information about prices between potato farmers and local trade intermediaries, in West Bengal, India is conducted. Farmers in...

by Sandip Mitra | On 23 Oct 2013

Climate Variability and Internal Migration: A Test on Indian Inter-State Migration

Migration data is matched from the Indian census with climate data to test the hypothesis of climate variability as a push factor for internal migration. The main contribution of the analysis is to...

by Ingrid Dallmann | On 06 Sep 2013

Unilateral Facilitation Does Not Raise International Labor Migration from the Philippines

A large-scale randomized experiment was conducted in the Philippines testing the impact of unilaterally facilitating international labor migration. [BREAD Working Paper No. 396].

by Emily Beam | On 03 Sep 2013

The Youth Employment Crisis: A Call for Action

Resolution and conclusions of the 101st Session of the International Labour Conference, Geneva, 2012. [ILO].

by International Labour Organisation ILO | On 16 Aug 2013

For Love or Money? Motivating Workers

An analysis of the ability of employers to provide care and attention as a way to motivate their employees is done. Workers not only compare their wages, as pointed out in previous literature, but als...

by Saima Naeem | On 09 Aug 2013

Innovation, Efficiency, Productivity and Intellectual Property Rights: Evidence from a BRIC Economy

The innovation, efficiency and productivity responses to the stronger protection of intellectual property rights post-TRIPs, with reference to manufacturing industry in India is studied. The fact that...

by Sunil Kanwar | On 12 Jul 2013

Quantification of Yield Gaps in Different Planting Types of Sugarcane in Maharashtra

This paper is an attempt to estimate the magnitudes of yield gaps, causative factors and constrains for attending greater farm potential in adsali, suru, preseasonal and ratoon sugarcane production in...

by Deokae Tai Balasaheb | On 10 Jul 2013

Recession and Child Labour: A Theoritical Analysis

This paper provides a theoretical model of the impact of recession (income shock) on household's child labor (CL) decision. Parental altruism is endogenized; as their choice of substituting child lab...

by Sahana Roy Chowdhury | On 25 Jun 2013

Examining Private Participation in Embankment Maintenance in the Indian Sundarbans

This paper analyses the complementarities between land productivity and conservation investments in the context of river embankment maintenance in the Indian Sundarbans.[SANDEE]. URL:[http://www.san...

by Prasenjit Sarkhel | On 06 Jun 2013

Farm Productivity Loss due to Flood-Induced Sand Deposition: A Study in Dhemaji, India

It is widely believed that the decline in agricultural productivity in the Dhemaji district of Assam, India, is due to flood-induced sand depositions in paddy fields. Increased sand content reduces th...

by Kalyan Das | On 27 May 2013

Market Power and Industrial Performance in Pakistan

Using a panel of eight Pakistani manufacturing industries, We have examined the changes in price-cost margin (gross profitability) during 1998-2009. In this study the traditional industrial organizati...

by Akbar Ullah | On 23 May 2013

Media monitoring on Corruption in Indian print Media

To explore how much coverage is given by Leading Indian newspaper to 2G Scam and Common Wealth Games during the period of study. To explore what kind of image of India is famed by all four newspape...

by Daniel Drache | On 25 Apr 2013

Entrepreneurship or Survival? Caste and Gender of Small Business in India

Unit-level data from the registered manufacturing segment of the Third and Fourth rounds of the Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) census data for 2001-2 and 2006-7 is used to understan...

by Ashwini Deshpande | On 08 Apr 2013

Employment Effects of Low-Skilled Immigrants in Korea

This study examines the impact of inflows of foreign workers on Korean natives’ economic performance – namely, employment – through the Employment Permit System, the basis of Korea’s system by which...

by Jungho Kim | On 03 Apr 2013

Options and Determinants of Rice Residue Management Practices in the South-West Region of Bangladesh

This study examines options for managing rice residue and the factors that determine its management in the south-west region of Bangladesh. Study results indicate that while straw length, low-elevatio...

by Mohammed Ziaul Haider | On 29 Mar 2013

Repayment and Exclusion in a Microfinance Experiment

The experiment is designed to explore the effectiveness of such sanctions in improving repayment incentives. Groups of 10 members are provided with joint-liability loans for a specific investment pr...

by Jean Marie Baland | On 07 Mar 2013

No Fireworks Railway Budget

Modernization, encouragement to PPP, integration of MGNREGA, has been given importance in the railway budget.

by IRIS India IRIS | On 27 Feb 2013

Odisha Budget 2013-14: Part 1 Agriculture

Budget presented by Shri Prasanna Acharya. The first part contains the Agriculture Budget.

by Orissa Government | On 25 Feb 2013

Expecting a Smooth Ride

Indian Railways have to be investor friendly. The railway budget will have to deal with core issues such as mobilizing resources, controlling costs and offering competitive freight structure with an e...

by Sachin Bhanushali | On 14 Feb 2013

Connecting the Dots: The Urban Informal Sector and Climate Vulnerabilities in Southeast Asia’s Megacities

In the megacities of developing Southeast Asia, the informal sector plays an important role in supporting economic development. Yet, in discussions of the ramifications of climaterelated natural haz...

by Sofiah Jamil | On 13 Feb 2013

A Gender-Based Theory of the Origin of the Caste System of India

This paper proposes a theory of the origins of India’s caste system by explicitly recognizing the productivity of women in complementing their husbands’ skills. Its interesting to know the emergence...

by Chris Bidner | On 04 Jan 2013

MULTI-MARKET COLLUSION WITH TERRITORIAL ALLOCATION

This paper develops a super game model of collusion between price-setting oligopolists located in different markets separated by trade costs. The firms produce a homogenous good and sustain collusion...

by Aditya Bhattacharjea | On 05 Nov 2012

Demographics, Labor Mobility, and Productivity

This paper considers two major issues that need to be treated as matters of urgency. First, internal (within country) migrations in the Asian (ACI) region are mostly undocumented and large. It is show...

by E J Wilson | On 05 Nov 2012

Diesel Pricing in India: Entangled in Policy Maze

This paper identifies the important economic activities that use diesel and discusses the contribution of those sectors in GDP. Other important petroleum products and, their limited substitution possi...

by Mukesh Kumar Anand | On 17 Oct 2012

National Policy on Skill development

Skills and knowledge are the driving forces of economic growth and social development for any country. Countries with higher and better levels of skills adjust more effectively to the challenges and o...

by Ministry of Labour and Employment MoL&E | On 28 Sep 2012

Food Subsidy in India: Trends, Causes and Policy Reform Options

This paper analyses the trends in volume of food subsidy in the post-reforms period (1991-92 to 2012-13) and then examines various components of food subsidy, which are under the control of FCI and th...

by Vijay Paul Sharma | On 20 Sep 2012

Trends in Total Factor Productivity in Indian Agriculture: State-level Evidence using non-parametric Sequential Malmquist Index

Recognizing the critical role of agricultural sector in the overall growth as well as development performance, this study estimates total factor productivity (TFP) in Indian agriculture at state-level...

by Shilpa Chaudhary | On 13 Sep 2012

Coordinating Healthcare and Pension Policies: An Exploratory Study

Rapid ageing of the population globally represents an unprecedented historical trend. As pension and healthcare costs are positively correlated with rising incomes, ageing, urbanization, and a shift f...

by Azad Singh Bali | On 20 Aug 2012

Averting an Impending Storm: Can We Reengineer Health Systems to Meet the Needs of Aging Populations?

The proportion of elderly in the world population is increasing. Health systems across the globe are ill prepared to meet the needs of aging populations. The needs of the elderly are different from t...

by Arlene S Bierman | On 08 Aug 2012

Agricultural Credit - Accomplishments and Challenges

Agriculture’s share in GDP is less than 15 per cent but it still remains the direct domain of over half of the population whose economic prospects are linked to the performance of agriculture. There a...

by Duvvuri Subbarao | On 03 Aug 2012

New Thinking on Corporate Bond Market in India

What are major factors behind underdevelopment of corporate bond market in India? One of the major bottlenecks to the development of this market lies in relatively larger costs of financing which diss...

by Sanjay Banerji | On 17 Jul 2012

Three Gorges Dam: A Model of the Past

The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is the world’s largest and most controversial hydropower project. The 600 kilometer-long reservoir has displaced 1.3 million people and is wreaking havoc wi...

by International Rivers Network IRN | On 12 Jul 2012

Priority-Setting in Health: Building Institutions for Smarter Public Spending

Creating and developing fair and evidence-based national and global systems to more rationally set priorities for public spending on health. An interim secretariat should be there to incubate a global...

by Amanda Glassman | On 10 Jul 2012

Intrinsic Inflation Persistence in a Developing Country

This study estimates degree of intrinsic inflation persistence in Pakistan using aggregate price index, group level price indices, and individual commodity prices. Monthly data from 1959 to 2011 is us...

by Muhammad Nadim Hanif | On 09 Jul 2012

Vital Stats: Some Data on Power Supply

The deficit in the supply of electricity relative to demand at peak hours in 2011-12 was 11 per cent. While generation capacity has increased, the fuel supply situation has deteriorated. Here, some f...

by Karan Malik | On 04 Jul 2012

Growth of Asian Pension Assets: Implications for Financial and Capital Markets

Pension assets have seen rapid growth world-wide over the past decades, although they suffered large losses during the global financial crisis of 2007–2008. Such growth is notably due to both structur...

by Yuwei Hu | On 02 Jul 2012

Philippine Productivity Dynamics in the Last Five Decades and Determinants of Total Factor Productivity

The paper reviews the economic growth and productivity dynamics of Philippine economy in the past fifty years. The paper also provides an estimation of determinants of total factor productivity and la...

by Gilberto M Llanto | On 29 May 2012

The Impact of Infrastructure on Agricultural Productivity

This paper provides an empirical basis for the perceived link between rural infrastructure and agricultural productivity. It validates the hypothesis that deficiencies in rural infrastructure e.g.,...

by Gilberto M Llanto | On 24 May 2012

The Cost of Unserved Energy: Evidence from Selected Industrial Cities of Pakistan

This study is an attempt to explore the cost of unserved energy due to power outages in Pakistan that started in 2007. The study is based on a survey conducted for four major industrial cities of Pu...

by Rehana Siddiqui | On 24 May 2012

Adolescent Fertility in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Effects and Solutions

Adolescent fertility in low- and middle-income countries presents a severe impediment to development and can lead to school dropout, lost productivity, and the intergenerational transmission of pover...

by Kate McQueston | On 15 May 2012

Estimation of Capacity Utilisation in Indian Industries: Issues and Challenges

The estimation of capacity utilisation (CU) derives its significance from the fact that, if properly assessed, it may provide a reliable indication of incipient inflationary pressure in an economy. Me...

by Atri Mukherjee | On 09 May 2012

An Assessment of Inflation Modelling in India

This study analyses India’s inflation using the Phillips curve theory. To estimate an open-economy Phillips curve, we need three variables: (1) inflation (2) the output gap and (3) the real effective...

by Karan Singh | On 26 Apr 2012

Measuring and Explaining the Asymmetry of Liquidity

This paper examines transactions costs in buying versus selling using a large database of snapshots of the limit order book. On the equity spot market, there is clear evidence of asymmetry in liquid...

by Rajat Tayal | On 19 Apr 2012

Development Trajectory, Emission Profile, and Policy Actions: Thailand

Thailand has made significant progresses toward green and low-carbon development; however, there is a need to further address the issue. The country has to focus on the implementation of no-regret pol...

by Qwanruedee Chotichanathawewong | On 16 Apr 2012

Farmers’ Information Needs and Search Behaviors: Case Study in Tamil Nadu, India

Using a case study of two districts in South India, farmers’ information needs and information search behavior, factors affecting their search behavior, and their willingness to pay for information a...

by Suresh Chandra Babu | On 10 Apr 2012

The view, outside in

What India has to do to overcome the dents that India has suffered in its international image? India will have to play a delicate game of exercising autonomy in its pursuit of national objectives with...

by T.N. Ninan | On 10 Apr 2012

Monetary Transmission in Pakistan: The Balance Sheet Channel

Using data of non-financial listed firms over a period of 1999-2010, this paper investigates the effectiveness of balance sheet channel in monetary transmission mechanism in Pakistan. By classifying f...

by Safia Shabbir | On 09 Apr 2012

A Review of Input and Output Policies for Cereals Production in India

This paper reviews the key policies with regard to agriculture inputs such as seed, fertilizer, water, agricultural equipment, research, extension, and agricultural credit. It also provides an overvie...

by Ganga Shreedhar | On 29 Mar 2012

Causes of Emissions from Agricultural Residue Burning in North-West India: Evaluation of a Technology Policy Response

The burning of agricultural field residue, such as stalks and stubble, during the wheat and rice harvesting seasons in the Indo-Gangetic plains results in substantial emissions of trace gases and pa...

by Ridhima Gupta | On 28 Mar 2012

Close Eye or Closed Eye: The Case of Export Misinvoicing in Bangladesh

The effect of export subsidies on the under-invoicing of exports in Bangladesh is analyzed. In a framework that allows for unobserved heterogeneity among importing countries and product specificities,...

by Pranav Kumar Gupta | On 16 Mar 2012

Ethics of Public Health Interventions: A View from the Frontline

Rural people are deprived even of the basic facilities of medical care. Is this ethical? [6th K R Memorial lecture].

by Yogesh Jain | On 16 Mar 2012

Final Report-Water Security and Climate Change: Challenges and Strategies

The main objectives of this seminar has been to contribute to the understanding of the development processes and problems related to water security and climate change; to focus on studies relating t...

by Gursharan Singh Kainth | On 12 Mar 2012

Budget of Nepal 2011-12

Budget speech by Nepal Finance Minister. URL:[http://www.mof.gov.np/publication/speech/2011/pdf/budgetspeech_english.pdf].

by Ministry of Finance, Government of Nepal | On 06 Mar 2012

Under trial Prisoners: Quicker Trial and Human Rights

Discussion on the human rights violation of under trial prisoners.

by Ranesh Chandra Majumdar | On 06 Mar 2012

India Cheapest, Japan Priciest for Pancakes

How much does it cost to make a pancake in India? The Economist had this fun infographic/chart where it charts the cost of ingredients that are used in making a pancake. A comment

by Sriram Vadlamani | On 01 Mar 2012

Review of Macroeconomic Methods and Microeconomic Valuation Methods Applied in the Natural Resources and Environment Sector

The general objective of the paper is to review the different macroeconomic models and microeconomic valuation methods applied in the analysis of the natural resource and enviromnent sector which ar...

by Danilo C Israel | On 27 Feb 2012

Providing High Quality Care Using Low-Cost Health Technology for the Bottom Billion

The talk elaborates on the use of low cost technology in health care at MIT, USA. Organised by the Association for India's Development, MIT and Boston Chapters.

by Yogesh Jain | On 26 Feb 2012

Foundations of Collective Action in Asia: Theory and Practice of Regional Cooperation

This paper argues that the collective action in Asia by its regional organizations has historically suffered from a “capability–legitimacy gap”: a disjuncture between the capability (in terms of mat...

by Amitav Acharya | On 17 Feb 2012

Selling Formal Insurance to the Informally Insured

Unpredictable rainfall is an important risk for agricultural activity, and farmers in developing countries often receive incomplete insurance from informal risk-sharing networks. The demand for, and...

by A. Mushfiq Mobarak | On 10 Feb 2012

Agriculture-Nutrition Linkages and Policies in India

This paper looks at some key entry points for agriculture to influence nutrition and suggests policies for nutrition-sensitive agricultural development, within the current policy framework. In additi...

by S.Mahendra Dev | On 07 Feb 2012

Foreign R&D Centres in India: An Analysis of their Size, Structure and Implications

The study measures the contribution of MNCs to the generation of innovations from India. The focus is on innovations that are carried out in foreign R&D Centres. After having mapped out the size of...

by Rakesh Basant | On 06 Feb 2012

International Competitive Strategy Choices: Comparing Firms in China and India

The international business literature has yet to adequately explore international competitive strategy choices made by firms in developing countries. This study aims to address this gap by investiga...

by Ping Lv | On 02 Feb 2012

Stability and Policy Rules in Emerging Markets

Stability results for an open economy DSGE adapted to an emerging market (SOEME) with a dualistic structure have the same structure as in the original model, but those derived for the simulated versi...

by Ashima Goyal | On 02 Feb 2012

Frozen Food Products Marketing and Distribution Challenges in a Developing Country Case Study: Pakistan

The aim of this case study is to understand the challenges the frozen food industry in a developing country like Pakistan has faced in the past, and is facing currently. The study reveals that inste...

by Shehla Riza Arifeen | On 27 Jan 2012

The Relationship between Inflation and Relative Price Variability in Pakistan

This paper explores the relationship between inflation and relative price variability (RPV) by using disaggregated CPI data for Pakistan. Three methods have been used to assess the functional form and...

by Muhammad Akmal | On 25 Jan 2012

To Bt or Not to Bt? Risk and Uncertainty Considerations in Technology Assessment

Production costs and crop incomes in drought years are analyzed to test a simplistic theory of risk based on first principles. A mixed-methods framework is employed to draw inferences by combining da...

by Sarthak Gaurav | On 24 Jan 2012

K to 12: The Key to Quality Education?

The continuous deterioration of the quality of education in the Philippines has prompted the DepEd to push for the implementation of the K to 12 program, which entails the institutionalization...

by Senate Economic Planning Office SEPO | On 23 Jan 2012

Input Prices, Subsidies and Farmers' Incentives

The paper studies the subsidy policy in Bangladesh. It analyses implications of subsidy policies; both pros and cons and also suggests some possible solutions.

by M Asaduzzaman | On 20 Jan 2012

Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth in Pakistan: A Sectoral Analysis

This paper establishes an empirical relationship between industry -specific foreign direct investment (FDI) and output under the framework of Granger causality and panel cointegration for Pakistan o...

by Muhammad Arshad Khan | On 03 Jan 2012

Moving up the Quality ladder? EU-China Trade Dynamics in Clothing

A simple method is applied to study the relative quality of Chinese versus European products exported in the clothing sector after the end of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement. Based on the model of Foste...

by Hylke Vandenbussche | On 03 Jan 2012

Seasonal Migration and Risk Aversion

Pre-harvest lean seasons are widespread in the agrarian areas of Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Every year, these seasonal famines force millions of people to succumb to poverty and hunger. An incentive...

by Gharad Bryan | On 20 Dec 2011

Rejigging the Elephant Dance

India's development challenges. The India growth story was thrown off track by the global financial crisis which engulfed virtually every country in the world. We recovered from the crisis sooner than...

by Duvvuri Subbarao | On 30 Nov 2011

Fifth Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture Series: Moving Towards Universal Access to Health Care- 3

The Fifth Anusandhan Trust’s Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture Series on Contemporary Issues in Health and Social Sciences was held on January 5, 2011. The speakers were Dr. K. Srinath Reddy (Chairperson o...

by Hansa Thapliyal | On 29 Nov 2011

Publishing Construction Contracts as a Tool for Efficiency and Good Governance

Construction is a $1.7 trillion industry worldwide, much of which is linked to publicly financed projects. Outcomes from this financing are frequently suboptimal. Cost and time escalation, as well a...

by Charles Kenny | On 25 Nov 2011

India’s Agricultural Development under the New Economic Regime: Policy Perspective and Strategy for the 12th Five Year Plan

The Eleventh Plan, which had attempted to reverse deceleration of agricultural growth during the Ninth and Tenth Plan, had some success in as foodgrains production has touched a new peak of 241.56 m...

by Vijay Paul Sharma | On 17 Nov 2011

Cost Effectiveness of Interactive Radio Instruction Program Karnataka: Basic and Program Cost Effectiveness

The Program CEA extends to the study to an impact analysis of the Radio programs to assess whether the expenditure being made for this intervention is helping the students in improving their learnin...

by Shubhashansha Bakshi | On 16 Nov 2011

"I did not ask for it". Sexual Harassment: Impressions from Mumbai

Sexual harassment is a global issue. In a recent case in Mumbai, two young men, Keenan Santos (24) and Reuben Fernandez (29) were stabbed on 20 Oct 2011 while confronting some unknown men eve-teasing...

by Indira Gartenberg | On 14 Nov 2011

Equity in the Time of Recession: Mumbai Youth Struggle to Bridge Yawning Opportunity Gap

Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra, a large highly industrialised, progressive state that until a decade ago, reported remarkable progress on social and economic indices. Today, it is still a leadi...

by eSocialSciences eSS | On 11 Nov 2011

Energy Intensity and Firm Performance: Do Energy Clusters Matter?

In analyzing this phenomenon for Indian manufacturing industries, this study tries to find out the determinants of profitability of firms based on three energy clusters (natural gas, petroleum, coal)...

by Santosh Kumar Sahu | On 10 Nov 2011

The Determinants of Export Performance of China's Township-Village Enterprises

The rapid export growth of China's township-village enterprises (TVEs) has not been well understood and explained. Using a simple analytical model and exploring a unique dataset on China's TVEs the...

by Changqi Wu | On 08 Nov 2011

The Pricing Problem of Public Transport in Kerala

The mainstay of the public transport system in Kerala is the private stage carriages (PSC), the economics of operation of which is the subject of this paper. The long run sustainability of the secto...

by Narayana D | On 28 Oct 2011

Does Greater Autonomy Improve Performance? Evidence from Water Service Providers in Indian Cities?

The efficiency of urban water supply in 27 Indian cities are analyzed using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Cities are grouped by the management structure of their water utilities. Utilities with g...

by Shreekant Gupta | On 24 Oct 2011

Size-class and Returns to Cultivation in India: A Cold Case Reopened

This paper investigates the relationship between returns to cultivation per hectare and size-class of land cultivated in India, using unit level data from the 59th round National Sample Survey, 2003....

by Sarthak Gaurav | On 18 Oct 2011

Transactions Matter but They Hardly Cost: Irrigation Management in the Kathmandu Valley

This study estimates the transaction costs entailed in maintaining Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems (FMIS) in Nepal based on a case study of 60 irrigation systems in the Kathmandu valley. It analyz...

by Ram Chandra Bhattarai | On 18 Oct 2011

Does Participatory Development Legitimise Collusion Mechanisms? Evidence from Karnataka Watershed Development Agency

While examining participatory development projects, existing contributions have demonstrated how aid resources are often captured by local elites. This paper hypothesises that another possible source...

by G.Ananda Vadivelu | On 18 Oct 2011

Global Economic Crisis: Impact and Restructuring of the Services Sector in India

The Indian economy has shown considerable resilience to the global economic crisis by maintaining one of the highest growth rates in the world. The services sector accounted for around 88 per cent of...

by Abhijit Das | On 13 Oct 2011

User-based Financing of Marine Protection in the Maldives

This paper provides an economic valuation of the recreational uses of atoll-based marine resources in the Republic of the Maldives. A travel demand model to estimate the benefits of atoll-based marin...

by Mahadev G Bhat | On 30 Sep 2011

Poverty Redefined

To ensure that the benefits to the poor go to the really poor, then there has to be proper definitions for poverty and poverty line. URL:[http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/t-n-ninan-poverty-...

by T.N. Ninan | On 28 Sep 2011

Valuing the Recreational Uses of Pakistan’s Wetlands: An Application of the Travel Cost Method

This study applies a single-site truncated count data travel cost model in order to estimate the value visitors place on recreation in Keenjhar. The recreational use value associated with Keenjhar...

by Ali Dehlavi | On 27 Sep 2011

What Causes Agglomeration? – Policy or Infrastructure – A Study of Indian Manufacturing Industry

This paper investigates whether industrial dispersal policy is more potent or the natural and agglomeration cost advantages are important in influencing locational choice of a firm. To carry out the a...

by Vinish Kathuria | On 22 Sep 2011

Agricultural Productivity and Credit- Issues and Way Forward

Certain trends in agricultural productivity, agricultural finance are outlined. Recommendations for improving agricultural productivity are given here. [Address at The National Seminar on Productivity...

by Chakrabarty K C | On 12 Sep 2011

Productivity Dynamics in the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry: Evidences from Plant-level Panel Data

This paper investigates the effects of plants' dynamics on productivity growth in the Indian pharmaceutical industry across five regions: north, north-west, west, south and the rest of India, during t...

by Atsuko Kamiike | On 06 Sep 2011

Returns to Education in India: Some Recent Evidence

This paper estimates returns to education in India using a nationally representative survey. The standard Mincerian wage equation separately for rural and urban sectors is estimated. To account for th...

by Tushar Agrawal | On 06 Sep 2011

Strategic Outsourcing with Technology Transfer

The outsourcing decision of a firm for a key input of a final good production to an independent input supplier even though the firm has an option of producing that key input in-house at a lower cost w...

by Tarun Kabiraj | On 02 Sep 2011

Evolution of Property Rights Regimes in the Groundwater Economy of India-Constraints on Moving Towards a Common Property Regime

The paper paper reviews the 'model' central and state government bills, pertaining to groundwater, through a conceptual framework and discusses the Andhra Pradesh experience in the developing governme...

by G.Ananda Vadivelu | On 30 Aug 2011

Market Dynamics in Supply Chains: The Impact of Globalisation and Consolidation on Food Companie's Mark-ups

This paper examines whether ownership and increased competitive pressure affect food retailers’ market power, analysing whether all actors involved in the food supply chain deviate from the pricing be...

by Eleni A Kaditi | On 29 Aug 2011

Air Quality and Cement Production: Examining the Implications of Point Source Pollution in Sri Lanka

Suspended particulate matter (SPM), dust, fumes and gases from cement production can result in a range of health effects to households living around factories. This study estimates the health costs as...

by Cyril Bogahawatte | On 23 Aug 2011

Urbanization in India: Evidence on Agglomeration Economies

The paper examines the urbanization pattern with context of India. The paper deals with various demographic aspects of urbanization. Also the paper focuses on characteristics and classes of cities, an...

by Arup Mitra | On 19 Aug 2011

Foreign Direct Investment and Technology Spillover: An Evaluation Across Different Clusters in India

The paper attempts to explore the technology spillover effects of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Indian manufacturing industries across different selected clusters in India. To measure the spillov...

by Pami Dua | On 12 Aug 2011

India-Pakistan Trade

On the basis of a survey conducted in three cities viz., Delhi, Mumbai and Amritsar the paper examines the characteristics of firms engaged in Indo- Pakistan trade. It also estimates the transaction...

by Nisha Taneja | On 11 Aug 2011

Efficiency and Productivity Growth in Indian Banking

This paper attempts to examine technical efficiency and productivity performance of Indian scheduled commercial banks, for the period 1979-2008. A model is constructed using multiple output/multiple i...

by S S Rajan | On 03 Aug 2011

Doha or Dada: The World Trade Regime at an Historic Crossroads

This study was not alone in demonstrating that a deal on the Doha Round could be of huge benefit to the global economy. Assuming plausible enhancements in the course of further negotiations, the big...

by Klaus Deutsch | On 06 Jul 2011

International Trade, R&D Spillovers and Productivity: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing Industry

This paper examines the effect of trade facilitated R&D spillovers on the productivity of manufacturing firms in India. Though developing countries are considered as the major beneficiaries of trade...

by M. Parameswaran | On 24 Jun 2011

Has China and India Become More Innovative Since the Onset of Reforms in the Two Countries?

China and India are definitely on a higher economic growth path, although the contribution of technology to economic growth is still not very clearly estimated. There is evidence to show that innova...

by Sunil Mani | On 21 Jun 2011

Poverty, International Migration and Asylum

This WIDER Policy Brief examins issues such as liberalizing migration policies; protecting refugees in regions of origin; addressing the root causes of migration and refugee flows; influencing percept...

by Christina Boswell | On 14 Jun 2011

A Human Development Approach to the Status of Development in North East India

The development and growth of a nation greatly depends upon proper utilization of its human resources. To utilize these resources, there is a need to convert human beings into human resources. Since...

by P. Nayak | On 13 Jun 2011

Did the Indian Capital Controls Work as a Tool of Macroeconomic Policy?

In 2010 and 2011, there has been a fresh wave of interest in cap- ital controls. India is one of the few large countries with a complex system of capital controls, and hence others an opportunity to...

by Ila Patnaik | On 21 Apr 2011

Financial Transactions Taxes

This paper attempts to address both theoretical and practical considerations for a tax such as financial transactions taxes (FTT). It includes examples of FTT in the wider context, for example, on sto...

by Parthasarathi Shome | On 18 Apr 2011

Foretelling the Mekong: Key Findings of the MRC’s Strategic Environmental Assessment on Mekong Mainstream Dams

With 11 large hydropower dams proposed to block the Lower Mekong River’s mainstream, the future of the river lies at a crossroads. To inform decision-making, in October 2010, the Mekong River Commiss...

by International Rivers Network IRN | On 29 Mar 2011

Adaptive Building Technology Course

The need to bring down the cost of construction of buildings in India has recently been receiving a lot of attention; there seems to be a general agreement that clients -whether private or Government...

by R.J.S. Spence | On 29 Mar 2011

Budget 2011-12, Meghalaya

Budget 2011-12 presented by the Finance Minister.

by Government of Meghalaya Govt | On 28 Mar 2011

Link between Exporting and Productivity: Firm Level analysis for Indian Chemical Industry

The objective of the paper is to test the empirical regularity that exporters are more productive than non-exporters in India. TFP is calculated from the Cobb-Douglas Production function using a fixe...

by Vinish Kathuria | On 21 Mar 2011

Discussion Paper: e-Development Index

As per economic theory, digitalisation of the economy impacts economic growth in two ways: one as an input in to production process and the other as an enhancer of productivity through technological...

by Mr. R. Venkatesan | On 11 Mar 2011

e-development? Development and the New Economy

The world economy has recently changed. A new world economy has emerged over the last decade as two long-run broad trends, globalization and advances in information and communication technology (I...

by Matthew Clarke | On 10 Mar 2011

Draft National Food Security Bill: Explanatory Note

This Explanatory Note highlights the rationale and major considerations that form the basis of the NAC proposals on food security. It supplements (i) the NAC recommendations on food security relea...

by National Advisory Council NAC | On 04 Mar 2011

Punishing the Poor? A Look at Evidence and Action Regarding User Fees in Health Care

This policy brief aims to summarise evidence and discuss various concerns about charging user fees from a low-income perspective.

by ... CEHAT | On 16 Feb 2011

Does Management Matter? Evidence from India

A long standing question in social science is to what extent differences in management cause differences in firm performance. To investigate this we ran a management field experiment on large Indian t...

by Nicholas Bloom | On 14 Feb 2011

Infrastructure and Asia’s Trade Costs

Infrastructure services play a significant role in trade costs by reducing distribution margins, lowering prices, and raising consumer welfare. They also lower transaction costs, add value, and inc...

by Douglas H. Brooks | On 11 Feb 2011

Climate Variability and Agricultural Productivity: Case Study of Rice Yields in Northern India

Agriculture is a climate sensitive sector and provides livelihood for more than 60 percent of Indian population. There have been a large number of studies over the past decade that tried to assess t...

by Ishwarya Balasubramanian | On 09 Feb 2011

Cost-benefit Analysis of CFPR

This paper presents a cost-benefit analysis of the first cohort (2002-03) of selected ultra poor (SUP) households of BRAC’s CFPR. The analysis calculates benefit of the programme using primary data...

by Sanjay Sinha | On 20 Jan 2011

Rethinking Food Security Strategy: Self-sufficiency or Self-reliance

This Policy Brief discusses whether Bangladesh should continue to pursue a national food security strategy based on self-reliance or return to its earlier policy of food self-sufficiency through ...

by Uttam Kumar Deb | On 17 Jan 2011

Retrieving LAI of Different Forest Species from Landsat TM/ETM+ Imaginary

Information on vegetation is important for the planning of regional natural resources management carbon cycling studies, terrestrial primary productivity modeling of hydrology, energy and climate. In...

by Nepal C. Dey | On 17 Jan 2011

Should Shrimp Farmers Pay Paddy Farmers? The Challenges of Examining Salinisation Externalities in South India

There has been growing concern over conversion of coastal rice paddies to shrimp farms. This study estimates the external cost of shrimp-induced salinity on crop production by comparing two villages i...

by L. Umamaheswari | On 13 Jan 2011

Designing Economic Instruments and Participatory Institutions for Environmental Management in India

This paper examines the possibility of using economic instruments, especially pollution taxes and bargaining approaches, as a means to encourage or improve people's participation in environmental mana...

by N.M. Murty | On 13 Jan 2011

To Develop or to Conserve? The Case of the Diyawanna Oya Wetlands in Sri Lanka

The Diyawanna Oya wetland ecosystem has proven to be an important recreational site in the greater Colombo area in the face of the growing demand for urban recreational amenities. It provides a wide s...

by Thusita Dilhani Marawila | On 06 Jan 2011

The Financial Deepening–Productivity Nexus in China: 1987–2001

The financial intermediation–growth nexus is a widely studied topic in the literature of development economics. Deepening financial intermediation may promote economic growth by mobilizing more...

by Jun Zhang | On 03 Jan 2011

Globalization, Production and Poverty

The impact of globalization on poverty is a matter of keen debate but empirical work in this area has been dominated by cross-country regressions. This paper attempts to link the more macro impact...

by Rhys Jenkins | On 23 Dec 2010

Statistical Discrimination, Productivity and the Height of Immigrants

The analysis focuses on immigrants and native-born individuals because employers are likely to have less reliable signals of productivity for an immigrant than a native-born individual. Using multip...

by Shing-Yi Wang | On 21 Dec 2010

Capability Traps? The Mechanisms of Persistent Implementation Failure

Many countries remain stuck in conditions of low productivity that many call “poverty traps.” Economic growth is only one aspect of development; another key dimension of development is the expansion...

by Lant Pritchett | On 15 Dec 2010

Cost of Providing Sustainable Water,Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Services: An initial assessment of LCCA in Andhra Pradesh

Using information in the public domain and data from a pilot study, this paper argues that adoption of life-cycle cost approaches (LCCA) could play a significant role in rectifying this situation by...

by V Ratna Reddy | On 08 Dec 2010

Developing Incentive Based Mechanisms for Watershed Protection Services through Participatory Hydrological Studies

Peoples’ Science Institute (PSI), Dehradun and Winrock International India (WII), Gurgaon jointly initiated participatory hydrological studies in two micro-catchments that is, the Bhodi-Suan and Kuhan...

by Rajesh Gupta | On 26 Nov 2010

Cross-country Diffusion of the Internet

This paper investigates the factors which determine the diffusion of the Internet across countries. The Gompertz model of technology diffusion is estimated using data on Internet hosts per capita for...

by Sampsa Kiiski | On 23 Nov 2010

Total Factor Productivity Growth and Its Decomposition: An Assessment of the Indian Banking Sector in the True Liberalised Era

Assessments of the performance of Indian commercial banks are not new in the literature. However, most of the earlier studies consider relatively partial measures such as technical efficiency of the...

by Anup Kumar Bhandari | On 17 Nov 2010

Towards an Emissions Trading Scheme for Air Pollutants in India: A Concept Note

This paper connects experience with emissions trading, from programs like the U.S. Rain program, to lessons for implementation of a Trading Pilot Scheme in India. This experience suggests that four...

by Esther Duflo | On 16 Nov 2010

Impact of Trade Liberalization on Returns from Land: A Regional Study of Indian Agriculture

Trade liberalization, by aligning domestic prices with world prices, is envisaged to bring welfare gains to a country. In the case of Indian agriculture, owing to the vastness and diversity of the s...

by Nilabja Ghosh | On 11 Nov 2010

A Social Cost Approach to Choice at Technology in Building Construction

This pager is an attempt to apply the technique of social cost-benefit analysis to the problem of choice of technology in building construction in Kerala. [Working Paper No. 030]

by K. P. Kannan | On 10 Nov 2010

The WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin: Implications for South Asia

From neutral trade policy devices employed to identity country of origin of commodities, the rules of origin are emerging as protectionist tools. Nation-states, as they are increasingly denied of co...

by K N Harilal | On 09 Nov 2010

Human Capital and Manufacturing Productivity Growth in India

Empirical studies on total factor productivity growth (TFPG) in developing countries highlight trade openness, research and development and market structure as being the most important determinants...

by Vinish Kathuria | On 02 Nov 2010

Human Capital, Labour Productivity and Employment

This paper analyses the importance of human capital in determining the inter-state differences in labour productivity and its growth in India. The paper also examines the impact of human capital d...

by Savita Bhat | On 01 Nov 2010

Understanding NREGA: A Simple Theory and Some Facts

A developing economy like India is often characterised by a labour market with demand and supply of labour and a wage that even if competitively determined may not be adequate for the poor household t...

by Diganta Mukherjee | On 29 Oct 2010

Payment Systems in Malaysia: Recent Developments and Issues

Payment systems in Malaysia have been undergoing changes in recent years. Among the notable changes is the emergence of electronic-based payment systems. The central bank has been playing an active ro...

by Amir Akmar Basir | On 25 Oct 2010

Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan: Surviving the Long-Term Recession

The relationship between large enterprises (LEs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Japan has undergone major changes during the long-term recession since 1991. While SMEs still play the impor...

by Shuji Uchikawa | On 23 Oct 2010

Mekong Mainstream Dams: Threatening Southeast Asia's Food Security

The Mekong is under threat. The governments of Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand are considering plans to build eleven big hydropower dams on the Mekong River’s lower mainstream. If built, these dams wou...

by International Rivers Network IRN | On 19 Oct 2010

Obligation Rules

They provide a characterization of the obligation rules in the context of minimum cost spanning tree games. They also explore the relation between obligation rules and random order values of their r...

by Gustavo Bergantiños | On 11 Oct 2010

Towards an Economic Approach to Sustainable Forest Development

The present paper looks at the various dimensions of contributions by forests in the context of the Indian economy. Based on a detailed review of literature on importance and valuation of forests, s...

by Archana S Mathur | On 08 Oct 2010

Public Debt Management in Sri Lanka-Performance in 2009 and Strategies for 2010 and Beyond

The information included in this publication covers the public debt management strategies adopted in 2009, the movements in debt stock during the year and the related costs and risks and the primar...

by Central Bank of SriLanka CBSL | On 30 Sep 2010

The Costs and Underappreciated Consequences of Research Misconduct: A Case Study

The consequences of scientific misconduct are far-ranging and the costs associated with their investigation are substantial. It is possible to estimate the cost (direct and indirect) of investigati...

by Arthur M Michalek | On 28 Sep 2010

The Cost Competitiveness of Manufacturing in China and India: An Industry and Regional Perspective

This paper focuses on comparisons of productivity, (unit) labor cost and industry-level competitiveness for the manufacturing sector of China and India. They first provide a comparison between India a...

by Bart Van Ark | On 20 Sep 2010

India in the Global and Regional Trade: Determinants of Aggregate and Bilateral Trade Flows and Firms’ Decision to Export

This paper contributes to two strands of literature on empirical models of trade flows and trade policy. The first and the older strand is that of gravity models of bilateral trade flows going back...

by T.N. Srinivasan | On 20 Sep 2010

Causation, Economic Efficiency and the Law of Torts

In standard models dealing with liability rules, generally, the proportion of accident loss a party is required to bear does not depend upon the 'causation' - the extent to which the care or lack of...

by Ram Singh | On 17 Sep 2010

Back on the Rails: Competition and Productivity in State-owned Industry

The importance of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) in explaining output changes is widely accepted, yet its sources are not well understood. We use a proprietary data set on the floor-level operations...

by Sanghamitra Das | On 13 Sep 2010

Concentrating Solar Power in China and India: A Spatial Analysis of Technical Potential and the Cost of Deployment

This study provides an in-depth assessment of Concentrating solar power (CSP) potential in China and India using high-resolution spatial data for site selection and modeling of plant performance, ass...

by Kevin Ummel | On 03 Sep 2010

Inspector Raj for Garment Export Business

The export of textiles from India accounts for about one-third of India’s total exports. What is more significant is that textiles as a group, is also the largest net foreign exchange earner in as...

by Avih Rastogi | On 01 Sep 2010

Asian Economic Integration ASEAN+3+1 or ASEAN+1s?

In this paper an attempt is made to evaluate the most efficient approach to regional economic integration in Asia. Given that ASEAN is an existing regional bloc in Asia, alternative approaches to the...

by Amita Batra | On 04 Aug 2010

Eff ects of Trade liberalisation, Environmental and Labour Regulations on Employment in India's Organised Textile Sector

In recent years, employment has fallen in the organised textile sector despite an aggregate rise in output and capital. This paper analyses the role of various factors that influence employment usin...

by Badri Narayanan G. | On 30 Jul 2010

The Employment-Unemployment Situation in India in the Nineteen Nineties: Some Results from the NSS 55th Round Survey (July 1999-June 2000)

The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) has recently released the report containing key results of the NSS 55th Round Employment-Unemployment Survey covering the period July 1999 thru June 2...

by K. Sundaram | On 26 Jul 2010

Quantifying the Impact of Chikungunya and Dengue on Tourism Revenues

Health economists have traditionally quantified the burden of vector-borne diseases (such as chikungunya and dengue) as the sum of the cost of illness and the cost of intervention programmes. The obje...

by Dileep V. Mavalankar | On 21 Jul 2010

Comparative Vigilance

A growing body of literature suggests that courts and juries are inclined toward division of liability between two strictly non-negligent or “vigilant” parties. However, standard models of liability r...

by Allan M. Feldman | On 20 Jul 2010

Morbidity Costs of Vehicular Air Pollution: Examining Dhaka City in Bangladesh

This study estimates the morbidity costs of reduction in air pollution in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, using the Cost-of-Illness (COI) approach. COI is defined as the sum of lost earnings due t...

by Tanzir Chowdhury | On 19 Jul 2010

Designing Economic Instruments and Participatory Institutions for Environmental Management in India

This paper examines the possibility of using economic instruments, especially pollution taxes and bargaining approaches, as a means to encourage or improve people’s participation in environmental ma...

by M.N. Murty | On 19 Jul 2010

The Role of Intermediaries in Facilitating Trade

They are providing systematic evidence that intermediaries play an important role in facilitating trade using a firm-level the census of China's exports. Intermediaries account for around 20% of China...

by Jaebin Ahn | On 14 Jun 2010

Non-Tariff Measures Affecting India’s Textiles and Clothing Exports: Findings from the Survey of Exporters

This paper reports findings from the survey of India’s textiles and clothing exporters. The survey method has been used to identify and assess the impact of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) and the Cost of...

by Gordhan K Saini | On 09 Jun 2010

Do Reservation Policies Affect Productivity In The Indian Railways?

The objective in this paper is to shed some empirical light on a claim often made by critics of affirmative action policies: that increasing the representation of members of marginalized communities i...

by Ashwini Deshpande | On 26 May 2010

Socio-Economic Impact of Mobile Phones on Indian Agriculture

This paper investigates a series of questions that explore this topic: What kind of information do farmers value the most to improve agricultural productivity? Do mobile phones and mobile-enabled ag...

by Surabhi Mittal | On 03 Mar 2010

Prevalence and Costs of Childhood Diarrhoea in the Slums of Dhaka

This study seeks to identify the engineering, behavioural and socio-economic determinants of childhood diarrhoea and its duration and to compute the resulting costs borne by slum dwellers. The study...

by M. Jahangir Alam | On 22 Feb 2010

The Impact of Slum Resettlement on Urban Integration in Mumbai: The Case of the Chandivali Project

The paper studies the socio-economic impact of the shift of slum dwellers to new rehabilitation site of Chandivali. It also discuses the issue of availability and choice of employment as a key driver...

by Damien Vaquier | On 18 Feb 2010

Graduating to Globalisation: A Study of Southern Multinationals

FDI by firms in developing countries is a recent phenomenon and demands a study of relationship between firm productivity and different modes of globalisation activities. This paper attempts to unde...

by Dilek Demirbas | On 16 Feb 2010

Factor Employment, Sources and Sustainability of Output Growth: Analysis of Indian Manufacturing

The manufacturing sector in India is crucial for two main reasons: It has significant potential to provide modern employment to a growing labour force, especially that of less skilled type and second...

by Arvind Virmani | On 09 Feb 2010

Revisiting the Need of Improved Stoves: Estimating Health, Time and Carbon Benefits

This study generates some evidence on the costs and benefits of a particular indoor air pollution control initiative. The study is based on a survey of 400 households in Rasuwa district, Nepal,

by Min Bikram Malla Thakuri | On 02 Feb 2010

Understanding Industrial Energy Use: Physical Energy Intensity Changes in Indian Manufacturing Sector

Physical energy intensity indicators for Indian manufacturing sector is developed and analyzed. Energy consumption in five industrial sub-sectors, namely, iron and steel, aluminium, textiles, paper...

by Binay Kumar Ray | On 02 Feb 2010

Productivity of Pesticides in Vegetable Farming in Nepal

This paper examines the effectiveness of damage control mechanisms to reduce crop losses from agricultural pests. It uses data from a sample of Cole crop (Cauliflower and Cabbage) growing households...

by Ratna Kumar Jha | On 22 Jan 2010

Market-Based Approaches to Environmental Management: A Review of Lessons from Payment for Environmental Services in Asia

Market-based approaches to environmental management, such as payment for environmental services (PES), have attracted unprecedented attention during the past decade. PES policies, in particular, hav...

by Bhim Adhikari | On 20 Jan 2010

Pro-Poor Growth: Illusions of Marriage and Divorce?

This note seeks to show that the debate on ‘Pro-Poor Growth’ is sterile and largely academic with few policy insights.

by Suryanarayana M H | On 15 Jan 2010

Bihar’s Miraculous Economic Performance: Myth or Reality?

The Indian media has wrongly compared Bihar's (that is, 11.03per cent) average annual growth during the period 2004-05 to 2008-09 with that of Gujarat (that is, 11.05per cent). While the media has quo...

by Shambhu Ghatak | On 14 Jan 2010

Obstacles to Private Power Investments in India

This paper aims to highlight the critical importance of cost recovery in attracting and sustaining private investment for power development. Based on a brief review of Indian experience, it suggests...

by Vishvanath V. Desai | On 24 Dec 2009

Mobile Commerce, Mobile Banking - The Emerging Paradigm

What is m-banking, Basic characteristics of m-commerce/e-commerce, Evolution of electronic financial services (e-banking/e-commerce/m-banking/m-commerce), Role of non-banks in Indian Payment Scenario....

by Chakrabarty K C | On 14 Dec 2009

Non-Tariff Measures Affecting India’s Textiles and Clothing Exports: Findings from the Survey of Exporters

This paper reports findings from the survey of India’s textiles and clothing exporters. The survey method has been used to identify and assess the impact of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) and the Cost of...

by Gordhan K Saini | On 11 Dec 2009

The Effect of Direct Foreign Investment on Domestic Firms: Evidence from Firm Level Panel Data in Emerging Economies

This paper uses firm level panel data to investigate empirically the effects of direct foreign investment (DFI) on the productivity performance of domestic firms in three emerging economies of Centr...

by Jozef Konings | On 11 Dec 2009

Valuing the Land of Tigers – What Indian Visitors are Willing to Pay

The study uses an assessment of visitors’ travel costs to estimate the annual recreational value of the Sundarban. It calculates this to be at least INR 15 million (US$ 377,000) for domestic visitor...

by Indrila Guha | On 27 Nov 2009

Statistical Trends in Pharmaceutical Research for Poor Countries

Introducing patent rights in developing country markets might stimulate greater R and D investment targeting their specific health needs – areas long neglected. This paper examines this argument using...

by Jean O Lanjouw | On 26 Nov 2009

Effects of Court Errors on Efficiency of Liability Rules: When Individuals are Imperfectly Informed

The aim of this paper is to study the effects of court errors in estimating the harm, on the parties' behaviour regarding the levels of care they take, and their decision to buy the information about...

by Ram Singh | On 17 Nov 2009

Should Asian Countries Adopt Gm Crops Despite Trade Regulations

This brief summarizes a study evaluating the potential economic effects of introducing genetically modified (GM) food crops in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines in the presence of trad...

by Guillaume Gruère | On 11 Nov 2009

Cost and Time Overruns in Infrastructure Projects: Extent, Causes and Remedies

Various issues related to delays and cost overruns in publically funded infrastructure projects are investigated. The study is based on, by far, the largest data-set of 850 projects across seventeen i...

by Ram Singh | On 11 Nov 2009

Kerala Fights Clock in ASEAN Free-Trade Deal

The paper discusses the impacts of free-trade policy on the agricultural exports of Kerala.

by Ranjit Devraj | On 08 Oct 2009

Civil War: A Review of Fifty Years of Research

A review of several decades of scholarship on civil war, focusing on the answers to key questions: Why do wars begin? Who fights? How are armed groups organized? How can we end and prevent internal wa...

by Christopher Blattman | On 05 Oct 2009

Rural Nonfarm Employment and Incomes in the Himalayas

This paper analyzes the determinants of participation in nonfarm activities and of nonfarm incomes across rural households. A unique data set collected in the Himalayan region of India allows us to...

by Maja Micevska | On 30 Sep 2009

Size, Efficiency and Financial Reforms in Indian Banking

The study seeks to answer two very basic questions in the Indian context: first, are there economies of scale and scope in Indian banking? In other words, are bigger banks better for India? And, se...

by Pradeep Srivastava | On 23 Sep 2009

Global Warming and Agriculture: New Country Estimates Show Developing Countries Face Declines in Agricultural Productivity

There is a growing recognition that global warming is a problem, but little attention has been paid to the likely impact at the country level, especially in the developing world. The stakes for worl...

by William R Cline | On 23 Sep 2009

A Social Cost Approach to Choice at Technology in Building Construction: A Study of Some Alternative Technologies in Kerala

This paper is an attempt to apply the technique of social cost - benefit analysis to the problem of choice of technology in building construction in Kerala. [WP No. 30].

by K P Kannan | On 21 Sep 2009

State-Led or Market-Led Green Revolution? Role of Private Irrigation Investment vis-a-vis Local Government Programs in West Bengal’s Farm Productivity Growth

This paper estimates respective roles of private investments in irrigation and local government programs (land reforms, extension services, and infrastructure investments) in the growth of farm prod...

by Pranab Bardhan | On 14 Sep 2009

Workbook on Life Skills

RGNIYD planned to develop a workbook on Life Skills which would help adolescents to both understand the concepts of the ten core Life Skills and practice them. The workbook has been carefully designed...

by Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Developme RGNIYD | On 19 Aug 2009

Analyzing Industrial Water Demand in India: An Input Distance Function Approach

This study investigates the water demand of Indian manufacturing plants. It adopts an input distance function approach and approximates it by a translog form. Duality between cost function and input d...

by Surender Kumar | On 17 Aug 2009

A Glimpse of the Tiger: How Much are Indians Willing to Pay for It?

The recreational demand for the Indian Sundarban, which is a World Heritage site and a complex mangrove ecosystem that borders India and Bangladesh is estimated. Two alternative methodologies exist f...

by Indrila Guha | On 13 Aug 2009

Aggregate Productivity Growth in Indian Manufacturing: An Application of Domar Aggregation

An attempt is made to compute the aggregate productivity growth using the Domar aggregation technique. Building up from the Total Factor Productivity Growth (TFPG) estimates for 3-digit industries, we...

by Deb Kusum Das | On 12 Aug 2009

“Group Measurement” of NREGA work: The Jalore Experiment

The paper takes a closer look at an experiment of NREGA training mates (worksite supervisors) in Rajasthan to improve worksite management. It is based on a four-day field visit (11-14 February, 2008)...

by Reetika Khera | On 05 Aug 2009

Determinants of Fuelwood Use in Rural Orissa: Implications for Energy Transition

This study examines household behaviour related to fuelwood collection and use. The focus is on identifying the behavioral transition of fuelwood-using households from collection to purchase. The st...

by ARABINDA MISHRA | On 29 Jul 2009

The Employment Potential of Labor Intensive Industries in India's Organized Manufacturing

This paper attempts to identify and examine labor intensive industries in the organized manufacturing sector in India in order to understand their employment generation potential. Using the data from...

by Deb Kusum Das | On 13 Jul 2009

Impact of Imported Intermediate and Capital Goods on Economic Growth: A Cross Country Analysis

Knowledge accumulation in the richer countries provides them with comparative advantages in higher productivity products. The countries that import the higher productivity intermediate products and ca...

by C Veermani | On 23 Jun 2009

Crime, City and Space: A Case of Mumbai Megapolis

The present study has been an attempt to examine spatial distribution of various forms of crimes in Mumbai city (Municipal Corporation) and find out their correlates. More specifically the attempts ha...

by Abdul Shaban | On 23 Jun 2009

Disentangling the Global Financial Crisis: A Review of the Global Response

At this moment, the world is undergoing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1930s. It is not clear exactly which factors instigated the crisis, but there are many candidates; the f...

by H. N. Thenuwara | On 15 Jun 2009

An inquiry into the regulation of pharmaceuticals and medical practice in Sri Lanka

The study brings out several organizational, social, cultural and political constraints, which hinder effective implementation of regulations. Lack of human resources and skills, poor allocations, del...

by Nimal Attanayake | On 04 Jun 2009

Performance and Development Effectiveness of the Sardar Sarovar Project

The study was undertaken with the objective to review and analyse the costs and benefits of the Sardar Sarovar Dam at this stage, when efforts are being made to complete the last leg of the dam, rai...

by Tata Institue of Social Sciences TISS | On 26 May 2009

Regional Monetary Units for East Asia: Lessons from Europe

This paper reports the European experience with a basket currency, the ECU. The ECU was initially introduced as a reference unit and later became the anchor of the European Monetary System. Public pol...

by Girardin Eric | On 22 May 2009

Impact of Imported Intermediate and Capital Goods on Economic Growth: A Cross Country Analysis

Knowledge accumulation in the richer countries provides them with comparative advantages in higher productivity products. The countries that import the higher productivity intermed...

by C Veermani | On 21 May 2009

Assessing Policy Choices For Managing SO2 Emisions From Indian Power Sector

The production, transportation and consumption of energy resources, especially of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, generate negative environmental externalities including air pollution....

by Deepa Menon Choudhary | On 18 May 2009

Agricultural Impact of Climate Change: A General Equilibrium Analysis with Special Reference to Southeast Asia

Capitalizing on the most recent worldwide estimates of the impacts of climate change on agricultural production, this paper assesses the economic effects of climate change for Southeast Asian countrie...

by Fan Zhai | On 14 May 2009

Genetic Engineering in Indian Agriculture An Introductory Handbook

The handbook is prepared to create an informed public debate on Genetic Engineering in agriculture and this Introductory Manual is a contribution to this debate – a debate not just on GE in agricultur...

by Kavitha Kuruganti | On 21 Apr 2009

Kerala Budget Speech 2009-10

Budget speech by finance minister Dr. Thomas Issac

by Government of Kerala Govt | On 23 Feb 2009

Health Damage Cost of Automotive Air Pollution: Cost Benefit Analysis of Fuel Quality Upgradation for Indian Cities

An analysis of the economic implication of judicial activism of the apex court of India in the regulation of automotive air pollution is analysed. It estimates the health damage cost of urban air po...

by Ramprasad Sengupta | On 16 Jan 2009

Costs of Basic Services in Kerala, 2007, Education, Health, Childbirth and Finance (Loans)

The focus of this study is to analyze the pattern and costs of services in four areas, which critically affect most households in Kerala . The major concerns of this paper include answers to questio...

by Zachariah KC | On 12 Jan 2009

Consultation Paper on Review of Interconnection Usage Charge (IUC)

Written comments on the issues raised for consultation may please be furnished to Principal Advisor (FN), TRAI by 30th January, 2009. The comments may be sent in writing and also preferably be sent in...

by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI | On 08 Jan 2009

Employment Growth in Rural India: Distress Driven?

The 61st round of NSS shows that there is a turnaround in employment growth in rural India after a phase of ‘jobless growth’. Paradoxically, this employment growth occurred during a period of wide ...

by Vinoj Abraham | On 05 Jan 2009

Emerging through Technological Capability: An Overview of India’s Technological Trajectory

In this paper an overview of India’s technological trajectory with a view to understanding the nuances of India’s technological capability and the role it has played in the process of India’s econom...

by Amit Shovon Ray | On 26 Dec 2008

Costs of Resource Degradation Externalities: A Study of Groundwater Depletion in Andhra Pradesh

This paper looks in to the process of environmental degradation and the resultant externalities in the context of groundwater depletion in drought prone regions. The main objective here is to estima...

by V. Ratna Reddy | On 08 Dec 2008

Hobbes, Coase and Baliraja: Equity and Equality in Surface Water Distribution

It is attempted to understand the implications of equality in water distribution on social welfare with a simple abstract analysis using Leontief-type fixed production function.

by Sashi Sivramakrishna | On 16 Oct 2008

The Indian Banking Industry – A Retrospect of Select Aspects

A broad overview of the achievements and progress made by the Indian banking sector in the last two decades and the emerging frontiers of the Indian banking system, in the post-reform era. [Address d...

by Leeladhar V | On 11 Aug 2008

Impact of Proposed Commodity Transaction Tax

The relationship between trading activity, volatility and transaction cost using a three-equation structural model for five top selected commodities namely Gold, Copper, Petroleum Crude, Soya Oil and...

by Pravakar Sahoo | On 07 Aug 2008

Food Failures and Futures

The paper is an analysis of food aid, rising food prices and its implications.

by Laurrie Garrett | On 31 May 2008

Risk, Informational Asymmetry and Product Liability: An Enquiry into Conflicting Objectives

Risky products cause two types of costs for society; the accident costs and the insurance costs. Liability rules allocate these costs between the parties involved. The expansion in the scope of produ...

by Ram Singh | On 14 Apr 2008

Innovation and Growth: Role of the Financial Sector

A brief overview is provided about India’s long-term growth performance. Then an attempt is made to set out the conditions for successful innovations. To assess the role of innovations in the Indian...

by Rakesh Mohan | On 03 Apr 2008

Inclusive Growth - The Role of Banks in Emerging Economies

Speech describes India’s experiences on ‘Inclusive Growth’ - a topic which is both current and close to the hearts of public policymakers and central bankers of emerging economies. [Independence Comme...

by Usha Thorat | On 14 Mar 2008

Information Technology and Productivity: Evidence From India's Manufacturing Sector

An attempt is made at addressing the question about how has India fared in terms of harnessing this technology for enhancing manufacturing productivity. issue by analyzing an unpublished data set on...

by K.J. Joseph | On 10 Mar 2008

Introducing the Railway Budget 2008-2009

Speech of Lalu Prasad

by Lalu Prasad | On 27 Feb 2008

Competitiveness of India's Manufacturing Sector: An Assessment of Related Issues

An analysis of the various parameters of manufacturing competitiveness of the Indian economy is provided. The paper notes that India is one of the leading producers and exporters of a number of commod...

by Lakshmanan L | On 19 Feb 2008

Union-Oligopoly Bargaining and Entry Deterrence:A Reassessment of Limit Pricing

This paper introduces wage bargaining in the framework of Milgrom and Roberts where the workers' reservation wage is the relevant information parameter critical for entry. The authors show that ent...

by Rupayan Pal | On 06 Feb 2008

Macro-economic Management of the Indian Economy: Capital Flows, Interest Rates and Inflation

The paper lays out a consistent frame work for monetary management in the context of excess capital inflows. There is an urgent need for developing competitive, open and well regulated markets for (...

by Arvind Virmani | On 24 Jan 2008

Trade Possibilities and Non-Tariff Barriers to Indo-Pak Trade

There is a large untapped trade potential between the two countries. Using the potential trade approach, the study finds that the export potential from India to Pakistan is to the tune of US$ 9.5 bill...

by Nisha Taneja | On 29 Nov 2007

Customer Centricity and the Reserve Bank

The Reserve Bank, as the regulator of the banking sector, has been actively engaged, from the very beginning, in the review, examination and evaluation of customer service in the banks. It has been re...

by Leeladhar V | On 26 Oct 2007

Missing the Bus

Government has done a lot for the development of textile industry. But India is not at all doing well in the international markets compared to countries like China and Bangladesh. Government has not d...

by T.N. Ninan | On 24 Sep 2007

Impact of Preventive Health Care of Indian Industry and Economy

The empirical evidence on the relationship between preventive health care and labour productivity and corporate profitability is examined. Recommendations are offered for policymakers and corporate ma...

by Alka Chadha | On 18 Sep 2007

Market Access: Unfinished Business: Post-Uruguay Round Inventory and Issues

This study has two closely related objectives: to evaluate post-Uruguay Round market access conditions and to contribute to a clarification of the stakes in the ongoing process of multilateral trade n...

by Marc Bacchetta. | On 27 Aug 2007

Can Horticulture be a Success Story for India?

In spite of being one of the largest producers of fruits and vegetables in the world, the export competitiveness among the Indian producers remains low. But with new marketing initiatives, the post-ha...

by Surabhi Mittal | On 24 Aug 2007

Pesticide Use in the Rice Bowl of Kerala: Health Costs and Policy Options

The pesticide use in Kuttanad, India, an ecologically sensitive area often referred to as the rice bowl of Kerala is examined. Using primary data collected from pesticide applicators and farm labor, t...

by Indira Devi P | On 17 Aug 2007

Employment and Poverty in India: 2000-2005

This paper is principally focused on the changes in the size and structure of work force and the changes in labour productivity, wages and poverty in India in the first quinquennuim of the 21st centur...

by K. Sundaram | On 30 Jul 2007

Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines

This report analyzes the ITRIPS agreement. It discuses the problems and stakes, and consequences of this agreement. The report also provides case studies related to the topic and finally gives a sugge...

by Andrea Onori | On 21 Jul 2007

Trade Policy and Urban-Rural Inequalities In LDCS: A Simulation Experiment With A New Economic Geography Model

This paper follows the new economic geography approach to model the relationships between trade policy and spatial agglomeration of production in the context of a small open developing economy. It c...

by Ayele Gelan | On 13 Jul 2007

Think Productivity

Export growth and rate of increase in bank credit have slowed down, oil prices are very high, becasuse of the interest rate hike, housing demand has reduced. Even though Sensex has crossed 15000, GDP...

by T.N. Ninan | On 10 Jul 2007

The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Children

This paper presents the case for investing more in young American children who grow up in disadvantaged environment. It is argued that, on productivity grounds, it makes sense to invest in young child...

by James J Heckman | On 22 Jun 2007

Trade Liberalization and Industrial Productivity: An Assessment of Developing Country Experiences

The relationship between trade liberalization and industrial productivity in developing countries, drawing upon a large number of studies in Latin America, Africa and Asia is explored. Beginning with...

by Deb Kusum Das | On 18 Jun 2007

Cost and Productivity in Indian Textiles: Post MFA Implications

With the Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) expiring on 1st January 2005, the competition in textile and clothing industry is likely to increase. The paper finds an inverse relationship between the unit cost...

by Danish A Hashim | On 15 Jun 2007

Measurement of Environmental Efficiency and Productivity: A Cross Country Analysis

This paper measures environmental efficiency (EE) and environmental productivity (EP) and analyses differences in these across countries. It explores the macroeconomic factors that could explain these...

by Surender Kumar | On 14 Jun 2007

Reliability and Rationing Cost in a Power System

An attempt is made to analyse the implications of the relationship between reliability and rationing cost involved in a power supply system in the framework of the standard inventory analysis, instead...

by N. Vijayamohanan Pillai | On 13 Jun 2007

Productivity of Rural Credit: A Review of Issues and Some Recent Literature

It is argued that Indian agriculture is undergoing fundamental change wherein the technology and inputs are moving out of the hands of the farmers to external suppliers. This, over a period of time ma...

by M S Sriram | On 13 Jun 2007

Last Chance to Save the Planet! IPCC Report and After

The message from the IPCC Reports is simple: climate change must be tackled immediately in order to save the planet. And it will not cost the earth to do so. In the months to come all nations will be...

by D. Raghunandan | On 11 Jun 2007

Investment Climate and Total Factor Productivity in Manufacturing: Analysis of Indian States

Liberalisation initiatives have been taken by India with a view to improve the efficiency of manufacturing industries and achieving faster GDP growth. The present paper investigates the influence of...

by C Veermani | On 01 Jun 2007

Lesons Government Failure: Public Goods Provision and Quality of Public Investment

This paper focuses on government investment and expenditure policies. Going beyond the growth experience, the author also tries to relate the policy experience to the issues of aggregate poverty, in...

by Arvind Virmani | On 25 Apr 2007

India's Informal Trade With SriLanka

The study is based on an extensive survey carried out in the Indian cities of Chennai, Trichy, Thiruvananthapuram, Tuticorin, Mumbai and Rameshwaram. Informal trade between India and Sri Lanka is larg...

by Nisha Taneja | On 19 Apr 2007

Trade in Services and South Asia: An Aggressive Agenda

This paper outlines the significance of services for South Asia and discusses the possible strategies to secure the region's trade and development interests through the GATS negotiations.

by Rupa Chanda | On 05 Apr 2007

Dynamics Of Rice Economy In India: Emerging Scenario And Policy Options

Most of 726 million rural populations in India is dependent on agriculture. Rice is the staple food of nearly 65% of the total population in India. The production of rough rice reached 135 million ton...

by Barah B.C. | On 09 Mar 2007

Transaction Costs and Institutional Innovation: Sustainability of Tank Aquaculture in Sri Lanka

Freshwater community-based aquaculture was introduce to village irrigation tanks in the dry zones of Sri Lanka in order to off-set the limited supply of animal protein available to residents in inla...

by Athula Senaratne | On 17 Feb 2007

Paying Out-of-Pocket for Health Care in Asia: Catastrophic and Poverty Impact

Out-of-pocket (OOP) payments are the principal means of financing health care throughout much of Asia. The paper describe the magnitude and distribution of OOP payments for health care in 14 countrie...

by Eddy van Doorslaer | On 06 Feb 2007

Medico Friend Circle Bulletin, 316-317, April-June 2006

Contents: Impressions from a Rural Laboratory - Jan Swasthya Sahyog Surgical Care for Rural India – A Perspective - George Mathew Excessive Use of Screening and Diagnostic Tests - Anant Phadke ...

by Medico Friend Circle | On 01 Feb 2007

Globalisation and Health

This paper, one among a series for the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan addresses the issue of the impact of globalisation on health. How has globalisation affected different countries and who are the winners an...

by Jan Swasthya Abhiyan | On 25 Jan 2007

Policy, Economic Federalism & Product Market Entry: The Indian Experience

Productivity growth has long been associated with, among others, contestability of markets which, in turn, is dependent on the ease with which potential competitors to the incumbent firms can enter t...

by Sumon Kumar Bhaumik | On 11 Jan 2007

Anthropology in the Clinic: The Problem of Cultural Competency and How to Fix It

Cultural competency has become a fashionable term for clinicians and researchers. Yet no one can defi ne this term precisely enough to operationalize it in clinical training and best practices....

by Arthur Kleinman | On 10 Jan 2007

Globalization and Structural Changes in the Indian Industrial Sector: An Analysis of Production Functions

The paper reports a study to investigate the structural changes in the manufacturing sector of India (possibly) brought about by liberalization and globalization of the economy. It assesses the struct...

by S.K. Mishra | On 09 Jan 2007

Women’s Right To Land, Assets, And Other Productive Resources: Its Impact On Gender Relations And Increased Productivity

It is often assumed that poverty reduction would lead to gender equality. Research however, points to the opposite, namely, that increasing prosperity can have perverse gender effects . It is therefor...

by Nitya Rao | On 26 Dec 2006

Are we there yet? The deferral of justice and the promise of human rights

Utilizing the critical theory of Drucilla Cornell and Costas Douzinas, and looking back to the utopianism of Ernst Bloch, the paperI offers an argument that acknowledges the limits of the law and th...

by Narnia Bohler-Muller | On 28 Jul 2006

Non-equity Alliances and the Performance of Indian Software Firms

The Indian software industry has grown very rapidly for more than a decade. In this study we report the results of a multivariate statistical analysis of the determinants of sales revenue growth and p...

by N.S. Siddharthan | On 03 Jun 2006

WCD Thematic Papers I.1: Contributing Paper: Dams and Benefit-Sharing

Historically, hydropower developed in the early 1900s as a local activity with small projects supplying local communities and industry: projects had local impacts and provided local benefits. As dams...

by Joseph Milewski | On 03 Jun 2006

Wrong Attire

Why has India’s fashion fraternity, and indeed the official government system, not worked out a formal male attire that is suitable to the country’s mostly tropical climate, and at the same time appro...

by T.N. Ninan | On 03 Jun 2006

The Role of Price and cost Competitiveness in Apparel Exports, post MFA: A Review

Global outsourcing, technical change, and falling barriers to trade worldwide have transformed the structure of production and global competition in the textile and apparel industry. This sector has...

by Meenu Tiwari | On 20 Apr 2006

Medico Friend Circle Bulletin, 315, February-March 2006

Wishing away a Condition: Issues of Concern in the Control and Treatment of Leprosy - Jan Swasthya Sahayog(JSS) How to Count the Poor Correctly versus Illogical Official Procedures - Utsa Patnaik...

by Medico Friend Circle | On 04 Mar 2006

The Economic Costs of the Iraq War: An Appraisal Three Years After the Beginning of the Conflict

Many aspects of the Iraq venture have turned out differently from what was purported before the war: there were no weapons of mass destruction, no clear link between Al Qaeda and Iraq, no imminent dan...

by Linda Bilmes | On 25 Feb 2006

Raising the Tax Ratio by Reining in the 'Tax Breaks': An Agenda for Action

The increase in direct taxes has not been able to offset the decline that resulted from the reduction in customs tariff and decline in excise revenue. The task facing the policymakers now is to explor...

by Amaresh Bagchi | On 01 Feb 2006

Medico Friend Circle Bulletin, 312, August - September 2005

Contents Good Practices of the “Good Practice Study”! - Dhruv Mankad 1 Disbanding the CGHS 4 Involving Self-Help Groups in Reproductive Health - Rajani Ved 9 Women’s Narratives from Kashmir-3 - Za...

by Medico Friend Circle | On 20 Jan 2006

Elementary Education: Rising Expenditure, Poor Quality: Book Review

Review of 'The Economics of Elementary Education in India: The Challenge of Public Finance, Private Provision and Household Costs' edited by Santosh Mehrotra; Sage, New Delhi; 2005, pp.328.

by P. Geetha Rani . | On 20 Jan 2006

The Economic Impact of AIDS Treatment: Labor Supply in Western Kenya

Using longitudinal survey data collected in collaboration with a treatment program, this paper is the first to estimate the economic impacts of antiretroviral treatment in Africa. The responses in two...

by Harsha Thirumurthy | On 30 Dec 2005

Pharmaceuticals, WTO/TRIPs and Women

This paper looks at the effects of WTO/TRIPS and pharmaceuticals on women. The focus is on the poor and women. The first part of the paper tries to show the linkages between the idea of intellectual p...

by S Srinivasan | On 27 Nov 2005

Demographics And Global Savings Glut

There is growing evidence that demographic changes have played an important role in driving Asia’s economic transformation by generating high savings rates.In this report, the author argues that high...

by Sanjeev Sanyal | On 01 Sep 2005

Medico Friend Circle Bulletin, 312, August-September

Good Practices of the “Good Practice Study”! - Dhruv Mankad 1 Disbanding the CGHS --p 4 Involving Self-Help Groups in Reproductive Health - Rajani Ved -- p9 Women’s Narratives from Kashmir-3 - Zamr...

by Anonymous | On 30 Aug 2005

Medico Friend Circle Bulletin 310, April-May 2005

Medico Friend Circle, April-May 2005, featuring Background papers for annual Theme Meet on Quality and Cost of Health Care

by Anonymous | On 24 Aug 2005

Why Do Governments Lack “Political Will”? An Explanation

This paper proposes “lack of political will” as the most important reason why a ruling political party is unable to commit itself to economically efficient choices or policies. The notion of political...

by Ajit Karnik | On 19 Aug 2005

NPPA-Procedures for Bulk Drug Price Fixation, DPCO 1995

Procedures for fixing of prices of bulk drugs

by Anonymous | On 10 Aug 2005

Abortion Costs and Financing: A Review

A short review of the cost of acccessing abortion services and how women finance these costs.

by | On 05 Aug 2005