World Development Perspectives最新文献

{"title":"Agricultural market participation impact on gender health inequality: Evidence from Guinea-Bissau","authors":"Júlio Vicente Cateia","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100737","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100737","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A simple choice model of bargaining with bilateral matching and a transferable utility function is developed to empirically analyze the implications of entry into the agricultural market on gender health inequality in Guinea-Bissau, in terms of the probability of access to health services for women relative to men across different kinship systems. We found that agricultural market participation reduced gender health inequality. Women participating in the cashew nuts market are more likely to have access to health services than those not participating in the same household structure. Once entering the agricultural market, they increased healthcare resources. Schooling and access to information and communication technology (ICT) improve opportunities for generating resources and knowledge about their healthcare. The negative effect of education, healthcare expenditures, and access to ICT on gender health inequality is statistically significant at a conventional level. Conversely, the cultural and regional factors of ethnic groups were not statistically significant.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"40 ","pages":"Article 100737"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145222793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The purchasing power of Non-cash food Program and household food security in Indonesia","authors":"Suci Nurmaya Tangkudung ,&nbsp;Rus’an Nasrudin","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100748","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100748","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Food assistance programs are widely implemented by governments worldwide to reduce food insecurity. Each country designs its own policies and mechanisms for delivering food aid to citizens. In Indonesia, the food assistance program, known as BPNT, provides beneficiaries with a card loaded with a uniform monetary value, which can be exchanged for specific food items. However, as an archipelagic country with diverse regional food prices and consumption patterns, beneficiaries face disparities in the purchasing power of this assistance across different areas. These disparities lead to variations in the program’s real value and thus its effectiveness across regions. This study estimates the variation in BPNT’s purchasing power across regencies and municipalities in Indonesia to assess the relative impact of the program on food insecurity in regions with high and low food prices. Using a panel data fixed effects (FE) approach, we examine the relationship between the local purchasing power of the BPNT program and household food insecurity levels. In addition to identifying heterogeneous impacts of the program across regions, our analysis provides a simple cost-effectiveness illustration to inform the fiscal implications of improving food security in lagging areas. Our findings challenge the current uniform-value scheme, suggesting that a regionally adjusted approach would be more effective. Increasing the purchasing power of beneficiaries in high-cost regions significantly contributes to reducing regional disparities in household food security.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"40 ","pages":"Article 100748"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145417686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Labor demands and gender inequality in education: understanding school enrollment patterns in Zambia","authors":"Averi Chakrabarti,&nbsp;Garima Siwach","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100731","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100731","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Gender is a major factor driving schooling gaps, with female school attendance and attainment lower than male outcomes in most low- and middle-income countries. In this paper, we bring together data from two sources to describe gender gaps in school enrollment in Zambia and explore factors that may be driving the observed gaps. Analysis of nationally representative data shows that boys of primary school-going ages are three to six percentage points less likely to be in school than girls, but this gender gap flips after age 14. By age 18, girls are almost 20 percentage points less likely to be enrolled in school. In the Eastern Province of Zambia, boys are almost 15 percentage points less likely than girls to be enrolled in primary schools. The male disadvantage in primary schooling is larger in households that are more time and resource-constrained, such as households headed by unemployed individuals and households that rely on firewood, a resource that households typically collect manually. Primary survey data from the Eastern Province show that young boys from farming households are more likely to be out of school, with parents of out-of-school boys citing financial challenges, farm work, and cattle herding as key reasons for school non-enrollment. Overall, our findings suggest that household labor demands for work or wood collection are compelling caregivers to keep young boys out of school, not systematic gender preferences. It is important to consider these types of economic factors that drive% low school enrollment to effectively address gender gaps in schooling.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"40 ","pages":"Article 100731"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145222159","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring the dynamic nexus between life insurance, governance, and economic development in OECD and MENA countries: a system-generalized method of moments analysis","authors":"Ines Nasri ,&nbsp;Imen Ghannouchi ,&nbsp;Saloua Ben Ammou","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100745","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100745","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper aims to elucidate the connection between insurance and economic growth, with a particular focus on the significance of institutional governance factors. To achieve this objective, two distinct samples from different regions are employed. The first region encompasses developed countries, referred to as the OECD region, while the second region comprises developing countries, denoted as the MENA region. Both static and dynamic analyses are conducted, utilizing Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) models for both samples. The principal findings indicate that life insurance penetration has a positive and significant impact on economic growth in OECD countries. Similarly, government effectiveness positively and significantly influences economic growth in these nations. For the MENA region, it was found that regulatory quality and the rule of law have a positive and significant effect on economic development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"40 ","pages":"Article 100745"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145363642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Keynes’ theory of liquidity preference and microfinance banks in Africa","authors":"Jacob Tche","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100732","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100732","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Keynesian and Post Keynesian Economists have extensively discussed the theory of liquidity preference and the importance of obtaining loan funds from traditional banks. However, there is a distinct lack of theoretical and empirical evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of Keynes’ Finance Motive in stimulating the demand for money and fostering economic growth within the realm of microfinance banks (MFBs) as vital financial institutions in developing countries. This paper endeavors to address the current research gap by examining a modified version of <span><span>Keynes’ (1936)</span></span> Finance Circuit, <span><span>Keynes’ (1936)</span></span> money demand and economic growth models that incorporates funds from MFBs. The present paper aims to further contribute to the literature through the empirical assessment of the significance of the above theoretical contributions using a sample of 32 African countries covering the time frame from 1990 to 2021. We utilize Granger causality tests in heterogeneous panels, as well as the Fixed Effect Ordinary Least Squares method, the Mean Group Method, and the Generalized Method of Moments. The empirical results confirm the significance of the inclusion of microfinance bank funds in the financial system which lower interest rates and enhance the demand for money and economic growth as illustrated in our theoretical contributions. The policy implications indicate that it is fundamental for regulatory authorities to involve microfinance banks in the financial system and to lower interest rates. This strategy is likely to enhance the demand for money and promote economic growth.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"40 ","pages":"Article 100732"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145108251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Climate change and labor mobility: A longitudinal study of agricultural households in Indonesia","authors":"Hastuti ,&nbsp;Teguh Dartanto ,&nbsp;Alin Halimatussadiah ,&nbsp;Amzul Rifin","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100750","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100750","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change presents a significant challenge to the agricultural sector. It disrupts farming processes and reduces productivity, increasing uncertainty for farming households and driving them to seek alternative livelihoods. This research undertakes an examination of the impact of climate change, proxied by variation of rainfall and temperature, on labor mobility in Indonesia using longitudinal data from three successive rounds of the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS). Labor mobility refers to sectoral shifts, where a household head changes employment sectors, regardless of relocation. We employ an instrumental variable approach to ensure robust estimation by accounting for potential endogeneity of climate variables, using altitude and latitude as instruments. Our findings indicate that variation of rainfall and temperature affects labor mobility in Indonesia’s agricultural households. Specifically, a one percent increase in the coefficient of variation for rainfall and temperature significantly increases the probability of labor mobility by approximately 0.47 and 1.38 percentage point, respectively. We further demonstrate that the effect operates primarily through changes in farm production costs that influence labor mobility, especially under varying rainfall. The heterogeneity analysis indicates that impact of rainfall and temperature variability are more pronounced among farmers in Java, particularly those with higher education and smaller landholdings. Finally, this study highlights the causal link between climate change and labor mobility, emphasizing that improving agricultural efficiency is crucial to mitigating its adverse impacts. Building a cost-efficient and climate-resilient agricultural system requires combining precision agriculture, human capital development, and institutional coordination to enhance resilience and reduce labor mobility in agriculture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"40 ","pages":"Article 100750"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145623729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assets and livelihood strategies of agricultural households on the East India Plateau","authors":"Adam M. Komarek ,&nbsp;Arundhita Bhanjdeo ,&nbsp;Murray Unkovich ,&nbsp;Ritesh Pandey ,&nbsp;Ashok Kumar ,&nbsp;Girish Pradhan ,&nbsp;Amulya Khandai ,&nbsp;William D. Bellotti","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100751","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100751","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The effective scaling out of livelihood improvement activities is crucial for agricultural development, yet achieving sustainable change at scale remains elusive in low-income countries. The objective of our study was to analyse the livelihoods of 1,001 agricultural households in three rural districts on the East India Plateau to inform the scaling out of livelihood strategies developed during previous participatory action research. Our descriptive analysis of cross-sectional data from a primary household survey in the year 2012–2013 examined the heterogeneity in livelihood assets (natural, human, social, physical, and financial capital) and household activities. We focused on two projects. In the same rural districts, the first project included a participatory action research process, and the second project collected data on agricultural household livelihoods. We showed large inter- and intra-district heterogeneity in assets, livelihood strategies, and women’s empowerment. Our study suggests that households with different assets tend to pursue different livelihood activities, such as intensifying and diversifying crop production using land and water resources documented in earlier participatory action research. These insights could inform the scaling out of livelihood improvement strategies that support stepping up. While stepping up offered potential pathways to improvements in livelihoods, these strategies had trade-offs, including increased exposure to weather variability. Our findings suggest that formative assessments of assets and livelihoods can help tailor participatory action research to specific communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"40 ","pages":"Article 100751"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145623730","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Institutional design and performance of land-based financing instruments: Evidence from local authorities in Ghana","authors":"Samuel B. Biitir ,&nbsp;Michael Poku-Boansi ,&nbsp;John T. Bugri","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100753","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100753","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rapid urbanisation in Ghana has increased the demand for serviced land and infrastructure, yet Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) struggle to generate sufficient revenue. Land-based financing (LBF) instruments, such as property rates, developer obligations, and betterment charges, offer essential opportunities but are still underused. The study examined how institutional design and partisan politics influence the performance of LBF instruments in Ghana. Using 32 semi-structured interviews and policy document analysis across four MMDAs, the findings show that although the legal framework is promising in theory, actual implementation is hindered by election-year rate freezes, elite capture, outdated valuation rolls, and limited technical and enforcement capacity. While digitalisation and community participation offer opportunities for reform, their effects are uneven. The study contributes to existing knowledge by demonstrating how institutional design, when influenced by partisan politics, can transform potentially effective revenue tools into fragile practices, thereby enriching debates on fiscal federalism and the political economy of decentralisation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"40 ","pages":"Article 100753"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145690791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Taxation of fisheries in Kenya: neither improving management nor raising revenue?","authors":"Giovanni Occhiali ,&nbsp;Olivia Okello","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100743","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100743","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fisheries have long been held to possess significant development potential across Africa, providing food security, livelihoods, and foreign exchange. Debates about their management have centred on the need to close access and on the role of devolution and co-management between central and local government. Because access restriction in practice requires licensing and levies, fisheries’ fiscal treatment lies at the core of their sustainable management. Yet little attention has been given to whether such arrangements in low-income countries achieve either goal. This paper examines the Kenyan case, where fisheries are a devolved sector employing over 1.6 million people. Using a mixed methods approach combining legal and policy analysis, administrative tax data, and 15 qualitative interviews with government officials and stakeholders alongside a focus group discussion, we assess whether Kenya’s fisheries taxation contributes to sustainable management or domestic revenue mobilisation. We find that it does neither. Fragmented regulation, overlapping mandates, and disregard for statutory earmarking prevent levies from funding management. Compliance with general tax obligations such as registration, filing, and payment of income or value added tax is minimal. Reforms should prioritise clearer institutional mandates, stronger coordination across levels of government, enforcement of long-delayed regulations, and targeted action on the sector’s most profitable actors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"40 ","pages":"Article 100743"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145269228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Voices from Iranian Farmers: Balancing livelihood and sustainability in the climate change Era","authors":"Khadijeh Soleimani ,&nbsp;Azadeh Bakhshi ,&nbsp;Mansour Ghanian","doi":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100742","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100742","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change, recognized as one of the most pressing global threats, has profound implications for the agricultural sector, which is most vulnerable due to its heavy reliance on water resources. Agriculture consumes over 70% of the world’s water, making the sustainable management of these resources critical, especially in the context of increasing drought conditions. This management is heavily influenced by farmers’ perceptions and understanding of climate change. Despite the clear benefits of conservation programs, negative attitudes and misconceptions can significantly impede the adoption of effective water conservation measures. Therefore, understanding farmers’ attitudes and perceptions toward sustainable water management is essential for developing and implementing effective strategies that align with their needs and realities. This study employs the Q methodology to explore farmers’ perceptions of sustainable groundwater resource management in South Khorasan Province. The study involved 21 farmers whose viewpoints were categorized into four distinct groups: consumerist (22.77%), egalitarian (16.10%), science-oriented (14.35%), and fatalist (13%). These classifications collectively explain 66.23% of the variance in sustainable agricultural water management. The findings show that farmers are primarily concerned about balancing their livelihoods with sustainable water management. While they recognize the importance of sustainability, immediate worries about economic survival and family well-being often take priority. Climate change’s direct effects on agricultural productivity and water availability intensify these challenges. The study also highlights that farmers’ approaches to water management are heavily influenced by their personal experiences and knowledge of the impacts of climate change. Farmers with better access to resources and information are more likely to adopt sustainable practices, whereas those with limited access tend to prioritize economic necessity over sustainability. This highlights the value of educational programs and extension services in bridging the knowledge gap and equipping farmers with tools for sustainable water management. Policymakers should take these insights into account to develop strategies that promote environmental sustainability while ensuring the economic stability of farming communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37831,"journal":{"name":"World Development Perspectives","volume":"40 ","pages":"Article 100742"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145325293","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}