{"title":"Spatial Heterogeneity in the Severity of COVID-19 Pandemic in India","authors":"Nidhi Kaicker, R. Gaiha, R. Aggarwal","doi":"10.1142/s0116110523500051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s0116110523500051","url":null,"abstract":"The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has affected all states and union territories in India, but the spread of infections and the fatality rate across regions have been disproportionate. In this study, inequalities in the severity of the pandemic are examined for a 15-month period, covering both the first and second waves of the virus, using alternate measures based on the official estimates of deaths from COVID-19 as a ratio of all-cause mortality. The observed differences in the severity indicators are explained using socioeconomic, meteorological, and geographical factors. A comparison of severity ratios across states and over time gives a region-specific flavor of the severity of the pandemic and increases understanding of the pressure points in the health system. Our findings are helpful for public health professionals to develop control measures and plan environmental and health policies as an alternative strategy to respond to new COVID-19 outbreaks and prevent future crises.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41798424","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":"Home-Based Work Decisions among Bangladeshi Women","authors":"T. M. TONMOY ISLAM, Aphichoke Kotikula","doi":"10.1142/s0116110523500026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s0116110523500026","url":null,"abstract":"Between 2003 and 2015, the labor force participation rate of women in Bangladesh increased from 26.0% to 35.6%. On further analysis, we find that much of this gain was due to an increasing number of women working from home. We use the model proposed by Edwards and Field-Hendrey (2002) to study the supply-side factors that affect the location-of-work decision of Bangladeshi women. Afterward, we use a simplified version of the decomposition technique devised by Bourguignon, Ferreira, and Leite (2008) to see which factors are driving women to work from home. Our analysis shows that the rising wealth of Bangladeshi households is associated with the rising number of women choosing to work from home. This trend is prevalent among urban and rural women, and among women in different age groups. We also find that married young women are more likely to work from home.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46145637","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":"Income Shocks, Borrowing Constraints, and Household Child Schooling: Evidence from Rural Thailand","authors":"Sasiwooth Wongmonta","doi":"10.1142/s011611052350004x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s011611052350004x","url":null,"abstract":"In rural areas of developing countries, shocks and financial constraints on households are generally recognized as obstacles to children’s schooling opportunities. This paper investigates the effects of income shocks and borrowing constraints on household demand for education in rural Thailand, using the Townsend Thai panel data spanning from 2013 to 2017. Information on annual rainfall at the provincial level is used to estimate a transitory income component for Thai rural households. Estimation results indicate that income risks and borrowing constraints have a substantial negative impact on child schooling outcomes, including educational attainment and the number of years delayed in school. It also finds that transitory income results in increased household education expenditures conditional on children’s attendance at school. These findings suggest that in addition to households’ socioeconomic status, children’s human capital is at risk mainly due to income uncertainty and the absence of well-developed financial and insurance markets.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48231859","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":"Impact of Population Aging on Asia’s Future Economic Growth, 2021–2050","authors":"Donghyun Park, Kwanho Shin","doi":"10.1142/s0116110523500014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s0116110523500014","url":null,"abstract":"Developing Asia has grown faster than other parts of the world for decades. However, population aging is expected to pose significant headwinds to the region’s future economic growth. We update and enhance the analysis of Park and Shin (2012) to project the impact of population aging on developing Asia’s growth between 2021 and 2050. Our projections indicate that a demographic transition will have a substantial negative effect on the region’s future growth, but the effect varies across economies. Older economies will suffer a demographic tax, whereas younger economies will continue to enjoy a positive but declining demographic dividend.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48050798","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}
Mohamed Albaity, R. Mallek, Abu Hanifa Md Noman, H. Al-Tamimi
{"title":"Bank Credit Growth and Trust: Does Institutional Quality Matter? Evidence from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations","authors":"Mohamed Albaity, R. Mallek, Abu Hanifa Md Noman, H. Al-Tamimi","doi":"10.1142/s0116110522500172","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s0116110522500172","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated whether the quality of governance, trustworthiness, and confidence impacts bank credit growth. In addition, we examined credit growth cyclicality in 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. By employing data concerning 282 banks between 2012 and 2019, this study found that trustworthiness boosted bank credit growth. Overall, the increased quality of governance was found to increase credit growth, except for the specific indicators of voice and accountability and political stability, which were found not to influence bank credit growth. Moreover, similar to prior findings in related fields, the empirical results of this study confirmed the complementary effect of informal and formal institutions on bank credit growth. Lastly, results indicated that banks were pro-cyclical regarding credit growth. Overall, the results of this study highlighted the role of the supervisory powers of governments in boosting credit expansion, mainly during economic upturns.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41435074","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":"Behavior of Private Retailers in a Regulated Input Market: An Empirical Analysis of the Fertilizer Subsidy Policy in Nepal","authors":"Shriniwas Gautam, D. Choudhary, D. Rahut","doi":"10.1142/s0116110522500135","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s0116110522500135","url":null,"abstract":"The private sector in Nepal participates in the regulated import and distribution of three types of subsidized fertilizer. However, almost 55% of the agrovets (family-owned microenterprises) that retail agricultural inputs do not comply. Many farmers rely on the fertilizer purchased through these agrovets, including subsidized ones. There is no private sector importer of the three types of fertilizer covered by the subsidy program, which indicates that the agrovets either acquire these through leakage in the government distribution system or through illegal cross-border trade from India, both of which are considered legal noncompliance. We discern the determinants for this noncompliant behavior of agrovets using logistic regression. The results from logistic regression suggest that the agrovets that are more likely to comply are registered, have membership in business associations, and have a higher number of competitors. Those with diversified business portfolios and covering a greater number of districts are less likely to comply. Key informants, consisting of both public and private sector stakeholders, were solicited for their views on solving this noncompliant behavior. The private sector unanimously asserts the need for deregulation of fertilizer imports and the participation of agrovets in the distribution of the subsidized fertilizer. In contrast, the public sector is skeptical of the ability and trustworthiness of the private sector in the import and distribution of quality fertilizer. We propose a middle ground to mitigate private sector noncompliance and suggest a policy revisit to increase the fertilizer supply and distribution efficiency.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48957143","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}
D. Bertulfo, Elisabetta Gentile, Gaaitzen J. de Vries
{"title":"The Employment Effects of Technology, Trade, and Consumption in Global Value Chains: Evidence for Developing Asia","authors":"D. Bertulfo, Elisabetta Gentile, Gaaitzen J. de Vries","doi":"10.1142/s011611052250010x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s011611052250010x","url":null,"abstract":"Global value chains (GVCs) have been a vehicle for job creation in developing Asia, but technology can also displace workers through automation or reshoring of production. We use an input–output approach to examine how employment responded to consumption, trade, and technological progress in 16 economies that accounted for about 95% of employment in developing Asia from 2008 to 2018. Structural decomposition analysis based on the Asian Development Bank’s Multiregional Input–Output database combined with harmonized cross-economy occupation by industry data indicates that, other things being equal, technological change within GVCs and task relocation relate to a decline of routine manual, relative to nonroutine cognitive, occupations in manufacturing. We find no evidence of major shifts in labor demand due to reshoring. Domestic consumption expenditure of goods and services is associated with an increase in labor demand that is large enough to offset efficiency changes in GVCs.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44052845","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":"Nexus of Technology Adoption, E-commerce, and Global Value Chains: The Case of Asia","authors":"J. Kang, Dorothea M. Ramizo","doi":"10.1142/s0116110522500147","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s0116110522500147","url":null,"abstract":"Existing literature has examined either the key drivers of global value chain (GVC) exports or the factors affecting e-commerce growth. Studies that investigate the impact of e-commerce, in particular business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce, on GVCs are largely missing. The growing prevalence of digital platforms centered around e-commerce marketplaces motivates this study to examine if e-commerce growth in an economy can affect its GVC exports and how information and communication technology infrastructure and technology adoption measures, payment systems, and delivery mechanisms can facilitate this growth. Panel ordinary least squares, feasible generalized least squares, and two-stage least squares estimations are used to determine the relationship between GVC exports and e-commerce sales. The results indicate empirical evidence of the positive impact of B2C e-commerce on GVC exports. The robust and positive impact of B2C e-commerce on GVC exports—when instrumented by secure internet servers, internet bandwidth, and digital payment schemes—suggests growth of B2C e-commerce in an economy can contribute to its GVC participation.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49035057","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":"Information and Decision-Making Power: Explicating the Impact of Information Provision in the Conditional Cash Transfer Program on Food Consumption Share in the Philippines","authors":"Nobuyuki Nakamura, A. Suzuki","doi":"10.1142/s0116110522500111","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s0116110522500111","url":null,"abstract":"We studied the impact of distributing nutritional information in the conditional cash transfer program on intrahousehold food expenditure allocation in the Philippines. Using the original randomized controlled trials dataset, which was collected 2 months after a social experiment to teach nutrition information, we found that providing nutrition information improved mothers’ nutrition knowledge, but no significant positive effects were found on the Engel coefficient. However, the provision of information to mothers with greater intrahousehold decision-making power tends to increase the consumption ratio of food. These results imply that not only raising awareness through information provision, but also female leadership and strong decision-making power within the household play an essential role in changing household budget allocations and improving child welfare.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42162028","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":"Technical Efficiency in Production of Major Food Grains in Punjab, Pakistan","authors":"A. Salam, A. Hameed","doi":"10.1142/s0116110522500160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1142/s0116110522500160","url":null,"abstract":"Based on the 2016–2017 farm survey data, this study examines technical efficiency in the production of wheat, rice, and maize in Punjab province in Pakistan. Technical efficiency, under varying returns to scale, in wheat farming averaged 0.65; in rice, it averaged 0.74, and in the case of maize, it was 0.92. A great majority of the sample farmers were estimated to be operating under increasing returns to scale. Estimations of scale inefficiency in wheat cultivation hovered around 18%; in rice, it ranged from 16% to 21%, and in maize, it varied from 7% to 17%. These estimates are indicative of the scope and the potential for increasing technical and scale efficiencies in the production of all food grains, albeit to varying degrees for different crops.","PeriodicalId":39852,"journal":{"name":"Asian Development Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43372074","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}