Chinazaekpere Nwani, Kingsley Ikechukwu Okere, Stephen Kelechi Dimnwobi, Emmanuel Uche, Paul Terhemba Iorember
{"title":"From non‐renewables to renewables and high‐tech production: The impact of natural wealth and technology on ecological load capacity in sub‐Saharan Africa","authors":"Chinazaekpere Nwani, Kingsley Ikechukwu Okere, Stephen Kelechi Dimnwobi, Emmanuel Uche, Paul Terhemba Iorember","doi":"10.1111/rode.13161","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.13161","url":null,"abstract":"In the face of growing sustainability challenges, this study examines the ecological impacts of natural wealth (NR) and tech‐driven industrial diversification (TID) in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). It employs the load capacity factor (LCF), utilizing a panel dataset spanning from 1991 to 2020. The findings reveal that renewable (forest) resources exert a positive and significant influence on LCF, primarily at lower quantiles. When the resource basket is adjusted to include mineral resources, this impact turns negative across all quantiles, with statistical significance evident at the upper quantiles. Further modifications to the resource basket, including energy extraction such as oil, coal, and natural gas, yield a statistically significant negative impact on LCF across the lower, median, and upper quantiles. Additionally, TID has a positive impact on LCF in the upper quantiles. Robustness analysis confirms that the covariates indeed Granger‐cause LCF. This finding also indicates that the causal equation is significantly influenced by past values of NR and TID. The Half‐Panel Jackknife estimator reaffirms that, on average, TID has a positive effect on LCF in the region. These findings suggest enhancing growth through renewables and industrial capacity in medium‐ and high‐tech industries as part of broader sustainability strategies in the SSA region.","PeriodicalId":47635,"journal":{"name":"Review of Development Economics","volume":"65 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142249703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marius Ikpe, Stella I. Madueme, Richard Okey Ojike, Tobechi F. Agbanike, Lasbrey I. Anochiwa, Joseph Chukwudi Odionye
{"title":"Health expenditure, and economic growth in Sub‐Saharan African countries: The role of governance quality","authors":"Marius Ikpe, Stella I. Madueme, Richard Okey Ojike, Tobechi F. Agbanike, Lasbrey I. Anochiwa, Joseph Chukwudi Odionye","doi":"10.1111/rode.13158","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.13158","url":null,"abstract":"This study assessed the moderating influence of governance quality on the effect of health expenditure on economic growth, and exploring the analysis further to determine whether there exists possible heterogeneity in the distribution of this effect amongst 27 Sub‐Saharan African countries for the period 2005–2021. Public health expenditure (HExp), and six indicators of governance quality (control of corruption [Ccor], rule of law [Rlaw], political stability [Post], voice and accountability [Vacc], government effectiveness [Geft], and regulatory quality [Regq]) were utilised as proxy(ies) for HExp, and governance respectively. Two‐step dynamic panel data system generalised method of moments (DPD‐SGMM) estimation technique was used to estimate the conditional mean effect, while Possible heterogeneity in the distribution was explored using the method of moments quantile regression (MM‐QR); the study relied on annual time‐series indices of governance as developed by Kaufman and Kraay. Estimates demonstrate that: (i) while a significant positive relationship was observed between HExp and economic growth, Rlaw, Vacc, and Regq significantly reduce economic growth, (ii) interaction between HExp, and Vacc, Regq, individually increases the potency of HExp to stimulate economic growth by 2.2%, and 1.2% respectively, as against 1.3% reduction for Rlaw, (iii) no heterogeneity was observed in the distribution of these amongst the sample of countries.","PeriodicalId":47635,"journal":{"name":"Review of Development Economics","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142249704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bright Owusu Asante, Daniel Adu Ankrah, Andrew Agyei‐Holmes, Stephen Prah
{"title":"Gendered distributional impacts of ownership of mobile money account on farm input expenditures: A micro perspective from rural maize farmers in Ghana","authors":"Bright Owusu Asante, Daniel Adu Ankrah, Andrew Agyei‐Holmes, Stephen Prah","doi":"10.1111/rode.13155","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.13155","url":null,"abstract":"This article investigates the distributional impact of mobile money account ownership on farm input expenditures among maize farmers in southern Ghana. Using cross‐sectional data from 1044 farm households, we employed an instrumental variable quantile regression to account for endogeneity and selection bias. We find that socioeconomic, spatial location, and institutional factors significantly influence male and female‐headed household decisions to own mobile money accounts. The empirics show that male‐headed households spend more on fertilizer and pesticide relative to female‐headed households. Mobile money account ownership increases fertilizer expenditure in male‐headed households more than female‐headed households. Male‐headed families with mobile money accounts spend 13.9% and 6.5% more on fertilizer at the 40th and 60th quantiles. High 80th quantile female‐headed households spend 4.3% more on fertilizer. For male‐headed households, farming experience and education positively influence mobile money account ownership on fertilizer expenditure, while off‐farm activity at the 40th quantile positively influences female‐headed households. Our results distill useful policy implications that call for concerted efforts targeted at digital financial inclusion with an eye to bridging differential gender gaps.","PeriodicalId":47635,"journal":{"name":"Review of Development Economics","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
John N. Ng'ombe, Stephen Prah, Rebecca N. Kiwanuka‐Lubinda, Chewe Nkonde
{"title":"Nutrition for all? Input subsidies and equitable diets","authors":"John N. Ng'ombe, Stephen Prah, Rebecca N. Kiwanuka‐Lubinda, Chewe Nkonde","doi":"10.1111/rode.13157","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.13157","url":null,"abstract":"While agricultural input subsidies can improve productivity and nutrition, a key unanswered question is whether such government initiatives influence equitable nutrition access across genders. We study gender disparities in dietary diversity among 7783 smallholder farms in Zambia, evaluating the potential of subsidies to mitigate gaps. Using Oaxaca‐Blinder decomposition methods, results reveal female‐headed households (FHHs) have significantly lower dietary diversity than male‐headed ones, with gaps ranging from 6% to 12% along the distribution. Male‐headed households (MHHs) also show 9% higher input subsidy participation, influenced by education and agricultural extension access among others. Crucially, increased FHHs' participation in input subsidies could potentially close the gendered dietary diversity gap, even surpassing MHHs by 17.8%, underscoring the promise of targeted efforts to improve gender equity. However, achieving socioeconomic parity with MHHs further amplifies positive impacts. Given these findings, facilitating FHHSs' access to input subsidies can promote more equitable nutrition outcomes between genders. Broader participation could be enabled by strengthening agricultural extension and education to equip farmers, especially marginalized female‐headed and remote households, to leverage subsidized inputs. Overall, this study demonstrates that prioritizing female‐headed households' inclusion in input subsidy programs, alongside integrated support, holds strong potential to narrow gendered disparities in dietary diversity among smallholder farms in Zambia. It provides key insights to inform the design of nutrition‐sensitive, gender‐aware agricultural policies.","PeriodicalId":47635,"journal":{"name":"Review of Development Economics","volume":"71 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thompson Ogajah Tawiah, Daniel Sakyi, Raphael Edem Ayibor, Kofi Amanor
{"title":"The impact of financial inclusion on rural–urban households welfare inequality in Ghana: A decomposition analysis","authors":"Thompson Ogajah Tawiah, Daniel Sakyi, Raphael Edem Ayibor, Kofi Amanor","doi":"10.1111/rode.13153","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.13153","url":null,"abstract":"This article examined the impact of financial inclusion on rural–urban households' welfare inequality in Ghana using nationally representative survey data sourced from the seventh round of the Ghana Living Standard Survey. The article used a multidimensional financial exclusion index and the real per adult equivalent measures of total annual household consumption expenditure as measures of financial inclusion and welfare, respectively. The article employed the instrumental variable estimation technique to account for the issues of endogeneity and sample selectivity bias associated with measuring financial inclusion. The estimated results from recentered influenced function‐Ordinary Least Squares of the unconditional quantile regression and the Oaxaca‐Blinder techniques show significant rural–urban welfare gaps in favor of urban households at the mean and across the selected quantiles. The study also found that differences in financial inclusion between rural and urban households contribute significantly to the welfare gaps, while the economic returns to financial inclusion reduce the welfare gaps both at the mean and the selected quantiles. The study recommends that policies aimed at improving financial inclusion as well as strengthening financial institutions in rural areas be put in place to help reduce the rural–urban welfare inequality in Ghana.","PeriodicalId":47635,"journal":{"name":"Review of Development Economics","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207039","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dynamic influence of remittances on energy poverty eradication in Pakistan: A moderation analysis through consumption and investment","authors":"Sadia Bano, Anwar Khan, Gulnora Murodova","doi":"10.1111/rode.13152","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.13152","url":null,"abstract":"Energy poverty is a prevalent subject in Pakistan, and reducing it will accelerate the pace towards reaching targets of sustainable development goal 7 and carbon neutrality. Workers' remittances have proved to be a major income source in Pakistan, and it is not clear how they can be channeled to improve energy access and consumption to eradicate energy poverty. Therefore, this study is designed to investigate how remittances impact energy poverty in Pakistan, considering both weak (energy access and consumption) and strong (Multi‐Dimensional Energy Poverty Index [MDEPI]) forms of energy poverty. Data from 1990 to 2020 were gathered and analyzed using dynamic‐ARDL simulations to understand the empirical outcomes. The outcomes show that remittances effectively reduce MDEPI with a −0.056 coefficient. The results reveal that remittances reduce energy poverty through the consumption channel (−1.569); however, this relationship is ineffective in Pakistan. In the case of the weak form of energy poverty, the results supported the idea that remittances individually and through consumption and investment channels effectively alleviate energy poverty. Therefore, policies should be promoted to effectively and legally channel remittances to investment initiatives, which will build a vacuum for sustainable energy solutions and energy poverty eradication in Pakistan.","PeriodicalId":47635,"journal":{"name":"Review of Development Economics","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207042","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Religion and female labor force participation in India","authors":"Sujata Kar","doi":"10.1111/rode.13154","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.13154","url":null,"abstract":"This paper primarily aims to identify the impact of religion on currently working women in India by considering the National Family Health Survey 2015–2016 data. It also incorporates several socioeconomics variables as controls. The models are estimated with aggregate as well as disaggregated urban–rural as well as zonal data. The results suggest that compared to the Hindus, Christian and Buddhist women have higher odds of labor force participation and Muslim and Sikh women have lower odds. Extensive analysis of the data indicates that economic well‐being among the Sikhs and the status of being married among the Muslims could be the primary factors responsible for their lower workforce participation. Additionally, lower age, lower education, better economic well‐being, the status of being married, large family size, having only one child, male household heads, and younger children are associated with lower workforce participation. Furthermore, education seems to be more accessible to women from urban areas and wealthier sections. Based on these observations, the study recommends devising policies for greater provisions for higher education in rural areas and among the poorer sections of society. Also, imparting awareness and developing an understanding of the importance of female labor force participation is crucial to improve women's labor force participation in India.","PeriodicalId":47635,"journal":{"name":"Review of Development Economics","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Oil rents shocks and corruption in Iran","authors":"Mohammad Reza Farzanegan, Reza Zamani","doi":"10.1111/rode.13149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.13149","url":null,"abstract":"We investigate the response of the news‐based corruption reflection index to positive shocks in oil rents in Iran. Using annual data spanning from 1962 to 2019, we employ the vector autoregressive model and analyze generalized impulse responses. Our findings reveal a statistically significant and positive (increasing) response of corruption to positive oil rent shocks. The primary mechanisms through which this relationship operates encompass inflation, increased military expenditures, and the erosion of democratic institutions. Our results demonstrate robustness when subjected to alternative corruption measurements, and when considering the role of internal conflict. The outcomes remain consistent regardless of the variable order in the estimation process. Additionally, we offer context from Iran and expound on clientelism in public investment projects, providing insight into how oil rents may contribute to corruption.","PeriodicalId":47635,"journal":{"name":"Review of Development Economics","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does it matter how we measure poverty? Correlates of income and multidimensional poverty in Sri Lanka","authors":"N. P. Ravindra Deyshappriya, Simon Feeny","doi":"10.1111/rode.13150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.13150","url":null,"abstract":"While it is widely accepted that poverty is multidimensional, debates over how it is best measured continue. This paper examines whether different measurements of poverty provide different implications from a policy perspective. Using probit models applied to household level data it examines the correlates of both income poverty and multidimensional poverty in the context of Sri Lanka. Results suggest that the two measures of poverty share many of the same correlates. Age of the household head, education, marital status, employment, access to agricultural land and the receipt of remittances are important across the two poverty measures. However, there are important differences with respect to the signs of the coefficients on household size and ethnicity variables. Further, the magnitude of the associations of independent variables with poverty vary considerably across the two measures. Policy recommendations are provided.","PeriodicalId":47635,"journal":{"name":"Review of Development Economics","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142226355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exports, skills, and wage inequality in Kenya's manufacturing firms","authors":"Bethuel Kinyanjui Kinuthia, Damiano Kulundu Manda","doi":"10.1111/rode.13144","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.13144","url":null,"abstract":"This study utilized employee–employer datasets 1993 to 1995 to investigate the presence of export wage premium and its impact on wage inequality within the Kenya's manufacturing sector. Panel estimations were conducted using the Mincerian wage regressions with fixed effects, adjusting the standard errors of estimators to accommodate potential correlation of error terms across workers in manufacturing firms. Additionally, we decompose the GINI coefficient by categories of earnings to get the marginal effects. Furthermore, the quantile regression analysis was used to show the wage distribution. The results revealed an export premium of 11 percent in the manufacturing sector upon incorporating workers' characteristics in the estimations. The export wage premium was associated with workers possessing secondary and university education. Furthermore, participating in the export sector contributes to an increase in wage inequality of 1.42 percent within the manufacturing sector. Moreover, the study found that workers with university education received export wage premium in the lower quantiles, whereas those with secondary education experienced it in the upper quantiles, albeit to a lesser extent, contributing to wage inequality.","PeriodicalId":47635,"journal":{"name":"Review of Development Economics","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142207056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}