rafmacalaba/datause-encoder-data huggingface dataset:
Looking back on two decades of
            poverty and well-being in India
This paper provides an overview of
            poverty and well-being trends in India since the mid-1990s.
            Poverty reduction since 2005 has been much faster than the
            earlier decade, as a result of broad-based growth across
            most geographic areas. Underlying this is a pattern of high
            mobility in economic status that has led to an emerging
            middle class. Still, a vast (and rising) share of the
            population faces significant risk of slipping back into
            poverty. India's poor are increasingly concentrated in
            low-income states with historically lower rates of economic
            progress. Even as India has reduced poverty faster than the
            developing world as a whole, the degree of poverty reduction
            associated with growth has been substantially lower than in
            some of its middle-income peers. India faces important
            challenges in nonmonetary dimensions of welfare as well.
            Despite success on important fronts, such as infant and
            child mortality and secondary education, progress has been
            slow in others, such as sanitation and nutrition, and lags
            behind some other countries that are at a similar stage of development.
ICT use, competitive pressures and
            firm performance in Mexico
This paper presents a set of stylized
            facts on the relation between information and communications
            technology (ICT) use, firm performance, and competition.
            Taking advantage of a novel firm-level data set on
            information and communications technology for Mexico, the
            study finds that firms facing higher competition appear to
            have more incentives to increase their use of information
            and communications technology. Accordingly, although there
            is indeed a positive relation between information and
            communications technology use and firm performance, this
            effect is greater for firms that face higher competition
            pressures, which is consistent with the theoretical
            predictions of the trade-induced technical change hypothesis.
Higher losses and slower development
            in the absence of disaster risk management investments
Global economic losses from natural
            disasters continue to increase. Yet, investments in disaster
            risk management are not universal, as they are traditionally
            seen as in competition with other development and economic
            priorities. The multitude of benefits from disaster risk
            management investments are not traditionally accounted for
            in cost-benefit analyses. This paper contributes to this
            discussion by highlighting the multiple benefits from
            disaster risk management investments, focusing on the
            avoided losses when a disaster occurs, but also on the
            impacts on economic development even before a disaster
            strikes. The paper's main message is that disaster risk
            management investments can provide two dividends: reduced
            losses when a disaster strikes, and a shift of investment
            strategies and perhaps even an increase in investment value
            that would benefit the economy even before a disaster
            strikes. Providing evidence to policy makers and investors
            about the existence of both types of dividends can provide a
            narrative reconciling short-term and long-term objectives,
            thereby improving the acceptability and feasibility of
            disaster risk management investments.
Opportunity versus necessity :
            understanding the heterogeneity of female micro-entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs that voluntarily choose to
            start a business because they are able to identify a good
            business opportunity and act on it -- opportunity
            entrepreneurs -- might be different along various dimensions
            from those who are forced to become entrepreneurs because of
            lack of other alternatives -- necessity entrepreneurs. To
            provide evidence on these differences, this paper exploits a
            unique data set covering a wide array of characteristics,
            including cognitive skills, non-cognitive skills and
            managerial practices, for a large sample of female
            entrepreneurs in Mexico. Descriptive results show that on
            average opportunity entrepreneurs have better performance
            and higher skills than necessity entrepreneurs. A
            discriminant analysis reveals that discrimination is
            difficult to achieve based on these observables, which
            suggests the existence of unobservables driving both the
            decision to become an opportunity entrepreneur and
            performance. Thus, an instrumental variables estimation is
            conducted, using state economic growth in the year the
            business was set up as an instrument for opportunity, to
            confirm that opportunity entrepreneurs have higher
            performance and better management practices.
Competition makes IT better :
            evidence on when firms use it more effectively
This paper uses a unique firm-level data
            set for Mexico, with information never used for research
            before, to assess how use of information technology (IT
            henceforth) influences firm performance. Further, the paper
            explores if, in the context of increasing competition from
            China, this effect is different for firms more strongly
            affected by competition where incentives for upgrading and
            innovation may be more intense. In this perspective, the
            paper analyzes the complementarity between IT and other
            changes spurred by competition, taking advantage of the
            exogenous shock generated by Chinese competition. The
            results indicate that IT use has higher effects over
            productivity in the case of firms facing higher competition
            from China, in the domestic market and in the U.S. market.
            Furthermore, the paper shows how these changes appear to be
            driven by complementary investments in innovation and
            organizational changes.
Managing sudden stops
The recent reversal of capital flows to
            emerging markets has pointed up the continuing relevance of
            the sudden stop problem. This paper analyzes the sudden
            stops in capital flows to emerging markets since 1991. It
            shows that the frequency and duration of sudden stops have
            remained largely unchanged, but that the relative importance
            of different factors in their incidence has changed. In
            particular, global factors appear to have become more
            important relative to country-specific characteristics and
            policies. Sudden stops now tend to affect different parts of
            the world simultaneously rather than bunching regionally.
            Stronger macroeconomic and financial frameworks have allowed
            policy makers to respond more flexibly, but these more
            flexible responses have not guaranteed insulation or
            mitigated the impact of the phenomenon. These findings
            suggest that the challenge of understanding and coping with
            capital-flow volatility is far from fully met.
Organizing knowledge to compete :
            impacts of capacity building programs on firm organization
A growing literature aiming at
            explaining differences across firms in productivity and
            access to global export markets has focused on the internal
            organization of firms. This paper contributes to this
            literature by evaluating the impact of a program that
            focuses on enhancing competitiveness of small and medium
            enterprises in Brazil by providing coaching and consulting
            on management and production practices. Specifically, the
            paper tests whether the program induces treated firms to
            reorganize knowledge by adding more layers of different
            skills and competencies to their workforces. Using a unique
            firm-level dataset, the number of layers of the firms are
            compared before and after the program. The impact of the
            program is identified by relying on an instrumental variable
            approach, exploiting the quasi-experiment roll-out of its
            implementation, which was carried out at different times
            across Brazilian regions. The analysis finds that the
            program had an effect and that this effect is heterogeneous.
            The program is particularly effective in promoting the
            reorganization of firms with initially fewer layers. The
            results confirm another finding of the literature, namely
            that in re-organized firms inequality of wages increases, as
            firms pay higher wages in added higher layers than in
            pre-existing ones. Finally, these results are used to
            discuss how the change in firms' organization is
            positively correlated with export performance.
The cost of fear : the welfare
            effect of the risk of violence in northern Uganda
Although the effects of insecurity are
            believed to be important, these have never been directly
            measured. Previous estimates of the costs of conflict have
            only captured the joint effect of violence and insecurity.
            The distinction is important for understanding the origins
            of the costs and for policy design. Spatially disaggregated
            measures of insecurity are created based on the
            spatial-temporal variation in the placement of violence.
            These are used to generate the first estimates of the
            relative causal contributions of the risk and experience of
            violence. The article also provides the first micro-data
            based counterpart to the cross-country literature on the
            costs of conflict.
Assessing the impacts of Mais
            Educacao on educational outcomes : evidence between 2007 and 2011
To address the educational gap, many
            Latin American countries are focusing on extension of the
            school day and enrichment of the curriculum. In Brazil, a
            nationwide policy -- Mais Educação -- was implemented in
            2008 with this objective. This paper explores the nationwide
            rollout of the program across the country and compares the
            performance of schools before and after implementation of
            the program. The paper quantifies the impacts of the program
            on student learning and dropout rates in urban areas, and
            investigates the heterogeneity of impacts by several
            characteristics of the program's implementation.
            Participating schools are compared with nonparticipating
            schools after controlling for school selection into the
            program based on observable characteristics using propensity
            score matching. The analysis finds that participation in
            Mais Educação has on average no impacts on school dropout
            rates and average negative impacts on mathematics test
            scores. The negative impacts on student achievement are
            stronger in the short term, which suggests that the negative
            effects may be reduced as the program improves its
            implementation. In addition, especially for fifth-grade
            schools, the level of student spending is associated with
            reduced dropout rates. Interestingly, in schools choosing
            the fields of Portuguese and/or sports in the added hours,
            the program is associated with lower test scores in
            Portuguese and mathematics.  Finally, for the sample of
            fifth-grade schools, heterogeneous impacts are seen in the
            program according to the GDP per capita of the city where
            the school is located. The higher the GDP per capita, the
            greater the positive impact of the program on mathematics
            test scores and on dropout rates.
Assessing the impacts of Mais
            Educacao on educational outcomes : evidence between 2007 and 2011
WPS7644 Policy Research Working Paper 7644 Assessing the Impacts of _Mais Educação_ on Educational Outcomes Evidence between 2007 and 2011 _Rita Almeida Antônio Bresolin Bruna Borges, Karen Mendes Naercio Menezes-Filho_ Education Global Practice Group April 2016
Reducing crime and violence :
            experimental evidence on adult noncognitive investments in Liberia
The paper shows that self-control, time
            preferences, and values are malleable in adults, and that
            investments in these skills and preferences reduce crime and
            violence. The authors recruited criminally-engaged Liberian
            men and randomized half to eight weeks of group cognitive
            behavioral therapy, fostering self-regulation, patience, and
            noncriminal values. They also randomized $200 grants. Cash
            alone and therapy alone dramatically reduced crime and
            violence, but effects dissipated within a year. When cash
            followed therapy, however, crime and violence decreased by
            as much as 50 percent for at least a year. They hypothesize
            that cash reinforced therapy's lessons by prolonging
            practice and self-investment.
Non-tariff measures and the world
            trading system
With the success of the World Trade
            Organization and its predecessor, the General Agreement on
            Tariffs and Trade, in reducing conventional tariff barriers,
            much of the recent focus of regional and multilateral trade
            agreements has switched to non-tariff measures, both border
            and behind-the-border policies. This paper considers the
            recent empirical and theoretical literature on non-tariff
            measures in the world trading system. It provides a set of
            stylized facts based on available data on non-tariff
            measures and reviews the key methods used to estimate their
            trade impact. It considers the theoretical treatment of
            these measures in the trade literature with a focus on the
            rules and institutions that govern non-tariff measures in
            the world trading system. It discusses some of the major
            issues regarding international cooperation in these policy
            areas, in particular whether such cooperation should entail
            deep integration (involving precise legally binding
            obligations) or shallow integration (which allows countries
            greater discretion in the setting of non-tariff measures).
            Finally, this paper reviews some of the specific features
            the World Trade Organization uses in dealing with non-tariff
            measures such as national treatment rules and non-violation
            complaints, and considers policy options beyond the WTO such
            as harmonization and mutual recognition of standards.
Property rights for fishing
            cooperatives : how (and how well) do they work
Devolving property rights to local
            institutions has emerged as a compelling management strategy
            for natural resource management in developing countries. The
            use of property rights among fishing cooperatives operating
            in Mexico's Gulf of California provides a compelling
            setting for theoretical and empirical analysis. A dynamic
            theoretical model demonstrates how fishing
            cooperatives' management choices are shaped by the
            presence of property rights, the mobility of resources, and
            predictable environmental fluctuations. More aggressive
            management comes in the form of the cooperative leadership
            paying lower prices to cooperative members for their catch,
            as lower prices disincentivize fishing effort. The
            model's implications are empirically tested using three
            years of daily logbook data on prices and catches for three
            cooperatives from the Gulf of California. One cooperative
            enjoys property rights while the other two do not. There is
            empirical evidence in support of the model: compared to the
            other cooperatives, the cooperative with strong property
            rights pays members a lower price, pays especially lower
            prices for less mobile species, and decreases prices when
            environmental fluctuations cause population growth rates to
            fall. The results from this case study demonstrate the
            viability of cooperative management of resources but also
            point toward quantitatively important limitations created by
            the mismatch between the scale of a property right and the
            scale of a resource.
Property rights for fishing
            cooperatives : how (and how well) do they work
WPS7662 Policy Research Working Paper 7662 Property Rights for Fishing Cooperatives How (and How Well) Do They Work?

_Octavio Aburto-Oropeza Heather M. Leslie Austen Mack-Crane Sriniketh Nagavarapu Sheila M.W. Reddy Leila Sievanen_ Development Economics Vice Presidency Operations and Strategy Team May 2016
Short-term effects of India's
            employment guarantee program on labor markets and
            agricultural productivity
This paper uses a large national
            household panel from 1999/2000 and 2007/08 to analyze the
            short-term effects of India's Mahatma Gandhi National
            Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme on wages, labor supply,
            agricultural labor use, and productivity. The scheme
            prompted a 10-point wage increase and higher labor supply to
            nonagricultural casual work and agricultural
            self-employment. Program-induced drops in hired labor demand
            were more than outweighed by more intensive use of family
            labor, machinery, fertilizer, and diversification to crops
            with higher risk-return profiles, especially by small
            farmers. Although the aggregate productivity effects were
            modest, total employment generated by the program (but not
            employment in irrigation-related activities) significantly
            increased productivity, suggesting alleviation of liquidity
            constraints and implicit insurance provision rather than
            quality of works undertaken as a main channel for
            program-induced productivity effects.
Can business owners form accurate
            counterfactuals eliciting treatment and control beliefs
            about their outcomes in the alternative treatment status
A survey of participants in a
            large-scale business plan competition experiment, in which
            winners received an average of US$50,000 each, is used to
            elicit beliefs about what the outcomes would have been in
            the alternative treatment status. Participants are asked the
            percent chance they would be operating a firm, and the
            number of employees and monthly sales they would have, had
            their treatment status been reversed. The study finds the
            control group to have reasonably accurate expectations of
            the large treatment effect they would experience on the
            likelihood of operating a firm, although this may reflect
            the treatment effect being close to an upper bound. The
            control group dramatically overestimates how much winning
            would help them grow the size of their firm. The treatment
            group overestimates how much winning helps their chance of
            running a business, and also overestimates how much winning
            helps them grow their firms. In addition, these
            counterfactual expectations appear unable to generate
            accurate relative rankings of which groups of participants
            benefit most from treatment.
Inequality of opportunity in early
            childhood development in Morocco over time
Early childhood development is a
            critical, but often neglected, phase of human development.
            Shortfalls in early childhood development have historically
            been a challenge in Morocco, with children facing unequal
            opportunities to develop because of the circumstances of
            their birth. This paper examines the roots of inequality in
            human and economic development in Morocco by focusing on the
            state of early childhood development, inequality in early
            childhood development, and trends over time, using several
            surveys conducted between 2003 and 2012. Large disparities
            exist in children's chances of healthy early childhood
            development based on the circumstances of their birth. There
            have not been consistent improvements in the levels of early
            childhood development or decreases in inequality over time.
            This study discusses critical directions for future policy
            on early childhood development to address the deficits and
            disparities identified.
The impact of a community
            development and poverty reduction program on early childhood
            development in Morocco
Participatory community development
            programs are designed to match government investments with
            local needs. In Morocco, where issues of inequality and
            poverty are high on the national agenda, a community
            development program, the National Initiative for Human
            Development, targeted high-poverty areas for additional
            investments. This paper examines whether, in addition to
            reducing poverty, such programs can also promote human
            development, specifically early childhood development. Early
            childhood development forms a critical foundation for later
            human development and plays a key role in the
            intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic status.
            Using panel data on communities just above and below the
            cutoff for National Initiative for Human Development
            inclusion in rural areas, regression discontinuity and fixed
            effect models are applied to identify the impact of the
            program on economic outcomes and early childhood
            development. Although the analysis finds some transitory
            impacts of the program on economic outcomes, it finds no
            impacts on early childhood development. Reducing inequality
            and promoting human development through early childhood
            development is likely to require specific, targeted, and
            sustained initiatives.