rafmacalaba/datause-encoder-data huggingface dataset:
Welfare Effects of Introducing
            Competition in the Telecom Sector in Djibouti
Djibouti is very well placed, as a
            landing site of undersea fiber optic cables, to benefit from
            the digital economy. However, the prevalence of a single
            national telecom operator in the country has stifled service
            delivery and innovation in the telecom sector. Mobile
            broadband coverage and access to internet in Djibouti in
            2018 remains below that of many Sub-Saharan African
            countries. This paper simulates the impact of the
            introduction of competition on the telecom sector's
            prices and its implications for households' welfare.
            The analysis finds important gains in welfare among current
            users of telecom services, with the largest gains going to
            the richest households. On the extensive margin, the
            analysis also finds a higher likelihood of take up of
            telecom services across the consumption distribution but
            skewed toward the rich. More work is needed to understand
            the implications of changes in the telecom sector,
            especially as greater access may lead to more unequal
            access, at least in the short term.
Productivity Growth : Patterns and
            Determinants across the World
This is the background paper for the
            productivity extension of the World Bank’s Long-Term Growth
            Model (LTGM). Based on an extensive literature review, the
            paper identifies the main determinants of economic
            productivity as innovation, education, market efficiency,
            infrastructure, and institutions. Based on underlying
            proxies, the paper constructs indexes representing each of
            the main categories of productivity determinants and,
            combining them through principal component analysis, obtains
            an overall determinant index. This is done for every year in
            the three decades spanning 1985–2015 and for more than 100
            countries. In parallel, the paper presents a measure of
            total factor productivity (TFP), largely obtained from the
            Penn World Table, and assesses the pattern of productivity
            growth across regions and income groups over the same
            sample. The paper then examines the relationship between the
            measures of TFP and its determinants. The variance of
            productivity growth is decomposed into the share explained
            by each of its main determinants, and the relationship
            between productivity growth and the overall determinant
            index is identified. The variance decomposition results show
            that the highest contributor among the determinants to the
            variance in TFP growth is market efficiency for Organisation
            for Economic Co-operation and Development countries and
            education for developing countries in the most recent
            decade. The regression results indicate that, controlling
            for country- and time-specific effects, TFP growth has a
            positive and significant relationship with the proposed TFP
            determinant index and a negative relationship with initial
            TFP. This relationship is then used to provide a set of
            simulations on the potential path of TFP growth if certain
            improvements on TFP determinants are achieved. The paper
            presents and discusses some of these simulations for groups
            of countries by geographic region and income level. An
            accompanying Excel-based toolkit, linked to the LTGM,
            provides a larger set of simulations and scenario analysis
            at the country level for the next few decades.
Improving Management with Individual
            and Group-Based Consulting : Results from a Randomized
            Experiment in Colombia
Differences in management quality are an
            important contributor to productivity differences across
            countries. A key question is how to best improve poor
            management in developing countries. This paper tests two
            different approaches to improving management in Colombian
            auto parts firms. The first uses intensive and expensive
            one-on-one consulting, while the second draws on
            agricultural extension approaches to provide consulting to
            small groups of firms at approximately one-third of the cost
            of the individual approach. Both approaches lead to
            improvements in management practices of a similar magnitude
            (8-10 percentage points), so that the new group-based
            approach dominates on a cost-benefit basis. Moreover, the
            paper finds some evidence that the group-based intervention
            led to increases in firm size over the next three years,
            while the impacts on firm outcomes are smaller and
            statistically insignificant for the individual consulting.
            The results point to the potential of group-based approaches
            as a pathway to scaling up management improvements.
Voice and Punishment : A Global
            Survey Experiment on Tax Morale
An online survey experiment spanning 50
            countries finds sizable improvements in tax morale when (a)
            the salience of anti-corruption efforts is increased and (b)
            citizens are allowed to voice their expenditure preferences
            to the government. These results hold very broadly across a
            uniquely large and diverse sample of respondents from all
            continents. The findings are consistent with theories
            emphasizing the role of democratic accountability, as well
            as of perceptions of legitimacy and "retributive
            justice," in generating voluntary tax compliance.
            Implications and avenues for further research are discussed.
Identifying the Vulnerable to
            Poverty from Natural Disasters : The Case of Typhoons in the Philippines
This paper builds on the existing
            literature assessing retrospectively the quantitative
            effects of natural disasters on different dimensions of
            household welfare, to make progress toward the ex ante
            identification of households that are vulnerable to poverty
            due to natural disasters, especially typhoons. A wind field
            model for the Philippines is employed to estimate local wind
            speeds at any locality where a tropical typhoon directly
            passes over or nearby. The estimated wind speeds are merged
            with the household Family Income and Expenditure Surveys at
            the barangay level, and consumption expenditures are then
            regressed against wind speed (or a related damage index) and
            household socioeconomic characteristics. The estimated
            coefficients from the regression model are then used to
            estimate ex ante household vulnerability to poverty (the
            likelihood that household consumption falls below the
            poverty line) in the event of future natural disasters of
            different intensities.
The Economics of Sustainability :
            Causes and Consequences of Energy Market Transformation
The paper deals with the economics of
            sustainability associated with the transformation of energy
            markets. It emphasizes the interrelations between technical
            changes and energy markets and how in turn the resulting
            transformations alter the sustainability of economic systems
            that are dependent on these markets. It also explores how
            innovation (or the lack thereof) is intimately linked to the
            ability of energy rich economies to adapt and transform. The
            agenda is especially relevant for oil rich countries that
            have announced or already put in place policies to help
            transform their economies and move away from dependence on
            oil. The agenda is also relevant for the global community,
            as it relates to the economic consequences of the needed
            transformation of energy markets to support the goal of
            limiting global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Trade Integration and Growth :
            Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa
This paper examines the growth effects
            of different dimensions of international trade integration
            -- notably, volume, diversification, and natural resource
            dependence -- in Sub-Saharan Africa.  First, the paper
            documents the recent trends in these foreign trade
            dimensions for the region and the traditional sources of
            growth. Second, it empirically estimates the impact of trade
            integration on growth per worker and the sources of growth;
            that is, growth of capital per worker and total factor
            productivity growth. To accomplish this task, the analysis
            uses a sample of non-overlapping five-year period
            observations for 173 countries from 1975 to 2014. The
            econometric evidence shows that increased trade openness,
            greater export production diversification, and reduced
            export dependence from natural resources will have a
            positive causal impact on economic growth. These effects
            will be mainly transmitted through faster capital
            accumulation or enhanced total factor productivity growth.
            Finally, the paper finds that, despite the progress
            exhibited in trade openness and diversification over the
            past decade, there are still potential benefits that can be
            accrued if countries were to deepen their integration to
            world trade.
Exploring Carbon Pricing in
            Developing Countries : A Macroeconomic Analysis in Ethiopia
This study uses a computable general
            equilibrium model to analyze various policy scenarios for a
            carbon tax on greenhouse gas emissions from petroleum fuels
            and kerosene in Ethiopia. The carbon tax starts at $5 per
            ton of carbon dioxide in 2018 and rises to $30 per ton in
            2030. Different scenarios examine the impacts with revenue
            recycling through a uniform sales tax reduction, reduction
            of labor income tax, reduction of business income tax,
            direct transfer back to households, and use by the
            government to reduce debt. Because petroleum fuels and
            kerosene are a relatively small part of the Ethiopian
            economy, the carbon tax has quite small impacts on overall
            economic activity while having a notable proportionate
            impact on greenhouse gas emissions from these energy
            sources, depending on the recycling scenario. The carbon tax
            can raise significant revenue -- up to $800 million per year
            by 2030. The impacts on the poor through increased cost of
            living are not that large, since the share of the poor in
            total use of petroleum fuels and kerosene is small. In terms
            of income effects through employment changes, urban
            households tend to experience more impacts than rural
            households, but the results also depend on the household
            skill level and the revenue recycling scenario.
Small African Economies in a More
            Uncertain Global Trade Environment : The Potential Impact of
            Post-AGOA Scenarios for Lesotho
This paper provides a forward-looking
            view of trade and its relevance for Lesotho’s medium- and
            long-term development. It does this through computable
            general equilibrium analysis of potential impacts based on
            specific trade-related scenarios. The scenarios include the
            potential loss of American Growth and Opportunities Act
            preferences and preference erosion against competitors
            through, for example, a United States–Vietnam Free Trade
            Area. An immediate loss of American Growth and Opportunities
            Act preferences would have a significant economic impact
            that far exceeds that of a potential future United
            States–Vietnam Free Trade Area. If these preferences were
            suspended in 2018, Lesotho would face a loss of 1 percent in
            income by 2020, relative to the baseline, and exports of
            textiles and apparel would drop by 16 percent.  The
            computable general equilibrium simulations stress the need
            to strengthen efforts to support structural transformation
            leading to diversification of export products and markets,
            improving backward and forward linkages, and lowering trade
            costs. The simulations also indicate that trade facilitation
            measures leading to an average decrease in trade costs of 2
            percent per year would eliminate the negative consequences
            of the loss of American Growth and Opportunities Act
            preferences in terms of the loss of income. The changing
            external environment is likely to offer new opportunities to
            Lesotho's export industries in the medium term,
            including through regional integration under the Continental
            Free Trade Area.
Developing Public-Private
            Partnership Initiatives in the Middle East and North Africa
            : From Public Debt to Maximizing Finance for Development
This paper argues for a novel approach
            to financing infrastructure needs in Arab countries. It
            first describes the context of rising public debt in the
            region, contrasting it with the vast infrastructure needs.
            It then discusses the challenges in meeting these needs with
            traditional financing. The paper then makes the case for
            maximizing finance for development, by using public-private
            partnerships, and presents a few successful examples in Arab
            countries. Finally, the paper explores the way forward and
            concludes on the need for strong state capacity and
            integrity to promote the maximizing finance for development approach.
Migration and Jobs : Issues for the
            21st Century
With an estimated 724 million extreme
            poor people living in developing countries, and the
            world's demographics bifurcating into an older North
            and a younger South, there are substantial economic
            incentives and benefits for people to migrate. There are
            also important market and regulatory failures that constrain
            mobility and reduce the net benefits of migration. This
            paper reviews the recent literature and proposes a
            conceptual framework for better integration and coordination
            of policies that can address the different market and
            regulatory failures. The paper advances five types of
            interventions in need of particular attention in design,
            implementation, and evaluation; namely, (1) active labor
            market programs that serve local, regional, and foreign
            markets; (2) remittances and investment subsidies to promote
            job creation and labor productivity growth; (3) social
            insurance programs that cover all jobs and facilitate labor
            mobility; (4) labor taxes to internalize the social costs of
            migration in receiving regions; and (5) more flexible
            private sector driven schemes to regulate the flow of
            migrants and minimize irregular migration.
The Exchange Rate : Why It Matters
            for Structural Transformation and Growth in Ethiopia
Ethiopia has achieved sustained high
            growth for more than a decade. At the same time, the country
            has been facing several economic challenges, including
            falling exports, chronic foreign currency shortages, as well
            as a slow pace of structural transformation. In recent
            years, the already overvalued birr has appreciated sharply
            in real terms, partly driven by the appreciation of the
            dollar, thereby making Ethiopia’s competitiveness and
            industrialization drive more difficult. In response to these
            challenges, this paper looks at the question of why the real
            exchange rate is a useful policy instrument. The analysis
            suggests that Ethiopia needs a more flexible exchange rate
            policy. A competitive or undervalued exchange rate is
            important in bringing about productivity-enhancing
            structural change. There is robust evidence that a real
            devaluation stimulates exports in general and manufacturing
            exports in particular, improves the trade and current
            account balances, and spurs economic growth. Currency
            undervaluation is a second-best policy intervention that can
            help offset some of the key constraints to manufacturing
            growth prevalent in low-income countries and speed up
            structural transformation. However, exchange rate
            adjustments need to take into account the increase in the
            cost of capital imports and debt burden.
Latin American Growth : A Trade Perspective
This paper reviews the determinants of
            Latin America's uneven growth based on an accounting
            decomposition that breaks down countries' growth
            (relative to the world) into three trade-related channels:
            (i) an export pull measuring the traction exerted by the
            country's exports, (ii) an external leverage measuring
            the impact of the country's use of external resources,
            and (iii) a domestic response measuring the impact of the
            country's imports on its domestic income. This
            decomposition brings to light three regional growth
            dynamics: the first is centered on commodities and South
            America, the second on manufactures and Mexico, and the
            third on services and Central America. The evidence points
            toward the need for a trade-oriented growth agenda that puts
            a premium on raising exports and making countries more
            attractive to people, not just capital. The latter in turn
            adds urgency to healing the region’s social fractures and
            dealing with its institutional weaknesses.
Group‐Based Cognitive Behavioral
            Therapy (CBT) Training Improves Mental Health of SME
            Entrepreneurs : Experimental Evidence from Conflict‐Affected
            Areas of Pakistan
Mental health, well-being, and lasting
            economic outcomes are intimately connected. However, in
            geographies marked by fragility, conflict, and violence
            (FCV), entrepreneurs of small and medium size enterprises
            (SMEs) experience chronic stress and poor mental health on a
            regular basis. These issues can hamper performance and
            quality of life for the entrepreneurs, and can dampen the
            benefits of existing financial and business assistance
            programs. Few proven rigorous interventions are known. This
            study tests the hypothesis that a five-week group Cognitive
            Behavioral Therapy (CBT) training called Problem Management
            Plus for Entrepreneurs (PM E), in combination with financial
            assistance, could be more effective at reducing
            psychological stressors of SME entrepreneurs in FCV contexts
            than financial assistance alone. Meaningful and
            statistically significant improvements in mental health were
            achieved, with improvements persisting and increasing beyond
            the immediate post-intervention period. Based on analysis of
            pooled data across two follow-up rounds (at five weeks and
            three months post-intervention), entrepreneurs in the
            treatment group experienced statistically significant
            reduction in the intensity and prevalence of depression and
            anxiety symptoms (measured by the Patient Health
            Questionnaire Anxiety and Depression Scale) and higher
            levels of well-being (measured by the World Health
            Organization Well-Being Index) compared with the control
            group. The effect was marked for those experiencing
            mild/moderate levels of depression and anxiety, suggesting
            the clinical value of such low touch interventions. Overall,
            the study demonstrates that empirical research through
            Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) can be conducted in
            challenging, FCV settings through appropriate rapid training
            of local researchers and non-specialist providers (NSPs) at
            a low cost, yielding scalable programmatic and policy level lessons.
From Theory to Practice : Open
            Government Data, Accountability, and Service Delivery
Open data and open government data have
            recently attracted much attention as a means to innovate,
            add value, and improve outcomes in a variety of sectors,
            public and private. Although some of the benefits of open
            data initiatives have been assessed in the past,
            particularly their economic and financial returns, it is
            often more difficult to evaluate their social and political
            impacts. In the public sector, a murky theory of change has
            emerged that links the use of open government data with
            greater government accountability as well as improved
            service delivery in key sectors, including health and
            education, among others. In the absence of cross-country
            empirical research on this topic, this paper asks the
            following: Based on the evidence available, to what extent
            and for what reasons is the use of open government data
            associated with higher levels of accountability and improved
            service delivery in developing countries? To answer this
            question, the paper constructs a unique data set that
            operationalizes open government data, government
            accountability, service delivery, as well as other
            intervening and control variables. Relying on data from 25
            countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the paper finds a number of
            significant associations between open government data,
            accountability, and service delivery. However, the findings
            suggest differentiated effects of open government data
            across the health and education sectors, as well as with
            respect to service provision and service delivery outcomes.
            Although this early research has limitations and does not
            attempt to establish a purely causal relationship between
            the variables, it provides initial empirical support for
            claims about the efficacy of open government data for
            improving accountability and service delivery.