rafmacalaba/datause-encoder-data huggingface dataset:
The impact on Russia of WTO
            accession and the Doha agenda : the importance of
            liberalization of barriers against foreign direct investment
            in services for growth and poverty reduction
Taking price changes from the Global
            Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model of world trade, the
            authors use a small open economy computable general
            equilibrium comparative static model of the Russian economy
            to assess the impact of global free trade and a successful
            completion of the Doha Agenda on the Russian economy, and
            especially on the poor. They compare those results with the
            impact of Russian accession to the World Trade Organization
            (WTO) on income distribution and the poor. The model
            incorporates all 55,000 households from the Russian
            Household Budget Survey as "real" households.
            Crucially, given the importance of foreign direct investment
            (FDI) liberalization as part of Russian WTO accession, the
            authors also include FDI and Dixit-Stiglitz endogenous
            productivity effects from liberalization of import barriers
            against goods and FDI in services. The authors estimate that
            Russian WTO accession in the medium run will result in gains
            averaged over all Russian households equal to 7.3 percent of
            Russian consumption (with a standard deviation of 2.2
            percent of consumption), with virtually all households
            gaining. They find that global free trade would result in a
            weighted average gain to households in Russia of 0.2 percent
            of consumption, with a standard deviation of 0.2 percent of
            consumption, while a successful completion of the Doha
            Development Agenda would result in a weighted average gain
            to households of -0.3 percent of consumption (with a
            standard deviation of 0.2 percent of consumption). Russia,
            as a net food importer, loses from subsidy elimination, and
            the gains to Russia from tariff cuts in other countries are
            too small to offset these losses. The results strongly
            support the view that Russia's own liberalization is
            more important than improvements in market access as a
            result of reforms in tariffs or subsidies in the rest of the
            world. Foremost among the own reforms is liberalization of
            barriers against FDI in business services.
Patenting and research and
            development : a global view
Using a new global data base on patents
            and innovation inputs, the authors examine the process of
            knowledge creation measured by the dynamic relationship
            between research and development and U.S. patents granted.
            They confirm at the country level the recurrent micro-level
            finding of a strong relationship between the two and
            estimate the OECD elasticity to be effectively equal to one.
            This conflicts with the frequent micro-level finding of
            strongly diminishing returns in knowledge generation and
            suggests the importance of knowledge spillover effects
            measurable only at the aggregate level. Developing
            countries, however, do show diminishing returns. The authors
            then explain the differences in spillovers between the OECD
            and developing countries by testing for the impact of
            measures of the functioning of the national innovation
            system-the set of institutions and agents that create and
            disseminate knowledge. Across the entire sample education,
            security of intellectual property rights, and in some
            specifications, the quality of research institutions and
            their interaction with the private sector, affect the
            transformation of research and development into patents.
Can insurance increase financial
            risk The curious case of health insurance in China
The most basic argument for insurance is
            that it reduces financial risk. But since insurance opens up
            new opportunities for consuming expensive high-technology
            care which permits health improvements that are valued by
            the insured, and because in many settings the provider is
            able and has an incentive to exploit the informational
            advantage he has over the patient, it is not immediately
            obvious that insurance will in practice reduce financial
            risk. The authors analyze the effect of insurance on the
            probability of an individual incurring "high"
            annual health expenses using data from three household
            surveys-one a cross-section survey, the other two panel
            surveys. All come from China, a country where providers have
            until recently largely been paid fee-for-service (often
            according to a schedule that encourages the overprovision of
            high-technology care and the underprovision of basic care)
            and who are only lightly regulated. The authors define
            annual spending as "high" if it exceeds 5 percent
            of average income in the sample and as
            "catastrophic" if it exceeds 10 percent of the
            household's own per capita income. The estimates of the
            effect of insurance on financial risk allow for the possible
            endogeneity of health insurance in the panel datasets by
            allowing for a time-invariant fixed effect capturing
            unobserved risk that may be correlated with insurance
            status, and in the cross-section dataset by using
            instrumental variables, where availability of and
            eligibility for health insurance are used as instruments.
            The results suggest that during the 1990s China's
            government and labor insurance schemes increased financial
            risk associated with household health care spending, but
            that the rural cooperative medical scheme significantly
            reduced financial risk in some areas but increased it in
            others (though not significantly). From the results, it
            appears that China's new health insurance schemes
            (private schemes, including coverage of schoolchildren) have
            also increased the risk of high levels of out-of-pocket
            spending on health. Where the authors find evidence of
            health insurance increasing the risk of "high"
            out-of-pocket expenses, the marginal effect is of the order
            of 15-20 percent; in the case of "catastrophic"
            expenses, it is even larger.
Reaching out : access to and use of
            banking services across countries
The authors (1) present new indicators
            of banking sector penetration across 99 countries based on a
            survey of bank regulatory authorities, (2) show that these
            indicators predict household and firm use of banking
            services, (3) explore the association between the outreach
            indicators and measures of financial, institutional, and
            infrastructure development across countries, and (4) relate
            these banking outreach indicators to measures of firms'
            financing constraints. In particular, they find that greater
            outreach is correlated with standard measures of financial
            development, as well as with economic activity. Controlling
            for these factors, the authors find that better
            communication and transport infrastructure and better
            governance are also associated with greater outreach.
            Government ownership of financial institutions translates
            into lower access, while more concentrated banking systems
            are associated with greater outreach. Finally, firms in
            countries with higher branch and ATM penetration and higher
            use of loan services report lower financing obstacles, thus
            linking banking sector outreach to the alleviation of
            firms' financing constraints.
Enforcement of labor regulation,
            informal labor, and firm performance
This paper investigates how enforcement
            of labor regulation affects the firm's use of informal
            employment and its impact on firm performance. Using firm
            level data on informal employment and firm performance, and
            administrative data on enforcement of regulation at the city
            level, the authors show that in areas where law enforcement
            is stricter firms employ a smaller amount of informal
            employment. Furthermore, by reducing the firm's access
            to unregulated labor, stricter enforcement also decreases
            average wages, productivity, and investment. The results are
            robust to several specification changes, and to
            instrumenting enforcement with (1) measures of access of
            labor inspectors to firms, and (2) measures of general law
            enforcement in the area where the firm is located.
Poverty impacts of a WTO agreement :
            synthesis and overview
This paper reports on the findings from
            a major international research project investigating the
            poverty impacts of a potential Doha Development Agenda
            (DDA). It combines in a novel way the results from several
            strands of research. Intensive analysis of the DDA Framework
            Agreement pays particularly close attention to potential
            reforms in agriculture. The scenarios are built up using
            newly available tariff line data and their implications for
            world markets are established using a global modeling
            framework. These world trade impacts, in turn, form the
            basis for 12 country case studies of the national poverty
            impacts of these DDA scenarios. The focus countries include
            Bangladesh, Brazil (two studies), Cameroon, China (two
            studies), Indonesia, Mexico, Mozambique, the Philippines,
            Russia, and Zambia. The diversity of approaches taken in
            these studies allows the paper to reflect local conditions
            and priorities and illustrates many important facets of the
            trade and poverty link. It does, however, limit the ability
            to draw broader conclusions. Thus an additional study
            provides a 15-country cross-section analysis, and a global
            analysis provides estimates for the world as a whole.
Poverty impacts of a WTO agreement :
            synthesis and overview
WPS3757

# **Poverty Impacts of a WTO Agreement: Synthesis and**

# **Overview**

by Thomas W. Hertel and L. Alan Winters* A version of this paper will appear as Chapter 1 in _Poverty and the WTO: Impacts of the Doha Development Agenda_ , Thomas W. Hertel and L. Alan Winters (eds.), forthcoming from The World Bank, Washington, D.C.

## World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3757, October 2005

_The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the view of the World Bank, its Executive Directors, or the countries they represent. Policy Research Working Papers are available online at http://econ.worldbank.org._

*Hertel is Distinguished Professor at Purdue University and consultant to the World Bank and Winters is Director of the Development Economics Research Group, World Bank. This research was conducted while Hertel was on leave with the World Bank. Financial support from the Bank-Netherlands Partnership Program is gratefully acknowledged. The authors thank William Cline for extensive comments on this paper as well as the research project.
Openness can be good for growth :
            the role of policy complementarities
The authors study how the effect of
            trade openness on economic growth depends on complementary
            reforms that help a country take advantage of international
            competition. This issue is illustrated with a simple
            Harris-Todaro model where output gains after trade
            liberalization depend on the degree of labor market
            flexibility. In that model, trade protection may ameliorate
            the problem of underemployment (and underproduction) in
            sectors affected by labor market distortions. Hence, trade
            liberalization unambiguously increases per capita income
            only when labor markets are sufficiently flexible. The
            authors then present some panel evidence on how the growth
            effect of openness depends on a variety of structural
            characteristics. For this purpose, they use a non-linear
            growth regression specification that interacts a proxy of
            trade openness with proxies of educational investment,
            financial depth, inflation stabilization, public
            infrastructure, governance, labor-market flexibility, ease
            of firm entry, and ease of firm exit. They find that the
            growth effects of openness are positive and economically
            significant if certain complementary reforms are undertaken.
Road freight logistics, competition,
            and innovation : downstream benefits and policy implications
This empirical paper sheds light on a
            significant element of the debate of whether infrastructure
            services have a strong impact on economic development by
            exploring the impact of innovative road freight services on
            downstream business users. The paper uses a new and
            purpose-specific survey of 165 logistics service providers
            and 493 user enterprises in food processing, food
            distribution, and the automotive industry in the Czech
            Republic, Hungary, and Poland. The main findings are that
            there are substantial downstream benefits from innovations
            in road freight services, both dampening cost increases and
            raising sales revenues of business users. The additional
            finding that increased intensity of competition in road
            freight services is significantly associated with the
            provision of innovative services suggests that easing any
            remaining barriers to competition in upstream business
            sectors should be a priority.
Road freight logistics, competition,
            and innovation : downstream benefits and policy implications
WPS3768

# **Road Freight Logistics, Competition and Innovation: Downstream Benefits and Policy Implications**<sup>**1**</sup>

Mark Dutz The World Bank

## **Abstract**

This empirical paper sheds light on a significant element of the debate of whether infrastructure services have a strong impact on economic development by exploring the impact of innovative road freight services on downstream business users. The paper uses a new and purpose-specific survey of 165 logistics service providers and 493 user enterprises in food processing, food distribution and the automotive industry in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. The main findings are that there are substantial downstream benefits from innovations in road freight services, both dampening cost increases and raising sales revenues of business users. The additional finding that increased intensity of competition in road freight services is significantly associated with the provision of innovative services suggests that easing any remaining barriers to competition in upstream business sectors should be a priority.

World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3768, November 2005 _The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the view of the World Bank, its Executive Directors, or the countries they represent. Policy Research Working Papers are available online at http://econ.worldbank.org._ 1 I am grateful to Maria Vagliasindi for helpful suggestions throughout the research project, and to Professor Remy Prud’homme for useful feedback. This paper and the underlying enterprise data were prepared under funding from World Bank research grant ‘Road freight transport, competition, and innovation’ (RPO 683-44).
Policy and planning for large
            infrastructure projects : problems, causes, cures
This paper focuses on problems and their
            causes and cures in policy and planning for large
            infrastructure projects. First, it identifies as the main
            problem in major infrastructure development pervasive
            misinformation about the costs, benefits, and risks
            involved. A consequence of misinformation is massive cost
            overruns, benefit shortfalls, and waste. Second, the paper
            explores the causes of misinformation and finds that
            political-economic explanations best account for the
            available evidence: planners and promoters deliberately
            misrepresent costs, benefits, and risks in order to increase
            the likelihood that it is their projects, and not the
            competition's, that gain approval and funding. This
            results in the "survival of the unfittest," where
            often it is not the best projects that are built, but the
            most misrepresented ones. Finally, the paper presents
            measures for reforming policy and planning for large
            infrastructure projects, with a focus on better planning
            methods and changed governance structures, the latter being
            more important.
Public health in India : an overview
Public health services, which reduce a
            population's exposure to disease through such measures
            as sanitation and vector control, are an essential part of a
            country's development infrastructure. In the industrial
            world and East Asia, systematic public health efforts raised
            labor productivity and life expectancies well before modern
            curative technologies became widely available, and helped
            set the stage for rapid economic growth and poverty
            reduction. The enormous business and other costs of the
            breakdown of these services are illustrated by the current
            global epidemic of avian flu, emanating from poor
            poultry-keeping practices in a few Chinese villages. For
            various reasons, mostly of political economy, public funds
            for health services in India have been focused largely on
            medical services, and public health services have been
            neglected. This is reflected in a virtual absence of modern
            public health regulations and of systematic planning and
            delivery of public health services. Various organizational
            issues also militate against the rational deployment of
            personnel and funds for disease control. There is strong
            capacity for dealing with outbreaks when they occur, but not
            to prevent them from occurring. Impressive capacity also
            exists for conducting intensive campaigns, but not for
            sustaining these gains on a continuing basis after the
            campaign. This is illustrated by the near eradication of
            malaria through highly organized efforts in the 1950s, and
            its resurgence when attention shifted to other priorities
            such as family planning. This paper reviews the fundamental
            obstacles to effective disease control in India and
            indicates new policy thrusts that can help overcome these obstacles.
Mexico : human capital effects on
            wages and productivity
The authors follow the Hellerstein,
            Neumark, and Troske (1999) framework to estimate marginal
            productivity differentials and compare them with estimated
            relative wages. The analysis provides evidence on
            productivity and nonproductivity-based determinations of
            wages. Special emphasis is given to the effects of human
            capital variables, such as education, experience, and
            training on wages and productivity differentials. Higher
            education yields higher productivity. However, highly
            educated workers earn less than their productivity
            differentials would predict. On average, highly educated
            workers are unable to fully appropriate their productivity
            gains of education through wages. On the other hand, workers
            with more experience are more productive in the same
            proportion that they earn more in medium and large firms,
            meaning they are fully compensated for their higher
            productivity. Finally, workers in micro and small firms are
            paid more than what their productivity would merit. Training
            benefits firms and employees since it significantly
            increases workers' productivity and their earnings.
Sugar in the Caribbean : adjusting
            to eroding preferences
Sugar exporters of the Caribbean depend
            on preferential sales of sugar to the European Union and
            United States at prices that are two to three times the
            world market price. Without these preferences, sugar export
            revenues would decline significantly. These preferences are
            likely to erode in the next several years as the sugar
            programs of both the European Union and the United States
            are under pressure to reform as part of already agreed
            international commitments, internal pressures, and the
            ongoing Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations. The
            European Commission has already proposed reforms that would
            reduce internal sugar prices by 39 percent, directly
            affecting Caribbean sugar exporters. This presents a serious
            challenge to the sugar producers of the Caribbean who are
            mostly high-cost producers who will find it difficult to
            compete in the world market. St. Kitts & Nevis have
            recently announced plans to close their sugar industry and
            Trinidad & Tobago began a major restructuring program in
            2003. Other sugar producers of the Caribbean will need to
            become more competitive by reducing costs and adding value
            to their sugar industries through cogeneration of energy and
            other activities. Those that cannot reduce costs
            sufficiently will need to diversify into other crops, such
            as fruits, vegetables, and meats, for the growing local
            demand, the tourist industry, or export. International
            assistance will be important to help countries with these
            adjustments and the European Union has already proposed an
            adjustment program.