http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/4917 2013-05-22T07:20:08Z 2013-05-22T07:20:08Z Floro, Maria S. Valodia, Imraan Komatsu, Hitomi http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/5013 2009-02-21T08:46:11Z 2008-05-01T00:00:00Z

The Gender Dimensions of Social Networks, Unemployment and Underemployment: What Time Use Data Reveal Floro, Maria S.; Valodia, Imraan; Komatsu, Hitomi Utilizing time use data for exploring the issue of employment (or lack thereof) – a critical pathway for increased incomes for the poor - has received little attention in economic analysis. Using data from the 2000 South African national time use survey, this paper examines the value of time use data in policy discussions related to understanding people’s employment status and job search. In particular, we argue that an understanding of how individuals organize their daily life can help identify productive work and workers in a more comprehensive way than conventional labor force surveys and can provide an useful assessment of the effects of employment conditions on coping strategies like job search. We assess whether labor force surveys provide a good estimation of participation in productive activities by exploring the time use patterns of 10, 465 women and men aged 16-64 years, particularly the unemployed, underemployed and employed respondents. The results show that 26.7 and 17.5 percent of unemployed men and women respectively actually engaged in SNA productive activities, spending more time than underemployed men and women. We also examine individuals’ responses to jobless growth that affect their labor force participation and time use. Building and developing social networks serves as an important coping strategy not only for enhancing social insurance but also for improving job prospects. Using an instrumental variable tobit model, we examine whether or not an unemployed person is likely to spend more time in social networking compared to other respondents. The findings, which are found to be robust, confirm the hypothesis. The results also show significant gender differences, with women spending less time in social networking than men. Women carry the burden of housework, which limits their time in developing social networks and in improving their employment prospects. Working Paper No. 2008-09. 41 pages.

2008-05-01T00:00:00Z Floro, Maria S. Messier, John http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/5012 2009-02-21T08:46:01Z 2008-07-01T00:00:00Z

Is there a Link between Quality of Employment and Indebtedness? The Case of Urban Low-income Households in Ecuador Floro, Maria S.; Messier, John In recent decades, there has been a marked increase in the informalization of employment in developing countries. The risk and insecurity associated with a growing number of informal sector jobs have important consequences in inducing or maintaining vulnerability. This paper explores the incidence of high indebtedness or financial stress among urban, low-income households in Ecuador and demonstrates its interconnectedness with the quality of employment. The implications are non-trivial in the sense that high debt service burden, as with the lack of credit access, can undermine investment and maintain low productivity and earnings. It can also lead to higher probability of loan default and to increase in interest rates or termination of credit line. There are also longer term welfare consequences in terms of households’ ability to cope with future shocks such as illness. The analysis is based on a 2002 sample of men and women in urban, poor households in Ecuador. By means of tobit and regression analyses, the paper demonstrates that labor market informalization has led to higher incidence of indebtedness. Moreover, there are differentiated patterns of debt servicing among women and men in urban, poor households. The results provide a more nuanced yet illuminating picture of the interconnectedness of employment, financial stress and vulnerability. We argue that informalization of employment has consequences in other dimensions of vulnerability of households such as high debt servicing, and therefore requires rethinking of current economic and social policies in order to effectively reduce poverty. Working Paper No. 2008-08. 48 pages.

2008-07-01T00:00:00Z Blecker, Robert A. Seccareccia, Mario http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/5011 2009-02-21T08:46:00Z 2008-07-01T00:00:00Z

Would a North American monetary union protect Canada and Mexico against the ravages of “Dutch disease”? Blecker, Robert A.; Seccareccia, Mario After the formation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, enthusiasts of regional integration in North America turned their attention to “deeper” forms of integration, especially a customs union or monetary union.1 Interest in proposals for deeper integration peaked around the turn of the new millennium, both north of the 49th parallel and south of the Rio Grande (Río Bravo). Although the unilateralist turn of US foreign policy under President George W. Bush since 2001 has lessened enthusiasm for deeper integration with the US in both Canada and Mexico, these sorts of proposals remain “in the air” and could easily be revived by future North American governments. Working Paper No. 2008-07. 42 pages. Forthcoming in: Gerald Epstein, Thomas Schlesinger, and Matías Vernengo, editors, The Political Economy of Monetary Policy and Financial Regulation: Essays in Honor of Jane D’Arista, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2009.

2008-07-01T00:00:00Z Blecker, Robert A. http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/5010 2009-02-21T08:46:11Z 2008-07-01T00:00:00Z

Davidson on Keynes: the open economy dimension Blecker, Robert A. This article reviews the treatment of open economy issues in Paul Davidson’s book, John Maynard Keynes (2007). Davidson aptly summarizes Keynes’s criticism of the international monetary system for the asymmetric “burden of adjustment” it places on deficit countries compared with surplus countries, which imparts a contractionary bias to the world economy. Davidson also updates Keynes’s proposals for global monetary reform and extends his analysis of international trade. However, Davidson’s arguments about mainstream views of international finance and the ineffectiveness of exchange rate adjustments are on less solid ground. This article suggests reformulations of Davidson’s interpretations on the latter two points. Working Paper No. 2008-06. 32 pages.

2008-07-01T00:00:00Z Feinberg, Robert M. Reynolds, Kara M. http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/5009 2009-02-21T08:46:10Z 2008-05-01T00:00:00Z

An Examination of Entry and Competitive Performance in Rural Banking Markets Feinberg, Robert M.; Reynolds, Kara M. This paper explores the change in the level of competition in rural banking markets since the deregulation that occurred following passage of the Riegle Neal Act of 1994. Using an empirical model that utilizes both the number of banks and the value of deposits in a cross-section of rural markets, we decompose the impact of the entry of new banks into resulting changes in per capita demand and the costs/profits of local banks in both 1994 and 2004. We conclude that the banking market is more competitive today despite the fact that the number of banks may have declined; on average fewer banks are now needed to make rural banking markets competitive than were needed in 1994. Working Paper No. 2008-05

2008-05-01T00:00:00Z Blecker, Robert A. http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/5008 2009-02-21T08:45:51Z 2008-09-01T00:00:00Z

External Shocks, Structural Change, and Economic Growth in Mexico 1979–2007 Blecker, Robert A. This paper finds that shocks to net financial inflows, world oil prices, the U.S. growth rate, and the lagged real exchange rate explain most of the fluctuations in Mexico’s annual growth since 1979. The paper also estimates how the effects of these external constraints have changed since Mexico’s liberalization policies of the late 1980s and the formation of NAFTA in 1994. Estimates of an investment function and other tests show that growth drives investment but not conversely, in the short run. Investment is driven mainly by oil prices and the accelerator effect; foreign direct investment has no significant impact. Working Paper No. 2008-04. 34 pages.

2008-09-01T00:00:00Z Sawers, Larry Stillwaggon, Eileen Hertz, Tom http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/5007 2009-02-21T08:45:56Z 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

Cofactor Infections and HIV Epidemics in Developing Countries: Implications for Treatment Sawers, Larry; Stillwaggon, Eileen; Hertz, Tom This article shows that the burden of certain tropical disease infections, after controlling for other factors, is positively correlated with HIV prevalence. Using cross-national data and multivariate linear regression analysis, we investigate the determinants of HIV prevalence in low- and middle-income countries. We begin with social and economic variables used in other crossnational studies and then incorporate data on parasitic and infectious diseases endemic in poor populations, which are found to be strongly and significantly correlated with—and are potent predictors of—HIV prevalence. The paper concludes by arguing that treating tropical diseases may be a cost-effective addon to HIV prevention and treatment programs, thus slowing the spread of HIV in disease-burdened populations. Working Paper No. 2008-03. 15 pages.

2008-01-01T00:00:00Z Swain, Ranjula Bali Floro, Maria S. http://aladinrc.wrlc.org:80/handle/1961/5006 2009-02-21T08:45:59Z 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

Effect of Microfinance on Vulnerability, Poverty and Risk in Low Income Households Swain, Ranjula Bali; Floro, Maria S. Uncertainty and unpredictability faced by low-income households increase their vulnerability making poverty even more unbearable. India’s National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)-initiated Self-Help Group (SHG) program, which is currently the largest and fastest growing microfinance program in the developing world, has been aggressively promoted as a way of combating poverty. This paper investigates whether or not SHG participation results in reducing poverty and vulnerability. A theoretical framework is developed to examine the mechanisms through which the pecuniary and non-pecuniary effects of the SHG program on the beneficiaries’ earnings and empowerment, influence their households’ ability to manage risk. Going beyond the traditional poverty estimates, we use a vulnerability measure which quantifies the welfare loss associated with poverty as well as different types of risks like aggregate and idiosyncratic risks. Applying this measure to an Indian panel survey data for 2000 and 2003, we find that SHG members have lower vulnerability as compared to a group of non-SHG (control) members. Furthermore, we find that the poverty contributes to about 80 percent of the vulnerability faced by the household followed by aggregate risk. Working paper No. 2008-02. 36 pages.

2008-01-01T00:00:00Z