Formally insuring the informally insured

Rainfall is critical for the livelihoods of millions of Indians – yet many have no formal insurance if the rains fail. This column looks at what happens when a new formal insurance policy based on the weather is offered at random to farmers and farm workers across several states in India

Migrating Away from a Seasonal Famine: A Randomized Intervention in Bangladesh

The rural northwestern districts of Bangladesh, home to 10 million people, experience a preharvest seasonal famine, locally known as Monga, with disturbing regularity. Surprisingly, outmigration from the Monga-prone districts is not all that common. This research tests whether migration could play any role in Monga mitigation. We implemented a randomized intervention that provided monetary incentives to individuals in Monga-prone regions to seasonally outmigrate during the pre-harvest season. We experimentally varied the conditionalities attached to the incentives, such as a requirement to form a group and migrate jointly (as opposed to migrating individually), sometimes assigning migration partners and the destination, and varying group size. This paper reports just the first stage results of this randomized intervention project, where we focus on household responsiveness to our incentive offers in terms of their decision to migrate. Our cash and credit incentives had a very large effect on migration propensity: over 40% of those receiving an incentive choose to migrate, whereas only 13% of control households do. This large effect is consistent with the presence of savings or borrowing constraints for these households, since providing information on wages and employment conditions at destinations only has a negligible 2 percentage point impact on the propensity to migrate relative to the control group.Monga, famine, Bangladesh, migration

Migrating Away from a Seasonal Famine: A Randomized Intervention in Bangladesh

The rural northwestern districts of Bangladesh, home to 10 million people, experience a preharvest seasonal famine, locally known as Monga, with disturbing regularity. Surprisingly, outmigration from the Monga-prone districts is not all that common. This research tests whether migration could play any role in Monga mitigation. We implemented a randomized intervention that provided monetary incentives to individuals in Monga-prone regions to seasonally outmigrate during the pre-harvest season. We experimentally varied the conditionalities attached to the incentives, such as a requirement to form a group and migrate jointly (as opposed to migrating individually), sometimes assigning migration partners and the destination, and varying group size. This paper reports just the first stage results of this randomized intervention project, where we focus on household responsiveness to our incentive offers in terms of their decision to migrate. Our cash and credit incentives had a very large effect on migration propensity: over 40% of those receiving an incentive choose to migrate, whereas only 13% of control households do. This large effect is consistent with the presence of savings or borrowing constraints for these households, since providing information on wages and employment conditions at destinations only has a negligible 2 percentage point impact on the propensity to migrate relative to the control group.Monga, famine, Bangladesh, migration

Experimental enhancement for electric properties of polyethylene nanocomposites under thermal conditions

Polymer properties can be experimentally tailored by adding small amounts of different nanoparticles for enhancing their mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. The work in this paper investigates enhancing the electric and dielectric properties of Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), and High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) polymer materials with cheap nanoparticles. Certain percentages of clay and fumed silica nanoparticles are used to enhance electric and dielectric properties of polyethylene nanocomposites films. By using the Dielectric Spectroscopy; the electric and dielectric properties of each polyethylene nanocomposites have been measured with and without nanoparticles at various frequencies up to 1kHz under different thermal conditions (20°C and 60°C). And so, we were successful in specifying the optimal nanoparticles types and their concentrations for the control of electric and dielectric characterization

Can Network Theory-based Targeting Increase Technology Adoption?

In order to induce farmers to adopt a productive new agricultural technology, we apply simple and complex contagion diffusion models on rich social network data from 200 villages in Malawi to identify seed farmers to target and train on the new technology. A randomized controlled trial compares these theory-driven network targeting approaches to simpler strategies that either rely on a government extension worker or an easily measurable proxy for the social network (geographic distance between households) to identify seed farmers. Our results indicate that technology diffusion is characterized by a complex contagion learning environment in which most farmers need to learn from multiple people before they adopt themselves. Network theory based targeting can out-perform traditional approaches to extension, and we identify methods to realize these gains at low cost to policymakers. Keywords: Social Learning, Agricultural Technology Adoption, Complex Contagion, Malawi JEL Classification Codes: O16, O13Comment: 61 page

Experimental Dielectric Measurements for Cost-fewer Polyvinyl Chloride Nanocomposites

Polymer nanocomposites possess promising high performances as engineering materials, if they are prepared and fabricated properly. In this research, it has been processed samples of nanocomposite polymers as electrical insulating materials for application on the electric power cables by using the latest techniques of nanotechnology. This paper has been investigated enhanced dielectric and electrical properties of Polyvinyl chloride PVC as matrix have shown that trapping properties are highly modified by the presence of costless nanofillers clay and fumed silica. An experimental work for dielectric loss and capacitance of the new nanocomposite materials have been investigated and compared with unfilled industrial materials. It is found that a good correlation exists in respect of capacitance and dielectric loss values measured with percentage of nanofillers. Thus, it has been investigated the influence of costless nanofillers material and its concentration on dielectric properties of industrial polymers-based composite systems. A comparative study is performed between the unfilled base polymers, the systems containing one type of nanoparticles clay or fumed silica inside the host polymer with various concentrations

Thermal experimental analysis for dielectric characterization of high density polyethylene nanocomposites

The importance of nanoparticles in controlling physical properties of polymeric nanocomposite materials leads us to study effects of these nanoparticles on electric and dielectric properties of polymers in industry In this research, the dielectric behaviour of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) nanocomposites materials that filled with nanoparticles of clay or fumed silica has been investigated at various frequencies (10 Hz-1 kHz) and temperatures (20-60°C). Dielectric spectroscopy has been used to characterize ionic conduction, then, the effects of nanoparticles concentration on the dielectric losses and capacitive charge of the new nanocomposites can be stated. Capacitive charge and loss tangent in high density polyethylene nanocomposites are measured by dielectric spectroscopy. Different dielectric behaviour has been observed depending on type and concentration of nanoparticles under variant thermal conditions

Innovative earthing systems for electric power substations using conductive nanoparticles

The earthing system is very important to safe human’s lives and protect power system from normal and abnormal faults. High soil resistivity regions is the main problem of installation the earthing systems in electric power substations to pass the current through the earth's surface. This paper has been overcome on high soil resistivity regions by penetrating conductive nanoparticles to have extremely low grounding resistance. Moreover, it has been succeeded to examine the methodology of the proposed Nano-Tech earthing systems in case of single rods, multiple rods and grids. Also, it has been defined optimal types and concentrations of nanoparticles for Nano-Tech grounding system to provide excellence protection for electrical substations with respect to built beneath of soil where substation is located. A comparative study has been discussed and analyzed the results of traditional and nanotechnology grounding systems

The political economy of health services provision and access in Brazil

The authors examine the impact of local politics and government structure on the allocation of publicly subsidized (SUS) health services across municipios (counties) in Brazil, and on the probability that uninsured individuals who require medical attention actually receive access to those health services. Using data from the 1998 PNAD survey they demonstrate that higher per capita levels of SUS doctors, nurses, and clinic rooms increase the probability that an uninsured individual gains access to health services when he, or she seeks it. The authors find that an increase in income inequality, an increase in the percentage of the population that votes, and an increase in the percentage of votes going to left-leaning candidates are each associated with higher levels of public health services. The per capita provision of doctors, nurses, and clinics is also greater in counties with a popular local leader, and in counties where the county mayor and state governor are politically aligned. Administrative decentralization of health services to the county decreases provision levels, and reduces access to services by the uninsured, unless it is accompanied by good local governance.Health Systems Development&Reform,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Public Health Promotion,Regional Rural Development,Gender and Health,Health Economics&Finance,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Health Systems Development&Reform,Regional Rural Development,Gender and Health

The Economics of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poor Countries

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended health and living standards around the world. This article provides an interim overview of these effects, with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Economists have explained how the pandemic is likely to have differential consequences for LMICs, and demand distinct policy responses, compared to rich countries. We survey the rapidly expanding body of empirical research that documents its many adverse economic and non-economic effects in terms of living standards, education, health, and gender equality, which appear to be unprecedented in depth and scale. We also review research on successful and failed policy responses, including the failure to ensure widespread vaccine coverage in LMICs, which is needed to end the pandemic. We close with a discussion of implications for public policy in LMICs, and for the institutions of international governance, given the likelihood of future pandemics and other major shocks (e.g., climate)