Location decisions and nongovernmental organization motivation : evidence from rural Bangladesh

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play an increasingly important role in development assistance, but little systematic evidence is available about their objectives and choices in developing countries. The authors develop two stylized accounts of NGO motivation: one in which donor contracts determine location decisions, and another in which altruistic motivations are the principal determinants. The authors then use data from the 1995 and 2000 rounds of the Bangladesh Households and Income and Expenditure Survey to analyze location decisions of NGO programs established between those two sample years. The data show that net change in a community's NGO program was unrelated to the community's need and that NGOs were ready to establish new programs in new areas without being concerned of duplicating the efforts of other NGOs. The findings suggest that contracts with donors, implicit or explicit, probably play a crucial role in determining the incentives that affect NGO program location choices.Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Insurance&Risk Mitigation,ICT Policy and Strategies,Poverty Impact Evaluation,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,ICT Policy and Strategies,Non Governmental Organizations,Community Development and Empowerment

Rising food prices and household welfare: Evidence from Brazil in 2008

Food price inflation in Brazil in the twelve months to June 2008 was 18 percent, while overall inflation was 5.3 percent. This paper uses spatially disaggregated monthly data on consumer prices and two different household surveys to estimate the welfare consequences of these food price increases, and their distribution across households. Because Brazil is a large food producer, with a predominantly wage-earning agricultural labor force, our estimates include general equilibrium effects on market and transfer incomes, as well as the standard estimates of changes in consumer surplus. While the expenditure (or consumer surplus) effects were large, negative and markedly regressive everywhere, the market income effect was positive and progressive, particularly in rural areas. Because of this effect on the rural poor, and of the partial protection afforded by increases in two large social assistance benefits, the overall impact of higher food prices in Brazil was U-shaped, with the middle-income groups suffering larger proportional losses than the very poor. Nevertheless, since Brazil is 80 percent urban, higher food prices still led to a greater incidence and depth of poverty at the national level.Food prices, welfare, poverty, inequality, price change incidence curve, Brazil.

Rising Food Prices and Household Welfare: Evidence from Brazil in 2008

Food price inflation in Brazil in the twelve months to June 2008 was 18 percent, while overall inflation was 5.3 percent. This paper uses spatially disaggregated monthly data on consumer prices and two different household surveys to estimate the welfare consequences of these food price increases, and their distribution across households. Because Brazil is a large food producer, with a predominantly wage-earning agricultural labor force, our estimates include general equilibrium effects on market and transfer incomes, as well as the standard estimates of changes in consumer surplus. While the expenditure (or consumer surplus) effects were large, negative and markedly regressive everywhere, the market income effect was positive and progressive, particularly in rural areas. Because of this effect on the rural poor, and of the partial protection afforded by increases in two large social assistance benefits, the overall impact of higher food prices in Brazil was U-shaped, with the middle-income groups suffering larger proportional losses than the very poor. Nevertheless, since Brazil is 80 percent urban, higher food prices still led to a greater incidence and depth of poverty at the national level.food prices, welfare, poverty, inequality, price change incidence curve, Brazil

Rising food prices and household welfare : evidence from Brazil in 2008

Food price inflation in Brazil in the twelve months to June 2008 was 18 percent, while overall inflation was seven percent. Using spatially disaggregated monthly data on consumer prices and two different household surveys, we estimate the welfare consequences of these food price increases, and their distribution across households. Because Brazil is a large food producer, with a predominantly wage-earning agricultural labor force, our estimates include general equilibrium effects on market and transfer incomes, as well as the standard estimates of changes in consumer surplus. While the expenditure (or consumer surplus) effects were large, negative and markedly regressive everywhere, the market income effect was positive and progressive, particularly in rural areas. Because of this effect on the rural poor, and of the partial protection afforded by increases in two large social assistance benefits, the overall impact of higher food prices in Brazil was U-shaped, with middle-income groups suffering larger proportional losses than the very poor. Nevertheless, since Brazil is 80 percent urban, higher food prices still led to a greater incidence and depth of poverty at the national level.Rural Poverty Reduction,Markets and Market Access,Food&Beverage Industry,Regional Economic Development

Journal of Population Economics

This paper uses a general equilibrium model of marriage and divorce to assess how public policies on parental leave and leave benefits affect intra-household decision making, family structure, intergenerational mobility, and the distribution of income. The benchmark economy is calibrated to US data to replicate some characteristics relevant to the interaction between the marriage and labor markets. The effects of unpaid leave, paid leave benefits, and mandated leave on human capital investment, distribution of income, and welfare are then analyzed

Location Decisions and Nongovernmental Organization Motivation : Evidence from Rural Bangladesh

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play an increasingly important role in development assistance, but little systematic evidence is available about their objectives and choices in developing countries. The authors develop two stylized accounts of NGO motivation: one in which donor contracts determine location decisions, and another in which altruistic motivations are the principal determinants. The authors then use data from the 1995 and 2000 rounds of the Bangladesh Households and Income and Expenditure Survey to analyze location decisions of NGO programs established between those two sample years. The data show that net change in a community's NGO program was unrelated to the community's need and that NGOs were ready to establish new programs in new areas without being concerned of duplicating the efforts of other NGOs. The findings suggest that contracts with donors, implicit or explicit, probably play a crucial role in determining the incentives that affect NGO program location choices