When do referees shirk in a peer review process?

This note obtains conditions for existence of shirking referees in peer review process. When referees are heterogeneous say, bad (b) and good (g), only for a medium range of probability of getting a good paper p, both referees prefer reading over shirking. It never happens that b reads while g shirks. Both prefer ‘shirking and rejecting (accepting)’ if p is low (high) enough. The paper shows that a two-referee cross-examination review reduces the error of accepting a bad paper, though for a small range of probability

Recession and child labor: A theoretical analysis

Child labor (CL) has been a major concern for the developing world, especially for India with its goal towards 'inclusive growth'. However, impact (or vulnerabilities) of major domestic or external spillovers (policy related or recessionary shocks) on child labor market, in contrary to other labor markets, remain unexplored so far. This paper provides a theoretical model of the impact of recession (income shock) on household's child labor (CL) decision. Parental altruism is endogenized; as their choice of substituting child labor income by their own is endogenous. Interestingly, income shocks have ambiguous effect on CL in general, but a clear positive impact on regions with high cost of living. When wages are in inflexible such shocks, depending upon its extent, might be CL inducing as well as poverty enhancing, as in that case there may be dearth of demand for parents' labor supply that support their CL or NCL decisions. It infers that any in-kind transfer or policies such as mid-day meal that essentially reduces cost of living, is always CL reducing

Migration in a model of occupational choice

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical explanation for the empirical observation that the relative migration of unskilled (skilled) labor tends to occur from developing economies that are relatively unequal (equal). Design/methodology/approach – Wealth inequality is related with migration incentives of skilled and unskilled labor in a model of occupational choice using a two-period overlapping generations framework. Findings – It is shown that high inequality creates a disincentive to migrate for skilled labor. Too much equality however creates a disincentive to migrate for unskilled labor. Thus, a highly unequal (equal) economy sustains unskilled (skilled) labor migration only. Originality/value – Relative to the existing theoretical literature on migration, the distinguishing feature of this model is that it has entrepreneurship as an alternative occupational choice. This implies that the incentive to migrate is not affected solely by wage differentials across countries. It is shown that in a highly unequal developing economy there is no skilled migration – despite the gap between the skilled wage of the source economy and that of the foreign economy – in equilibrium.Distribution of wealth, Economic development, Jobs, Migrant workers

Technology and outsourcing: An explanation to the rising wage gap

The recent phenomenon of widening skilled-unskilled wage gap in both North and South has been either explained by a technological change or by increasing trade or globalization. The paper provides a new explanation and emphasizes that it is neither technology nor trade alone but both that have contributed to the widening wage inequality. It argues, using a two-country occupational choice model, that any technological improvement in North results in a rise in the skilled-unskilled wage gap in North via an increase in the productivity of skilled labor followed by a rise in the same in South via trade or the outsourcing activities of the northern firms. The extent of outsourcing or the number of northern firms that outsource jobs to South is endogenously determined in the model. The paper also analyzes some major economic impacts of such a technological upgradation in North on the southern economy.Occupational choice Outsourcing Technological improvement Wage gap Wealth inequality

Estimating Skill Mismatch in the Indian Labour Market: A Regional Dimension

International audienceThe article provides an overview of the very pertinent skill mismatch issue in the Indian labour market. It specifically looks into the state-wise overeducation rates, a type of vertical skill mismatch where the education level of the worker exceeds the job requirements. The article tries to provide a regional dimension to the estimates of overeducation and addresses the problem by linking it to the incidence of vocational training among employees. Given that vocational training plays an important role in imparting industry-relevant skills, the article recommends its expansion as a necessary factor for curbing overeducation in states lagging in the industrial sector. Using the recent Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data, the article unveils trends in recent years where, though the propensity to take vocational training has increased, it is not sufficient to meet the industry’s demands. Also, the stunted proportion of individuals with government-sponsored vocational training signals either inferior quality or low access. The later fact is reinstated when we look at the bias towards higher income households in undertaking such training. Apart from the need to address the supply side of skilled labour, by making training programmes more inclusive, there is also a need to address the demand side to ensure proper alignment between the skills derived from training programmes and those required by the industry. Besides, given the huge informal labour market, there is an urgent need for proper certification and recognition of skills derived from training programmes to ensure their productive employment. The article shows a severe imbalance between the demand and supply sides and calls for active participation of different stakeholders, including the private sector, to address the problem. In this regard, the article shows instances of successful implementation of vocational training facilities in other countries, which can form a basis for rolling out well-defined and coherent programmes

A Comprehensive Review on Third-Generation Photovoltaic Technologies

The renewable energy industry has revolutionized due to photovoltaic (PV) technologies, which offer a clean and sustainable alternative to conventional energy sources. Third-generation photovoltaic technologies refer to a group of emerging PV technologies aiming to surpass the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of traditional silicon-based solar cells. Different ceramic materials have also been investigated for use in these advanced PV technologies. This review examines the science, current state, and advancements of third-generation PV systems for wide-scale implementation. The first section of this study provides an overview of the development of PV technologies from the first to the third generation, highlighting the most significant novel developments made at each step. Organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), and perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are discussed here as a few new technologies that constitute the third generation, also known as the next generation of advanced PV. This review presents how these devices can be used in specialized settings, including indoor and low-light environments, thereby expanding the range of energy harvesting potential. The brief history of these emerging technologies, their current status, future developments, and key challenges are discussed in this review paper

Reimagining India's urban future: A framework for securing high-growth, low-carbon, climate-resilient urban development in India

India is at the cusp of a major urban transition. In less than twenty years, India's urban population is expected to nearly double from 377 million today to over 600 million. Indian cities already contribute an estimated two-thirds of India's GDP, and this number is expected to rise to 75% by 2031. With 70% of all new jobs expected to come from urban areas, accommodating a growing urban workforce will require large investments in new urban spaces. How prepared is India to deal with this rapid, inevitable urban expansion? The evidence on the ground suggests that the costs of India's current pattern of urbanization are unsustainably high. Deep existing deficits in basic urban services such as housing, transit, water, sanitation and energy have led to a plethora of urban woes. These range from the economic, institutional and carbon costs of managing unplanned growth, congestion, poor quality of life, burgeoning slums and pollution levels that have come to threaten basic public health. [...

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Not AvailableIndigenous folk rice cultivars often possess remarkable but unrevealed potential in terms of nutritional attributes and biotic stress tolerance. The unique cooking qualities and blissful aroma of many of these landraces make it an attractive low-cost alternative to high priced Basmati rice. Sub-Himalayan Terai region is bestowed with great agrobiodiversity in traditional heirloom rice cultivars. In the present study, ninety-nine folk rice cultivars from these regions were collected, purified and characterized for morphological and yield traits. Based on traditional importance and presence of aroma, thirty-five genotypes were selected and analyzed for genetic diversity using micro-satellite marker system. The genotypes were found to be genetically distinct and of high nutritive value. The resistant starch content, amylose content, glycemic index and antioxidant potential of these genotypes represented wide variability and ‘Kataribhog’, ‘Sadanunia’, ‘Chakhao’ etc. were identified as promising genotypes in terms of different nutritional attributes. These cultivars were screened further for resistance against blast disease in field trials and cultivars like ‘Sadanunia’, ‘T4M-3-5’, ‘Chakhao Sampark’ were found to be highly resistant to the blast disease whereas ‘Kalonunia’, ‘Gobindabhog’, ‘Konkanijoha’ were found to be highly susceptible. Principal Component analysis divided the genotypes in distinct groups for nutritional potential and blast tolerance. The resistant and susceptible genotypes were screened for the presence of the blast resistant pi genes and association analysis was performed with disease tolerance. Finally, a logistic model based on phenotypic traits for prediction of the blast susceptibility of the genotypes is proposed with more than 80% accuracy.ICAR, Govt. of India under Niche area of Excellence (NAE) scheme with project reference number Edn.5(12)/2017-EP&H