Who Gains from Tariff Escalation?

escalation, tariff, developing country, WTO

Women's Status and Children's Food Security in Pakistan

This study examines the role of women's intra-household status relative to men in children's food security in Pakistan. Data from the 1991 Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PIHS) yield a measure of evidence of a positive relation between women's intra-household status and children's food security.Pakistan, women, children, food security, anthropometric

Household Access to Microcredit and Children's Food Security in Rural Malawi: A Gender Perspective

Using data from the 1995 Malawi Financial Markets and Food Security Survey, this study seeks to discover if women's relative control over household resources or intra-household bargaining power in rural Malawi, gauged by their access to microcredit, plays a role in children's food security, measured by anthropometric nutritional Z-scores. Access to microcredit is assessed in a novel way as self-reported credit limits at microcredit organizations. Since credit limits, that is, the maximum sums that might be borrowed, hinge upon supply-side factors such as the availability of credit programs and the financial resources of lenders, it is plausible they are more exogenous than demand driven loan uptake or participation in microcredit organizations, the common ways of gauging access to microcredit. It is indicated that whereas the access to microcredit of adult female household members improves 0–6 year old girls', though not boys', long-term nutrition as measured by height-for-age, the access to microcredit of male members has no such salutary effect on either girls' or boys' nutritional status. This may be interpreted as evidence of a positive relation between women's relative control over household resources and young girls' food security. That women's access to microcredit improves young girls' long-term nutrition may be explained in part by the subsidiary finding that it raises household expenditure on food.intra-household distribution, bargaining, microcredit, gender, Malawi

Looking for Answers to the Food Security Problem: India under Current Compulsions

food insecurity, public works programmes, poverty alleviation, cereal consumption

Rights-based Approach to Development: Lessons from the Right to Food Movement in India

In April 2001 the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) approached the Supreme Court of India arguing that the government has a duty to provide greater relief in the context of mass hunger. The litigation has now become the best known precedent on the right to food internationally. This paper reviews the litigation with a view to understand various strategies used by the litigants to create and enforce far-reaching entitlements in a near legal vacuum on the right to food. This is followed by a discussion on the lessons from this case for a rights-based approach to development at large.right to food, development, public interest litigation, food policy, law

Household Access to Microcredit and Children?s Food Security in Rural Malawi: A Gender Perspective

Using data from the 1995 Malawi Financial Markets and Food Security Survey, this study seeks to discover if women?s relative control over household resources or intra-household bargaining power in rural Malawi, gauged by their access to microcredit, plays a role in children?s food security, measured by anthropometric nutritional Z-scores. Access to microcredit is assessed in a novel way as self-reported credit limits at microcredit organizations. Since credit limits, that is, the maximum sums that might be borrowed, hinge upon supply-side factors such as the availability of credit programmes and the financial resources of lenders, it is plausible they are more exogenous than demand driven loan uptake or participation in microcredit organizations, the common ways of gauging access to microcredit. It is indicated that whereas the access to microcredit of adult female household members improves 0- to 6-year old girls?, though not boys?, long-term nutrition as measured by height-for-age, the access to microcredit of males has no such salutary effect on either genders? nutritional status. This may be interpreted as evidence of a positive relation between women?s relative control over household resources and young girls? food security. That women?s access to microcredit improves young girls? long-term nutrition may be explained in part by the subsidiary finding that it raises household expenditure on food.microcredit, gender, food security, Malawi

The Corporate Debt Market: A Firm-Level Panel Study for India

corporate debt, leverage, manufacturing firms, panel data, India

Urbanization and the South Asian Enigma: A Case Study of India

South Asia has the highest rate of child malnutrition in the world, despite rapid economic growth compared to other regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. Known as the ‘South Asian enigma’ this feature is partly attributed to the low status of women in South Asian societies. This paper examines this tenet in the context of India, with particular emphasis on possible differences between rural and urban scenarios. The empirical evidence reveals some important differences, which are relevant for policies relating to women’s empowerment against a backdrop of rapid urbanization.urbanization, women, malnutrition, slums, India

Finance and Growth: An Empirical Assessment of the Indian Economy

This study is an attempt towards an integration of financial development and its effect on the real sector via the transmission mechanism with special reference to developing and emerging market economies. It finds two cointegrating relations between the financial development, output growth and allocation of credit which makes sense from the standpoint of economic theory. The paper also addresses the issue of causality between finance and growth for the aggregate and broad sectors of the economy. The relations, however, are not similar across the broad sectors of the economy and thus have separate policy implications for different sectors.financial institutions, financial development, transmission mechanism, credit, cointegration