Using rapid city surveys to inform municipal social policy : an application in Cali, Colombia

Many developing countries assign local governments increasing responsibilities in fighting poverty. This requires local social policy to go beyond the execution of centrally designed and funded education and health programs. Hence, local governments and their partners have both an opportunity and a need to analyze key local bottlenecks for poverty reduction and social development. Drawing on an example from Cali, Colombia, The author describes a tool for such policy formulation at the local level-a rapid city household survey. Although the survey uses pre-coded and closed- ended questions, it is contextual in the sense that it is tailor-made to social and economic conditions in Cali. The survey places particular emphasis on collecting key quantitative information, such as household welfare and service access, as well as qualitative information, such as service evaluations and population priorities. Combining the quantitative and qualitative data allows, for example, the mapping of population budget priorities or service satisfaction levels by welfare group. Rapid city household surveys could provide an important tool for the development of local social policies.Health Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Public Health Promotion,Health Systems Development&Reform,Poverty Assessment,Health Economics&Finance,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Environmental Economics&Policies,Governance Indicators

Trade and growth in Ecuador : a partial equilibrium view

When the outbreak of the debt crisis in 1982 halted private international capital flows to most developing countries, it was not easy for Ecuador to cope with the changed international circumstances. Investments were largely in imported machinery as domestic capital goods production was in its infancy. Exports were concentrated in petroleum and several agricultural products and could not be counted on to increase foreign exchange in the short run. The trade balance was improved in the first half of the 1980s by reducing imports. The author examines the behavior of the Ecuadoran economy in a period of scarce foreign exchange. He uses a small, econometrically specified"trade and growth"model of the Ecuadoran economy to illustrate the importance of trade elasticities. He estimates trade elasticities for Ecuador and integrates them into a small simulation model of Ecuador's supply side. He uses a nested constant-elasticity-of-substitution production function to derive factor input demands for two types of imported goods important in Ecuador: imported intermediate goods and imported machinery. Elasticity estimates of imported factor of production are very low. They characterize both types of imports as complements to domestic factors. The author uses the econometrically specified model to examine the connection between imported factors of production and output capacity. He analyzed trade balance responses to a terms-of-trade shock, a devaluation, and an increase in world demand. Low trade elasticities on the import side make the economy vulnerable to external shocks. The low elasticities necessitate large relative price shifts (through devaluation) to improve the trade balance if growth-reducing policies are to be avoided in times of scarce foreign exchange. A deterioration in terms of trade has a pronounced negative impact on the trade balance. To the extent that trade elasticities remain low in the 1990s, events such as a commodity price decline, a renewed credit squeeze, or increased protectionism against Ecuadoran exports - like the recent European Union quotas on banana imports - can translate into renewed domestic supply disturbances. Policies that lead to diversification of exports and higher price responsiveness for both imports and exports would reduce the vulnerability of Ecuador's economy to external shocks.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Markets and Market Access,Access to Markets

Distinguishing between types of data and methods of collecting them

The author examines the role of different data collection methods--including the types of data they produce--in the analysis of social phenomena in developing countries. He points out that one confusing factor in the"quantitative-qualitative"debate is that a distinction is not clearly made between methods of data collection used and types of data generated. He maintains the divide between quantitative and qualitative types of data but analyzes methods according to their"contextuality": the degree to which they try to understand human behavior in the social, cultural, economic, and political environment of a given place. He emphasizes that it is most fruitful to think of both methods and data as lying on a continuum stretching from more to less contextual methodology and from more to less qualitative data output. Using characteristic information needs for health planning derived from data on the use of health services, he shows that each combination of method (more or less contextual) and data (more or less qualitative) is a unique primary source that can fulfill different information requirements. He concludes that: 1) Certain information about health utilization can be obtained only through contextual methods--in which case strict statistical representability must give way to inductive conclusions, assessments of internal validity, and replicability of results. 2) Often contextual methods are needed to design appropriate noncontextual data collection tools. 3) Even where noncontextual data collection methods are needed, contextual methods can play an important role in assessing the validity of the results at the local level. 4) In cases where different data collection methods can be used to probe general results, the methods can--and need to be--formally linked.Early Child and Children's Health,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Health Systems Development&Reform,Housing&Human Habitats,Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Poverty Assessment,ICT Policy and Strategies,Health Systems Development&Reform,Scientific Research&Science Parks

With the help of one's neighbors - externalities in the production of nutrition in Peru

Both public, and private resources contribute to children's nutritional status. And investments by one household may improve health in other neighborhood households, by improving the sanitation environment, and increasing shared knowledge. The authors measure the externalities of investments in nutrition, by indicatingthe impact of women's education in Peruvian neighborhoods, on children's nutrition in other households, after controlling for those households'education, and income. They find that in rural areas this shared knowledge has a significant impact on nutrition. The coefficient of an increase in the average education in the neighborhood is appreciably larger than the coefficient of education in isolation. That is, educating women in rural areas, improves all children's nutritional status, even for those whose caregivers are themselves not educated. In both urban, and rural areas, they observe externalities from investments in sanitation made by neighboring households. They do not find the same externalities in the case of investments, only in the household water supply. There is a direct link between the caregivers'education, and their children's health status. Education transmits information about health, and nutrition. It teaches numeracy, and literacy, which help caregivers read labels, and instructions. Bu exposing caregivers to new environments, it makes them receptive to modern medical treatment. It gives women the confidence to participate in decision-making within a household, and it gives men, and women the confidence to interact with health care professionals.Health Economics&Finance,Urban Services to the Poor,Urban Services to the Poor,Decentralization,Public Health Promotion,Urban Services to the Poor,Urban Services to the Poor,Health Economics&Finance,Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions,Town Water Supply and Sanitation

Bundling of Services and Household Welfare in Developing Countries Using Panel Data: The Case of Peru

Using panel data for Peru for the period 1994-2000, we find that when households receive two or more services jointly, the welfare increases of the household, as measured by changes in consumption, are larger than when services are provided separately. Such an increase appears to be more than proportional, as F-tests on the coefficients of the corresponding regressors confirm. Thus, we find that bundling of services may help realize welfare effects.

Combining census and survey data to study spatial dimensions of poverty

Poverty maps, providing information on the spatial distribution of living standards, are an important tool for policy making and economic research. Policymakers can use such maps to allocate transfers and inform policy design. The maps can also be used to investigate the relationship between growth and distribution inside a country, thereby complementing research using cross-county regressions. The development of detailed poverty maps is difficult because of data constraints. Household surveys contain data on income or consumption but are typically small. Census data cover a large sample but do not generally contain the right information. Poverty maps based on census data but constructed in an ad-hoc manner can be unreliable. The authors demonstrate how sample survey data and census data can be combined to yield predicted poverty rates for all households covered by the census. This represents an improvement over ad hoc poverty maps. However, standard errors on the estimated poverty rates are not negligible, so additional efforts to cross-check results are warranted.Health Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Services&Transfers to Poor,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Public Health Promotion,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Health Economics&Finance,Poverty Assessment,Environmental Economics&Policies,VN-Acb Mis -- IFC-00535908

Rural poverty in Ecuador : a qualitative assessment

A complement to recent in-depth quantitative analyses of rural poverty in Ecuador, this is a report on the results of the Rural Qualitative Assessment in living conditions in rural communities in all three Ecuador's diverse regions. Using a variety of qualitative techniques, the research aimed to assess what poverty means to marginalized rural families, what kind of survival strategies families use in times of hardship, and what these families believe is needed to alleviate poverty. Several key messages emerge: 1) rural communities with the same characteristics (such as area, soil quality, and ethnic background) are actually very heterogeneous in their command of land resources, definition of well-being, range of economic activities, and recommendations for what is needed to overcome poverty; 2) in times of hardship, families have complemented income for traditional sources with earnings from new activities. In addition to migration, which plays a pivotal role in all communities, piecework and weaving are important to income generation in the Sierra, small businesses are important in the Costa, and increased production of cash crops is important in the Oriente. Families have also reduced expenditures on clothing, fiestas, and food. Spending less on food is alarming as malnutrition rates in rural Ecuador are already very high; and 3) poor rural families express very practical solutions to overcoming poverty. They don't demand sweeping changes. Overwhelmingly, they suggest measures that will make available land and human resources more productive. Almost half the suggestions from poor rural families have to do with infrastructure. Many families also want training courses (both agricultural and nonagricultural).Public Health Promotion,Environmental Economics&Policies,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Water Conservation,Environmental Economics&Policies,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Housing&Human Habitats

Poverty Measurement and Analysis

This chapter offers a primer on poverty, inequality, and vulnerability analysis and a guide to resources on this topic. It is written for decision makers who want to define the type of information they need to monitor poverty reduction and make appropriate policy decisions and for the technical experts in charge of the analysis. The chapter takes a broad look at tools for analysis and provides a brief introduction to each topic. It also outlines why certain information is essential in policymaking and how this information can be generated. This unpublished version of the paper in Russian was translated from an English version published in the World Bank's Poverty Reduction Strategy Sourcebook.Poverty; inequality; vulnerability

Poverty Measurement and Analysis

This chapter offers a primer on poverty, inequality, and vulnerability analysis and a guide to resources on this topic. It is written for decision makers who want to define the type of information they need to monitor poverty reduction and make appropriate policy decisions and for the technical experts in charge of the analysis. The chapter takes a broad look at tools for analysis and provides a brief introduction to each topic. It also outlines why certain information is essential in policymaking and how this information can be generated. This unpublished version of the paper in Spanish was translated from an English version published in the World Bank's Poverty Reduction Strategy Sourcebook.Poverty; inequality; vulnerability

Poverty Measurement and Analysis

This chapter offers a primer on poverty, inequality, and vulnerability analysis and a guide to resources on this topic. It is written for decision makers who want to define the type of information they need to monitor poverty reduction and make appropriate policy decisions and for the technical experts in charge of the analysis. The chapter takes a broad look at tools for analysis and provides a brief introduction to each topic. It also outlines why certain information is essential in policymaking and how this information can be generated. This unpublished version of the paper in French was translated from an English version published in the World Bank's Poverty Reduction Strategy Sourcebook.Poverty; inequality; vulnerability