Spatial inequalities explained - Evidence from Burkina Faso

The literature shows that regional disparities in growth and poverty are often relatively high, that these regional disparities do not necessarily disappear as the economies grow and develop and that these disparities are itself in many cases an important driver of the overall performance of an economy. In this paper we make use of the advantage of a multilevel random coefficient model to explain spatial disparities in incomes among Burkinab`e households. Our findings show that it is not a geographical concentration of people with poor endowments that make areas poor in Burkina Faso. Household income disparities are largely driven by differences in neighborhood endowments and to a smaller extent by provincial or regional characteristics. We conclude that the policy should target small scale geographical units, such as villages. Providing infrastructure, enhancing the functioning of labor markets and fostering demand for education can compensate for climatical disadvantages.Spatial inequality, poverty, multilevel modeling, decomposition, Sub-Saharan Africa

Robust Multiperiod Poverty Comparisons

We propose a methodology for comparing poverty over multiple periods across time and space without arbitrarily aggregating income over various years or relying on arbitrarily specified poverty lines. Following Duclos et al. (2006a), we use the multivariate stochastic dominance methodology to create dominance surfaces for different time spans. We elaborate the method for the bi-dimensional case, using income observed over two periods, one at the beginning and one at the end of a time span, as dimensions. We also embed in this framework a new concept of chronic and transient poverty. We illustrate our approach by performing poverty comparisons using data for Indonesia and Peru. --Chronic Poverty,Multiperiod Poverty,Poverty Dominance,Poverty Dynamics,Transient Poverty

Robust Multiperiod Poverty Comparisons

We propose a new methodology for comparing poverty over multiple periods across time and space that does not arbitrarily aggregate income over various years or rely on arbitrarily specified poverty lines or poverty indices. Following Duclos et al. (2006a), we use the multivariate stochastic dominance methodology to create dominance surfaces for different time spans. We elaborate the method first for the bidimensional case, using as dimensions income observed over two periods: one at the beginning and one at the end of a time span. Subsequently, we extend it to the case where incomes are observed over n-periods. We illustrate our approach by performing poverty comparisons using data for Indonesia and Peru.Multiperiod Poverty, Poverty Dominance, Poverty Dynamics, Chronic Poverty

Low Malnutrition but High Mortality: Explaining the Paradox of the Lake Victoria Region

Exploiting DHS data from 235 regions in 29 Sub-Saharan Africa countries, we find that the combination of low levels of malnutrition together with dramatically high rates of mortality, encountered in Kenya\'s Lake Victoria territory, is unique for Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper explores the causes of this paradox for the Kenyan context. Our identification strategy consists of two parts. First of all, we apply multilevel regression models to control simultaneously for family and community clustering of the observed malnutrition and mortality outcomes. Secondly, to address unobserved but correlated factors, we exploit information from GIS and malaria databases to construct variables that capture additional components of children\'s geographic, political and cultural environment. Our analysis reveals that beneficial agricultural conditions and feeding practices lead to the observed sound anthropometric outcomes around Lake Victoria. In contrast, high mortality rates rest upon an adverse disease environment (malaria prevalence, water pollution, HIV rates) and a policy neglect (underprovision of health care services). Nonetheless, a significant effect of the local ethnic group, the Luo, on mortality remains.Child mortality, undernutrition, poverty, multilevel modeling, Sub-Saharan Africa

Low Malnutrition but High Mortality: Explaining the Paradox of the Lake Victoria Region

Exploiting DHS data from 235 regions in 29 Sub-Saharan Africa countries, we find that the combination of low levels of malnutrition together with dramatically high rates of mortality, encountered in Kenya's Lake Victoria territory, is unique for Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper explores the causes of this paradox for the Kenyan context. Our identification strategy consists of two parts. First of all, we apply multilevel regression models to control simultaneously for family and community clustering of the observed malnutrition and mortality outcomes. Secondly, to address unobserved but correlated factors, we exploit information from GIS and malaria databases to construct variables that capture additional components of children's geographic, political and cultural environment. Our analysis reveals that beneficial agricultural conditions and feeding practices lead to the observed sound anthropometric outcomes around Lake Victoria. In contrast, high mortality rates rest upon an adverse disease environment (malaria prevalence, water pollution, HIV rates) and a policy neglect (underprovision of health care services). Nonetheless, a significant effect of the local ethnic group, the Luo, on mortality remains. --Child mortality,undernutrition,poverty,multilevel modeling,Sub-Saharan Africa

Econometric Analysis in Poverty Research

Poverty and inequality persist in many regions of the developing world. This may be due mainly to an ineffective targeting of policies to address the root causes of poverty. Sustainable policy interventions are in need of reliable concepts of poverty and of a thorough understanding of the underlying mechanism that lead to such deprivation. The three essays of this book add to the debate concerning appropriate statistical tools in empirical development economics. The work proposes specific methodologies to analyze the extent of poverty and its underlying factors based on recent household surveys. The first chapter deals with a concept of poverty comparisons when panel data is at hand. The second chapter studies the determinants of spatial inequality using multilevel modelling. The third chapter analyzes the relation between a child’s nutritional status and its survival probability

Selbständigkeit in Europa 1991 - 2003 : Empirische Evidenz mit Länderdaten

In dieser Studie werden ausgewählte makroökonomische Determinanten der Anzahl der Selbständigen in fünfzehn Ländern Europas untersucht. Datenbasis sind die Arbeitskräfteerhebungen der Europäischen Union für die Jahre 1991 – 2003. Ausgangspunkt der Studie ist der Rückgang der Anzahl der Selbständigen in diesem Zeitraum, bei gleichzeitigem Rückgang der Anzahl der Arbeitslosen und einer Zunahme des Bruttoinlandsprodukts pro Kopf. Paneldatenanalysen geben einen Hinweis darauf, dass sowohl die Anzahl der Arbeitslosen wie auch der Arbeitnehmer die Anzahl der Selbständigen erhöht, wohingegen das Bruttoinlandsprodukt pro Kopf einen negativen Einfluss ausübt, insbesondere auf die Anzahl der Einpersonenunternehmen. Ein höherer Realzins reduziert die Anzahl der Selbständigen, ebenso wie höhere durchschnittliche Steuern

Spatial inequalities explained: evidence from Burkina Faso

Empirical evidence suggests that regional disparities in incomes are often very high, that these disparities do not necessarily disappear as economies grow and that these disparities are itself an important driver of growth. We use a novel approach based on multilevel modeling to decompose the sources of spatial disparities in incomes among households in Burkina Faso. We show that spatial disparities are not only driven by the spatial concentration of households with particular endowments but to a large extent also by disparities in community endowments. Climatic differences across regions do also matter, but to a much smaller extent

Selbständigkeit in Europa 1991 - 2003: Empirische Evidenz mit Länderdaten

In dieser Studie werden ausgewählte makroökonomische Determinanten der Anzahl der Selbständigen in fünfzehn Ländern Europas untersucht. Datenbasis sind die Arbeitskräfteerhebungen der Europäischen Union für die Jahre 1991 ? 2003. Ausgangspunkt der Studie ist der Rückgang der Anzahl der Selbständigen in diesem Zeitraum, bei gleichzeitigem Rückgang der Anzahl der Arbeitslosen und einer Zunahme des Bruttoinlandsprodukts pro Kopf. Paneldatenanalysen geben einen Hinweis darauf, dass sowohl die Anzahl der Arbeitslosen wie auch der Arbeitnehmer die Anzahl der Selbständigen erhöht, wohingegen das Bruttoinlandsprodukt pro Kopf einen negativen Einfluss ausübt, insbesondere auf die Anzahl der Einpersonenunternehmen. Ein höherer Realzins reduziert die Anzahl der Selbständigen, ebenso wie höhere durchschnittliche Steuern. --Selbständigkeit,Beschäftigung,Arbeitslosigkeit,Staatstätigkeit

From carry trades to curvy trades

Traditional carry trade strategies are based on differences in short-term interest rates, neglecting any other information embedded in yield curves. We derive return distributions of carry trade portfolios among G10 currencies, where the signals to buy and sell currencies are based on summary measures of the yield curve, the Nelson-Siegel factors. We find that a strategy based on the relative curvature factor, the curvy trade, yields higher Sharpe ratios and a smaller return skewness than traditional carry trade strategies. Curvy trades build less upon the typical carry currencies, like the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc, and are hence less susceptible to crash risk. In line with that, standard pricing factors of traditional carry trade returns, such as exchange rate volatility, fail to explain curvy trade returns in a linear asset pricing framework. Our findings are in line with recent interpretations of the curvature factor. A relatively high curvature signals a relatively higher path of future short-term rates over the medium-term putting upward pressure on the currency