Households' Consumption under the Habit Formation Hypothesis. Evidence from Italian Households using the Survey of Household Income and Wealth (SHIW)

This paper explores the mis-specification of preferences as a cause of the poor empirical performance of the traditional Life Cycle/Permanent Income model in explaining Italian households' consumption decisions. Consumption profiles generated under strict life cycle models could be hardly reconciled with those exhibited by Italian households. We estimate how household consumption evolves over time by using an Euler equation approach, enriched both for the presence of habit formation in households' preferences and uncertainty. We test its performance by using a GMM estimation strategy. Our results prove that ignoring habit persistence can lead to misleading results in interpreting the determinants of consumption.

Child labor, school attendance and access to health care services by children: evidence from Ghana

The paper develops a simple two-period model relating child labor, child school attendance and child health care access in LDCs showing that child labor is positively correlated to access to health care services. In fact, higher medical expenditure generates better health and, therefore, higher child productivity. Accumulation of human capital, which generates higher future utility, comes at the expense of current productivity and consumption. The optimal choice of child labor is such that the marginal benefit of schooling is equal to the marginal productivity of child labor, which is enhanced by additional medical expenditure. Under this theoretical set-up we expect medical expenditure and child labor to be positively correlated, with parents caring more for their children if they contribute to household income. We explore these relationships using a micro data set from Ghana LSS for the year 1999. Empirical results confirm the model theoretical predictions.Child labor; Health care demand; Human capital; Latent variables; multivariate Probit; Unobserved heterogeneity; LDCs

Households’ Consumption under the Habit Formation Hypothesis. Evidence from Italian Households using the Survey of Household Income and Wealth (SHIW)

This paper explores the mis-specification of preferences as a cause of the poor empirical performance of the traditional Life Cycle/Permanent Income model in explaining Italian households’ consumption decisions. Consumption profiles generated under strict life cycle models could be hardly reconciled with those exhibited by Italian households. We estimate how household consumption evolves over time by using an Euler equation approach, enriched both for the presence of habit formation in households’ preferences and uncertainty. We test its performance by using a GMM estimation strategy. Our results prove that ignoring habit persistence can lead to misleading results in interpreting the determinants of consumption

Reducing Child Malnutrition in Tanzania\ud Combined Effects of Income Growth and Program Interventions

\ud Malnutrition is associated with an inadequate diet, poor health and sanitation services and insufficient care for young children. A combination of income growth and nutrition interventions are therefore suggested to adequately tackle this issue (Haddad et al. 2003), yet evidence to support this claim is often not available, especially for African settings. This paper evaluates the joint contribution of income growth and nutrition interventions towards the reduction of malnutrition. Using a four round panel data set from northwestern Tanzania we estimate the determinants of a child’s nutritional status, including household income and the presence of nutrition interventions in the community. The results show that better nutrition is associated with higher income, and that nutrition interventions have a substantial beneficial effect. Policy simulations make clear that if one intends to halve malnutrition rates by 2015 (the MDG objective), income growth will have to be complemented\ud by large scale program interventions.\u

Reducing child malnutrition in Tanzania - combined effects of income growth and program interventions

Malnutrition is associated with an inadequate diet, poor health and sanitation services, and insufficient care for young children. A combination of income growth and nutrition interventions are therefore suggested to adequately tackle this issue, yet evidence to support this claim is often not available, especially for African settings. The authors evaluate the joint contribution of income growth and nutrition interventions toward the reduction of malnutrition. Using a four-round panel data set from northwestern Tanzania they estimate the determinants of a child's nutritional status, including household income and the presence of nutrition interventions in the community. The results show that better nutrition is associated with higher income, and that nutrition interventions have a substantial beneficial effect. Policy simulations make clear that if one intends to halve malnutrition rates by 2015 (the Millennium Development Goals objective), income growth will have to be complemented by large-scale program interventions.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Early Child and Children's Health,Health Economics&Finance,Governance Indicators,Nutrition

Preschool Nutrition and Subsequent Schooling Attainment: Longitudinal Evidence from Tanzania

This study analyses how childhood health determines future academic performance in Kagera region in Tanzania. Academic outcomes considered are years of education and delay in enrollment, while the measure of childhood health is (relative to the median) height. The repercussions of malnutrition in childhood on subsequent learning and school performance are analyzed by using a unique longitudinal dataset. Result indicate the degree to which malnutrition leads to reduced lifetime earning capacity due to both delays in schooling and declines in total schooling

The Dynamics and Persistence of Poverty: Evidence from Italy

This article studies the dynamics and persistence of poverty in Italy during the nineties (1994-2001). Two definitions of poverty are analyzed: income poverty and a multidimensional index of life-style deprivation. For both definitions, poverty exit and re-entry rates are estimated and combined to compute measures of poverty persistence over multiple spells. A picture of high poverty turnover emerges according to either definition. Multi-spell hazard rate models have been estimated to assess the relative importance of several demographic and labor market characteristics in shaping poverty persistence at the individual level. The results highlight the weaknesses of the Italian labor market, the insufficiencies of the existing social security system and the deep territorial dualism in generating persistent poverty for certain groups of the population. We have stressed the ability of the two definitions to provide a generally consistent characterization of the poverty persistence risks faced by various population subgroups, but also the additional insights to be gained by analyzing the two definitions in parallel in a longitudinal context.Income poverty; multidimensional deprivation; poverty persistence; hazard-rate models; multiple spells

Transforming Education Outcomes in Africa Learning from Togo

Good education changes lives. It is therefore unsurprising that improved schooling plays a central part in most development strategies. At the same time, the expansion of school attainment alone is not sufficient to guarantee improved welfare. This open access book focuses on one country in West Africa, Togo, to explore what a country that has successfully increased enrollment rates can do to enhance learning outcomes. The authors explore different avenues for improvement, including enhancing the efficiency with which resources are used; increasing the qualifications of teachers; and through greater community involvement in school management. There is scope for improvement along all these dimensions, yet changes at the margin are insufficient to bring about the transformation needed to bring about acceptable levels of learning. Important reading for anyone interested in understanding the pathways to improving the education system in Togo and other developing countries. Except where otherwise noted, this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/