British Colonial Institutions and Economic Development in India

We explore the impact of British colonial institutions on the economic development of India. In some regions, the British colonial government assigned property rights in land and taxes to landlords whereas in others it assigned them directly to cultivators or non-landlords. Although Banerjee and Iyer (2005) find that agricultural productivity of non-landlord areas diverged and out-performed relative to landlord areas after 1965 with the advent of the Green Revolution, we find evidence of superior economic performance of non-landlord regions in both the pre- and the post-independence periods. We believe that landlord and non-landlord regions diverged because their differing property rights institutions led to differences in incentives for development.

The x86isa Books: Features, Usage, and Future Plans

The x86isa library, incorporated in the ACL2 community books project, provides a formal model of the x86 instruction-set architecture and supports reasoning about x86 machine-code programs. However, analyzing x86 programs can be daunting -- even for those familiar with program verification, in part due to the complexity of the x86 ISA. Furthermore, the x86isa library is a large framework, and using and/or contributing to it may not seem straightforward. We present some typical ways of working with the x86isa library, and describe some of its salient features that can make the analysis of x86 machine-code programs less arduous. We also discuss some capabilities that are currently missing from these books -- we hope that this will encourage the community to get involved in this project.Comment: In Proceedings ACL2Workshop 2017, arXiv:1705.0076

The spatial division of labor in Nepal

the authors examine how economic activity and market participation are distributed across space. Applying a nonparametric von Thunen model to Nepalese data, the authors uncover a strong spatial divisionof labor. Nonfarm employment is concentrated in and around cities, while agricultural wage employment dominates villages located further away. Vegetables are produced near urban centers. Paddy and commercial crops are more important at intermediate distances. Isolated villages revert to self-subsistence. The findings of the study are consistent with the von Thunen model of concentric specialization, corrected to account for city size. Spatial division of labor is closely related to factor endowments and household characteristics, especially at the local level.Environmental Economics&Policies,Housing&Human Habitats,Urban Housing and Land Settlements,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,National Urban Development Policies&Strategies,Environmental Economics&Policies,Housing&Human Habitats,Urban Housing and Land Settlements,National Urban Development Policies&Strategies,Crops&Crop Management Systems

The Extent of the Market and Stages of Agricultural Specialization

This paper provides empirical evidence of an U-shaped relationship between the extent of the market (size of the relevant urban market) and the pattern of crop specialization in a village economy. We use the recent two-stage estimator developed by Lewbel (2007) and exploit heteroskedasticity for identification of the causal effects of market size. The results suggest that the portfolio of crops in a village economy becomes more diversified initially as the extent of the market increases. However, after the market size reaches a threshold, the production structure starts to specialize again. This evidence on the stages of agricultural diversification is consistent with the stages of diversification identified in the recent literature for the economy as a whole and also for the manufacturing sector.Structural Change, Agriculture, Crop Specialization, The Extent of the Market, Market versus Home Production, Commercialization

Estimating Import Demand Function in Developing Countries: A Structural Econometric Approach with Applications to India and Sri Lanka

Due to the unavailability of time series data on domestic market clearing price of imports, the estimation ofnotional price and income elasticities of aggregate import demand remains a daunting task for a large number of developing countries. This paper develops a structural econometric model of a two goods representative agent economy that incorporates a binding foreign exchange constraint at the administered prices of imports. A theoretically consistent parameterization of the ‘virtual relative price’ of imports circumvents the data problem, and thus enables the estimation of income and price responses by cointegration approach. The price and income elasticity estimates for India and Sri Lanka, in contrast to the extant literature, have correct signs, high statistical significance, and plausible magnitudes.Import Demand, Foreign Exchange Rationing, Virtual price, India, Sri Lanka, Cointegration

Cultural Inheritance, Gender, and Intergenerational Occupational Mobility: Evidence from a Developing Economy

This paper presents evidence on intergenerational occupational mobility from agriculture to the nonfarm sector using survey data from Nepal with a focus on the role played by cultural inheritance and gender norms. In the absence of credible instruments, the degree of selection on observables is used as a guide to the degree of selection on unobservables ´a la Altonji et. al. (2005) to address the unobserved genetic correlations. The results show that cultural inheritance plays a causal role in intergenerational occupational correlation between the mother and daughter. In contrast, there is no robust evidence that cultural inheritance is important for sons’ occupation choice. A moderate genetic correlation can easily explain away the estimated partial correlation in non-farm participation between the father and a son.Intergenerational Occupational Correlations, Non-Farm Participation, Gender effect, Cultural Inheritance, Selection on Observables, Selection on Unobservables

Foreign Trade Regimes and Import Demand Function: Evidence from Sri Lanka

Time series data for Sri Lanka span periods of pervasive trade and exchange restrictions along with periods of liberalized trade. This paper implements a structural econometric model of aggregate imports which incorporates the implications of the shifts in the policy regime. The results demonstrate that the model outperforms the existing alternatives both on statistical and economic grounds. The estimated elasticities, in contrast to the available evidence, have correct signs, high statistical significance, and plausible magnitudes. The implications for policy analysis like calculation of equilibrium exchange rate are discussed. Special Note: If you are looking for the paper titled "Import Demand Under Trade and Exchange Rate Restrictions: A Structural Econometric Approach with an Application to India", it has been withdrwan temporarily. A revised version will be posted in near future.Trade Policy, Import demand, Sri Lanka, Cointegration, Intertemporal elasticity of substitution

The extent of the market and stages of agricultural specialization

This paper provides empirical evidence of nonlinearity in the relationship between crop specialization in a village economy and the extent of the market (size of the urban market) relevant for the village. The results suggest that the portfolio of crops in a village economy becomes more diversified initially as the extent of the market increases. However, after the market size reaches a threshold, the production structure becomes specialized again. This evidence on the stages of agricultural diversification is consistent with the stages of diversification identified in the recent literature for the economy as a whole and also for the manufacturing sector. The evidence highlights the importance of improving farmers'access to markets through investment in transport infrastructure and removal of barriers to trading.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Markets and Market Access,Political Economy,Debt Markets,Crops&Crop Management Systems