Welfare and Equity Impacts of Cross-Border Factor Mobility in Bangladesh: A General Equilibrium Analysis

Bangladesh is one of the top remittance recipient countries in the world and it is the second largest source of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. However, in recent years, remittance inflows into Bangladesh have declined steadily because of real income reductions of migrants. This trend in income has increased the number of returning migrants, making domestic employment less secure. To address this issue, we develop a recursive dynamic CGE model for Bangladesh that describes the allocation of employment between domestic and foreign labor markets in response to a foreign wage premium, competition between local firms and multinational enterprises in the ready-made garments (RMG) sector, and distributional impacts of factor mobility on different household groups. Our simulation results show that returning migrants reduce household welfare by lowering wages and increasing unemployment, particularly for unskilled workers in the domestic labor market. Using counteractive policy options, we examine the impacts of FDI promotion in the RMG sector and of a human-capital development program. Based on our results, we conclude that the former policy minimizes the negative impacts of foreign labor market shocks, while a combination of both policies is more equitable.JEL Classification Codes: C68, F21, F22, O15It is gratefully acknowledged that this study was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI Grants (18J11669 and 16K03613).http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/hosoe_nobuhiro

セキニン ジュウシ ガタ ニホンゴ タイ イト ジュウシ ガタ インド ショゴ ヒイトテキ ナ デキゴト ノ ニンチテキ タイショウ ケンキュウ

本稿は以下の二つを目的とする。(1)日本語における非意図的な出来事を他動詞で表しうる表現[例: 太郎がお腹を壊した、人ごみの中で財布を落とした等]の包括的な記述を行なうこと、(2)典型的な「なる」言語と言われている日本語において他動詞で表現されるこれらの「する」型な表現がなぜ許され、 数多く存在するのかという根本的な疑問に対して説明を提案すること、の二つである。このような説明を提案するにあたって、インド諸語との比較対照を行なうという方法を取る。なぜならば、日本語とは対照的に、インド諸語においてはこれらの出来事は主に自動詞で表現される。これによって当現象の対比がより鮮明に検証できると考えられるからである。 当表現において日本語とインド諸語の間に見られる言語形式の類似・相違は、対象としている出来事の概念化の類似・相違に由来するものだと主張する。 さらに外界における同一の事態に対し、言語間に見られる概念化の違いは社会的・文化的な要素に左右されるものだと主張し、日本語はインド諸語と比べ 「責任」という概念に対して、相対的により敏感であること、またインド諸語は日本語と比べ「意図性」 という概念に対して、相対的により敏感であることを明らかにする。外国語を勉強する者は文法のみならず、さらに自然な外国語を話すために、その言語や文化特有の物事の見方や概念化をマスターしなければならないことを提案する。言語は従来考えられてきた「する型」対「なる型」、「人間中心型」対「状況中心型」といった二分的なものではなく、程度の差を持つ連続体であることを主張する。The goal of this paper is to: 1) provide a comprehensive descriptive account of transitively encoded non-intentional events in Japanese and 2) offer a principled explanation for the fundamental issue: Why a predominantly BECOME-language like Japanese freely permits transitive encoding of such events, through a contrastive study with their counterparts in Indic languages. The raison d\u27être for such a comparison is that such events can be rendered using a transitive verb only sporadically in Indic languages. This will thus offer a unique opportunity to see a clear-cut contrast pertaining to linguistic encoding of non-intentional events. We claim that the similarities and differences between Japanese and Indic languages with regard to non-intentional events follow from the ways these situations are conceptualized. We propose that the differences in conceptualization of the same external reality are guided by socio-cultural factors that shape our cognition. The cognitive account proposed here suggests that Japanese is more sensitive to the notion of "responsibility" than its Indic counterparts, while Indic languages are more sensitive to the notion of "intentionality" than Japanese —not in absolute terms but in a relative sense. Crossing the threshold of grammar, a non-native learner of a language needs to master such cognitive parameters in order to sound "natural" in that language. The notions of a DO- vs. a BECOME-language or a PERSON-FOCUS vs. a SITUATION-FOCUS-language are not a matter of all or nothing (i.e., dichotomy) but a matter of degree (i.e., continuum)

Effects of Conflict on Child Health: Evidence from the 1990–1994 Northern Mali Conflict

This study evaluates the impact of the 1990–1994 conflict in northern Mali on child health at different timings of exposure (in utero and after birth). Two anthropometric variables (height-for-age and weight-for-height Z-scores) are used as indicators of child health. The empirical strategy relies on the difference-in-difference approach based on birth cohort, GIS residence information, and conflict intensity. The intensity of conflict exposure is measured by the number of deaths resulting from a conflict that broke out within a 10-km radius of each community. The estimation results show that the more severe the exposure to children and their mothers, the greater is the negative impact on the height, but not on the weight, of children. Additionally, the timing of conflict exposure plays a critical role in the outcome of a child’s health: exposure to conflict in utero, rather than after birth, negatively affects health. Placebo test as well as tests of selective migration, fertility, and mortality are conducted and confirmed the robustness of the main results. The differential effects of the timing of exposure in utero suggest that the heightened maternal stress is the main mechanism.JEL Classification Codes: I15, J13, O15http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/kijima-yoko

シチョウソン サンギョウ レンカンヒョウ ノ サクセイ ニムケタ コウサツ ト テンボウ

本稿では、現在の地域経済を取り巻く状況を踏まえつつ、小規模自治体レベルにおける経済・政策分析の必要性を論じた上で、京都府福知山市の2000年地域産業連関表の作成を試みた。作成手法としてはノンサーベイ・アプローチを採用し、特に移輸出入の推計においてはLQ法を適用した。本稿における産業連関表作成過程および他の先行する市町村産業連関表の作成事例を通じて、市町村産業連関表作成のための課題や展望を検討するとともに、作成した表を用いて北近畿地方と京阪神地域を結ぶ結節機能をもつ都市として重要な位置を占める福山市の産業構造を概観した