Does child labor always decrease with income ? an evaluation in the context of a development program in Nicaragua

This paper investigates the relationship of household income with child labor. The analysis uses a rich dataset obtained in the context of a conditional cash transfer program in a poor region of Nicaragua in 2005 and 2006. The program has a strong productive emphasis and seeks to diversify the work portfolio of beneficiaries while imposing conditionalities on the household. The author develops a simple model that relates child labor to household income, preferences, and production technology. It turns out that child labor does not always decrease with income; the relationship is complex and exhibits an inverted-U shape. Applying the data to the model confirms that the relationship is concave when all children (8-15 years of age) are included in the sample. Expanding the analysis by stratifying the sample by age and gender shows that the relationship holds only for older children, both genders. The author investigates the effect of the conditional cash transfer program on child labor. The results show that the program has a decreasing effect on total hours of work for the full sample of children. Disentangling labor into two types - physically demanding labor and non-physical labor - reveals that the program has opposite effects on each type; it decreases physically demanding labor while increasing participation in non-physical (more intellectually oriented) tasks for children.Street Children,Youth and Governance,Labor Policies,Children and Youth,Labor Markets

Leveling the Intra-household Playing Field: Compensation and Specialization in Child Labor Allocation

This paper analyzes changes in the allocation of child labor within the household in reaction to exogenous shocks created by a social program in Nicaragua. The paper shows that households that randomly received a conditional cash transfer compensated for some of the intra-household differences, as they reduced child labor more for older boys who used to work more and for boys who were further behind in school. The results also show that households that randomly received a productive investment grant, in addition to the basic conditional cash transfer benefits, both targeted at women, show an increased specialization of older girls in nonagricultural and domestic work, but no overall increase in girls' child labor. The findings suggest that time allocation and specialization patterns in child labor within the household are important factors to understand the impact of a social program.Child labor; intra-household; human capital; impact evaluation; gender

Can a market-assisted land redistribution program improve the lives of the poor ? evidence from Malawi

This paper uses a rural household survey dataset collected in 2006 and 2008 to investigate the impact of a market-based land resettlement project in southern Malawi. The program provided a conditional cash and land transfer to poor families to relocate to larger plots of farm land. The average treatment effect of the program is estimated using a difference-in-difference matching technique based on propensity score matching; qualitative information complement the analysis to ensure unobservable characteristics do not bias the findings. As expected, the results show a significant effect on landholdings and agricultural production, with land size increasing and maize production increasing by more than 100 kilograms relative to the control. However, the impacts on food security and asset holdings were mixed. Households that relocated great distances had systematically lower impacts than those households that stayed within their district of origin because they had to adapt to unfamiliar agro-ecological, cultural, and market environments. Impacts also varied across gender of the household head; female-headed beneficiary households increased their productive and consumption assets significantly, while male-headed households increased their asset holdings less so.Environmental Economics&Policies,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems,Economic Theory&Research,Debt Markets,Rural Poverty Reduction

Does Cash for School Influence Young Women's Behavior in the Longer Term? Evidence from Pakistan

The Punjab Female School Stipend Program, a female-targeted conditional cash transfer program in Pakistan, was implemented in response to gender gaps in education. An early evaluation of the program shows that the enrollment of eligible girls in middle-school increased in the short term by nearly 9 percentage points. This paper uses regression discontinuity and difference-in-difference analyses to show that five years into the program implementation positive impacts do persist. Beneficiary adolescent girls are more likely to progress through and complete middle school and work less. There is suggestive evidence that participating girls delay their marriage and have fewer births by the time they are 19 years old. Also, girls who are exposed to the program later-on, and eligible for the benefits given in high school, increase their rates of matriculating into and completing high school. The persistence of impacts can potentially translate into gains in future productivity, consumption, inter-generational human capital accumulation and desired fertility. Lastly, there is no evidence that the program has negative spillover effects on educational outcomes of male siblings.conditional cash transfers, female education, female labor participation, fertility, Pakistan

Knowledge and ambidexterity?s impact on product innovation

This paper aims to evaluate the relationship between external sources of knowledge and innovation ambidexterity and then analyze how innovation ambidexterity improves product innovation. This study presents evidence based on a sample of 355 low-medium-tech (LMT) firms that participated in the National Survey of Innovation in the Manufacturing Industry and Knowledge-Intensive Service Firms in Peru. A structural equation model approach was applied. The results indicate that there is a positive relationship between external sources of knowledge and exploration and exploitation improves product innovation. These results provide deeper knowledge about how LMT firms in an emerging economy can apply open innovation practices to develop innovation ambidexterity, thus improving their product innovation capability

Vivimos más, pero vemos menos: We live more, but we see less

There is no doubt that we live longer, that is, the world population is aging; partly thanks to advances in science and technology, and its application to medicine for the prevention, cure, and recovery of different nosological entities previously considered lethal. The world life expectancy in 1990 was 65.45 years; for the dawn of the new millennium, it increased to 67.68, for 2010 to 70.68 and for 2017 to 72.25 years of life at birth. In general terms, the world population of people over 50 almost doubled from 878 million in 1990 to 1,640 million in 2015. As is already known, the fact that the population is living longer brings with it the increase of so-called degenerative diseases, among which is age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We live longer, but we see less.No hay duda que vivimos más, es decir, la población mundial está envejeciendo; en parte gracias a los avances en ciencia y tecnología, y su aplicación a la medicina para la prevención, curación y recuperación de las diferentes entidades nosológicas antes consideradas letales. La esperanza de vida mundial en 1990 era 65.45 años; para los albores del nuevo milenio incrementó a 67.68, para 2010 a 70.68 y para 2017 a 72.25 años de vida al nacer. En términos generales, la población mundial de personas mayores de 50 años casi se dobló de 878 millones en 1990 a 1640 millones en 2015. Como es ya conocido, el hecho que la población esté viviendo más, trae consigo el incremento de enfermedades llamadas degenerativas, entre las cuales se encuentra la degeneración macular relacionada a la edad (DMRE). Vivimos más, pero vemos menos

Entre el textil y el ámbar : las funciones psicosociales del trabajo artesanal en artesanos tsotsiles de la ilusión, Chiapas, México

Esta investigación tiene como objetivo principal el estudio de las funciones psicosociales del trabajo artesanal que realizan artesanos indígenas de una comunidad tsotsil de Chiapas, México. Constata esta tesis que el análisis de las artesanías invita a reflexionar necesariamente sobre aspectos económicos en íntima relación con aspectos de índole cultural y psicosocial. Se defiende aquí que quienes se dedican a la producción de artesanías enfrentan múltiples dificultades dentro de las que sobresale la precariedad, el poco reconocimiento social, la discriminación y la exclusión. A pesar de ello, las artesanías contribuyen a la reproducción económica, social y cultural de quienes lo realizan, y constituyen elementos privilegiados en tanto vehículos de múltiples significados sociales, históricos y de pertenencia grupal, a través de los cuales es posible "rastrear" procesos de transformación social. Por ello, a la luz de los datos obtenidos en el trabajo de campo, esta tesis propone un modelo de las funciones psicosociales del trabajo artesanal indígena.The aim of this research is to study the psychosocial functions of the artisan work made by indigenous artisans from a Tsotsil community in Chiapas, Mexico. The analysis of handicrafts encourages reflection on economic aspects in intimate relation with cultural and psychosocial elements. It is argued that those who work on the production of handicrafts face many difficulties such as precariousness, little social recognition, discrimination and exclusion. Despite this all, handicrafts contribute to the economic, social and cultural reproduction of those who make them. Also, handicrafts are privileged elements as they are vehicles of multiple social, historical and group belonging meanings through which is possible to "track" processes of social transformation. Based on the findings obtained while conducting field work in Chiapas, a model of the psychosocial functions of the indigenous artisan work is proposed in this dissertation

Does cash for school influence young women's behavior in the longer term ? evidence from Pakistan

The Punjab Female School Stipend Program, a female-targeted conditional cash transfer program in Pakistan, was implemented in response to gender gaps in education. An early evaluation of the program shows that the enrollment of eligible girls in middle school increased in the short term by nearly 9 percentage points. This paper uses regression discontinuity and difference-in-difference analyses to show that five years into the program implementation positive impacts do persist. Beneficiary adolescent girls are more likely to progress through and complete middle school and work less. There is suggestive evidence that participating girls delay their marriage and have fewer births by the time they are 19 years old. Girls who are exposed to the program later, and who are eligible for the benefits given in high school, increase their rates of matriculating into and completing high school. The persistence of impacts can potentially translate into gains in future productivity, consumption, inter-generational human capital accumulation and desired fertility. Lastly, there is no evidence that the program has negative spillover effects on educational outcomes of male siblings.Education For All,Primary Education,Tertiary Education,Gender and Education,Disability

Poder económico y prestigio social en torno a una institución valenciana. La deuda pública y la Diputación del General, a comienzos del siglo XVI

-