Journal articles published externally

2,088 items available

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https://hdl.handle.net/10986/4401

These are journal articles by World Bank authors published externally.

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Can We Rely on VIIRS Nightlights to Estimate the Short-Term Impacts of Natural Hazards? Evidence from Five South East Asian Countries
(Taylor and Francis, 2021-02-03) Skoufia, Emmanuel; Strobl, Eric; Tveit, Thomas
This paper utilizes Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) nightlights to model damage caused by earthquakes, floods and typhoons in five South East Asian countries (Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam). For each type of hazard we examine the extent to which there is a difference in nightlight intensity between affected and non-affected cells based on (i) case studies of specific hazards; and (ii) fixed effect regression models akin to the double difference method to determine any effect that the different natural hazards might have had on the nightlight value. The VIIRS data has some shortcomings with regards to noise, seasonality and volatility that we try to correct for with new statistical methods. The results show little to no significance regardless of the methodology used. Possible explanations for the lack of significance could be underlying noise in the nightlight data and measurements or lack of measurements due to cloud cover. Overall, given the lack of consistency in the results, even though efforts were made to decrease volatility and remove noise, we conclude that researchers should be careful when analyzing natural hazard impacts with the help of VIIRS nightlights.
Contrasting Experiences: Understanding the Longer-Term Impact of Improving Access to Pre-Primary Education in Rural Indonesia
(Taylor and Francis, 2021-02-02) Hasan, Amer; Kinnell, Angela; Maika, Amelia; Nakajima, Nozomi; Pradhan, Menno
This paper examines the child development outcomes of two cohorts of children who were exposed to the same intervention at different points in time. One cohort was eligible to access playgroups during the first year of a five-year project cycle, beginning at age four. The other cohort became eligible to access these services during the third year of a five-year project cycle, beginning at age three. The younger cohort was more likely to be exposed to playgroups for longer and at more age-appropriate times relative to the older cohort. The paper finds that enrollment rates and enrollment duration in preprimary education increased for both cohorts, but the enrollment effects were larger for the younger cohort. In terms of child development outcomes, there were short-term effects at age five that did not last until age eight, for both cohorts. Moreover, the younger cohort had substantially higher test scores during the early grades of primary school, relative to the older cohort. We document the extent to which program impacts can vary as a result of differences in project implementation.
Designing for Sustainable Outcomes: Espousing Behavioural Change into Co-production Programs
(Taylor and Francis, 2017-10-12) Mukherjee, Ishani; Mukherjee, Nilanjana
This paper uses a policy design perspective with which to examine the formulation of programs that are based on the concept of co-production. In doing so, the paper reviews essential literature on policy design and co-production to identify that a limited focus on outcomes and specifically how behavioral change can make these outcomes sustainable represents a major gap in the current discussion of co-production. We firstly argue that in designing programs involving co-production, outcomes need to be considered at the initial design stages where broad policy objectives are being defined. Secondly, we argue that for these outcomes to be sustainable, behavioral change on the part of policy targets needs to be an important objective of a co-production program. To illustrate our point, we use the example of rural sanitation programs from three developing countries to specifically demonstrate how the absence or inclusion of behavioral change considerations in the early phases of policy design can elicit different levels of success in achieving desired policy outcomes.
The Role of Preschool Quality in Promoting Child Development: Evidence from Rural Indonesia
(Taylor and Francis, 2017-06-11) Brinkman, Sally Anne; Hasan, Amer; Jung, Haeil; Kinnell, Angela; Nakajima, Nozomi; Pradhan, Menno
This article examines the relationship between preschool quality and children’s early development in a sample of over 7900 children enrolled in 578 preschools in rural Indonesia. Quality was measured by: (1) classroom observations using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R); (2) teacher characteristics; and (3) structural characteristics of preschools. Children’s development was measured using the Early Development Instrument (EDI). The article proposes two methodological improvements to preschool quality studies. First, an instrumental variable approach is used to correct for measurement error. Second, ECERS-R is adjusted to the local context by contrasting items with Indonesia’s national preschool standards. Results show that observed classroom quality is a significant and meaningful positive predictor of children’s development once models correct for measurement error and apply a locally-adapted measure of classroom quality. In contrast, teacher characteristics and structural characteristics are not significant predictors of child development, while holding observed classroom quality constant.
Poverty, Disputes, and Access to Justice in Two Indonesian Provinces
(Taylor and Francis, 2017-02-07) Cuesta, José; Madrigal, Lucia; Skoufias, Emmanuel
This analysis explores the determinants behind the unequal access to justice services among poor Indonesians. The study analyzes the stock of observed past disputes by socioeconomic group and the demand for conflict resolution services for unresolved conflicts or “trajectories.” It also models the hypothetical demand of justice services for future disputes. Results suggest that unequal access to justice might go beyond the financial costs of seeking justice and also depends on individual preferences and community infrastructure. These findings warn against focusing exclusively on formal justice costs to improve the equal access of the poor to conflict resolution services.
Book Review of Managing Globalization in the Asian Century: Essays in Honour of Prema-Chandra Athukorala
(Taylor and Francis, 2017) Rahardja, Sjamsu
Asia is a region of economic miracles, and this festschrift for the esteemed development economist Prema-Chandra Athukorala highlights a major driver of Asia’s success: globalization. Economic progress in Asia cannot be separated from globalization’s role in industrializing the region’s agrarian economies. Most countries in Asia have, to varying degrees, embraced globalization by opening up to foreign direct investment (to stimulate markets and to transfer know-how) and facilitating the growth of export-oriented industries.
Unpacking the Effect of Decentralized Governance on Routine Violence: Lessons from Indonesia
(Elsevier, 2016-10-18) Pierskalla, Jan H.; Sacks, Audrey
We study the effect of decentralization on routine violence in Indonesia. We unpack decentralization along multiple dimensions and consider the individual effects of local elections, the creation of new administrative units, fiscal transfers, and local public service delivery. We use comprehensive data from Indonesia’s National Violence Monitoring System (NVMS), a new dataset that records the incidence and impact of violence in Indonesia. We use these data to examine the relationship between the different dimensions of decentralization and different types of local violence in Indonesian districts during 2001–10. Our analyses suggest that there is a positive association between local service delivery and at least some forms of violence. We argue that the positive effect of service delivery on violence is due to newly generated distributive conflicts among local ethnic groups around the control over and access to services. By comparison, district splitting and the introduction of direct elections of district heads are negatively associated with some forms of violence. There is little evidence that fiscal transfers, in general, mitigate conflict.
Village Governance, Community Life, and the 2014 Village Law in Indonesia
(Taylor and Francis, 2016-08-14) Antlöv, Hans; Wetterberg, Anna; Dharmawan, Leni
In January 2014, the Government of Indonesia issued Law 6/2014 on Villages, aiming to address weaknesses in the decentralisation paradigm, including providing villages with increased budget allocations and improved governance arrangements. Using longitudinal data from forty Indonesian villages in the three-round Local Level Institution studies, fielded in 1996, 2001 and 2012, the article investigates the effects that prior policy has had on village life and the likely implications of the new Village Law for village governance. The focus is on shifts in capacities, constraints and opportunities for the improved responsiveness of local governments toward community needs. We suggest that there is potential for the Law to increase responsiveness – through a combination of strong financial management systems, new national institutional arrangements, and empowered citizens that can create pressures on the village government to work in the interest of the community – but that substantial risks and obstacles remain.
Long-term Impacts of Global Food Crisis on Production Decisions: Evidence from Farm Investments in Indonesia
(Taylor and Francis, 2016-05-12) Nose, Manabu; Yamauchi, Futoshi
This paper estimates farmers’ investment response to food price spikes using household panel data collected before and after the 2007/08 food price crisis in Indonesia. We found that an increase in farmers’ terms-of-trade allowed relatively large crop-producing farmers to increase their investments at both extensive and intensive margins. Food price spikes had a significant income effect among farmers whose production surplus is large for market sales. During the food price crisis, large farmers particularly increased machine investments, which saved some labour inputs, pointing to the importance of complementarities between land and machine investments.
The Effects of Improved Roads on Wages and Employment Evidence from Rural Labor Markets in Indonesia
(Taylor and Francis, 2016-03-30) Yamauchi, Futoshi
This paper examines the impact of road quality on labour supply and wages using household panel data from rural Indonesia. The analysis uses fixed-effect instrumental variable estimation by first differencing two-round panel data. First, road projects are found to increase the transportation speed. Second, the empirical results from intra-village variations of household endowments and labour-market behaviour show that an increase in transportation speed raised wages in both non-agricultural and agricultural employment, and was associated with a decline in working time in agricultural employment, for the households whose members are relatively educated. The findings support potential complementarity between road quality and education, implying that the government’s public investments in roads and education should be coordinated to capture cross-augmenting positive impacts in the long run.