Journal articles published externally

2,097 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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Do Gender Norms Relax with Displacement?
(Taylor and Francis, 2025-01-15) Rubiano-Matulevich, Eliana
Conflict-induced displacement is associated with loss of human and physical capital as well as psychological trauma. Households and social structures that produce and reproduce gender norms are disrupted. This paper investigates the extent to which gender norms relax in situations of displacement using predetermined indicators in the Colombia Demographic and Health Survey. Results of a two-step estimation involving kernel-based propensity score matching and multilevel linear regression models show that gender norms condoning violence against women relaxed with displacement, while those that limit women’s economic opportunities became more rigid. Findings also reveal a misalignment between attitudes and behaviors in specific domains of gender norms. Displaced women expressed lower support for patriarchy than non-displaced women, but they had less ability to make independent decisions over the use of contraceptives and over their own earnings. This implies that attitudes and behaviors do not always shift together, and, in displacement settings, do not always progress towards greater gender equality.
Forced Displacement, Gender, and Livelihoods: Refugees in Ethiopia
(Taylor and Francis, 2025-01-15) Admasu, Yeshwas
This study uses the Ethiopia Skills Profile Survey (2017) to examine the gender differences in livelihood opportunities and activities between refugees and host communities. The results show a significant gender gap in participation in the labour market where refugee and host women are less likely to have employment, and that household characteristics influence women’s economic opportunities. While having a female household head, access to agricultural land, and additional female adults increase both refugee and host female’s participation in economic activities, higher numbers of children in the household significantly reduce refugee women’s opportunities. In addition, higher educational attainment boosts both male and female refugees’ participation in wage employment. Among refugees, both female and male Somali refugees have relatively better access to employment opportunities compared to other refugee groups, especially refugees from South Sudan and Sudan.
Does the Small Business Programme Benefit Self-Employed Workers? Evidence from Nicaragua
(Taylor and Francis, 2025-01-14) Kim, Booyuel; Rodriguez-Ramirez, Rony; Yang, Hee-Seung
Business and skills training programmes have been a popular social policy intervention to increase productivity of the self-employed in developing countries. We study the Small Business of the Family Economy programme, a government business training programme designed to assist Nicaraguan self-employed workers. Using data from three rounds of the Nicaragua Living Standards Measurement Survey, we employ a difference-in-differences strategy to exploit variation in eligibility for the programme across time and economic activity. Our estimates indicate that the programme does not increase self-employed workers’ earnings overall. However, we find heterogeneous treatment effects for female self-employed workers with low educational attainment, which could be explained by increased working months and having a second job.
Corruption and Government Revenue: Evidence of a Non-Linear Relationship Driven by Crises
(Taylor and Francis, 2025-01-14) Bogetić, Željko; Naeher, Dominik
A large body of literature studies the relationship between corruption and economic outcomes, including government revenue mobilization, but there is little evidence on how this relationship changes during times of crisis. Using a comprehensive panel dataset covering up to 194 countries in the period 1996 to 2020, we find evidence of a negative link between corruption and revenue that is amplified in times of crisis. The amplification appears to be driven by countries with lower average income levels, non-democratic governments, and higher natural resource dependency. Our findings are helpful in assessing different views of corruption offered in the literature. Overall, we find our results to be more consistent with a rent seeking view of corruption whereby, in times of crisis, corruption becomes more pervasive and government revenue declines. In contrast, we find no empirical support for the view that crises represent times of social improvement associated with increases in revenues.
Leveraging the capabilities of multinational firms to address climate change: A finance perspective
(Elsevier, 2025-01-13) Allen, Franklin; Barbalau, Adelina; Chavez, Erik; Zeni, Federica
Climate change and the associated issue of curbing carbon emissions have risen on the agenda of policymakers worldwide. However, global coordination on matters such as harmonized regulation has been subject to signifcant political frictions, and the large intergovernmental transfers needed to fnance the transition of developing economies have proven hard to raise. Recently, there have been considerable responses to climate change from the private sector, with stakeholders placing more pressure on frms, and fnancial markets mobilizing increasingly more capital towards the reduction of negative externalities. We argue that although multinational enterprises (MNEs) have been a major contributor to the problem, they can be an important part of the solution – they have unique features that enable them to play an important role in the fght against climate change. MNEs have extensive and efcient internal markets for governance, fnancing, and technology, which enable them to circumvent country-specifc frictions to climate action such as heterogeneous regulation, corruption, and the lack of technology. We analyze how diferent public and private incentive mechanisms could be designed to leverage MNEs’ unique features, realign their incentives, and engage their potential to play a role in decarbonizing the economy. Lastly, we discuss challenges, opportunities, and future research.
The Risk That Travels with You: Links Between Forced Displacement, Conflict and Intimate Partner Violence in Colombia and Liberia
(Taylor and Francis, 2025-01-13) Kelly, Jocelyn; Ekhator-Mobayode, Uche; Hanmer, Lucia C.; Rubin, Amalia; Arango, Diana J.
Displacement and conflict substantially heighten the risk of gender-based violence including intimate partner violence (IPV), experienced by women and girls. This study aims to examine the links between conflict, forced displacement and IPV using nationally representative survey data measuring IPV combined with data on conflict-related violence from two different conflict-affected settings: Colombia and Liberia. We find that forced displacement is strongly associated with increased lifetime and past year IPV. Displaced women and girls in Colombia and Liberia have a 36 and 55 per cent, respectively greater risk of experiencing past year IPV and 39 and 49 per cent greater risk of experiencing lifetime IPV in each country respectively, compared to their non-displaced counterparts. Both conflict and displacement are independently and significantly associated with past year IPV. Taking conflict intensity into account increases the associated IPV risk to 40 and 60 per cent in Colombia and Liberia respectively. Recognising the increased prevalence of IPV for displaced women is vital to providing effective assistance. Humanitarian, state and peace-building efforts, should encompass the provision of a range of assistance services to help displaced and conflict-affected women heal from the impacts of the violence.
Comparative Situational Analysis of Comprehensive Abortion Care in Four Southern African Countries
(Taylor and Francis, 2025-01-08) Macleod, Catriona Ida; Reuvers, Megan; Reynolds, John Hunter; Lavelanet, Antonella; Delate, Richard
We report on a comparative situational analysis of comprehensive abortion care (CAC) in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia. We conducted systematic literature searches and country consultations and used a reparative health justice approach (with four dimensions) for the analysis. The following findings pertain to all four countries, except where indicated. Individual material dimension: pervasive gender-based violence (GBV); unmet need for contraception (15−17%); high HIV prevalence; poor abortion access for rape survivors; fees for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services (Eswatini). Collective material dimension: no clear national budgeting for SRH; over-reliance on donor funding (Eswatini; Lesotho); no national CAC guidelines or guidance on legal abortion access; poor data collection and management systems; shortage and inequitable distribution of staff; few facilities providing abortion care. Individual symbolic dimension: gender norms justify GBV; stigma attached to both abortion and unwed or early pregnancies. Collective symbolic dimension: policy commitments to reducing unsafe abortion and to post-abortion care, but not to increasing access to legal abortion; inadequate research; contradictions in abortion legislation (Botswana); inadequate staff training in CAC. Political will to ensure CAC within the country’s legislation is required. Reparative health justice comparisons provide a powerful tool for foregrounding necessary policy and practice change.
Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) Simulation through Empirical Approach for Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) Projects
(Taylor and Francis, 2025-01-08) Karakoti, Indira; Mahima; Bohra, Rakesh; Rangnathan, Arunkumar; Purohit, Ishan
DNI assessment is essential for developing any CSP projects. In this manuscript, an approach is made for the analysis and estimation of DNI by developing the empirical models for India. The historical data of around 15 years (1986-2000) of DNI and cloud cover (CC) from six representative locations of major climatic zones namely Bhopal, Jaipur, Srinagar, Patna, New Delhi & Thiruvanantpuram have been employed. From these locations, first four have been used to develop the models correlating DNI and cloud cover; however, rest two were used to evaluate their validity. The standard statistical predictor’s viz. CoD, MPE, MBE, RMSE, skewness, kurtosis & chi-square were applied to evaluate these empirical models. The CoD was observed greater than 0.8 while performance criteria have low and acceptable values (MPE-11.4% to -13.77%; MBE 0.49 to 0.96; RMSE 1.22 to 1.44; Skewness 0.90 to -0.15; Kurtosis 0.90 to -1.36 and Chi-square 6.87 to 8.50). The adequecy of empirical models was evaluated through comparing estimated and measured DNI for New Delhi and Thiruvanantpuram which coincides very closely. The study established an approach to estimate DNI using cloud cover data which may facilities CSP projects developers for site selection and decision making in the absence of ground data.
Rural Roads, Child Labor, and Schooling in Rural Ethiopia
(Taylor and Francis, 2025-01-08) Ahmed, Musa Hasen; Tesfaye, Wondimagegn Mesfin; Dietrich, Stephan; Gassmann, Franziska
New roads bring new opportunities including access to employment. However, new employment opportunities might encourage early school dropout and school absenteeism. We investigate the link between rural roads, children’s labor allocation, and educational outcomes by focusing on the recent Ethiopian road construction program. In the analysis, we combine household panel data with novel road network data. To address endogeneity concerns, we combine a difference-in-difference estimation model with a matching technique. Our findings consistently show that road access does not encourage school absenteeism or school dropouts to join the labor force. The findings remain consistent across gender and age groups.
Lessons Learned in Using Mathematical Modeling for Priority Setting in Health
(Taylor and Francis, 2024-11-15) Wilson, David; Gorgens, Marelize
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for priority setting in health financing and resource allocation, spotlighting the limitations of traditional health financing strategies. This commentary explores the relevance of mathematical modeling in enhancing allocative efficiency within the health sector, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic. We draw from the World Bank’s experiences in supporting over 20 countries to employ mathematical optimization models for priority setting, aiming to achieve optimal health outcomes within constrained budgets. The pandemic’s impact on economic growth, revenue collection, debt stress, and the overall fiscal space available for health financing has necessitated a paradigm shift toward prioritizing efficiency improvements in health service delivery. We outline lessons learned from such modeling and chart future directions to enhance efficiency gains, including for integrated, patient-centered approaches to health service delivery. We advocate for flexible and effective localized priority-setting, leveraging data-driven insights to navigate the complexities of health financing in a post-COVID era.