03. Journals

2,963 items available

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http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2210

These are journal articles published in World Bank journals as well as externally by World Bank authors.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 65

Measuring Human Capital in Middle Income Countries

(Elsevier, 2022-12) Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli ; Torre, Iván

This paper develops an indicator that measures the level of human capital to address the specific education and health challenges faced by middle income countries. We apply this indicator to countries in Europe and Central Asia, where productive employment requires skills that are more prevalent among higher education graduates, and where good health is associated to low levels of adult health risk factors. The Europe and Central Asia Human Capital Index (ECA-HCI) extends the World Bank's Human Capital Index by adding a measure of quality-adjusted years of higher education to the original education component, and it includes the prevalence of three adult health risk factors—obesity, smoking, and heavy drinking—as an additional proxy for latent health status. The results show that children born today in the average country in Europe and Central Asia will be almost half as productive as they would have had they reached the benchmark of complete education and full health. Countries with good basic education outcomes do not necessarily have good higher education outcomes, and high prevalence of adult health risk factors can offset good education indicators. This extension of the Human Capital Index could also be useful for assessing the state of human capital in middle-income countries in general.
Generating Political Priority for Primary Health Care Reform in Romania

(Taylor and Francis, 2021-08-17) Wang, Huihui ; Chukwuma, Adanna ; Comsa, Radu ; Dmytraczenko, Tania ; Gong, Estelle ; Onofrei, Lidia

This paper examines how political priority was generated for comprehensive reforms to address inequitable access to high-quality primary health care (PHC) in Romania. We apply John Kingdon’s model of political agenda setting to explore how the convergence of problems, solutions, and political developments culminated in the adoption of a government program that included critical PHC reforms and approval of a results-based funding instrument for implementation. We draw on a review of the gray and peer-reviewed literature and stakeholder consultations, and use content analysis to identify themes organized in line with the dimensions of Kingdon’s model. We conclude this paper with three lessons that may be relevant for generating political priority for PHC reforms in other contexts. First, national PHC reforms are likely to be prioritized when there is political alignment of health reforms with the broader political agenda. Second, the availability of technically sound and feasible policy proposals makes it possible to seize the political opportunity when the window opens. Third, partners’ coordinated technical and financial support for neglected issues can serve to raise their priority on the political agenda.
The Equity Effects of Cadasters in Colombia

(Taylor & Francis, 2021-08-01) Cuesta, Jose ; Pico, Julieth

Well-functioning cadasters help to secure property rights, make economies perform more efficiently and promote environmental conservation. However, their equity effects are less known. Our study addresses how and to what extent cadasters, and reforms to them, affect equity. The authors address this question through an ex-ante simulation methodology using static partial equilibrium fiscal incidence analysis. We apply it to a recent expansion of the cadaster in Colombia, designed as a deliberate equalization strategy in one of the world’s most unequal countries. This expansion will increase the collection of property taxes paid by previously informal households by about US 22.1 million dollars and their net worth by about US 4,993 million dollars (or about 3.2 and 4.9 percent of their baseline value). However, the expansion of the cadaster will also increase the incidence of poverty (by 0.25 percent points), the poverty gap (by 0.20 percent points) and inequality (by 0.12 percent points of the Gini index), unless generous compensatory interventions are applied. We conclude that equity effects of cadasters are complex and multiple. Policy-wide, compensatory measures are needed to alleviate the immediate impacts on poverty and inequality after the increase in taxes that vulnerable and poor households will likely face following a cadaster reform.
Challenges and Opportunities for Purchasing High-Quality Health Care: Lessons from Armenia

(Taylor and Francis, 2021-04-29) Chukwuma, Adanna ; Lylozian, Hratchia ; Gong, Estelle

This paper examines how purchasing decisions in Armenia may contribute to barriers in using high-quality health care, particularly for non-communicable diseases, drawing on a review of the literature and key informant interviews. The paper adapts the strategic health purchasing progress framework, to examine how characteristics of purchasing, the health system, and the political, administrative, and macro-fiscal environment may have facilitated or hindered the attainment of service delivery goals. We conclude with six lessons for reforms aimed at improving the coverage and quality of health care in Armenia. First, increasing the political priority of access to quality of health care is a pre-requisite to advancing reforms to address these issues. Second, improved purchasing governance in Armenia will require a purchaser that can make decisions without political interference, with appropriate accountability mechanisms, improvements in technical capacity, and the routine use of data systems. Third, there is a need for the regulatory framework to ensure that revisions of the benefits package contribute to reducing the disease burden and improving access to care. Fourth, regulations governing quality-related criteria for provider selection should be enforced and include considerations for process quality. Fifth, payment incentives should be revised to encourage an increase in the supply of primary health care, reduce bypassing for hospital care, and improve the quality of services. Sixth, the potential of purchasing to improve service delivery will be dependent on increased pre-paid and pooled funds and better governance of the quality of care.
Returns to Education in Azerbaijan: Some New Estimates

(Taylor and Francis, 2021-02-05) Garcia Moreno, Vicente ; Patrinos, Harry Anthony

This article estimates private and social returns to investment in education in Azerbaijan, using the 2015 Azerbaijan Monitoring Survey for Social Welfare. The private rate of return to education is 6 percent; this is the first estimate of returns to schooling in Azerbaijan since 1995. The returns to schooling are 6 percent for men and 8 percent for women, even controlling for selection. In addition, the article estimates the returns for higher education; for this level, the rate of return is 9 percent. Finally, using the full discount method, the private rate of return for tertiary education is 9 percent, and the social rate of return is 8 percent. One policy implication is to reexamine the funding of higher education and its expansion.
Invitations and Incentives: A Qualitative Study of Behavioral Nudges for Primary Care Screenings in Armenia

(Springer Nature, 2020-12) Gong, Estelle ; Chukwuma, Adanna ; Ghazaryan, Emma ; de Walque, Damien

Non-communicable diseases account for a growing proportion of deaths in Armenia, which require early detection to achieve disease control and prevent complications. To increase rates of screening, demand-side interventions of personalized invitations, descriptive social norms, labeled cash transfers, and conditional cash transfers were tested in a field experiment. Our complementary qualitative study explores factors leading to the decision to attend screening and following through with that decision, and experiences with different intervention components. An individual’s decision to screen depends on 1) the perceived need for screening based on how they value their own health and perceive hypertension and diabetes as a harmful but manageable condition, and 2) the perceived utility of a facility-based screening, and whether screening will provide useful information on disease status or care management and is socially acceptable. Following through with the decision to screen depends on their knowledge of and ability to attend screenings, as well as any external motivators such as an invitation or financial incentive. Personalized invitations from physicians can prompt individuals to reconsider their need for screening and can, along with financial incentives, motivate individuals to follow through with the decision to screen. The effect of descriptive social norms in invitations should be further studied. Efforts to increase preventive screenings as an entry point into primary care in Armenia may benefit from implementation of tailored messages and financial incentives.
The Effect of Compulsory Schooling Expansion on Mothers’ Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence in Turkey

(Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2020-06) Gulesci, Selim ; Meyersson, Erik ; Trommlerová, Sofia K.

An extensive literature examines the intergenerational spillover effects of education, but evidence on the causal effects of children's education on their parents’ outcomes is scarce. This paper estimates the spillover effects of children's schooling on their mothers’ attitudes toward domestic violence in Turkey. To identify the causal effect of children's schooling, we take advantage of a reform that took place in Turkey in 1997 and expanded compulsory schooling from five to eight years. Using a regression discontinuity design based on monthly birth cohorts and data from the 2008 and 2013 waves of the Turkey Demographic and Health Surveys, this paper shows that mothers whose eldest daughters were exposed to higher compulsory schooling are by 12 percentage points less likely to find domestic violence justifiable, which represents a decrease by 43 percent. We find no similar effect for boys’ schooling. Our findings demonstrate that children's schooling can have impacts on their parents’ attitudes, and such effects are likely to vary by the gender of the child.
Seaport Climate Change Impact Assessment Using a Multi-Level Methodology

(Taylor and Francis, 2020-02) Izaguirre, Cristina ; Losada, Inigo J. ; Camus, Paula ; Gonzalez-Lamuno, Patricia ; Stenek, Vladimir

Climate-related extreme events such as Hurricane Katrina (2005) or Maria (2017); Superstorm Sandy (2012), extreme precipitation or heat waves have directly hit many ports around the world in recent years. Ports are becoming increasingly aware of the risks of climate change, partly because of these events. However, very few are taking adaptation into practice, often due to the lack of information and the high uncertainties associated with climate change. This paper presents a multi-level methodology for conducting climate change risk assessment in existing ports following a sequential path that starts with a quantitative analysis focused on multi-hazard and multi-impact evaluation with climate information based on indicators. If needed the first level will be combined with a qualitative analysis based on perceived risk of stakeholders in order to determine the necessity of carrying out a high-resolution analysis, increasing the quantity, quality and resolution of input data, climate information and impact modelling aiming at reducing uncertainties. Results provide port managers with essential information to identify hot spots and prioritize adaptation strategies.
Preventing More 'Missing Girls': A Review of Policies to Tackle Son Preference

(Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2020-02) Kumar, Sneha ; Sinha, Nistha

In parts of Asia, the South Caucasus, and the Balkans, son preference is strong enough to trigger significant levels of sex selection, resulting in the excess mortality of girls and skewing child sex ratios in favor of boys. Every year, an estimated 1.8 million girls go “missing” because of the widespread use of sex selective practices in these regions. The pervasive use of such practices is reflective of the striking inequities girls face immediately, and it also has possible negative implications for efforts to improve women's status in the long term. Recognizing this as a public policy concern, governments have employed direct measures such as banning the use of prenatal sex selection technology, and providing financial incentives to families that have girls. This study reviews cross-country experiences to take stock of the direct interventions used and finds no conclusive evidence that they are effective in reducing the higher mortality risk for girls. In fact, bans on the use of sex selection technology may inadvertently worsen the status of the very individuals they intend to protect, and financial incentives to families with girls offer only short-term benefits at most. Instead, what seems to work are policies that indirectly raise the value of daughters. The study also underscores the paucity of causal studies in this literature.
A Test of the Alchian-Allen Conjecture with Transaction-level Trade Data

(Taylor and Francis, 2020-02) Choi, Jieun ; Minondo, Asier

We use Kosovo’s transaction-level import value, tariff duties and transport cost data for very finely disaggregated products to test the Alchian–Allen conjecture. First, we show that the elasticity of freight costs to import prices is much lower than the unitary elasticity predicted by the iceberg transport cost hypothesis. Second, we find that import unit values rise with transport costs and decline with ad valorem tariffs. Our results confirm the Alchian–Allen conjecture that per-unit transport costs reduce the price of high-quality varieties relative to low-quality varieties, raising their relative demand in high freight cost destinations.