03. Journals
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These are journal articles published in World Bank journals as well as externally by World Bank authors.
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Publication Development, Modernization, and Childbearing(World Bank, 2009-11-30) Filmer, Deon; Friedman, JedDoes the sex composition of existing children in a family affect fertility behavior? An unusually large data set, covering 64 countries and some 5 million births, is used to show that fertility behavior responds to the presence—or absence—of sons in many regions of the developing world. The response to the absence of sons is particularly large in Central Asia and South Asia. Modernization does not appear to reduce this differential response. For example, in South Asia the fertility response to the absence of sons is larger for women with more education and has been increasing over time. The explanation appears to be that a latent demand for sons is more likely to manifest itself when fertility levels are low. As a result of this differential fertility behavior, girls tend to grow up with significantly more siblings than do boys, with potential implications for their well-being when quantity–quality tradeoffs result in fewer material and emotional resources allocated to children in larger families.Publication Gender, Poverty and Demography(World Bank, 2009-11-30) Buvinic, Mayra; Gupta, Monica Da; Casabonne, UrsulaMuch has been written on gender inequality and how it affects fertility and mortality outcomes as well as economic outcomes. What is not well understood is the role of gender inequality, embedded in the behavior of the family, the market, and society, in mediating the impact of demographic processes on economic outcomes. This article reviews the empirical evidence on the possible economic impacts of gender inequalities that work by exacerbating demographic stresses associated with different demographic scenarios and reducing the prospects of gains when demographic conditions improve. It defines four demographic scenarios and discusses which public policies are more effective in each scenario in reducing the constraints that gender inequality imposes on poverty reductionPublication Agricultural Growth and Poverty Reduction(World Bank, 2009-11-30) de Janvry, Alain; Sadoulet, ElisabethAgricultural growth has long been recognized as an important instrument for poverty reduction. Yet, measurements of this relationship are still scarce and not always reliable. The authors present additional evidence at both the sectoral and household levels based on recent data. Results show that rural poverty reduction has been associated with growth in yields and in agricultural labor productivity, but that this relation varies sharply across regional contexts. GDP growth originating in agriculture induces income growth among the 40 percent poorest, which is on the order of three times larger than growth originating in the rest of the economy. The power of agriculture comes not only from its direct poverty reduction effect but also from its potentially strong growth linkage effects on the rest of the economy. Decomposing the aggregate decline in poverty into a rural contribution, an urban contribution, and a population shift component shows that rural areas contributed more than half the observed aggregate decline in poverty. Finally, using the example of Vietnam, the authors show that rapid growth in agriculture has opened pathways out of poverty for farming households. While the effectiveness of agricultural growth in reducing poverty is well established, the effectiveness of public investment in inducing agricultural growth is still incomplete and conditional on context.Publication Building Capacity to Move Past Conflict and Fragility(World Bank, 2009-10-01) Pradhan, SanjayCapacity building should be an integral part of a country’s national development plan, not an add-on.Publication Parliaments as Peacebuilders(World Bank, 2009-10-01) Draman, RasheedThe potential role of parliaments in fragile states is often not realized due to limited resources and capacity. Yet, strengthening parliaments is critical to both avoid and recover from conflict.Publication Evaluating Community-Driven Reconstruction(World Bank, 2009-10-01) Fearon, James; Humphreys, Macartan; Weinstein, JeremyThis is the account of an evaluation to ascertain the effectiveness of community-driven reconstruction programs in Liberia.Publication Disarm, Demobilize and Reintegrate(World Bank, 2009-10-01) Correia, MariaThe Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program (MDRP) was created in Africa in the late 1990s. It closed down after 7 years leaving behind an unquestionable legacy of success.Publication Rural Poverty(World Bank, 2009-03-30) Dercon, StefanPoverty is still a predominantly rural phenomenon. However, the context of rural poverty has been changing across the world, with high growth in some economies and stagnation in others. Furthermore, increased openness in many economies has affected the specific role of agricultural growth for rural poverty reduction. This paper revisits an ‘old’ question: how does growth and poverty reduction come about if most of the poor live in rural areas and are dependent on agriculture? What is the role of agricultural and rural development in this respect? Focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa, and using economic theory and the available evidence, the author comes to the conclusion that changing contexts has meant that agricultural growth is only crucial as an engine for growth in particular settings, more specifically in landlocked, resource-poor countries, which are often also characterized by relatively low potential for agriculture. However, extensive market failures in key factor markets and likely spatial effects give a remaining crucial role for rural development policies, including focusing on agriculture, to assist the inclusion of the rural poor in growth and development. How to overcome these market failures remains a key issue for further research.Publication Partnering for Progress(World Bank, 2009-02-01) Nelson, Mark; Tejasvi, AjayMuch technical assistance aimed at building capacity has failed to deliver the results sought. The article examines the causes and the possible solutions.Publication Brazil as an Emerging Donor(World Bank, 2009-02-01) Sotero, PauloThis article offers an examination of Brazil's experience as a new donor: its purposes, goals, and the effectiveness of its approach.