Estimation of the public benefits of urban water supply improvements in Ethiopia: a choice experiment

Improving existing drinking water supply services in developing countries depends crucially on available financial resources. Cost recovery rates of these services are typically low, while demand for more reliable services is high and rapidly growing. Most stated preference-based demand studies in the developing world apply the contingent valuation method and focus on rural areas. This study examines household Willingness to Pay (WTP) for improved water supply services in a choice experiment in an urban area in Ethiopia, a country with the lowest water supply coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa. The design of the choice experiment allows estimation of the value of both drinking water supply reliability and safety. The estimated economic values can be used in policy appraisals of improved supply investment decisions. Despite significant income constraints, households are willing to pay up to 80% extra for improved levels of water supply over and above their current water bill. Women and households living in the poorest part of the city with the lowest service levels value the improvement of water quality most. As expected, also averting behaviour and expenditures play an important role.     

The impact of piped water provision on infant mortality in Brazil: A quantile panel data approach

We examine the impact of piped water on the under-1 infant mortality rate (IMR) in Brazil using a recently developed econometric procedure for the estimation of quantile treatment effects with panel data. The provision of piped water in Brazil is highly correlated with other observable and unobservable determinants of IMR — the latter leading to an important source of bias. Instruments for piped water provision are not readily available, and fixed effects to control for time-invariant correlated unobservables are invalid in the simple quantile regression framework. Using the quantile panel data procedure in Chen and Khan [Chen, S., Khan, S., Semiparametric estimation of non-stationary censored panel model data models with time-varying factor. Econometric Theory 2007; forthcoming], our estimates indicate that the provision of piped water reduces infant mortality by significantly more at the higher conditional quantiles of the IMR distribution than at the lower conditional quantiles (except for cases of extreme underdevelopment). These results imply that targeting piped water intervention toward areas in the upper quantiles of the conditional IMR distribution, when accompanied by other basic public health inputs, can achieve significantly greater reductions in infant mortality.     

The Value of Household Water Service Quality in Lahore,Pakistan

Most existing literature focuses on the benefits of establishing basic drinking water access for unserved populations, the extensive water supply margin. In contrast, this article examines the intensive margin—the benefits of improving water service to under-served households, a growing population in developing country cities. We use contingent valuation to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for improved piped water quality and reductions in supply interruptions among a sample of 193 households in Lahore, Pakistan. The distribution of WTP is described using parametric and non-parametric models. Results indicate that households in Lahore are willing to pay about 7.50 to7.50 to 9 per month for piped water supply that is clean and drinkable directly from the tap—comparable to the monthly cost of in-home water treatment, and about three to four times the average monthly water bill for sample households using piped water. Estimates of WTP for reducing supply interruptions are both smaller and more difficult to interpret, since a significant fraction of the estimated WTP distribution for supply improvements is negative. All of our WTP estimates are well below 4% of monthly household income, the World Bank’s benchmark upper bound for affordable water service.     

Forests, biomass use and poverty in Malawi

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in Africa and has faced significant deforestation over the years. This paper seeks to examine the nature of the relationship between poverty and forests in Malawi. We try to answer three sets of questions: a) what is the extent of biomass available for meeting the energy needs of the poor in Malawi and how is this distributed? b) To what extent does fuelwood scarcity affect the welfare of the poor? And c) do households spend more time in fuelwood collection in response to scarcity? We answer these questions by matching household surveys with remote-sensing data.Our analyses suggest that biomass scarcity is associated with small but significantly lower household welfare, particularly for the rural poor. At current high levels of scarcity, 80% of rural poor households are likely to benefit from an increase in biomass in the community. Rural women spend more time on fuelwood collection where biomass is scarce. The small decrease in welfare associated with biomass scarcity suggests that households cope with scarcity in a variety of ways. Any effort to reduce degradation and deforestation in Malawi has to build on a clear understanding of household adaptation to fuelwood scarcity.     

迁移类型、户籍身份与工资收入水平*

本文基于2013年中国居民收入调查数据（CHIP）,考察各类迁移对工资收入水平的影响。OLS及PSM估计结果均表明各类迁移有利于工资收入水平的提升;采用局部工具变量法进行稳健性检验,发现本文的研究结论依然成立。分迁移范围来看,市外迁移的平均收入增长效应大于市内迁移的平均收入增长效应;分户籍类型来看,农村户籍迁移的平均收入增长效应大于城市户籍的平均收入增长效应。综合比较各种迁移类型的收入增长效应,由强至弱可以将其排列为：永久移民市外迁移、农村户籍市外迁移、本地居民市外迁移、城市户籍市外迁移、农村户籍市内迁移、城市户籍市内迁移、本地居民市内迁移、永久移民市内迁移。城市化的核心在于满足居民的自由迁移意愿,从本文的研究结论来看,鼓励就近城市化而妨碍人口跨区域流动的城市化模式尚未得到收入增长激励的支撑。在推动户籍制度改革及公共服务均等化的同时,应注重建立全国统一的要素市场,进一步完善城市的空间结构体系。     

户籍制度、就业机会与中国城乡居民收入差距

笔者通过实证研究认为,拥有城镇户口显著地有利于劳动者进入高收入行业,造成城镇居民在收入和福利待遇方面比农村居民显著要高,户籍制度下的机会不平等是造成城乡居民收入差距的重要原因。同时,在控制了影响劳动者就业选择的控制变量的情况下,研究的主要结论依然稳健。研究的政策启示是应该继续改革户籍制度,努力消除户籍制度对劳动者就业选择的不利影响,进而不断缩小城乡收入差距,促进城乡和谐与均衡发展。     

老龄化如何影响我国家庭消费支出——来自中国综合社会调查的证据

基于中国综合社会调查（CGSS)的数据，本文谨慎定义老龄家庭后实证检验了老龄化对我国家庭消费支出的影响。研究发现，老龄化将使家庭消费支出显著下降并对大多数消费分项支出产生较大负面影响，同时会大幅提升家庭医疗服务支出；收入是老龄化影响家庭消费的重要中间变量。基于城乡分类子样本研究发现，乡村家庭受老龄化冲击异常严重，乡村医疗服务供给存在较大缺口。基于分层的城镇子样本回归发现，老龄化对城镇家庭消费的冲击集中体现在较低分位家庭。     

Economies of scale for broadband in rural United States

Empirical cost models for wireline broadband circuits are used to test whether economies of scale exist in rural areas and whether new Ethernet technology lowers the unit cost of broadband transportation. Previous studies have shown small or nonexistent economies of scale for wireless technology. Results from earlier studies also demonstrated economies of scale for voice-only wireline networks which diminished with network size and were fully exploited for large networks. To our knowledge presence of economies of scale for wireline broadband networks has not been tested, certainly not in rural United States. We use data supplied by more than 500 rural local exchange carriers and find economies of scale for small rural wireline broadband providers. Market size limitations appear to prevent rural telephone companies from fully exploiting unit cost savings. The data also show increasing capacity over existing broadband connections is subject to substantial economies of scale, but such economies diminish quickly as bandwidth capacity increases. The data do not support the hypothesis that Ethernet technology reduces broadband transmission cost.     

城乡居民对水源地保护的支付意愿差异分析——以北京水源地为例

基于城乡比较的视角,利用调查数据,运用意愿调查法分析了城乡居民对水源地保护的支付意愿及其差异。研究结果显示:虽然农村居民的收入较低,但是农村居民对水源地保护的响应程度要高于城区居民,且农村居民对水源地保护的户均支付意愿也高于城区居民,但农村居民的总支付意愿比城区居民小;从支付意愿的影响因素来看,城区居民与农村居民并没有表现出明显的差异性,即均表现为受教育程度、家庭收入对支付意愿有显著的正向影响,而年龄对支付意愿有显著的负向影响;从拒绝支付的理由来看,绝大多数农村居民拒绝支付的主要原因是收入低、没有能力支付,而超过半数的城区居民认为水源地保护是政府、自来水公司等其他主体的责任。     

间接税归宿对城乡居民收入分配影响研究

使用全国城乡家庭消费和收入微观数据考察间接税对于城乡收入差距和收入分配的影响发现:平均来看,全国居民负担的税收占收入的比例是10.6%;不论在全国范围来看还是分别在城乡内部来看,间接税负担都呈现累退:低收入的负担率高于高收入的负担率。在城乡之间,城镇居民的税收负担率高于农村居民的税收负担率。间接税增加了城乡内部不平等,降低了城乡之间的不平等。间接税主要对低收入群体影响较大,略微恶化了整体收入不平等。     

Finance and inequality: a study of Indian states

Although a large literature exists on finance and economic growth, few studies have empirically examined the relationship between finance and inequality. Using grouped national household sample survey data on monthly household consumption expenditure at the sub-national level for the years 1999–2000 to 2006–2007, we examine the relationship between Financial Development (FD) and rural and urban inequality in India. The results indicate that FD is associated with a reduction in inequality, but only in the urban areas. Further, inequality is found to be higher in the richer states compared to less developed and low income states, and as state income increases, inequality also increases both in the rural and urban areas. Finally, our results show that increase in population per bank branch leads to higher inequality in urban areas but decline in rural areas.     

The Performance Of A Consumption Augmented Asset Index In Ranking Households And Identifying The Poor

Asset ownership indices are widely used as inexpensive proxies for consumption. We show that these indices can be augmented using dichotomous indicators for consumption, which are equally easy to obtain. Using multiple rounds of Living Standards Measurements Study surveys from Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Ghana, we construct indices using different item subcategories and perform a meta‐analysis comparing the indices to per capita consumption. The results show that the standard asset indices, derived from durable ownership and housing characteristic indicators, perform well in urban settings. Yet, in rural samples and when identifying the extreme poor, household rankings and poverty classification accuracy can be meaningfully improved by adding indicators of food and semi‐durable consumption. We find small improvement from using national weights in urban samples but no improvement from using alternative construction methods. With most of Africa’s poor concentrated in rural areas, these are important insights.     

城乡公共服务：从均等化到一体化--兼论落后地区如何破除经济赶超下的城乡“二元”困局

文章基于我国落后地区破除经济赶超下城乡“二元”困局的现实背景,在从理论概念上比较了城乡公共服务均等化与一体化异同的基础上,首先通过构建一个理论框架论证并揭示了我国现有模式下落后地区地方政府经济赶超驱动将导致城乡公共服务均等化陷入困局的作用机制,以及如何构建城乡公共服务一体化机制以保证在落后地区地方政府在既有经济赶超驱动下实现对农村居民公共服务供给变“被动扶持”为“主动支持”的破局构想;其次以实际数据分析加以佐证。研究表明：(1)城乡公共服务均等化与一体化的本质区别将直接决定地方政府利益的不同侧重点及其由此产生的不同后果。(2)城乡公共服务一体化的核心是将地方政府利益重心从城市转向城乡,重点促使落后地区农村公共服务供给收益提升和支出成本下降,地方政府对农村公共服务供给由“被动扶持”转化为“主动支持”,彻底走出城乡公共服务均等化路径下的“二元”困局,实现落后地区地方政府经济赶超与城乡公共服务一体化的利益相容。     

间接税归宿对城乡居民收入分配影响研究

使用全国城乡家庭消费和收入微观数据考察间接税对于城乡收入差距和收入分配的影响发现:平均来看,全国居民负担的税收占收入的比例是10.6%;不论在全国范围来看还是分别在城乡内部来看,间接税负担都呈现累退:低收入的负担率高于高收入的负担率。在城乡之间,城镇居民的税收负担率高于农村居民的税收负担率。间接税增加了城乡内部不平等,降低了城乡之间的不平等。间接税主要对低收入群体影响较大,略微恶化了整体收入不平等。     

Child labor and the minimum wage: Evidence from India

This study examines how changes in the minimum wage affect child labor in India. The analysis uses repeated cross sections of India's NSSO employment data from 1983 to 2008 merged with data on state-level minimum wage rates. Theoretically, the impact of the minimum wage on child work could go either way, so empirical evidence from a country with high rates of child labor and a myriad of minimum wage laws across states and industries helps to lessen the ambiguity. Results indicate that regardless of gender, in urban areas, a higher minimum wage reduces child labor in household work. In rural areas a similar result applies for girls while household labor does rise for boys. The minimum wage has virtually no impact on child work outside of the home across urban and rural areas.     

我国贫困地区农村居民消费需求影响因素研究

本文基于2005年国家级贫困县农村居民入户调查数据,实证分析了收入、消费环境、消费观念以及人口学特征等因素对我国贫困地区农村居民消费需求的影响。研究结果表明,居民所在村通公路会增加农民的消费支出;家庭规模的扩大会导致居民消费支出的减少;如果居民家庭中有成员在城市工作,其消费观念的变化会导致其消费支出发生变化;在我国贫困地区,汉族居民的消费支出水平高于少数民族居民;家庭结构对居民消费支出亦有显著影响。在此基础上,本文提出改善我国贫困地区农村居民消费水平的措施,包括提高农村居民的收入、加快农村地区基础设施建设、改变农村居民的消费观念、注重对少数民族居民的政策扶持等。     

论我国劳动力市场分割

我国劳动力市场处于一种多元分割状态,城乡之间、城市内部、农村内部都没有统一的劳动力市场,城市内有头等和次等劳动力市场,农村中有农业和非农业劳动力市场,其中尤以城乡分割最为严格.在二元结构下.以户籍管理制度为基础的一系列正式制度安排,使劳动力市场分割有了制度基础,它非正式制度相呼应,形成了我国劳动力市场分割的特殊形态.本文从综合角度研究了我国劳动力市场分割现状并对其原因进行了探讨.     

财富不平等会抑制金融素养对家庭借贷行为的作用效果吗*——基于CHFS数据的经验分析

本文基于2013年中国家庭金融调查（CHFS）数据,选用工具变量法,考察了金融素养对城乡家庭借贷行为影响的差异性,并验证了财富不平等扩大会抑制金融素养对家庭借贷行为的影响。研究发现：（1）金融素养是影响家庭借贷行为的重要因素。户主金融素养水平的改善显著提高了家庭发生借贷的概率与家庭借贷规模。（2）金融素养对城乡家庭借贷行为的影响存在明显差异,金融素养的提高对信贷约束较为严重的农村家庭借贷行为的促进作用更大。（3）财富不平等对家庭借贷行为存在明显的抑制作用,财富不平等的扩大减少了家庭借贷需求,降低了家庭发生借贷的概率和家庭负债规模。（4）随着家庭财富不平等程度的扩大,金融素养对家庭借贷行为的促进作用受到抑制。基于以上结论,政府应该大力开展消费者金融素养教育,注重家庭收入分配合理性,从而推动我国消费金融市场的健康发展。     

Demand for Piped and Non-piped Water Supply Services: Evidence from Southwest Sri Lanka

In many countries water supply is a service that is seriously underpriced, especially for residential consumers. This has led to a call for setting cost recovery policies to ensure that the tariffs charged for water supply cover the full cost of service provision. Identification of factors driving piped and non-piped water demand is a necessary prerequisite for predicting how consumers will react to such price increases. Using cross-sectional data of 1,800 households from Southwest Sri Lanka, we estimate water demand functions for piped and non-piped households using appropriate econometric techniques. The (marginal) price elasticity is estimated at  − 0.15 for households exclusively relying on piped water, and at  − 0.37 for households using piped water but supplementing their supply with other water sources. The time cost elasticity for households relying on non-piped water only is estimated at  − 0.06 on average, but varying across sources. For both piped and non-piped households, we find evidence of substitutability between water from different sources. We discuss the implications of these results in terms of pricing policy.     

中国农村居民贫困测度研究——基于山西的调查分析

运用Atkinson（1987）单维贫困测量与Alkire和Foster（2008）多维贫困测量相结合的方法,对山西农村居民贫困情况进行了测度。实证结果表明：从单维视角看,山西农村贫困主要体现在饮用水、消费、收入三个方面,全省三个主要贫困区存在差异;从多维视角来看,山西省农村居民存在多维贫困现象,考虑的贫困维度越多,贫困程度越严重。东部太行山区与北部高寒冷凉区的饮用水问题也比较严重,北部高寒冷凉区相比其他两个地区其教育问题较为突出,北部高寒冷凉区与西部吕梁山区的住房问题也需要关注。因此,山西今后要从多维度识别和瞄准贫困,针对地区贫困特点予以扶持。