Formal mining investments and artisanal mining in southern Madagascar: Effects of spontaneous reactions and adjustment policies on poverty alleviation

The main political concern in the southern areas of Madagascar is poverty alleviation. To alleviate poverty in the area, the government has chosen to enforce adjustment policies of the World Bank Group. According to the World Bank Group's argument, while artisanal mining is supposed to create significant economic, social and environmental problems, large-scale mining investment results in economic and social prosperity. This paper focuses principally on a re-analysis of the debates regarding the relationship between artisanal and large-scale mining and poverty alleviation in developing countries. Further, the paper offers an alternative viewpoint on these issues based on the example of Madagascar. In the last decade, Madagascar has experienced a significant increase in mining activity. Towards the end of the 90s, informal and artisanal mining emerged as one of the most important economic activities of the area with the development of the Ilakaka frontier. At the same time, foreign investments began to benefit from adjustment policies implemented by the government, and large-scale mining operations also commenced. As the local socio-economic system was deeply affected by these developments, it is wise to monitor the effects of each type of mining operation on poverty alleviation. On the one hand, it appears that governance insufficiency has hampered possibilities for broader economic prosperity through large-scale mining investments. On the other hand, while artisanal mining is frequently condemned by scholars, the negative comments seem to be overly pessimistic, as this activity can be demonstrated to provide considerable economic opportunities for both the native and migrant populations.     

Agriculture reform and food crisis in Syria: Impacts on poverty and inequality

The paper pursues a twofold objective. From a methodological viewpoint it shows how to carry out an impacts evaluation of exogenous shocks on poverty and inequality in a context characterised by out-of-equilibrium, poorly-adjusting markets, as it is the case in many developing countries, using a social accounting matrix framework. From an empirical viewpoint it provides an assessment of how the cereal price spikes of 2007–2008 and the global recession of 2008–2009 have impacted the welfare of Syrian households and how did they compound with the on-going agricultural sector liberalisation implemented by the Government of Syria since mid 1990s. This will contribute to shed some lights on the economic background behind the spreading of unrest across the country over the last couple of years or so.The results show that liberalisation impacts are very different and largely affected by the adopted budget closure rules. While reforms aiming at reducing agricultural market distortions (such as production subsidies and price support for strategic crops) could generally have a positive effect on growth, poverty and inequality, the elimination of food security interventions (such as food stamp schemes) determines an adverse distributional impact against rural household and an increase of poverty. The recent macroeconomic shocks (food price crisis and the global recession) determined a generalised poverty increase and showed an income distribution bias against rural households.Three fundamental policy implications can be drawn by this study. First, the liberalisation of agricultural sector shows a significant growth potential and is likely to determine positive effects on poverty through a generalised increase of incomes as well as public budget savings that could be used for pursuing other policy goals. Second, in the short-run there is a structural trade-off between equity improvements and poverty alleviation: the policy options that will more likely reduce absolute poverty show undesirable distributive biases (both on overall inequality and on rural households vis-à-vis urban households). Third, the reform should include a careful design of the use of budget savings, mainly to address equity goals that are likely to be generated, in the short-run, by liberalisation.     

Poverty dynamics in Hungary during the transformation1

At the time of transoformation in Hungary, poverty was one of the most discussed public questions. This paper focuses mainly on the longitudinal aspect of poverty. It describes the development of the poverty figures by the application of different poverty concepts. The dual nature of poverty is both poverty. We aim to dispel some of the doubts about poverty, and portray, the portray the different social groups experiencing permanent and transitory poverty.     

MARGINAL COMMODITY TAX REFORMS: A SURVEY

Abstract.  As noted 30 years ago by Martin Feldstein, optimal taxes may be useless for practical purposes and emphasis should instead be placed on the possibility of enhancing welfare by reforming existing tax rates. In this perspective, marginal commodity tax reforms are gaining increasing attention due to political and economic constraints on large reforms of direct (or indirect) taxation. In this paper, we summarize the main features and results of the literature on marginal commodity tax reforms pioneered by Ahmad and Stern, further developed by Yitzhaki and Thirsk and recently reinterpreted by Makdissi and Wodon. We establish new links to other fields of research, namely the literature on the use of equivalence scales and on poverty measurement. We also critically examine some issues associated with the implementation of marginal tax reforms with special reference to the calculation of welfare weights and revenue effects. Finally, we suggest directions for future research on poverty-reducing commodity tax reforms.     

企业履行社会责任的共赢效应——基于精准扶贫的视角

本文以沪深A股非金融上市公司作为样本,研究实施精准扶贫对扶贫企业以及被扶贫地区的影响。研究发现,对于扶贫企业而言,实施精准扶贫能够显著缓解其融资约束。从扶贫方式来看,产业扶贫和教育扶贫的效果最为明显。从经济后果来看,实施精准扶贫不仅提高了扶贫企业的经营业绩,而且增加了股东的财富水平。对于被扶贫地区而言,精准扶贫显著提高了地区经济发展和居民可支配收入的增长速度,更重要的是,该地区的生态环境并未遭受明显破坏。在企业实施精准扶贫的动机方面,本文发现管理者私利动机并不能解释企业的精准扶贫行为。上述结果表明,与慈善捐赠有所不同,企业实施精准扶贫并不是企业自利的工具,而是利他性动机与战略性动机的结合,能够实现企业、社会与环境三者的共赢。     

Optimal targeted reduction in reserve requirement ratio in China

This study determines the optimal targeted reduction in reserve requirement ratio in China. We find that a targeted reduction in reserve requirement ratio incentivizes commercial banks to reallocate more credit resources to micro and small enterprises, thus eliminating the negative output gap, slightly dampening the rise in unemployment, but also increasing financial instability. Although there is little direct effect on inflation, raising the targeted reduction in reserve requirement ratio can help mitigate the positive effect of output gap on inflation so that an output gap increase is accompanied by a smaller increase in inflation. Optimal rules for targeted reduction in reserve requirement ratio and interest rate policy are derived. Output gap, inflation, and financial instability are three main factors driving the policy dynamics. A targeted reduction in reserve requirement ratio is complementary to interest rate policy, which helps eliminate the negative output gap and allows the interest rate to be less responsive to inflation volatility.     

Multiplicity and stagnation under the Romer model with increasing returns of R&D

This study develops a simple growth model to explain stagnation and non-simple growth patterns by using increasing returns of R&D efficiency. The study adopts a type of the lab-equipment model, namely, the Romer model, where goods are used as R&D input. Here, we assume capital, or durable goods, as the R&D input factor, and R&D efficiency is assumed to be variable. This arrangement yields three steady states, namely: no-growth, low-growth, and high-growth steady states. These trajectories are jumpable. Accordingly, global indeterminacy is obtained. By uniting the numerical analysis, we obtain that all steady states are saddle stable. However, when the increasing R&D efficiency is small, the path converging to a high-growth-rate steady state shows local indeterminacy.     

西藏脱贫攻坚与乡村振兴战略有效衔接探究

乡村振兴战略是以习近平同志为核心的党中央破解新时代不平衡不充分发展问题,在精准扶贫的基础上推进城乡融合发展,实现农业农村现代化作出的重大决策部署。2019年底,西藏74个县(区)均已实现脱贫摘帽,脱贫攻坚取得重大胜利。当前,西藏正处在巩固脱贫攻坚成果与推进乡村振兴战略并行的特殊时期,如何实现二者有效衔接、融合发展,并形成相互支撑、相互配合、协同推进的良性互动格局,对巩固脱贫攻坚成果,全面推进乡村振兴,实现人民共同富裕至关重要。     

The Impact of Transfers and Taxes on Alternative Poverty Indexes

Changes in the headcount rate are the standard metric for gauging how public transfers and taxes affect US poverty. An alternative strategy, one theoretically more appealing and complete, is to rely on distribution-sensitive indexes (Sen 1976, 1981). How would policy's measured impacts change if such an approach were to be used? This study provides empirical evidence using three selected poverty indexes from the class developed by Foster et al . (1984). Pre- and post-policy values of each index are estimated for the total population and for twenty-three demographic sub-groups using data from March Current Population Surveys covering the period 1992 to 1998. The results indicate that the alternative indexes produce consistent ordinal rankings of policy's impact. (In contrast, the measured cardinal effects of policy differ substantially across indexes.) The empirical evidence has a clear implication for anti-poverty policy: government transfers and taxes are effective in lowering poverty headcount rates, in reducing the depth of poverty and in lessening the relative deprivation among the poor.