World Bank - Water resources

Accurate measurement of stock levels, turnover, and profitability in microenterprises in developing countries is difficult because the majority of these firms do not keep detailed records. This paper tests the use of radio frequency identification tags as a means of objectively measuring stock levels and stock flow in small retail firms in Sri Lanka. In principle, the tags offer the potential to track stock movements accurately. The paper compares the stock counts obtained from RFID reads to physical stock counts and to survey responses. There are three main findings. First, current RFID-technology is more difficult to use, and more time-consuming to employ, than had been envisaged. Second, the technology works reasonably well for paper products, but very poorly for most products sold by microenterprises: on average only about one-quarter of the products tagged could be read and there was considerable day-to-day variation in read-efficiency. Third, a comparison of survey responses and physical stock-takes shows much higher accuracy for survey measures. As a result, the study concludes that this technology is currently unsuitable for improving stock measurement in microenterprises, except perhaps for a few products.2014-10-16T04:00:00.000Z2014-10-16T04:00:00.000ZIndustry|Information and Communication Technologies|Water Resources|Private Sector DevelopmentE-Business|Food & Beverage Industry|Technology Industry|Water and Industry|ICT Policy and StrategiesSouth Asiade Mel, Suresh|Herath, Dammika|McKenzie, David|Pathak, YuvrajRadio frequency (un)identification : results from a proof-of-concept trial of the use of RFID technology to measure microenterprise turnover in Sri LankaEnglishSri LankaIndustry|Information and Communication Technologies|Water Resources|Private Sector DevelopmentE-Business|Food & Beverage Industry|Technology Industry|Water and Industry|ICT Policy and StrategiesWPS7064Sri LankaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperSouth Asia

Although water variability has already been observed across river basins, climate change is predicted to increase variability. Such environmental changes may aggravate political tensions, especially in regions that are not equipped with an appropriate institutional apparatus. Increased variability is also likely to challenge regions with existing institutional capacity. This paper argues that the best attempts to assess the ability of states to deal with variability in the future rest with considering how agreements have fared in the past. The paper investigates to what extent particular mechanisms and institutional designs help mitigate inter-country tensions over shared water. The analysis specifically focuses on identifying which water allocation mechanisms and institutional features provide better opportunities for mitigating conflict given that water allocation issues tend to be most salient among riparians. Water-related events from the Basins at Risk events database are used as the dependent variable to test hypotheses regarding the viability, or resilience, of treaties over time. Climatic, geographic, political, and economic variables are used as controls. The analysis is conducted for the years 1948-2001 with the country dyad as the level of observation. Findings pertaining to the primary explanatory variables suggest that country dyads governed by treaties with water allocation mechanisms exhibiting both flexibility and specificity evince more cooperative behavior. Country dyads governed by treaties with a larger sum of institutional mechanisms likewise evince a higher level of cooperation, although certain institutional mechanisms are more important than others. 2014-06-10T04:00:00.000Z2014-06-10T04:00:00.000ZWater Supply and Sanitation|Rural Development|Water ResourcesWater Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions|Water and Industry|Common Property Resource Development|Water Supply and Systems|Town Water Supply and SanitationThe World RegionDinar, Shlomi|Katz, David|De Stefano, Lucia|Blankespoor, BrianClimate change, conflict, and cooperation : global analysis of the resilience of international river treaties to increased water variabilityEnglishWorldWater Supply and Sanitation|Rural Development|Water ResourcesWater Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions|Water and Industry|Common Property Resource Development|Water Supply and Systems|Town Water Supply and SanitationWPS6916WorldEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperThe World Region

This paper examines the employment growth of Indian districts from 2000 to 2010 in the manufacturing and services sectors. Specialization and diversity metrics that combine industries in both sectors are calculated and related to subsequent job growth. The analysis finds robust and consistent evidence that the diversity of industries in the district across the two sectors links to subsequent job growth. Somewhat surprisingly, this link finds its strongest expression outside typical stories about the role of diversity. For example, the growth is strongest in rural areas of districts and in districts with low population density. Diversity correlates with disproportionately higher employment growth in the informal sector and plays a role in generating employment in the district's smaller industries. These findings point toward the "inclusive" nature of diversity-driven growth and highlight a potentially important agenda item for policy makers concerned with inclusive development.2014-06-12T04:00:00.000Z2014-06-12T04:00:00.000ZTransport|Social Protections and Labor|Communities and Human Settlements|Water Resources|Finance and Financial Sector DevelopmentBanks & Banking Reform|Transport Economics Policy & Planning|Water and Industry|Housing & Human Habitats|Labor PoliciesSouth AsiaGhani, Ejaz|Kerr, William R.|Tewari, IshaniRegional diversity and inclusive growth in Indian citiesEnglishIndiaTransport|Social Protections and Labor|Communities and Human Settlements|Water Resources|Finance and Financial Sector DevelopmentBanks & Banking Reform|Transport Economics Policy & Planning|Water and Industry|Housing & Human Habitats|Labor PoliciesWPS6919IndiaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperSouth Asia

This paper documents a significant impact of climate variation on urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa, primarily in more arid countries. By lowering farm incomes, reduced moisture availability encourages migration to nearby cities, while wetter conditions slow migration. The paper also provides evidence for rural-urban income links. In countries with a larger industrial base, reduced moisture shrinks the agricultural sector and raises total incomes in nearby cities. However, if local cities are entirely dependent on servicing agriculture so their fortunes move with those of agriculture, reduced moisture tends to reduce local urban incomes. Finally, the paper shows that climate induces employment changes within the rural sector itself. Drier conditions induce a shift out of farm activities, especially for women, into non-farm activities, and especially out of the workforce. Overall, these findings imply a strong link between climate and urbanization in Africa.2014-06-16T04:00:00.000Z2014-06-16T04:00:00.000ZScience and Technology Development|Health, Nutrition and Population|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water Resources|EnvironmentScience of Climate Change|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Population Policies|Climate Change Economics|Water ConservationAfricaHenderson, J. Vernon|Storeygard, Adam|Deichmann, Uwe50 years of urbanization in Africa : examining the role of climate changeEnglishAfricaScience and Technology Development|Health, Nutrition and Population|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water Resources|EnvironmentScience of Climate Change|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Population Policies|Climate Change Economics|Water ConservationWPS6925AfricaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperAfrica

Although previous research has demonstrated the health benefits of water treatment programs, relatively little is known about the effect of water treatment on education. This paper examines the educational benefits to rural youth in China of a major drinking water treatment program started in the 1980s, perhaps the largest of such programs in the world. By employing a cross-sectional data set (constructed from a longitudinal data set covering two decades) with more than 4,700 individuals between 18 and 25 years old, the analysis finds that this health program has improved the individuals' education substantially, increasing the grades of education completed by 1.08 years. The qualitative results hold when the analysis controls for local educational policies and resources, village dummies, and distance of villages to schools, and by instrumenting the water treatment dummy with villages' topographic features, among others. Moreover, three findings render support to the brawn theory of gender division of labor: girls benefit much more from water treatment than boys in schooling attainment; youth with an older brother benefit more than youth with an older sister; and boys gain more body mass than girls do from having access to treated water. The program can account for the gender gap in educational attainment in rural China in the sample period. Young people that had access to treated plant water in early childhood (0-2 years of age) experienced significantly higher gains in education than those who were exposed to treated water after early childhood. The estimates suggest that this program is highly cost-effective.2014-10-07T04:00:00.000Z2014-10-07T04:00:00.000ZWater Supply and Sanitation|Health, Nutrition and Population|Water ResourcesHealth Monitoring & Evaluation|Town Water Supply and Sanitation|Water and Industry|Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions|Water ConservationEast Asia and PacificXu, Lixin Colin|Zhang, JingWater quality, brawn, and education: the rural drinking water program in ChinaEnglishChinaWater Supply and Sanitation|Health, Nutrition and Population|Water ResourcesHealth Monitoring & Evaluation|Town Water Supply and Sanitation|Water and Industry|Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions|Water ConservationWPS7054ChinaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperEast Asia and Pacific

Trade liberalizations have been shown to improve domestic firms' performance through the new varieties of imported intermediate inputs. This paper uses a unique, representative sample of Bangladeshi garment firms to highlight that local intermediate inputs may also enhance domestic firms' performance, through the shared supplier spillovers of foreign direct investment (FDI) firms. An exogenous EU trade policy shock is shown to cause some FDI firms in Bangladesh to expand, which led to better performance of the domestic firms that shared their suppliers. Overall, the shared supplier spillovers of FDI explain 1/4 of the product scope expansion and 1/3 of the productivity gains within domestic firms.2014-09-29T04:00:00.000Z2014-09-29T04:00:00.000ZSocial Protections and Labor|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water Resources|Private Sector DevelopmentMarkets and Market Access|Water and Industry|Economic Theory & Research|E-Business|Labor PoliciesThe World RegionKee, Hiau LooiLocal intermediate inputs and the shared supplier spillovers of foreign direct
investmentEnglishWorldSocial Protections and Labor|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water Resources|Private Sector DevelopmentMarkets and Market Access|Water and Industry|Economic Theory & Research|E-Business|Labor PoliciesWPS7050WorldEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperThe World Region

After the tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia, the recovery of fishing was limited while non-fishing sectors temporarily expanded. This paper shows that fishermen's ex-post labor supply responses continued to be constrained by the provision of low quality production assets. The average fishing productivity also declined for the negative selection in response to the aggregate shock. In a natural experiment set-up, it shows widening income inequality after the tsunami for income losses to the recipients of poor quality aid. It suggests the importance of quality monitoring and private market access to sustainably promote rural development after the tsunami. 2013-06-27T04:00:00.000Z2013-06-27T04:00:00.000ZEnvironment|Agriculture|Social Protections and Labor|Water ResourcesFisheries and Aquaculture|Coastal and Marine Environment|Labor Policies|Labor Markets|Coastal and Marine ResourcesEast Asia and PacificNose, ManabuEnduring impacts of aid quality on job choices : the case of the 2004 tsunami in AcehEnglishIndonesiaEnvironment|Agriculture|Social Protections and Labor|Water ResourcesFisheries and Aquaculture|Coastal and Marine Environment|Labor Policies|Labor Markets|Coastal and Marine ResourcesWPS6514IndonesiaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperEast Asia and Pacific

There is growing interest in using messaging to drive prosocial behaviors, which contribute to investment in public goods. The authors worked with a leading nongovernmental organization in Peru to randomize nine different prorecycling messages that were crafted on the basis of best practices, prior evidence, and theories of behavioral change. Different variants emphasized information on environmental or social benefits, social comparisons, social sanctions, authority, and reminders. None of the messages had significant effects on recycling behavior. However, reducing the cost of ongoing participation by providing a recycling bin significantly increased recycling among enrolled households.2013-07-29T04:00:00.000Z2013-07-29T04:00:00.000ZEnvironment|Private Sector Development|Water Resources|Education|Communities and Human SettlementsWater and Industry|Environmental Economics & Policies|Housing & Human Habitats|Knowledge for Development|E-BusinessLatin America & CaribbeanChong, Alberto|Karlan, Dean|Shapiro, Jeremy|Zinman, Jonathan(Ineffective) messages to encourage recycling : evidence from a randomized evaluation in PeruEnglishPeruEnvironment|Private Sector Development|Water Resources|Education|Communities and Human SettlementsWater and Industry|Environmental Economics & Policies|Housing & Human Habitats|Knowledge for Development|E-BusinessWPS6548PeruEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperLatin America & Caribbean

Energy intensity has declined significantly in four Chinese industries -- pulp and paper; cement; iron and steel; and aluminum. While previous studies have identified technological change within an industry to be an important influence on energy intensity, few have examined how industry-specific policies and market factors also affect industry-level intensity. This paper employs unique firm-level data from China's most energy-intensive large and medium-size industrial enterprises in each of these four industries over a six-year period from 1999 to 2004. It empirically examines how China's energy-saving programs, liberalization of domestic markets, openness to the world economy, and other policies, contribute to the decline in energy intensity in these industries. The results suggest that rising energy costs are a significant contributor to the decline in energy intensity in all four industries. China's industrial policies targeting scale economies -- for example, "grasping the large, letting go off the small" -- also seem to have contributed to reductions in energy intensity in these four industries. However, the results also suggest that trade openness and technology development led to declines in energy intensity in only one or two of these industries. Finally, the analysis finds that energy intensities vary among firms with different ownership types and regional locations.2013-07-30T04:00:00.000Z2013-07-30T04:00:00.000ZEnvironment|Private Sector Development|Water Resources|EnergyEnergy Production and Transportation|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and Environment|Water and Industry|E-BusinessEast Asia and PacificFisher-Vanden, Karen|Hu, Yong|Jefferson, Gary|Rock, Michael|Toman, MichaelFactors influencing energy intensity in four Chinese industriesEnglishChinaEnvironment|Private Sector Development|Water Resources|EnergyEnergy Production and Transportation|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and Environment|Water and Industry|E-BusinessWPS6551ChinaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperEast Asia and Pacific

This study estimates and compares the effects of small and large irrigation dams on cropland productivity in South Africa. To this end, a panel data set of South African river basins is constructed. The econometric analysis reveals that although large dams increase cropland productivity downstream, they have a negative effect on cropland within the vicinity. However, their existence can enhance the relatively small positive impact of local small dams. Although a cost-benefit analysis of irrigation benefits shows that small dams may be more viable than large ones, large dams can play a potentially important role within a system of both types of dams.2013-08-13T04:00:00.000Z2013-08-13T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|Water Supply and Sanitation|Water ResourcesRiver Basin Management|Dams and Reservoirs|Hydro Power|Water and Energy|Water Supply and SystemsAfricaBlanc, Elodie|Strobl, EricIs small better ? a comparison of the effect of large and small dams on cropland productivity in South AfricaEnglishSouth AfricaEnergy|Water Supply and Sanitation|Water ResourcesRiver Basin Management|Dams and Reservoirs|Hydro Power|Water and Energy|Water Supply and SystemsWPS6567South AfricaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperAfrica

Three recent rounds (2003, 2006, and 2009) of the Family Income and Expenditure Survey are matched to rainfall data from 43 rainfall stations in the Philippines to quantify the extent to which unusual weather has any negative effects on the consumption of Filipino households. It is found that negative rainfall shocks decrease consumption, in particular food consumption. Rainfall below one standard deviation of its long-run average causes food consumption to decrease by about 4 percent, when compared with rainfall within one standard deviation. Positive deviations above one standard deviation have a limited impact. Moreover, for households close to a highway or to a fixed-line phone, consumption appears to be fully protected from the impact of negative rainfall shocks.2013-08-20T04:00:00.000Z2013-08-20T04:00:00.000ZScience and Technology Development|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water Resources|EnvironmentScience of Climate Change|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Water Conservation|Regional Economic Development|Climate Change EconomicsEast Asia and PacificSafir, Abla|Piza, Sharon Faye|Skoufias, EmmanuelDisquiet on the weather front : the welfare impacts of climatic variability in the rural PhilippinesEnglishPhilippinesScience and Technology Development|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water Resources|EnvironmentScience of Climate Change|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Water Conservation|Regional Economic Development|Climate Change EconomicsWPS6579PhilippinesEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperEast Asia and Pacific

This paper examines the interaction between formal (organized) and informal (unorganized) plants in the manufacturing sector in India. How has the size and productivity of the plants in the organized sector affected the plants in the unorganized sector? How have informal plants affected formal plants? Are the magnitudes of the effects symmetric in either direction? The evidence shows that there are positive horizontal and vertical spillovers in each direction. Informal firms are an important supplier of inputs to formal firms. Employment and output in the organized sector is greater in those states in India that have a greater presence of unorganized suppliers of inputs. Conversely, unorganized employment and output are greater in states that have a greater presence of organized buyers of inputs. But there are two important asymmetries in the relationship between the organized and unorganized sectors. First, the unorganized sector is much more dependent on and responsive to organized sector presence than vice versa. Second, unorganized sector productivity is dependent on and responsive to organized sector productivity and presence but the reverse is not true.2013-09-04T04:00:00.000Z2013-09-04T04:00:00.000ZIndustry|Social Protections and Labor|Water Resources|Private Sector DevelopmentLabor Policies|Water and Industry|Labor Markets|Industrial Management|E-BusinessSouth AsiaGhani, Ejaz|O'Connell, Stephen D.|Sharma, GunjanFriend or foe or family ? a tale of formal and informal plants in IndiaEnglishIndiaIndustry|Social Protections and Labor|Water Resources|Private Sector DevelopmentLabor Policies|Water and Industry|Labor Markets|Industrial Management|E-BusinessWPS6588IndiaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperSouth Asia

The paper develops a simple model to demonstrate that, paradoxically, greater competition may exacerbate the problem of corruption. Market participants engaging in corrupt practices enjoy lower production costs -- maybe because they pay a bribe to avoid installing the environmental safeguards required by law -- such that honest players are driven out of the market when the market becomes sufficiently competitive.2013-09-09T04:00:00.000Z2013-09-09T04:00:00.000ZPublic Sector Development|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water Resources|Finance and Financial Sector Development|GenderPublic Sector Corruption & Anticorruption Measures|Water and Industry|Markets and Market Access|Gender and Law|MicrofinanceThe World RegionBasu, Kaushik|McGavock, Tamara|Zhang, BoyangWhen competition corrupts : a theoretical analysis of market structure and the incidence of corruptionEnglishWorldPublic Sector Development|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water Resources|Finance and Financial Sector Development|GenderPublic Sector Corruption & Anticorruption Measures|Water and Industry|Markets and Market Access|Gender and Law|MicrofinanceWPS6596WorldEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperThe World Region

A large and growing informal sector is a major feature of developing countries. This paper analyzes coagglomeration patterns between formal and informal manufacturing enterprises in India. It studies (a) the causes underlying these patterns and (b) the positive externalities, if any, on the entry of new firms. The analysis finds that buyer-supplier and technology linkages explain much of formal-informal coagglomeration. Also, within-industry coagglomeration matters mostly to small- and medium-sized formal firm births. Traditional measures of agglomeration remain important in explaining new industrial activity, whether in the formal or the informal sector.2013-09-26T04:00:00.000Z2013-09-26T04:00:00.000ZIndustry|International Economics and Trade|Urban Development|Water Resources|Finance and Financial Sector Development|Private Sector DevelopmentMicrofinance|Water and Industry|Small Scale Enterprise|Industrial Management|Urban Economic Development|Competition PolicySouth AsiaMukim, MeghaCoagglomeration of formal and informal industry : evidence from IndiaEnglishIndiaIndustry|International Economics and Trade|Urban Development|Water Resources|Finance and Financial Sector Development|Private Sector DevelopmentMicrofinance|Water and Industry|Small Scale Enterprise|Industrial Management|Urban Economic Development|Competition PolicyWPS6622IndiaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperSouth Asia

This paper examines the specialization and diversity of manufacturing industries within Indian districts. Prior to India's recent economic growth and liberalization, specialization levels in 1989 were substantially higher than similar metrics calculated for the United States. From 1989 to 2010, average specialization levels for Indian districts declined to a level that is now quite comparable to the United States. Diversity levels similarly increased. Specialization and diversity levels in India are becoming more persistent with time. Manufacturing plants display higher productivity in districts that display both properties. From 1989 to 2010, manufacturing employment growth was higher in districts that were more specialized at the start of the period.2013-10-09T04:00:00.000Z2013-10-09T04:00:00.000ZInformation and Communication Technologies|Social Protections and Labor|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water Resources|Private Sector DevelopmentWater and Industry|Labor Policies|E-Business|Political Economy|Information Security & PrivacySouth AsiaGhani, Ejaz|Kerr, William R.|Tewari, IshaniSpecialization, diversity, and Indian manufacturing growthEnglishIndiaInformation and Communication Technologies|Social Protections and Labor|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water Resources|Private Sector DevelopmentWater and Industry|Labor Policies|E-Business|Political Economy|Information Security & PrivacyWPS6648IndiaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperSouth Asia

This paper analyzes the scale and productivity consequences of varied input use in Indian manufacturing using detailed plant-level data. Counts of distinct material inputs are higher in urban settings than in rural locations, unconditionally and conditional on plant size, and they are also higher in the organized sector than in the unorganized sector. At the district level, higher input usage in the organized sector is generally observed in wealthier districts and those with greater literacy rates. If looking within states, the usage is more closely associated with electricity access, population density, and closer spatial proximity to one of India's largest cities. Plants in the organized sector utilizing a greater variety of inputs display higher productivity, with the effects mostly concentrated among smaller plants with fewer than 50 employees. For the unorganized sector, there is little correlation of input counts and local conditions, for better or for worse, and a more modest link to productivity outcomes. 2013-10-16T04:00:00.000Z2013-10-16T04:00:00.000ZTransport|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water Resources|Environment|Private Sector DevelopmentWater and Industry|E-Business|Transport Economics Policy & Planning|Economic Theory & Research|Environmental Economics & PoliciesSouth AsiaGhani, Ejaz|Kerr, William R.|O'Connell, Stephen D.Input usage and productivity in Indian manufacturing plantsEnglishIndiaTransport|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water Resources|Environment|Private Sector DevelopmentWater and Industry|E-Business|Transport Economics Policy & Planning|Economic Theory & Research|Environmental Economics & PoliciesWPS6656IndiaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperSouth Asia

Under neoclassical assumptions, and the usual ceteris paribus stipulations, a profit maximizing firm is expected to increase production in response to rising prices. These situations normally produce the rather well-known upward sloping supply curve for the firm which can usually be generalized to the industry. This paper examines whether these situations held for firms in the iron ore mining sector in Liberia between 1951 and 1985 under a system where royalties were levied on the per unit level of production and on the basis of the price of the ore. It investigates whether iron ore mining companies have an incentive to increase ore production when prices are low to attract lower total royalty payments under conditions where: (a) base-mining operations are vertically integrated and firms employ transfer pricing between mining and upstream processing entities and (b) large quantities of ore can be shipped at relatively low prices and held in inventory either as ore or added-value products, such as steel, to take advantage of higher prices in the future. The paper specifies and estimates two simple linear supply models of the Liberian iron ore industry. It uses data for 1951-1985, the period for which the most consistent and reliable data exist prior to the start of the 14-year conflict in 1989. The analysis finds that the price coefficient estimates from both models are robust but negative and suggest that a perverse response in the supply behavior of mining companies in Liberia over the period 1951-1985 cannot be ruled out. 2013-10-18T04:00:00.000Z2013-10-18T04:00:00.000ZIndustry|Social Protections and Labor|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water ResourcesMarkets and Market Access|Economic Theory & Research|Mining & Extractive Industry (Non-Energy)|Water and Industry|Labor PoliciesAfricaGrahamm Errol G.Perverse supply response in the Liberian mining sectorEnglishLiberiaIndustry|Social Protections and Labor|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water ResourcesMarkets and Market Access|Economic Theory & Research|Mining & Extractive Industry (Non-Energy)|Water and Industry|Labor PoliciesWPS6663LiberiaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperAfrica

Whether the negative relationship between farm size and productivity that is confirmed in a large global literature holds in Africa is of considerable policy relevance. This paper revisits this issue and examines potential causes of the inverse productivity relationship in Rwanda, where policy makers consider land fragmentation and small farm sizes to be key bottlenecks for the growth of the agricultural sector. Nationwide plot-level data from Rwanda point toward a constant returns to scale crop production function and a strong negative relationship between farm size and output per hectare as well as intensity of labor use that is robust across specifications. The inverse relationship continues to hold if profits with family labor valued at shadow wages are used, but disappears if family labor is rather valued at village-level market wage rates. These findings imply that, in Rwanda, labor market imperfections, rather than other unobserved factors, seem to be a key reason for the inverse farm-size productivity relationship.2014-02-06T05:00:00.000Z2014-02-06T05:00:00.000ZAgriculture|Social Protections and Labor|Water Resources|Finance and Financial Sector DevelopmentWetlands|Labor Policies|Banks & Banking Reform|Climate Change and Agriculture|Agricultural Knowledge and Information SystemsAfricaAli, Daniel Ayalew|Deininger, KlausIs there a farm-size productivity relationship in African agriculture ? evidence from RwandaEnglishRwandaAgriculture|Social Protections and Labor|Water Resources|Finance and Financial Sector DevelopmentWetlands|Labor Policies|Banks & Banking Reform|Climate Change and Agriculture|Agricultural Knowledge and Information SystemsWPS6770RwandaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperAfrica

What kinds of changes in foreign competition lead domestic industries to seek import protection? To address this question this paper uses detailed monthly U.S. import data to investigate changes in import composition during a 24-month window immediately preceding the filing of a petition for protection. A decomposition methodology allows a comparison of imports from two groups of countries supplying the same product: those that are named in the petition and those that are not. The same decomposition can be applied to products quite similar to the imports in question, but not subject to a petition. The results suggest that industries typically seek protection when faced with a specific pattern of shocks. First, a persistent positive relative supply shock favors imports from named countries. Second, a negative demand shock hits imports from all sources just prior to domestic industries' petition for protection. The relative supply shock is a broad one; it applies both to named commodities and to the comparison product group. The import demand shock, by contrast, is narrow, hitting only named products. The latter shock is also large: import growth over the two-year window is 15 percentage points lower in named products than in reference products, with most of this gap arising in the final two quarters before the petition. The negative import demand shock appears to be a key event in the run-up to the filing of a petition. It has been missed by previous studies using more aggregated data.2014-03-03T05:00:00.000Z2014-03-03T05:00:00.000ZInternational Economics and Trade|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water ResourcesMarkets and Market Access|Trade Policy|Water and Industry|Access to Markets|Economic Theory & ResearchThe World RegionHillberry, Russell|McCalman, PhillipImport dynamics and demands for protectionEnglishWorldInternational Economics and Trade|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Water ResourcesMarkets and Market Access|Trade Policy|Water and Industry|Access to Markets|Economic Theory & ResearchWPS6796WorldEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperThe World Region

In a changing climate, saltwater intrusion is expected to worsen in low-lying coastal areas around the world. Understanding the physical and economic effects of salinity ingress, and planning adaptation, are key to the long-term development of countries for which sea level rise has been identified as a major risk from climate change. This paper presents a study conducted in Bangladesh, which quantifies the prospective relationship between climate-induced changes in sea level, temperature, rainfall, and altered riverine flows from the Himalayas, and the spread and intensity of salinization on river water in the coastal zone for 2050. The research takes into account the projected land subsidence of the Ganges Delta, as well as alternative scenarios of upstream withdrawal of freshwater. The findings indicate that climate change will cause significant changes in river salinity in the southwest coastal area of Bangladesh by 2050. These changes are likely to lead to significant shortages of drinking water in the coastal urban areas, scarcity of water for irrigation for dry-season agriculture, and significant changes in the coastal aquatic ecosystems. Changes in the availability of freshwater fish will likely affect the composition of capture fishery, although the increase in brackish water will enhance opportunities for brackish water aquaculture. Assessment of location-specific economic impacts of the changes in river salinity, identification of suitable adaptation alternatives, and costing of adaptation are high priorities for further analysis.2014-03-26T04:00:00.000Z2014-03-26T04:00:00.000ZWater Supply and Sanitation|Rural Development|Water ResourcesWetlands|Water Conservation|Water Supply and Systems|Common Property Resource Development|Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and InstitutionsSouth AsiaDasgupta, Susmita|Kamal, Farhana Akhter|Khan, Zahirul Huque|Choudhury, Sharifuzzaman|Nishat, AinunRiver salinity and climate change : evidence from coastal BangladeshEnglishBangladeshWater Supply and Sanitation|Rural Development|Water ResourcesWetlands|Water Conservation|Water Supply and Systems|Common Property Resource Development|Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and InstitutionsWPS6817BangladeshEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperSouth Asia