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A Survey of Cambodian Households in Rural Villages: An assessment of Living Standards using Kakeibo and its Impact as a Financial Education Tool
No full textKakeibo is the Japanese way of household bookkeeping for saving money efficiently. In the literature of economic studies, the method is also referred to as keeping financial diaries and has been increasingly used for collecting high-frequency data for household cash flows. We introduced the Kakeibo approach into Cambodian rural households from October 2021 to October 2022. The objectives of our study are two-folded: capturing detailed information on income sources, expenses, savings, and borrowing patterns of households over a specific period, and assessing the impacts of keeping the Kakeibo on financial literacy and behavior of rural households. As results of analyses, ceremony expenses, such as expenses for weddings and funeral, constitute a significant portion of total expenses, and those expenses are primarily financed through gift income. In addition, wealthier households tend to rely more on borrowing, while lower-income households often rely on remittances. Furthermore, the diversification of income sources often leads to more stable household income patterns over time. However, it’s important to note that many households still face vulnerability, as their income and expenses may temporarily fall below the poverty line at certain periods. Regarding the impact of the Kakeibo, we found that maintaining a record of cash flows has enhanced financial literacy and financial behavior for the households who participated in the Kakeibo program. However, the positive effects were predominantly observed among households with higher levels of education or income. This study provides crucial evidence for gaining insights into the economic realities of rural communities in Cambodia and can be used to develop effective policies and interventions aimed at improving their well-being and financial resilience.research repor
Peacebuilding through ‘Sport for Development and Peace’ in South Sudan
Full text linkIn South Sudan, two conflicts have erupted since independence in 2011 and ethnic tensions are rising, increasing the importance of "Peace and Social Cohesion" in the country. The National Unity Day (NUD), a national sports competition, has been held annually since 2016 in an effort to support peacebuilding through sports. In this paper, we examine qualitatively and quantitatively the effects of NUD by constructing panel data before and after NUD6, which was held in 2022, with its selected athletes as the treatment group and the non-selected athletes as the control group, and by using testimonies collected from interviews with the athletes. Specifically, we construct “trust” as a proxy variable for social capital and the primary variable in the quantitative analysis, and test whether mistrust causes conflict within the same community, with other ethnic groups, and with the central government. The results revealed that building trust through NUD6 mitigates the perception of conflict toward other ethnic groups. To contextualize these results, we conduct an analysis using qualitative data. The testimonies define the meaning of "peace" and "coexistence" for the athletes and confirm the role of sport in mitigating conflict. One of the new findings is that there are many cases in South Sudan where sport has contributed to conflict
mitigation in this way. We were also able to confirm that during NUD6 there were many opportunities for the athletes to interact with other ethnic groups, and that having meals and playing games together was not only an opportunity for interaction, but also a chance for the athletes to become friends with other ethnic groups to foster trust among them. The results show that NUD6 provided exactly the kind of environment that the athletes desired, a place for peaceful coexistence. Based on these findings, it is intended that this paper will contribute both academically and practically as one of the accumulated examples of “sport for development and peace”.journal articl
Occupational Credentials and Migrants’ Return Aspiration: Evidence from the Foreign Elderly Care Workers in Japan
Full text linkWhile temporary migrants, especially in labor-intensive industries, are expected to contribute to economic growth and to the labor market in their host and home countries, the motives for their return to their home countries are ambiguous. Above all, we need to investigate the effects of occupational credentials as proof of skills on migrant behavior. This study quantitatively explores whether occupational credentials that migrant workers hold in their home and host countries, as signals of skills, influence their return aspirations using unique data from foreign elderly care workers in Japan. We found that migrant workers who held occupational credentials in their home countries tended to expect to return much earlier than those who did not. Our findings imply that the occupational credentials in each country have functioned as one of the crucial factors for their returns, corresponding with the signaling effects in labor market research.労働集約型産業などに従事する一時的移住者（出稼ぎなどを目的とする外国人労働者）は、受入国や母国の経済成長や労働市場への貢献が期待される一方で、彼らの母国への帰国動機は曖昧である。多くの決定要因が検討される中で、とりわけ、スキルの証明としての職務資格が移住行動にもたらす効果について調査する必要がある。本研究では、日本で介護分野に従事する外国人労働者から収集した一次データを用いて、外国人労働者が母国や受入国で保有し、技能のシグナルとしての機能を果たす職務資格が、帰国意向にどのような影響を与えるか定量的に分析した。その結果、母国における職務資格を有する外国人労働者は、そうではない外国人労働者と比べて、より早く帰国を検討している傾向があることがわかった。この結果は、労働市場の研究におけるシグナリング効果に関する議論と一致するものであり、職務資格は一時的移住者の帰国行動における重要な要因の一つとして機能していることを示唆している。departmental bulletin pape
Toward Quality Upgrading of Rice Production in SSA: Experimental Evidence from Northern Ghana
Full text linkQuality improvement of domestic milled rice is an urgent issue in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) because domestic rice cannot compete with imports in the growing urban market. Past studies considered poor milling facilities to be a major factor leading to the inferior quality of domestic rice. However, even with the modern milling facilities recently established in SSA, the quality of milled rice is not yet necessarily competitive with imports. Thus, finding ways to improve the quality of paddy remains an important question in SSA.We hypothesize that the lack of knowledge of paddy quality and its relationship with price causes farmers to continue producing low-quality paddy. We conduct a field experiment in northern Ghana to verify this hypothesis. We randomly selected 108 villages and 10 rice producers from each of the villages. From this sample, we randomly chose 54 treatment villages and provided farmers with information about quality-enhancing technologies and quality parameters appreciated by the market. Utilizing data collected before and after the intervention, we found that the intervention significantly influenced farmers in the adoption of some quality-enhancing practices. Moreover, the intervention induced important behavioral changes among the treated farmers: they sold more aromatic varieties of paddy outside the village than the control farmers and received a higher sales price.
Thus, we conclude that the provision of information about paddy quality and quality-based pricing improved farmers’ paddy production management and market sales. It is noteworthy that even a low-cost intervention without any technical training was able to generate sufficiently desirable outcomes.サハラ以南アフリカ（SSA）では、成長する都市の市場において国産米が輸入米に対抗できないため、国産精米の品質向上は喫緊の課題となっている。過去の研究では、精米施設の不備が国産米の品質が低いことの主要因であると考えられていた。SSAには最近になり近代的な精米施設が建設されているが、そこで精米された米の品質は必ずしも輸入米と競争できるものではない。したがって、精米の原料となる籾米の品質を向上させることが、SSAにおける重要な課題として残されている。この問題に関する我々の仮説は、籾の品質とその価格との関係についてコメ農家が十分に理解していないことが、低品質の籾の生産が続いている原因であるというものである。この仮説を検証するために、ガーナ北部でフィールド実験を行った。108の村を無作為に選択し、各村から10人のコメ生産者を無作為に選んだ。108の村から半数の54か村を無作為に選び処理村とした。処理村では、籾米の品質を向上させる技術や市場における品質評価に使われる品質パラメータについて農家に情報を提供した。介入前後に収集したデータを用いた分析の結果、介入は農家がいくつかの品質向上技術の採用に有意な影響を与えたことがわかった。さらに、介入は農民の行動に重要な変化をもたらした。すなわち、介入を受けた農民は対照農民と比べて香り米を村外で販売する傾向が強く、その販売価格も高かった。このように、籾の品質および品質に基づく価格設定に関する情報を提供することで、農家の籾の生産と販売を改善したと結論づけられる。技術的な訓練を伴わない低コストの介入であったにもかかわらず、十分に望ましい成果が得られたという点は特筆に値する。departmental bulletin pape
What are the important factors promoting connection to municipal water supplies? People’s preferences for water services in Dagon South Township, Yangon City, Myanmar, assessed using a Randomized Conjoint Experiment
Full text linkYangon City, the largest city in Myanmar, does not have enough municipal water services so many people have to make do with their own water sources including private wells. To remedy this situation, Yangon City proposes to expand the existing municipal water services to people who do not currently have connection to them. This research project examines the preferences relating to the new policy scenario for municipal water services and seeks to identify the factors that will attract consumers to connect to these services and move away from their own water sources. This is carried out using a randomized conjoint experiment in the Dagon South Township area of Yangon City. This township has the second largest population in Yangon City. Our results show that reductions in connection fees and improvements in water quality largely increase people’s acceptance of new policies, while better wastewater treatment has little impact. The results also imply that people are satisfied with the present water sources to some extent but show the necessity for further measures to promote connection. In addition, we found significant differences in peoples’preferences when considering their level of education, whether or not they live in a block with partial municipal water services, and their gender. These results show the necessity to communicate with people considering the above situation and take effective measures to promote their connection to municipal water services in the future. At the same time, the sustainability of water services should be considered, including increases in water tariffs, since people may accept improved but more costly water services.departmental bulletin pape
日本のインフラ開発経験の途上国への適用可能性に関する予備的考察： 国・地域レベルの生産・厚生効果に係る実証分析のレビュー
No full text本稿では、戦後日本のインフラがもたらした国・地域レベルの生産効果（企業の生産の増
加）・厚生効果（人々の効用の増加）に関する実証分析の先行文献レビューを行い、途上国の
インフラ開発に向けた示唆の抽出を試みた。レビューの結果、日本のインフラを全体として見
た場合、生産・厚生いずれも正の効果が確認された。生産効果の度合いは時期・地域・インフ
ラの分野により異なり、それぞれ戦後の高度成長期、大都市圏地域、交通・通信等の生産基盤
インフラにおいてより高い生産効果が示された。厚生効果については、文教・衛生等の生活基
盤インフラにおいてより高い効果が示された。途上国のインフラ開発においても、開発・財政
政策上で投資規模や地域・分野間配分を検討する際、発展段階や地域、インフラの分野に応じ
た生産効果・厚生効果の違いに着目することが望ましい。articl
小国と大国の間で変容する二国間関係 －インド太平洋地域の小国が発展させた第三の戦略－
No full textインド太平洋地域1は、中国の台頭を受け、大国間競争の舞台として注目され続けており、他の大国が、政治的また経済的関与を重視することで、同地域に属する小国の地政学的重要性も高まった。複数の大国がひしめき合う中、インド太平洋諸国は、自国の安全と発展のため、これら大国との二国間関係をどのように構築しようとしているのだろうか。本稿は、小国の対大国政策が、伝統的な「順応」や「抵抗」から「自律」の戦略へと発展してきた過程を先行研究に基づき概観する。そこでの議論の展開を整理し、自律のためのヘッジング戦略とは何かを明らかにしながら、今後日本が小国に対しとるべき戦略上、重要となる視点を提示する。なお、本稿が対象とする「小国」とは、国際政治における「大国 （big power）」に対し、国力2において非対称的な立場3に立つ「小国（small power）」という意味合いである。articl
Deposit Dollarization and Financial Inclusion: Evidence from a Household Survey in Cambodia
Full text linkDeposit dollarization has long prevailed in developing countries. This paper investigates factors behind household saving behavior in local and foreign currency, respectively, using a nationally representative household survey carried out by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and the JICA Research Institute (JICA RI) in 2017. We empirically assess whether the portfolio selection model, which is frequently used for the explanation of financial dollarization, fits the data from Cambodian households. To test the hypothesis, we develop an empirical approach for currency choice of deposit account by taking into account an important aspect of dollarization; the correlation between choice of foreign currency deposits and financial access for Cambodian households. As a result, we find that portfolio selection models play marginal roles in deposit currency choices in Cambodia. We also find that currency choice of deposits is still to some extent affected by a household’s expectations of inflation rates and exchange rates, and the appreciation of the local currency. For example, a stable inflation rate would facilitate having local currency deposits. In addition, we find that an increase in income level is associated with an increase in both having local currency and foreign currency deposits, while the marginal effects of an increase in income are larger on having local currency deposits for lower-income households and for households in rural areas. The results suggest that financial inclusion by facilitating economic development in rural areas will foster the promotion of local currency. We further find that, in contrast to previous findings from Central and Eastern European countries, younger cohorts are less likely to have local currency deposits than older cohorts. Hence, policies aiming at reducing real dollarization and promoting the awareness of young people towards the importance of using national currency are necessary預金のドル化は、開発途上国で長く継続して見られる現象である。 本稿では、2017 年にカンボジア国立銀行 (NBC) と JICA 研究所 (当時) によって実施されたカンボジアの家計調査のデータを使用して、家計の自国通貨と外国通貨それぞれに対する預金行動の要因を考察した。本稿では、途上国でのドル化の重要な側面として、自国通貨預金と外国通貨預金の選択と金融アクセスとの相関関係を考慮した預金の通貨選択の実証アプローチを開発し、金融のドル化の説明によく使用されるポートフォリオ選択モデルが、カンボジアの家計のデータに適合するかどうかを検証した。その結果、ポートフォリオ選択モデルがカンボジアの預金通貨の選択をうまく説明しきれないことを確認した。しかし、家計のインフレ率と為替レートに対する期待、および現地通貨の減価予想と預金の通貨選択の間には相関があることがわかった。これは、安定したインフレ率は、現地通貨での預金行動を促進することを示唆している。
さらに、所得水準の上昇は、自国通貨と外国通貨の両方の通貨での預金行動の増加と関連しているが、収入の増加の限界効果は、農村地域あるいは低所得世帯の自国通貨の預金行動に対してより大きくなっていることがわかった。この結果は、農村地域の経済発展を促進することによる金融包摂が、現地通貨での預金の促進を促進することを示唆している。さらに、中央および東ヨーロッパ諸国からの先行研究の結果とは対照的に、カンボジアでは若年齢のコホートは年配のコホートよりも現地通貨の預金をもっている可能性が低いことがわかった。したがって、自国通貨を促進するには、自国通貨を使用することの重要性に対する若者の認識を促進することを目的とした政策が重要であると考えられる。departmental bulletin pape
Is the Green Revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa a Fertilizer and Seed Revolution? The Impact of Training and Free Distribution of Fertilizer and Seeds on Agricultural Productivity
Full text linkThe Green Revolution in Asia is often considered the “fertilizer and seed revolution.” However, it has recently become recognized that Green Revolution is not merely a fertilizer and seed revolution but that good agricultural practices for better water and crop management are also crucial. If so, agricultural training instead of providing fertilizer and seeds for free should effectively increase agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. This study conducts a randomized control trial to compare the efficacy of agricultural training and the free distribution of a small amount of fertilizer and seeds of a modern variety of rice. Our results show that trained farmers adopted modern varieties and improved agronomic practices more often and achieved higher paddy yield, income, and profit per hectare than the control group. By contrast, neither the paddy yield nor the income of those who received free inputs increased, although they were more likely to adopt modern variety than a control group. The results suggest that proper knowledge transfer is crucial for enhancing agricultural productivity. We also observed that control group farmers learned about new technologies from trained farmers while they did not do so from free-input receiving farmers, suggesting possible knowledge spillover from trained farmers but not from free-input receivers.アジアにおける緑の革命は「近代品種と化学肥料の革命」と考えられてきた。しかし、近年アフリカで緑の革命を起こすためには、近代品種と化学肥料に加えて、水及び作物管理のための栽培技術の普及が重要であることが認識されつつある。そのような状況においては、農業技術研修が農業生産性の向上にとって重要な政策となるだろう。本研究はランダム化比較実験を用いてコメの農業技術研修と少量の化学肥料と種子の無料配布の効果を検証する。その結果、技術研修を受けた農家は近代品種及び栽培技術をより多く採用し、籾米の単位面積当たりの収量、所得、利潤が増加した。それに対して、肥料と種子の無料配布を受けた農家は、近代品種の採用を増やすものの、その他の技術や生産性は向上しなかった。このことは技術研修が技術採用と生産性の向上にとって重要であることを示唆している。また技術研修を受けた農家は介入を受けなかった農家に技術の情報を伝えているが、無料配布を受けた農家からは情報の伝達は起こらなかったという結果も得られた。departmental bulletin pape
Scaling up Interventions to Improve Basic Reading: Evidence from Madagascar after the COVID-19 Pandemic Shock on Education
Full text linkThe COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education worldwide, especially in low-income countries. After the long-term school closures due to the pandemic in Madagascar, the Ministry of Education conducted training on basic reading and writing pedagogy, called “Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL),” for primary teachers and community volunteers. The training was a part of a package of interventions that aimed to strengthen the capacity of school management committees (SMC) to lead extra-curricular remedial activities using TaRL. In Madagascar, the package was scaled up progressively to increase the coverage of regions, which created a quasi-experimental situation for areas near the border of neighboring regions with similar social backgrounds. This study used the setting to investigate the impact of the scaled-up interventions on basic reading for primary students, employing a difference-in-differences strategy. With the foundation of the improved capacity of the SMCs, the TaRL training increased the proportion of grade 2 through 4 students who could read words written in the local language by 15.9 percentage points and those who could read a story by 3.1 percentage points. In addition to survey data on students, this study also analyzed assessment data at the school level. These results suggest that these impacts were realized widely across the targeted region. The case of Madagascar indicates that it is possible to improve learning at scale through extra-curricular remedial activities organized by SMCs toward the learning recovery.2020年の新型コロナ感染拡大は世界中の教育に影響を及ぼし、特に低所得国における学習の危機を深刻化させた。マダガスカルでは新型コロナの感染拡大をうけて小学校が長期間閉鎖された後、同国教育省は子ども達の読み書きの改善のため、"Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL)"と呼ばれる教授法の研修を初等教員及び地域ボランティアに対して実施した。同研修はPMAQ-TaRLと呼ばれる介入パッケージの一部であるが、同パッケージは各学校の学校運営委員会の機能を改善し、学校運営委員会のイニシアティブでTaRLを用いた補習活動が行われることにより子どもの学習改善を図るものである。本研究は、マダガスカルにおいて介入パッケージが段階的に対象県を拡大する形でスケールアップされたことに着目し、社会経済状況の類似した2県の県境付近の学校を対象とし、差分の差法により介入効果を識別する。学校運営を改善した上でTaRL研修を行うことにより、初等第2～4学年の子どものうち、マダガスカル語で書かれた単語を読める子どもの割合が15.9パーセントポイント、物語の段落を読める子どもの割合が3.1パーセントポイント増加した。また、本研究では、現地調査で収集したデータに加え、対象県の学校レベルのアセスメントデータを分析したところ、介入による子どもの読みへのインパクトは県境付近に限らず、県内で広範囲に生じたものと考えられる。マダガスカルにおける本事例は、学校運営委員会のイニシアティブによる補習活動を通じ、新型コロナ感染拡大で深刻化した学習の危機の克服に向け、子どもの学習改善を広範囲に実現することが可能であることを示唆している。departmental bulletin pape