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The Economic Viability of Jatropha Biodiesel in Nepal
No full textNepal depends entirely on imports for meeting its demand for petroleum products, which account for the largest share in total import volume. Diesel is the main petroleum product consumed in the country and accounts for 38 percent of the total national CO2 emissions from fuel consumption. There is a general perception that the country would economically benefit if part of imported diesel is substituted with domestically produced jatropha-based biodiesel. This study finds that the economics of jatropha-based biodiesel depend on several factors, such as diesel price, yield of jatropha seeds per hectare, and availability of markets for production byproducts, such as glycerol and jatropha cake. Under the scenarios considered, jatropha biodiesel is unlikely to be economically competitive in Nepal unless seed yields per hectare are implausibly large and high returns can be obtained from byproduct markets that do not yet exist. In the absence of byproduct markets, even earnings from a carbon credit do not help jatropha biodiesel to compete with diesel unless the credit value exceeds US$50/tCO2 (which is well above current values) and jatropha seed yield is at or above the midrange of the scenarios considered. Declines in diesel prices from the levels observed in 2009–13 only compound the economic competitiveness issue
The CPEC from an Indian perspective
No full textThe international hype surrounding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its implications for the South Asian security complex* has caught the attention of India’s strategic community. The co untry’s reaction can ultimately change the dynamic of the troubled trilateral relationship – but so far the domestic debate has yet to gain traction. The CPEC – while not an integral part of the major Chinese connectivity project called ‘One Belt One Road’ (OBOR) which is set to become one of the legacies of the current Chinese leadership under President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang – is both a potential hub for two components of the OBOR, the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) and an additional strategic access route to the Indian Ocean in its own right. As China, with the realization of this corridor from Kashgar in Xinjiang Province to Gwadar Port in Baluchistan, seeks to set up an alternative artery for its trade and energy supply
India's General Elections and the Role of Media: New Course or Entrenching old Patterns?
No full textThe essay deals with the role of Media in the last Indian General elections in 2014
The Lost Decade: The Situation of Women in Afghanistan after the End of the Karzai government
No full textThe essay deals with the situation of women in Afghanistan during the last years under the Karzai government
2015 Senate Polls in Pakistan - Urgent need for Reforms and some Recommendations
No full text"After having completed its 12th Parliamentary year on March 4th, Senate Polls took place in Pakistan the following day. The Senate is the Upper House of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, also known as Majlis-e-Shura. Pakistan’s political system consists of a President and the Parliament, which comprises two houses, the National Assembly (the Lower House) and the Senate. It came into existence on 6 August 1973 after the introduction of the 1973 Constitution (especially Article 50) which was adopted on 12 April of the same year. (...)
Chaotische Stabilität - Stabiles Chaos: Indiens Demokratie als fließendes Gleichgewicht extremer Heterogenität
No full textImproving Education Outcomes in South Asia: Findings from a Decade of Impact Evaluations
No full textThere have been many initiatives to improve education outcomes in South Asia. Still, outcomes remain stubbornly resistant to improvements, at least when considered across the region. To collect and synthesize the insights about what actually works to improve learning and other education outcomes, this paper conducts a systematic review and meta-analysis of 29 education-focused impact evaluations from South Asia, establishing a standard that includes randomized control trials and quasi-experimental designs. It finds that while there are impacts from interventions that seek to increase the demand for education in households and communities, those targeting teachers or schools and thus the supply-side of the education sector are generally much more adept at improving learning outcomes. In addition, interventions that provide different actors with resources and those that incentivize behavioral changes show moderate but statistically significant impacts on student learning. A mix of input- and incentive-oriented interventions tailored to the specific conditions on the ground appears most promising for fostering education outcomes in South Asia
Bangladesh: More and Better Jobs to Accelerate Shared Growth and End Extreme Poverty
No full textSituated in a fertile low-lying river delta, Bangladesh combines high vulnerability to floods, tropical cyclones, earthquakes, and climate change with one of the world’s highest population densities, with around 159 million people living in less than 150,000 sq. km. With the world’s second lowest per capita income in 1975, it was labeled ‘the test case for development’ in view of the formidable development challenges it faced. Nevertheless, Bangladesh has proven to be remarkably resilient, developing well beyond initial expectations, and has made very good progress with poverty reduction. GNI per capita has grown from around US1,314 in 2015, and the country crossed the World Bank threshold for the lower-middle-income group in 2015. As highlighted in the Seventh Five Year Plan background paper on ending extreme poverty, the agricultural labor market in Bangladesh tightened significantly in the decade of 2000s, which led to an increase in the real agricultural wage rate. Three main channels were the primary contributors: (a) relocation of farm labor to rural non-farm sectors; (b) relocation of rural labor to urban activities through the ‘pull effects’ of urbanization, creating employment opportunities for the extreme poor in labor-intensive construction and transport activities; and (c) jobs for the poor created in the manufacturing sector. Robust inflows of remittances from overseas workers contributed to spurring the creation of non-farm employment opportunities in rural areas
Why is it important to emphasise the different ways in which pupils and their families value education in South Asia? An anthropological perspective
No full textRecent ethnographies of South Asia are increasingly concerned with the question of how students and their families value education. A closer look at these anthropological works reveals that the formulation of this new research question arose from the double observation that on the one hand education in South Asia is especially valued by the middle class as a powerful tool for upward mobility in society, while on the other hand ethnographic descriptions of people’s experiences with education unveil a striking discrepancy between people’s expectations and actual outcomes of education. This observation also encourages a critical rethinking of the frequent association between education and development, and urges a closer scrutiny of restraining factors, which have a negative effect on education outcomes
Changing Wage Structure in India in the Post-Reform Era: 1993-2011
No full textThis paper documents the changing structure of wages in India over the post-reform era, the roughly two-decade period since 1993. To investigate the factors underlying these changes, a supply-demand framework is applied at the level of the Indian state. While real wages have risen across India over the past two decades, the increase has been greater in rural areas and, especially, for unskilled workers. The analysis finds that, in rural areas, the changing wage structure has been driven largely by relative supply factors, such as increased overall education levels and falling female labor force participation. Relative wage changes between rural and urban areas have been driven largely by shifts in employment, notably into unskilled-intensive sectors like construction