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Determinants of Fertility, Women's Health and Employment Behaviour in Sri Lanka
No full textThe paper analyzes the labor market during 1992-2009, the wartime years, and uses the findings to help understand implications for the labor market as the economy grows and recovers from the conflict. The analysis is primarily based on annual Labor Force Survey (LFS) data collected by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) between 1992 and 2009. The paper excludes the North and East from the analysis because the labor market in these provinces was functioning in atypical times, and was affected severely by the security situation. The 2006 moving out of poverty study conducted in conflict areas noted large outmigration of the better off households and the reliance on those left behind on remittances (Center for Poverty Analysis 2006). The study also found that private sector investment had largely dwindled in these provinces, and the main source of jobs was public employment. Looking ahead, over the next 15 years, demand for workers in industry is likely to increase as rebuilding and recovery in the North and East proceeds. In addition, demand for highly skilled workers to meet the needs of the expanding services sector, particularly higher-end services, will also increase. Analyzing the empirical trends using the LFS, it is clear that increasing female labor force participation, addressing high youth unemployment and its causes, and addressing the negative aspects of certain labor market regulations will be key to meeting the needs of a growing economy. The paper is organized as follows. The two sections that follow present an overview of the supply and demand side of the labor market. The next section discusses the ways in which the demographic transition could shape the labor market, particularly in terms of unemployment and earnings. This discussion is followed by three sections examining labor force participation and unemployment, job type, and earnings respectively. The last section concludes with some policy recommendations
Higher Education in Madhya Pradesh: The Way Forward
No full textMadhya Pradesh is fast emerging as a repository of skilled human resource. Investment on building up of human capital is showing upward trend. The State Government has focused attention on improving the quality of higher education along with its expansion by promoting public-private partnership. Legislation for encouraging establishment of private universities is expressive of state's resolve to become a hub of higher education. The 11th five year plan has set its goals as 'expansion of enrolment in higher education with inclusiveness, quality and relevant education, with necessary academic reforms in the university and college system. The goal is to set India as a nation in which all those who aspire to good quality higher education can access it, irrespective of their paying capacity'. Expansion, inclusion and quality are thus the three cornerstones of our national goals in education. The Government has set a target of 21percent Gross Enrolment Ration (GER) by the end of the twelfth plan (2017) with an interim target of 15 percent by the end of the eleventh plan 2012. This seems a highly ambitious aim considering the present GER of 12.4 percent. The Government of Madhya Pradesh convened a conference 'Higher education in Madhya Pradesh the way forward' on 3rd of October 2011 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The conference brought together key policy makers, academic faculty and stakeholders in the field of education to discuss the needs of higher education in Madhya Pradesh, and options for improvement and expansion. The Government of Madhya Pradesh is considering a reform of their higher education system, focusing first on the governance and legislative framework. In Madhya Pradesh, there are currently 15 universities, of which 9 are public. Further, there are over 300 colleges, a few of which have been awarded autonomous status and centers of excellence by the University Grants Commission (UGC), and the remaining are affiliated colleges. Governance plays an important role in the performance of any organization involved in public service. In a federal country with a written Constitution governed by rule of law, every activity in the public sphere is to be organized according to the framework prescribed by the law and the Constitution. It is therefore important to appreciate the legal framework under which higher education is organized in India and to begin the reform proposals with the law on the subject
Sri Lankan Population Change and Demographic Bonus Challenges and Opportunities in the New Millennium
No full textThis paper examines the population changes and the related causative factors, namely fertility, mortality and international migration in Sri Lanka. During the past decades, the total size, as well as the age and sex structure of the population, was exposed to irreversible changes. The age structure transition has produced a demographic bonus conducive for an economic takeoff. During this period, the proportion of people of working age (15-59) is larger than the fraction in the dependent age categories. The paper includes a sector analysis of the employed population in the agriculture, industry and service sectors to identify the growth sectors of the economy and to reveal the potential patterns and levels of utilization of the demographic bonus. Finally, the social safety net implications of the emerging population, such as the dependency burden, aging, disability and the disintegration of traditional family system in Sri Lanka are examined. Sri Lanka's population has grown to 20 million in 2010, an almost eight-fold increase since the census of 1871. The population doubled 54 years after the first census (1925), then again in 35 years (1960), as a result of the relatively high population growth rate. The 2001 census calculated a population 18.7 million. By 2003, the population was estimated to be 19.2 million, a third doubling in 43 years. By 2010, the population of Sri Lanka had passed the 20 million mark
Decomposing Distributional Changes in Pakistan
No full textThis paper quantifies the contributions to distributional changes observed in Pakistan over the last decade. In contrast to methods that focus on aggregate summary statistics, the method adopted in this paper generates entire counterfactual distributions to account for the contributions of demographics, labor and non-labor incomes in explaining poverty reduction. The results show that the most important contributor was the growth in income. Moreover, this growth in income seems to be driven by returns to individual and household endowments, pointing to productivity increases as the driving force behind poverty reduction. Lower dependency ratios, transfers and remittances also contributed to poverty reduction, albeit to a smaller extent. Growth in productivity, particularly between 2001-02 and 2005-06 is consistent with estimates from aggregate accounts, which points to productivity growth led by movements of labor force away from agriculture and into industry and services. If the objective is to reach similar or accelerated poverty reduction and productivity growth going forward, increased investment in rural areas will be needed
Ahmedabad: More but Different Government for “Slum Free” and Livable Cities
No full textThis paper analyzes real estate market dynamics over the past decade in the city of Ahmedabad, India, with a view to improving the living conditions of the large population living in slums. The paper combines census data, the National Sample Survey, and slum household surveys to review the demand side of the market. Satellite photography was used to estimate the production of both formal and informal housing over the past ten years. Analysis of the execution of the development plan for the Ahmedabad region and town planning schemes shows how the system of housing supply has evolved. These analyses are used to assess the feasibility of various approaches to achieving "slum free" cities, the goal of the Government of India's planned assistance program Rajiv Awas Yojana. The paper concludes that notwithstanding a substantial increase in public housing production in recent years, providing subsidized formal homes from government or through reservations for lower income groups in private developments would take more than a generation just to handle the current slum population -- representing one-third of households. Providing basic environmental infrastructure services in existing underserved neighborhoods -- a proven approach under the Slum Networking Program -- and bolstering infrastructure networks for the city to accommodate increased demand are affordable and feasible. Addressing issues such as rural-urban land conversion and ambiguous land tenure, and allowing flexibility for realistic building standards and increasing maximum floor space standards in certain neighborhoods can help to ensure a growing supply of housing that is affordable for moderate and low-income households
Nepal Student Assessment: SABER Country Report 2012
No full textIn 2012, Nepal joined the Russia Education Aid for Development (READ) trust fund program, the goal of which is to help countries improve their capacity to design, carry out, analyze, and use assessments for improved student learning. As part of the READ trust fund program, and in order to gain a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of its existing assessment system, Nepal participated in a formal exercise to benchmark its student assessment system under The World Bank's Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) program. SABER is an evidence-based program to help countries systematically examine and strengthen the performance of different aspects of their education systems. SABER-student assessment is a component of the SABER program that focuses specifically on benchmarking student assessment policies and systems. The goal of SABER-student assessment is to promote stronger assessment systems that contribute to improved education quality and learning for all. The importance of assessment is linked to its role in: providing information on levels of student learning and achievement in the system; monitoring trends in education quality over time; supporting educators and students with real-time information to improve teaching and learning; and holding stakeholders accountable for results. The SABER-student assessment framework is built on the available evidence base for what an effective assessment system looks like. The framework provides guidance on how countries can build more effective student assessment systems. The framework is structured around two main dimensions of assessment systems: the types/purposes of assessment activities and the quality of those activities. Assessment systems tend to be comprised of three main types of assessment activities, each of which serves a different purpose and addresses different information needs. These three main types are: classroom assessment, examinations, and large scale, system level assessments. This report focuses specifically on policies in the area of student assessment
Sri Lanka Student Assessment: SABER Country Report 2012
No full textIn 2012, Sri Lanka joined the Russia Education Aid for Development (READ) trust fund program, the goal of which is to help countries improve their capacity to design, carry out, analyze, and use assessments for improved student learning. As part of the READ trust fund program, and in order to gain a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of its existing assessment system, Sri Lanka participated in a formal exercise to benchmark its student assessment system under The World Bank's Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) program. SABER is an evidence-based program to help countries systematically examine and strengthen the performance of different aspects of their education systems. SABER-student assessment is a component of the SABER program that focuses specifically on benchmarking student assessment policies and systems. The goal of SABER-student assessment is to promote stronger assessment systems that contribute to improved education quality and learning for all. The importance of assessment is linked to its role in: providing information on levels of student learning and achievement in the system; monitoring trends in education quality over time; supporting educators and students with real-time information to improve teaching and learning; and holding stakeholders accountable for results. The SABER-student assessment framework is built on the available evidence base for what an effective assessment system looks like. The framework provides guidance on how countries can build more effective student assessment systems. The framework is structured around two main dimensions of assessment systems: the types/purposes of assessment activities and the quality of those activities. Assessment systems tend to be comprised of three main types of assessment activities, each of which serves a different purpose and addresses different information needs. These three main types are: classroom assessment, examinations, and large scale, system level assessments. This report focuses specifically on policies in the area of student assessment
Impact of Social Fund on the Welfare of Rural Households: Evidence from the Nepal Poverty Alleviation Fund
No full textThe Nepal Poverty Alleviation Fund is a World Bank supported community-driven development program. Its objective is to improve rural welfare, particularly for groups that have traditionally been excluded for reasons of gender, ethnicity, caste, and location. Since its launch in 2004, the Fund has covered the 40 poorest districts of the country, supported some 15,000 community organizations, and benefited more than 2.5 million people. This paper attempts to estimate the impact of this large-scale program using a randomized phase-in approach, in which certain localities are randomly selected for earlier intervention than others. Using two rounds of survey data and a difference-in-difference combined with instrumental variable estimation method, it finds statistically significant causal impact of the program on key welfare outcomes. The treatment-on-the-treated estimate on real per capita consumption is 19 percent growth. Other impacts include a 19 percentage points decline on incidence of food insecurity (defined as food sufficiency for six months or less) and a 15 percentage points increase in the school enrollment rate among 6-15 year-olds. Impacts (positive or negative) are yet to be detected on indicators associated with child malnutrition, social capital, and empowerment. The policy implications of these results should be of interest to the government and to development partners in determining what may be effective instruments to deliver services to marginalized communities in what remains a fragile and difficult political environment
Präsenz in der indischen Philologie
No full textEs ist sicher nicht ganz falsch, die Indische Philologie oder Indologie, wie sie sich in Deutschland nach der Fachbegründung durch August Wilhelm Schlegel seit Beginn des 19. Jh. ausgebildet hat, als eine akribische und produktive, aber auch nüchterne und spekulationsunwillige akademische Tradition zu charakterisieren. Sie entwickelte sich in einer gewissen Anlehnung an die klassische Philologie, jedoch wurden entscheidende Weichen schon in der zweiten und dritten Dekade des 19. Jh. gestellt, mithin vor umwälzenden Entwicklungen in den anderen Philologien. Die Indologie hat daher eine sehr umfassende Definition der Philologie als Selbstverständnis behalten und weder die Trennung in Alt- und Neuphilologie konsequent vollzogen noch die in Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik
India in Afghanistan - Looking for the right approach
No full textHistorically Indian and Afghan leaders enjoyed extremely close relations before and after the end of British colonial rule in South Asia. Due to the friendship with the Soviet Union, India was one of the first non-aligned states to recognise the communist regime installed after the invasion of the Red Army in 1979