1,721,008 research outputs found
I'd lie for you
No full textWe examine experimentally whether individuals engage in altruistic lying, and whether they are more inclined to engage in altruistic lying for in-groups rather than out-groups. We embark in a lab-in-the-field experiment to take advantage of a naturally occurring ingroup
– out-group formation of Southerner and Northerner Italians. The cultural variations between Northern and Southern Italy appear to trigger different behavior across the two participant pools. Although neither Northerners nor Southerners are willing to lie to help
an out-group, the latter are significantly more likely to lie to help ‘one of their people’
ESSAYS ON DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
No full textQuesta tesi utilizza metodologie differenti al fine di esplorare argomenti generalmente ascritti all'economia dello sviluppo. Il primo capitolo discute la letteratura sul capitale sociale scomponendolo nel suo componente strutturale, le reti, e cognitivo, la fiducia. Ogni componente è a sua volta scomposto in diverse sotto-dimensioni una delle quali, il particolarismo, è utilizzato nel secondo capitolo, sia a livello teorico che empirico, come determinante di forme di corruzione collusiva. Come previsto dalla teoria, il particolarismo ha un effetto positivo e causale sulla probabilità di offrire una tangente.
Il terzo capitolo valuta l'impatto di un progetto di estensione agricola realizzato in Etiopia, volto ad introdurre la coltivazione di nuovi prodotti ortofrutticoli insieme ad alcune tecniche e strumenti innovativi. Empiricamente si utilizzano gli strumenti della valutazione d’impatto combinando confronti tra villaggi, attraverso una stima difference-in-differences, con una comparazione all'interno del villaggio usando uno studio controllato randomizzato. I risultati indicano che il progetto ha contribuito alla diversificazione produttiva ma non ha influenzato i ricavi ottenuti dalla vendita dei prodotti ortofrutticoli e, di conseguenza, il benessere delle famiglie. Il quarto capitolo mostra come meccanismi incentivati sufficientemente simili elicitino decisioni correlate in termini di avversione al rischio solo quando si tengono in considerazione altri atteggiamenti relativi al rischio. Inoltre si studia la correlazione tra l'avversione al rischio riportata e l'avversione al rischio ottenuta tramite lotterie. I risultati suggeriscono una misurata validità esterna dei due metodi studiati.This dissertation makes use of several methodologies to explore topics ascribed to the field of development economics. Chapter 1 reviews the literature on social capital by presenting a decomposition of trust and networks -- the cognitive and the structural component of social capital, respectively--, in several sub-dimensions. One of this dimension is used in chapter 2 where we investigate, both theoretically and empirically, the role played by the cultural norm of particularism, as opposed to universalism, for collusive bribery. Consistent with the theory, particularism is found to have a positive causal effect on the probability of offering a bribe. Chapter 3 assesses the impact of a small-scale agricultural extension project implemented in rural Ethiopia aimed at introducing the cultivation of horticultural gardens. Empirically, a mixed impact evaluation design is used combining across-villages comparisons, through difference-in-differences estimations, with a within village randomized control trial. The findings indicate that the project contributes to production diversification while it does not influence total revenues from sales, household welfare and diet. Chapter 4 shows that similar incentivized mechanisms elicit similar decisions in terms of monetary risk aversion only if other risk-related attitudes are accounted for. Furthermore, it examines whether individuals' characteristics and a self-assessed measure of risk aversion relate to individuals' choices in lotteries. The findings suggest that there is some external validity of the two studied tasks as predictors of self-reported risk attitudes
Economics and the Ethics of Care
Full text linkThis chapter examines how we think about “economic actors” and the kind of behavior suitable for the “economic sphere.” First, the chapter shows that the neoclassical orthodoxy has produced several tendentious analyses regarding issues such as the relationship between humans and the rest of nature and the persistence of poverty. Second, it shows how the social and economic gender expectations that prevent many men from ‘physical contact and encounter’ with their children also add to a deficit of care in both the home and the workplace, which can ultimately be detrimental to the economy.[A] lack of physical contact and encounter, encouraged by the disintegration of our cities, can lead to a numbing of conscience and to tendentious analyses which neglect parts of reality…[A] true ecological approach must hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.Pope Francis, Encyclical on Climate Change and Inequality, 201
Macroeconomic conditions and health: Inspecting the transmission mechanism
No full textWe study the relationship between macroeconomic conditions and self-reported health in a large sample of Italian individuals, focusing on the mediating role played by health behaviors (smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, eating habits) and economic stress. Our findings indicate that, overall, higher local unemployment is negatively related to individuals’ health conditions. A one percentage point increase in the province-level unemployment rate is associated with a significant increase in the probability of experiencing diabetes (0.03 percentage points), infarction (0.01), ulcer (0.06), cirrhosis (0.01) and nervous disorders (0.07), with a time lag that differs across individual health conditions. Employment status and educational level play a significant role as moderators of these relationships. Eating habits, in addition to economic stress, play a key role as mediators, by enhancing the negative relationship between macroeconomic conditions and health outcomes, while physical exercise is found to play a dampening role
Connecting alone: smartphone use, quality of social interactions and well-being
Full text linkThis paper investigates the role played by the smartphone for the quality of social interactions and subjective well-being. We argue that, due to its intrusiveness, the smartphone reduces the quality of face-to-face interactions and, as a consequence, their positive impact on well-being. We test this hypothesis in a large and representative sample of Italian individuals. The results indicate that time spent with friends is worth less, in terms of life satisfaction, for individuals who use the smartphone. This finding is robust to the use of instrumental variables estimation to deal with possible endogeneity. We also show that, consistent with our hypothesis, the positive association between time spent with friends and satisfaction with friends is less strong for individuals who use the smartphone
Mobile phones, digital inequality, and fertility: longitudinal evidence from Malawi
Full text linkBACKGROUND: In this paper, we introduce the digital revolution as a potential ingredient of sub-Saharan Africa’s fertility transition.
OBJECTIVE: We focus on the relationship between mobile phone ownership and childbearing in southern Malawi, showing that mobile phone acquisition is associated with reductions in ideal family size and lower overall parity among phone-owning women compared to their
phone-less counterparts.
METHODS: We use nine waves of data from the Tsogolo la Thanzi (TLT) longitudinal study conducted
in Balaka, Malawi, between 2009 and 2015.
RESULTS: Fixed-effects panel data models shows that mobile phone ownership is associated with
smaller ideal family size and lower parity during the study period. Cox proportional hazard models suggest that mobile phones are not fundamentally associated with the timing of women’s first steps in family formation but rather with fertility trajectories on a longer time-horizon through child spacing. Furthermore, complementary cross-sectional analyses from a later survey round suggest that mobile phone ownership is associated with fertility through role modeling, preference change, and access to information.
CONCLUSIONS: Mobile phone ownership is associated with fertility via role modeling, preference change, and access to information rather than through substitution effects.
CONTRIBUTION: Bridging the digital divide may hasten the fertility transition in sub-Saharan Africa
US foreign aid restrictions and maternal and children’s health: Evidence from the “Mexico City Policy”
Full text linkThis paper analyzes the link between foreign aid for family planning services and a broad set of health outcomes. More specifically, it documents the harmful effects of the so-called “Mexico City Policy” (MCP), which restricts US funding for nongovernmental organizations that provide abortion-related services abroad. First enacted in 1985, the MCP is implemented along partisan lines; it is enforced only when a Republican administration is in office and quickly rescinded when a Democrat wins the presidency. Although previous research has shown that MCP causes significant disruption to family planning programs worldwide, its consequences for health outcomes, such as mortality and HIV rates, remain underexplored. The independence of the MCP’s implementation from the situation in recipient countries allows us to systematically study its impact. Using country-level data from 134 countries between 1990 and 2015, we first show that the MCP is associated with higher maternal and child mortality and HIV incidence rates. These effects are magnified by dependence on US aid while mitigated by funds from non-US donors. Next, we complement these results using individual-level data from 30 low- and middle-income countries and show that, under the MCP, women have less access to modern contraception and are less exposed to information on family planning and AIDS via in-person channels. Moreover, pregnant women are more likely to report that their pregnancy is not desired. Our findings highlight the importance of mitigating the harmful effects of MCP by redesigning or counteracting this policy
The role of MNEs in fostering indigenous entrepreneurship through vertical business linkages: Evidence from Egypt
No full textThe role of MNEs in fostering indigenous entrepreneurship through the creation of vertical linkages: Insights from Egypt
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