How will extreme weather impact our economies? Does more aid guarantee economic growth and better institutions? And does antiretroviral therapy help people with HIV/AIDS on the labour market? These are a few of the questions tackled by UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance in February 2016 — in three working papers and three journal articles, among others. Click here for the full list.
Working Papers
‘On the optimum timing of the global carbon‐transition under conditions of extreme weather‐related damages: further green paradoxical results’ presents a strongly simplified, but intertemporally complete, transition model. The paper emphasises the intertemporal aspects of a ‘just‐in‐time’ transition from a carbon‐based economy to a carbon‐free economy, while taking account of the fact that capital is a produced means of production and that investment is irreversible. By Dr. Adriaan van Zon.
‘Determinants of innovation in Croatian SMEs: Comparison of service and manufacturing firms’ analyses the involvement of SMEs in innovation activities and the factors that determine their decision to innovate in general. In addition, the paper investigates four particular kinds of innovation: product/service, process, organisational and marketing innovation. The findings show that despite some differences, service and manufacturing SMEs are not that different from one another when it comes to innovation activities. By Prof. Pierre Mohnen et al.
‘Aid, institutions and economic growth: Heterogeneous parameters and heterogeneous donors’ contributes to the aid effectiveness debate by assessing the intermediary role of institutional quality between aid and growth. This paper argues that a universal praise or disapproval of development assistance is clearly wrong. Aid from a large number of donors has neither assisted economic growth nor fostered institutional quality. The findings of this study support policy recommendations emphasising the quality aspect of aid over the common call for ‘scaling up aid’. By PhD fellow Hassen Abda Wako.
Journal Articles
‘Does it matter where the children are? The wellbeing of elderly people ‘left behind’ by migrant children in Moldova’ reveals that elderly persons with an adult migrant child have a higher probability of being well in one physical health indicator. Following a correction for the selectivity of migration, however, the article finds that migration of an adult child is no longer found to predict significantly the wellbeing of their elderly parents in any dimension, suggesting that migration bears limited consequences for elderly wellbeing. By PhD fellow Jennifer Waidler, Dr. Michaella Vanore, Prof. Franziska Gassmann and Dr. Melissa Siegel.
‘Home vs. school de-worming and meal programs: Evidence from rural Senegal’ uses primary data to assess the impact of deworming and school feeding initiatives on pupils’ educational outcomes measured by test scores. The article indicates that the use of widespread traditional deworming medicines should be discouraged. Among the determinants of test scores, class size displays a U-shaped relation pointing to the crucial role of group effect in shaping pupils’ knowledge. The impact of initiatives does vary depending on the gender of pupils. Policy analysis including cost-effectiveness is also provided. By Prof. Théophile Azomahou and Dr. Fatoumata Diallo.
‘The economic benefits of high CD4 counts among people living with HIV/AIDS in Zambia’ examines the relationship between the CD4 counts of patients on long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) and employment outcomes in HIV-affected households in Lusaka, Zambia. The article suggests that interventions to improve or maintain robust immune recovery during ART may confer economic benefits for both HIV-infected individuals and HIV-affected households. By Dr. Nyasha Tirivayi et al.
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