Search

This paper estimates the distribution of educational returns by gender for India. While previous studies focus on mean returns, the variance of educational returns has important implications for policy-making and micro-level decision making with respect to education. If the variance of educational returns is large, it can leave large sections of the population with negative returns; if the variance of educational returns is gender specific, it can influence households' decisions to educate girls versus boys. Our econometric results provide evidence that India's labor markets are characterized by significant uncertainty and that the uncertainty is systematically larger for women. (Contains 3 tables and 4 figures.)

We examine public opinion of planting genetically improved poplars on public lands in western Canada. Policy scenarios consider the use of three different breeding methods (traditional selective breeding, genomics-assisted breeding, and genetic modification), each with and without poplars being used for biofuels. We employ a choice experiment to provide alternative outcomes to policy scenarios and to investigate differences among characteristics of respondents. Overall, a majority of respondents voted in favour of policies that allowed improved poplars on public land if the fibre is used to generate biofuels. Adding biofuel production to a policy scenario increases the probability of acceptance by 17%-32%. In contrast, the various types of breeding technology do not matter as much regarding public acceptance. Responses differ among segments of the population, but these differences do not greatly influence choices. Attributes that increase the probability of acceptance are being a male, being from Alberta, and being from a population centre of 10 000-100 000 people (relative to centers that are >100 000 people). Attributes that decrease the probability of acceptance are age, being from British Columbia, and being from a population centre of 100 000 people). Despite these significant patterns of preferences, there is substantial uncertainty underlying the responses. Key words: biotechnology, biofuels, public land, public preferences, poplar plantations. Nous avons sonde l'opinion publique concernant la plantation de peupliers genetiquement ameliores sur les terres publiques dans l'Ouest canadien. Les scenarios politiques envisagent l'utilisation de trois methodes differentes d'amelioration (la selection genetique conventionnelle, l'amelioration assistee par la genomique et la modification genetique), chacune liee ou non a l'utilisation des peupliers pour la production de biocombustibles. Une methode d'experimentation des choix a ete utilisee pour obtenir des resultats alternatifs aux scenarios politiques et pour etudier les differences parmi les caracteristiques des repondants. Globalement, une majorite de repondants ont vote en faveur des politiques permettant le recours aux peupliers ameliores sur les terres publiques, si la fibre etait utilisee pour produire des biocombustibles. L'ajout de la production de biocombustibles a un scenario politique augmentait la probabilite d'acceptation de 17% a 32%. En revanche, les differents types de technologie d'amelioration n'avaient pas autant d'importance pour l'acceptation sociale. Les reponses etaient differentes selon les segments de la population, mais ces differences n'affectaient pas grandement les choix. Les caracteristiques suivantes augmentaient la probabilite d'acceptation : etre de sexe masculin, etre originaire de l'Alberta et provenir d'une agglomeration comptant entre 10 000 et 100 000 habitants (par rapport aux agglomerations >100 000). Les caracteristiques suivantes reduisaient la probabilite d'acceptation : etre age, etre originaire de la Colombie-Britannique et provenir d'une agglomeration comptant moins de 10 000 habitants (par rapport aux agglomerations >100 000). Malgre ces tendances significatives dans les preferences, une incertitude reelle transparait dans les reponses. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: biotechnologie, biocombustibles, terres publiques, preferences du public, plantations de peuplier., Introduction Genomic and tree-breeding research has been conducted in hopes of achieving a variety of desired outcomes, including pest resistance, climate-change adaptation, or increasing wood quality and volume (Genome Canada [...]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2014.11.005 Byline: Wijaya Dassanayake, Martin K. Luckert, Sandeep Mohapatra Abstract: The use of female-headship to identify vulnerable subgroups and to direct poverty-alleviation policies is a contentious issue. We demonstrate the importance of heterogeneity in household structures for establishing clearer links between female-headship and household income. Using data from Zimbabwe and South Africa, we find that female-headed households, as a whole, do not have lower incomes than male-headed households. Income differentials across female-headed households are significantly related to the amount of adult male presence, and its complementarity with children living in the households. Even after accounting for these sources of observed heterogeneity, we still find significant unexplained heterogeneity across female-headed households. Author Affiliation: Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, University of Alberta, 515 General Services Building, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G-2H1 Article History: Received 20 August 2014; Revised 2 October 2014; Accepted 3 November 2014 Article Note: (footnote) [star] Author names are arranged alphabetically; Financial support from the International development Research Centre (IDRC) is gratefully acknowledged. The authors thank the entire team in the IDRC South Africa project for their various contributions to this paper.

Although property rights have been used to understand numerous wildlife issues, such as extinctions, they have rarely been used to provide insights into specific management options. We present analytical frameworks that may be used to characterize property rights to wildlife for the purpose of understanding the implications of management actions for various stakeholders. The frameworks consider multiple types of values, including consumptive, non-consumptive, and passive-use values. Our case study involves the emergence of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and its potential influence on the rights of stakeholders (i.e. the general public and hunters) in Alberta, Canada. Populating the framework for each stakeholder with characteristics of current property rights allow us to identify: 1) how the emergence of CWD could influence stakeholders' current rights, 2) how management actions could change property rights and associated incentives; and 3) management options that have not been considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the efficacy of smallholder adaptation to changing environments is crucial to policy design. Past efforts in understanding whether, and to what extent, adaptation improves household welfare have faced some key challenges including: 1) endogeneity of adaptation; 2) localized results that are difficult to generalize; and 3) understanding whether the efficacy of adaptation depends on the reasons for adaptation (e.g. market conditions vs climate change). In this study we estimate effects of smallholder agricultural adaptation on food security, while addressing each of these three challenges. First, we identify and test instrumental variables based on neighbor networks. Second, we use a dataset that contains information from 5159 households located across 15 countries in Africa, Asia, and Central America. Third, we investigate whether adaptation that is motivated by changes in market conditions influences the efficacy of adaptation differently than adaptation motivated by climate change. Across our global sample, an average household made almost 10 adaptive changes, which are responsible for approximately 47 days of food security yearly; an amount nearly 4 times larger than is indicated if endogeneity is not addressed. But these effects vary depending on what is motivating adaptation. Adaptation in response to climate change alone is not found to significantly affect food security. When climate adaptation is paired with adaptation in response to changing market conditions, the resulting impact is 96 food secure days. These results suggest the need for further work on the careful design of climate change interventions to complement adaptive activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]