333 records from EconBiz based on author Name

1. The Global Gender Distortions Index (GGDI) : an application to Indian states

abstract

The extent to which women participate in the labor market and have access to formal employment differs greatly across Indian states. In this paper we build on the methodology developed by Hsieh, Hurst, Jones, and Klenow (2019) to estimate the productivity consequences of such differences. Using rich microdata on occupational sorting and earnings, our theory allows to separately identify labor demand distortions (e.g., discrimination in hiring for formal jobs) from labor supply distortions (e.g., frictions that discourage women's labor force participation). We find that both demand distortions and supply distortions are negatively related to state-level economic development. Equalizing distortions across Indian states could raise state-level productivity by up to 15%.

Goldberg, Pinelopi K.; Lall, Somik V.; Mehta, Meet; Peters, Michael; Ratan, Aishwarya Lakshmi;
2024
Type: Graue Literatur; Non-commercial literature; Arbeitspapier; Working Paper;
Availability: Link Link Link

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2. A Global Incentive Scheme to Reduce Carbon Emissions

abstract

This paper proposes an objective way of estimating and allocating "differentiated” responsibilities for carbon emissions across countries. These responsibilities translate into specific obligations and incentives for future emission reductions and support for adaptation, mitigation, and development. The proposals in this paper should be seen as a starting point for an informed and productive debate. Under the Global Carbon Reduction Incentive, every country that emits more than the per capita global average pays into a global incentive fund. This annual payment will be calculated based on the "excess” emissions per capita, the country's population, and a dollar amount called the Global Carbon Incentive. Countries below the global per capita average would receive a payout commensurate with their "under-emission.” The United States and China are the two biggest emitters and, assuming a Global Carbon Incentive of $10, they jointly would contribute more than $70 billion to the fund, from which nations such as India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia would be the major recipients. An important adjustment to the Global Carbon Reduction Incentive is to focus on consumption rather than production-a country should not avoid responsibility for the carbon it consumes by outsourcing production to another country. The proposal considers that countries that have used more of the collective carbon budget have benefited from the associated development and should pay for it. The proposal also considers methane emissions as well as crediting countries for their efforts toward preventing deforestation

Lall, Somik V.; Rajan, Raghuram; Schoder, Christian;
2024
Availability: Link

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3. The Global Gender Distortions Index (GGDI): An application to Indian states

Goldberg, Pinelopi K.; Lall, Somik V.; Mehta, Meet; Peters, Michael; Ratan, Aishwarya Lakshmi;
2024
Type: Working Paper;
Availability:

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4. A Global Incentive Scheme to Reduce Carbon Emissions

abstract

This paper proposes an objective way of estimating and allocating "differentiated" responsibilities for carbon emissions across countries. These responsibilities translate into specific obligations and incentives for future emission reductions and support for adaptation, mitigation, and development. The proposals in this paper should be seen as a starting point for an informed and productive debate. Under the Global Carbon Reduction Incentive, every country that emits more than the per capita global average pays into a global incentive fund. This annual payment will be calculated based on the "excess" emissions per capita, the country's population, and a dollar amount called the Global Carbon Incentive. Countries below the global per capita average would receive a payout commensurate with their "under-emission." The United States and China are the two biggest emitters and, assuming a Global Carbon Incentive of USD10, they jointly would contribute more than USD70 billion to the fund, from which nations such as India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia would be the major recipients. An important adjustment to the Global Carbon Reduction Incentive is to focus on consumption rather than production--a country should not avoid responsibility for the carbon it consumes by outsourcing production to another country. The proposal considers that countries that have used more of the collective carbon budget have benefited from the associated development and should pay for it. The proposal also considers methane emissions as well as crediting countries for their efforts toward preventing deforestation

Lall, Somik V.; Rajan, Raghuram; Schoder, Christian;
2024
Availability: Link Link

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5. Vibrant Cities - On the Bedrock of Stability, Prosperity, and Sustainability

abstract

Ce rapport a été motivé par l’intérêt porté à larégion MENA, une région à l’épicentre de multiples crises. Au-delà des chocs récents associés àla Covid-19 et aux turbulences des prix du pétrole,la région souffre depuis longtemps d’une croissance anémique et de résultats médiocres sur lemarché du travail. La région MENA est égalementconfrontée à une crise de l’emploi et du chômagedes jeunes, et les centres urbains sont en premièreligne face au changement climatique. Elle estégalement confrontée à une énorme demande deréformes dans le sillage du Printemps arabe, lesdécideurs politiques de la région tentant de trouver des réformes politiques pragmatiques pourmodifier les trajectoires de croissance et d'emploide leurs pays. Ce document s'appuie sur le récent rapport de laBanque mondiale intitulé "Convergence : Five CriticalSteps Toward Integrating Lagging and Leading Areas inthe Middle East and North Africa". Il explique pourquoi les villes de la région MENA ne bénéficientpas de l'agglomération, de la migration et de laspécialisation. Il identifie les causes sous-jacentesde la fragmentation spatiale, de la mobilité économique limitée des habitants et de l’isolement des économies nationales par rapport aux marchésrégionaux et mondiaux. Il fournit des preuvessupplémentaires des inégalités existant au sein desvilles et de la mobilité intergénérationnelle dans lesbidonvilles et les habitats informels. Il aborde également les questions suivantes : quand l’inégalitéest-elle le résultat du processus d’urbanisation etquand est-elle le reflet systémique d’une injusticeliée à l’origine et à la famille d’une personne?

Kaw, Jon Kher; Lall, Somik V.; Murray, Sally Beth; Shilpi, Forhad;
2023
Availability: Link Link

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6. Vibrant Cities : On the Bedrock of Stability, Prosperity, and Sustainability

abstract

The motivation for this report started with a focus on the MENA region--a region at the epicentre of multiple crises. Beyond recent shocks associated with Covid-19 and turbulent oil prices, the region has long been suffering from anemic growth and poor labor market outcomes. MENA also faces a jobs and youth unemployment crisis, and urban centers are on the frontlines of climate change. And it faces enormous demand for reforms in the wake of the Arab Spring, as policymakers across the region try to find pragmatic policy reforms to change their countries' growth and job paths. The report builds on the recent World Bank report, "Convergence: Five Critical Steps Toward Integrating Lagging and Leading Areas in the Middle East and North Africa". It explains why MENA cities are not benefiting from agglomeration, migration, and specialization. It identifies the underlying causes of spatial fragmentation, limited economic mobility of its people, and walled-off national economies from regional and global markets. It provides further evidence on inequality within cities and intergenerational mobility in urban slums and informal settlements. And it also tackles the questions: When is inequality an outcome of the urbanization process, and when is it a systemic reflection of unfairness linked to a person's origin and family?

Lall, Somik V.; Kaw, Jon Kher; Murray, Sally Beth; Shilpi, Forhad;
2023
Availability: Link Link

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7. Which way to livable and productive cities? : a road map for sub-Saharan Africa

abstract

For African cities to grow economically as they have grown in size, they must create productive environments to attract investments, increase economic efficiency, and create livable environments that prevent urban costs from rising with increased population densification. What are the central obstacles that prevent African cities and towns from becoming sustainable engines of economic growth and prosperity? Among the most critical factors that limit the growth and livability of urban areas are land markets, investments in public infrastructure and assets, and the institutions to enable both. To unleash the potential of African cities and towns for delivering services and employment in a livable and environmentally friendly environment, a sequenced approach is needed to reform institutions and policies and to target infrastructure investments. This book lays out three foundations that need fixing to guide cities and towns throughout Sub-Saharan Africa on their way to productivity and livability

Hommann, Kirsten; Lall, Somik V.;
2019
Availability: Link

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8. Adapting to Flood Risk : Evidence from a Panel of Global Cities

abstract

Urban flooding poses danger to people and places. People can adapt to this risk by moving to safer areas or by investing in private self-protection. Places can offset some of the risk through urban planning and infrastructure investment. By constructing a global city data set that covers the years 2012 to 2018, we test several flood risk adaptation hypotheses. Population growth is lower in cities that suffer from more floods. Richer cities suffer fewer deaths from flood events. Over time, the death toll from floods is declining. Cities protected by dams experience faster population growth. Using lights at night to measure short run urban economic dynamics, we document that floods cause less damage to richer cities and cities with protective dams. Cities with more past experience with floods suffer less from flooding

Gandhi, Sahil; Kahn, Matthew E.; Kochhar, Rajat; Lall, Somik V.; Tandel, Vaidehi;
2022
Type: Arbeitspapier; Working Paper; Graue Literatur; Non-commercial literature;
Availability: Link Link
Citations: 2 (based on OpenCitations) Cited By

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9. Will the Developing World's Growing Middle Class Support Low-Carbon Policies?

abstract

As billions of people in the developing world seek to increase their living standards, their aspirations pose a challenge to global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The emerging middle class is buying and operating energy intensive durables ranging from vehicles to air conditioners to computers. Owners of these durables represent an interest group with a stake in opposing carbon pricing. The political economy of encouraging middle class support for carbon pricing hinges on offsetting its perceived negative income effects. Rising environmentalism in the developing world could also increase support for credible greenhouse gas reduction policy. This paper quantifies these effects by estimating Engel curves of durables ownership, comparing the grid's carbon intensity by nation, and studying the demographic correlates of support for prioritizing environmental protection

Kahn, Matthew E.; Lall, Somik V.;
2022
Availability: Link

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10. Tracking Methane Emissions by Satellite : A New World Bank Database and Case Study for Irrigated Rice Production

abstract

Atmospheric methane is a potent greenhouse gas that has accounted for 23 percent of radiative forcing in the lower atmosphere since 1750. Since methane has a much shorter atmospheric duration than carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, it provides a critical opportunity for near-term atmospheric greenhouse gas reduction. Thus, 122 countries have joined the recently launched Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane emissions at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030. Unfortunately, the Pledge confronts a serious information problem at the outset: the near-total absence of directly measured data for problem diagnosis, program design, and performance assessment. At present, priority areas for emissions reduction are identified with spatially formatted "bottom-up” emissions inventories, such as the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research, which combines sectoral activity data with broadly calibrated emissions factors from engineering studies. This paper addresses the information problem by introducing a new World Bank database of monthly atmospheric methane concentrations, calculated for a high-resolution spatial grid from data provided by the European Space Agency's Sentinel-5P satellite platform. It illustrates the potential utility of the database with a global study of methane emissions from irrigated rice production, which accounts for about 10 percent of agricultural methane emissions. A comparative analysis suggests that the Sentinel-5P data supplement the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research data with more fine-grained spatial information, which may support local programs to track, verify, and reward adoption of methane-reducing rice production techniques. If this approach proves valuable for irrigated rice production, it seems likely to work for other methane sources as well

Dasgupta, Susmita; Lall, Somik V..; Wheeler, David;
2022
Availability: Link

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