If there were no impediments to the flow of capital across space, then interest rates would equalized. We provide evidence to the contrary. We find significant differences in interest rates across the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, i.e. evidence that financial markets are fragmented. We also...

China has experienced rapid economic growth and the recent Global Economic Projections 2004 by the World Bank suggest that there is a continuation of Chinese growth of at lest 7 to 8 percent (World Bank, 2003). Nevertheless, on the background of rapid growth came increasing regional disparities....

In this paper we investigate the relationship between economic growth and industrial pollution emissions in China using data for 112 major cities between 2001 and 2004. Using disaggregated data we separate FDI inflows from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan from those of other foreign economies. We...

In this paper we analyze the decision of small and micro firms to formalize, i.e. to obtain business and other licenses in rural Indonesia. We use the rural investment climate survey (RICS) that comprises around 2500 non-farm rural enterprises in six Indonesian districts and analyze in an IV...

While the poverty implications of off-farm income have been analyzed in different developing countries, much less is known about the impact of off-farm income on household food security and nutrition. Here, this research gap is addressed by using farm survey data from Nigeria. Econometric...

Argentina is the only country in the world that was 'developed' in 1900 and 'developing' in 2000. Although various underlying reasons have been identified (chiefly political instability, financial development, inflation, trade openness, and international financial integration), no study has...

Access to finance is a prerequisite for economic development. Existing studies measure access by the use of finance. We develop a direct measurement for access to finance from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey 2005 data. We determine whether a firm without a loan does...

What is the relationship between social welfare, safety nets and economic freedom? Arguably, if economic freedom (EF) promotes growth and if it trickles down EF promotes larger freedoms (e.g. a healthy and productive life, free from want and deprivation). However, higher EF by definition entails...

Education is thought to be central to economic development. Yet, relatively little is known about how developing countries might advance school participation. In November, 2001 the Indian Supreme Court issued a remarkable interim order directing errant Indian states to other children in...

This paper investigates the impact of land inequality on conflict intensity. A fundamental distinction with the existing literature lies in the nature of inequality under consideration. We investigate how land inequality across landlords only influences the intensity of the fight against a rebel...