Have Chinese firms become smaller? If so, why?

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 36 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Have Chinese firms become smaller? If so, why? by : Yang, Qiming

Download or read book Have Chinese firms become smaller? If so, why? written by Yang, Qiming and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-09-23 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Normally as an economy develops, firm sizes increase. However, as measured by the employment rate, the firm size in China declined from 2004 to 2008. In this paper, we develop a structural dynamic model with heterogeneous workers to study the relative contributions of three factors to declining firm size: rising real wages, implementation of minimum wages, and the introduction of a new national labor contract law. While rising wages make a sizeable contribution, we find that the new labor law plays a dominant role in solving the puzzle. In comparison, the impact of minimum wages is more muted.

China 2049

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Publisher : Brookings Institution Press
ISBN 13 : 0815738064
Total Pages : 444 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (157 download)

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Book Synopsis China 2049 by : David Dollar

Download or read book China 2049 written by David Dollar and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2020-06-09 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How will China reform its economy as it aspires to become the next economic superpower? It’s clear that China is the world’s next economic superpower. But what isn’t so clear is how China will get there by the middle of this century. It now faces tremendous challenges such as fostering innovation, dealing with ageing problem and coping with a less accommodative global environment. In this book, economists from China’s leading university and America’s best-known think tank offer in depth analyses of these challenges. Does China have enough talent and right policy and institutional mix to transit from input-driven to innovation-driven economy? What does ageing mean, in terms of labor supply, consumption demand and social welfare expenditure? Can China contain the environmental and climate change risks? How should the financial system be transformed in order to continuously support economic growth and keep financial risks under control? What fiscal reforms are required in order to balance between economic efficiency and social harmony? What roles should the state-owned enterprises play in the future Chinese economy? In addition, how will technological competition between the United States and China affect each country’s development? Will the Chinese yuan emerge as a major reserve currency, and would this destabilize the international financial system? What will be China’s role in the international economic institutions? And will the United States and other established powers accept a growing role for China and the rest of the developing world in the governance of global institutions such as the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund, or will the world devolve into competing blocs? This book provides unique insights into independent analyses and policy recommendations by a group of top Chinese and American scholars. Whether China succeeds or fails in economic reform will have a large impact, not just on China’s development, but also on stability and prosperity for the whole world.

Making It Big

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Publisher : World Bank Publications
ISBN 13 : 1464815585
Total Pages : 178 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (648 download)

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Book Synopsis Making It Big by : Andrea Ciani

Download or read book Making It Big written by Andrea Ciani and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2020-10-08 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economic and social progress requires a diverse ecosystem of firms that play complementary roles. Making It Big: Why Developing Countries Need More Large Firms constitutes one of the most up-to-date assessments of how large firms are created in low- and middle-income countries and their role in development. It argues that large firms advance a range of development objectives in ways that other firms do not: large firms are more likely to innovate, export, and offer training and are more likely to adopt international standards of quality, among other contributions. Their particularities are closely associated with productivity advantages and translate into improved outcomes not only for their owners but also for their workers and for smaller enterprises in their value chains. The challenge for economic development, however, is that production does not reach economic scale in low- and middle-income countries. Why are large firms scarcer in developing countries? Drawing on a rare set of data from public and private sources, as well as proprietary data from the International Finance Corporation and case studies, this book shows that large firms are often born large—or with the attributes of largeness. In other words, what is distinct about them is often in place from day one of their operations. To fill the “missing top†? of the firm-size distribution with additional large firms, governments should support the creation of such firms by opening markets to greater competition. In low-income countries, this objective can be achieved through simple policy reorientation, such as breaking oligopolies, removing unnecessary restrictions to international trade and investment, and establishing strong rules to prevent the abuse of market power. Governments should also strive to ensure that private actors have the skills, technology, intelligence, infrastructure, and finance they need to create large ventures. Additionally, they should actively work to spread the benefits from production at scale across the largest possible number of market participants. This book seeks to bring frontier thinking and evidence on the role and origins of large firms to a wide range of readers, including academics, development practitioners and policy makers.

Will China’s demographic transition exacerbate its income inequality?

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 32 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Will China’s demographic transition exacerbate its income inequality? by : Wang, Xinxin

Download or read book Will China’s demographic transition exacerbate its income inequality? written by Wang, Xinxin and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-09-29 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Demographic transition due to population aging is an emerging trend throughout the developing world, and it is especially acute in China, which has undergone demographic transition more rapidly than have most industrial economies. This paper quantifies the distributional effects in the context of demographic transition using an integrated recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium model with top-down behavioral microsimulation. The results of the poverty and inequality index indicate that population aging has a negative impact on the reduction of poverty while its impact is positive with regard to equality. In addition, elderly rural households are experiencing the most serious poverty, and their inequality problems compared with other household groups and within group inequality worsens with demographic transition. These findings not only advance the previous literature but also deserve particular attention from Chinese policy makers.

Learning from China?

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 42 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Learning from China? by : Chen, Yunnan

Download or read book Learning from China? written by Chen, Yunnan and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-11-21 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The question of how to promote structural transformation is central in fostering sustainable growth and poverty reduction in low-income countries in Africa. Following China’s domestic economic transformation and its growing outward investments in the developing world, we seek to understand how Chinese investment in Africa, particularly in manufacturing, may help to foster industrialization and in turn the structural transformation of African economies. We focus on Chinese investments and partnerships in Nigeria, a salient destination for Chinese manufacturing foreign direct investment in Africa, and examine the potential mechanisms of technology transfer that might catalyze such transformation. We find some small but significant cases of potential technology transfer, particularly through technical partnerships between firms. However, the future potential of such mechanisms will depend on the initiative of Nigerian actors to leverage Chinese investment to their interest.

Limits to green revolution in rice in Africa

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 48 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Limits to green revolution in rice in Africa by : Ragasa, Catherine

Download or read book Limits to green revolution in rice in Africa written by Ragasa, Catherine and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-09-29 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines closely the constraints in productivity improvements and evaluates available rice technologies looking at the heterogeneity of irrigated and rainfed ecologies in 10 regions in Ghana. Employing yield response models, profitability analysis, and adoption models, results show various practices contribute to yield improvements in irrigated and rainfed systems including chemical fertilizer use, use of certified seed of improved varieties, transplanting, bunding, leveling, use of a sawah system, seed priming, and row planting. Evidence also shows that extension services on rice production are limited and that intensifying extension services can contribute to increases in rice yield.

Food markets and nutrition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2004–2005)

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 28 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Food markets and nutrition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2004–2005) by : Marvoet, Wim

Download or read book Food markets and nutrition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2004–2005) written by Marvoet, Wim and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-11-01 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inspired by the ongoing process of decentralization and in an effort to inform local and national policy makers concerned with food security, this paper provides a descriptive but detailed geographical overview of Congo’s food markets as well as the nutritional status of its population. To do so, this paper will mainly rely on the 1-2-3 budget survey data, conducted in 2004–2005. Along both dimensions, access to food and nutrition, a good deal of spatial variation exists. First, overall efficiency of domestic food markets seems extremely poor. The capital city of Kinshasa is a good example of this; it is food deficient and poorly connected to its own hinterland and therefore highly dependent on foreign food imports. Markets in the former provinces of Kasaï, in the center of the country, and the conflict-prone northeastern part of the country are two minor exceptions, as food prices are slightly more equal. Furthermore, the most competitive food producers are found in Équateur and North Kivu. Notwithstanding these differences in food access, about five diet types can be identified. The most energy-rich diet is based on cassava and palm oil, typically consumed in Maniema, Orientale, Équateur, and rural Bas-Congo. As a result, these provinces on average display higher calorie intakes. Apart from diet composition, income levels and prevailing nonfood needs also determine energy sufficiency. For these reasons households in Katanga and North Kivu are relatively well nourished too, while urban dwellers in Bas-Congo and Orientale (contrary to their corresponding rural sector), and especially households in South Kivu and Kinshasa, suffer from large calorie deficiencies.

Using zero tillage to ameliorate yield losses from weather shocks

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 28 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Using zero tillage to ameliorate yield losses from weather shocks by : Khan, Md. Tajuddin

Download or read book Using zero tillage to ameliorate yield losses from weather shocks written by Khan, Md. Tajuddin and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-10-05 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Zero tillage (ZT) for wheat is one of the most widely adopted resource-conserving technologies in the rice-wheat systems in northern India. In areas of Haryana with rice-wheat systems, 36.5 percent of all farmers practice ZT on 35 percent of their wheat area. Yet the literature measuring the impact of ZT on farmers’ fields is scarce. This study fills this gap by using the data collected from a random sample of 717 farmers from 50 villages in 10 districts of Haryana. It applies the difference-in-differences method to five-year recall data on wheat yields in ZT and conventionally tilled plots of land to quantify the crop loss due to unseasonal rains right before wheat harvests in March 2015. The results reveal significantly lower wheat yield losses in the ZT plots than in the conventionally tilled plots. On average, farmers suffered yield losses ranging between 3.73 and 4.53 quintals per hectare in 2015 due to unseasonal rains. The loss was lower by 1.05–1.10 quintals per hectare in ZT plots. The analysis clearly shows that adoption of ZT helped in reducing crop loss in wheat by 24–28 percent, valued at 1,523–1,595 Indian rupees (Rs.) per hectare (approximately US$22.50 per hectare). The loss avoided due to ZT is nearly equal to the prevailing rental rate of the ZT machine (Rs. 1,500 per hectare) in Haryana. Climate models suggest that the incidence of short-duration acute hydro meteorological events is likely to increase in years to come. Such events are hard to predict and prepare for, and dealing with them hinges mainly on disaster relief. However, our results show that adoption of ZT is one possible way to reduce potential loss from some of these weather events and that ZT is therefore well characterized as a climate-smart technology.

Changing Identities of the Southeast Asian Chinese Since World War II

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Publisher : Hong Kong University Press
ISBN 13 : 9622092071
Total Pages : 357 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (22 download)

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Book Synopsis Changing Identities of the Southeast Asian Chinese Since World War II by : Jennifer Cushman

Download or read book Changing Identities of the Southeast Asian Chinese Since World War II written by Jennifer Cushman and published by Hong Kong University Press. This book was released on 1988-11-01 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In June 1985, a symposium, "Changing Identities of the Southeast Asian Chinese since World War II" was held at the Australian National University in Canberra. This volume includes many of the papers from that symposium presented by ANU scholars and those from universities elsewhere in Australia, North America and Southeast Asia. Participants looked at the current thinking about the parameters of identity and shared their own research into the complex issues that overlapping categories of identity raise. Identity was chosen as the focus of the, symposium because perceptions of self - whether by others or by the individual Chinese concerned - appear to lie at the heart ' of the present-day Chinese experience in Southeast Asia, It is also evident that identity wears many guises and that we cannot talk about a single Chinese identity when identity can be determined by the different political, social, economic or religious circumstances an individual faces at any given time. One of the distinctive characteristics of all the essays in this volume is that they are written from an historical perspective. While the papers forcus on how recent developments in Southeast Asian society have shaped Chinese identity, they also discuss those changes in terms of the historical matrix from which they developed. Because many of the essays in this volume combine an historical overview with more recent statistical data, it should serve as a useful companion to the increasingly popular case studies in which much of the writing about the Chinese in Southeast Asia is now cast.

Comparing apples to apples

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 44 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Comparing apples to apples by : Nin-Pratt, Alejandro

Download or read book Comparing apples to apples written by Nin-Pratt, Alejandro and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-09-23 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It has been apparent for more than a century that future economic progress in agriculture will be driven by the invention and application of new technologies resulting from expenditure in research and development (R&D) by governments and private firms. Nevertheless, it is conventional wisdom in the economic development literature that there is a significant underinvestment in agricultural R&D in developing countries. Evidence supporting this belief is provided, first by a vast literature showing returns on R&D expenditure to be so high as to justify levels of investment in multiples of those actually found, and second, from available data showing low research effort in developing countries as measured by the intensity ratio (IR), that is, the percentage of agricultural gross domestic product invested in agricultural R&D (excluding the for-profit private sector). This paper argues that the IR is an inadequate indicator to measure and compare the research efforts of a diverse group of countries and proposes an alternative index that allows meaningful comparisons between countries. The proposed index can be used to identify potential under-investors, determine intensity gaps, and quantify the R&D investment needed to close these gaps by comparing countries with similar characteristics. Results obtained using the new R&D intensity indicator with a sample of 88 countries show that the investment effort in developing countries is much higher than the one observed using the conventional IR measure. The new measure finds that countries like China, India, Brazil, and Kenya have similar levels of R&D intensity to those in the United States. To close the R&D intensity gap measured by the new index, developing countries will need to invest US$7.1 billion on top of the $21.4 billion invested on average during 2008–2011, an increase of 33 percent of total actual investment.

Framework to assess performance and impact of pluralistic agricultural extension systems

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 48 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Framework to assess performance and impact of pluralistic agricultural extension systems by : Faure, Guy

Download or read book Framework to assess performance and impact of pluralistic agricultural extension systems written by Faure, Guy and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-11-11 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extension and advisory services (EAS) are well recognized as a key factor in contributing to agricultural productivity and growth. However, rigorous evaluation of EAS approaches and assessment of complex national or subnational pluralistic EAS systems are rare. This working paper examines the literature on experiential and empirical insights and explores methods to assess complex pluralistic EAS systems. The authors present conceptual thinking on innovation systems and EAS, and review the IFPRI “best-fit” framework. This framework remains relevant because it is based on a holistic perspective with an impact pathway orientation. The paper aims to operationalize and improve the best-fit framework to guide the evaluation of complex EAS systems. The authors draw on and summarize existing literature to illustrate methods and tools used to analyze each component of the framework. The review pays close attention to the literature and methods for assessing the diversity of service providers and their various delivery tools and learning approaches. The discussion also pays close attention to the interaction of each component and how it affects the performance and impact of EAS from a systems perspective. This paper adds key points and considerations on how to operationalize the best-fit framework to carry out evaluations of pluralistic EAS.

New modalities for managing drought risk in rainfed agriculture

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 32 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis New modalities for managing drought risk in rainfed agriculture by : Ward, Patrick S.

Download or read book New modalities for managing drought risk in rainfed agriculture written by Ward, Patrick S. and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-10-05 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this paper we explore the potential for a new approach to managing drought risk among rainfed rice producers in Odisha, India. Droughts have historically been a serious constraint to agricultural production in rainfed agricultural systems, with droughts resulting in significant reductions in both yields and cultivated area, in turn leading to significant impacts on rural livelihoods and food security. Scientists and policy makers have proposed various strategies for managing risks, with limited success. In this study we consider two such strategies, specifically drought-tolerant rice and weather index insurance. While neither drought-tolerant cultivars nor weather index insurance products are perfect solutions for adequately managing drought risk in and of themselves, there is scope to exploit the benefits of each and bundle them into a complementary risk management product, specifically through proper index calibration and an optimized insurance design. In this study, we explore preferences for such a complementary risk management product using discrete choice experiments in Odisha, India. We are able to estimate the added value that farmers perceive in the bundled product above and beyond the value associated with each of the independent products. We also show that valuations are sensitive to the basis risk implied by the insurance product, with farmers less enthusiastic about risk management products that leave significant risks uninsured.

Using cognitive interviewing to improve the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index survey instruments

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Author :
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 44 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Using cognitive interviewing to improve the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index survey instruments by : Malapit, Hazel J.

Download or read book Using cognitive interviewing to improve the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index survey instruments written by Malapit, Hazel J. and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-10-14 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper describes the cognitive interviews undertaken in Bangladesh and Uganda in 2014 as part of the second round of pilots intended to refine the original version of the Women’s Empowerment in Agricultural Index (WEAI). The WEAI is a survey-based tool that assesses gendered empowerment in agriculture. Baseline data were collected in 19 countries following the WEAI’s launch in 2012, but implementers reported a number of problems, such as confusion among both respondents and enumerators regarding the meaning of abstract concepts in the autonomy sub-module and difficulties recalling the sequence and duration of activities in the time-use sub-module. In our cognitive interviews, we asked detailed follow-up questions such as, “Did you think this question was difficult, and if so, why?” and “Can you explain this term to me in your own words?” The results revealed potential problems with the survey questions and informed the revision of the WEAI, now called the Abbreviated WEAI (or A-WEAI), which has less potential for response errors.

Energy use and rural poverty

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Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 32 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Energy use and rural poverty by : Li, Zihan

Download or read book Energy use and rural poverty written by Li, Zihan and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-12-09 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rising energy expenditures due to more intensive use of energy in modern agriculture and increasing energy prices may affect rural households’ agricultural incomes, particularly the incomes of the rural poor in developing countries. However, the exact link between energy costs and income among the rural poor needs further empirical investigation. This paper aims to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between energy use and family income, using household-level panel data collected from 500 potato farmers in a poor region of Northern China, where eliminating poverty by 2020 is now the top government priority. The findings indicate that potato plays an important role in the surveyed families’ incomes, and the energy costs of potato production have a significant negative relationship with family income. However, the significance of the negative relationship is robust only for farmers with low economic standing, such as those living below the poverty line or just above it. Energy costs also have a significant negative relationship with the family incomes of those cultivating a certain size of potato-sown area, but this relationship becomes insignificant when farmers have too small of a potato-sown area. These findings indicate that in general, reducing energy costs helps the poor increase their income but is not necessarily helpful to those with high economic standing or a relatively small potato-sown area. If rural development policies are to support poverty reduction and energy savings (at least in major potato production regions), interventions aimed at energy cost reduction may be effective only for the poor whose family income depends, to a relatively high degree, on potato production.

Using household consumption and expenditure surveys to make inferences about food consumption, nutrient intakes and nutrition status

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Author :
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 64 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Using household consumption and expenditure surveys to make inferences about food consumption, nutrient intakes and nutrition status by : Fiedler, John L.

Download or read book Using household consumption and expenditure surveys to make inferences about food consumption, nutrient intakes and nutrition status written by Fiedler, John L. and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-11-21 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Household consumption and expenditure surveys (HCES) are multipurpose surveys that are routinely conducted to collect data on household food consumption and availability in more than 120 countries. HCES are increasingly being used to calculate proxy estimates of food consumption, nutrient intakes, and nutrition status, often at the individual level. Rarely, however, do they collect information on meal participation, despite growing evidence that it is an increasingly important and variable component of the quantity of food consumed or available in a household. This paper explores the significance of adjusting for meal participation in making inferences about apparent food consumption and nutrient intakes. It focuses on two distinct sets of additional information requirements for enhancing the reliability and precision of measures of food consumption: (1) individual household members’ and household guests’ meal-eating behaviors, and (2) the number and apparent nutritional significance of meals. While the most comprehensive and precise accounting of intakes of individual food consumption and nutrients requires both types of information, the magnitude of the changes required in HCES questionnaires to capture them is likely to be prohibitive. Consequently, for many HCES, a “second best” approach may be the most effective method, at least in the short term. The paper empirically explores some of the relatively few HCES that currently attempt to capture some of these information requirements. In addition, it assesses their value-added to prioritize the global agenda for strengthening HCES measurement of food consumption in support of more evidence-based nutrition policy making.

Improving household consumption and expenditure surveys’ food consumption metrics

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Author :
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 88 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Improving household consumption and expenditure surveys’ food consumption metrics by : Fiedler, John L.

Download or read book Improving household consumption and expenditure surveys’ food consumption metrics written by Fiedler, John L. and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-11-18 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the nature of global malnutrition changes, there is a growing need and increasing urgency for more and better information about food consumption and dietary patterns. The past two decades have seen a dramatic increase in the number, availability, and analysis of the food consumption data collected in a variety of multipurpose household surveys, referred to collectively as household consumption and expenditure surveys (HCESs). These surveys are heterogeneous, and their quality varies substantially by country. Still, they share some common shortcomings in their measurement of food consumption, nutrient intakes, and nutrition status that undermine their relevance and reliability for purposes of designing and implementing food policies and programs. This review crafts a strategic approach to the unfinished global agenda of improving HCESs’ collection of food consumption data. Starting with the priority studies recommended by a 100-country HCES review (Smith, Dupriez, and Troubat 2014), it focuses on a strategic subset of those studies that deal most directly and exclusively with the measurement of food, and that are of fundamental importance to all HCES stakeholders in low- and middle-income countries. Drawing from the literature, this study provides a more detailed, more circumspect justification as to why these particular studies are needed, while identifying key hypotheses, explaining why these studies are of growing urgency, and demonstrating why now is a propitious time for undertaking them. The review also identifies important study design considerations while pointing out potential challenges to successful implementation stemming from technical capacity, economic, administrative, and political considerations. Six key studies are rank ordered from a global perspective as follows, taking into account (1) the likely shared consensus that a topic is an important source of measurement error in estimating consumption; (2) the perceived urgency of the need for addressing a particular source of measurement error; (3) the perceived likelihood of success—that is, that the efforts will improve the accuracy of measurement; (4) whether or not the study entails modifying the questionnaire; (5) the ease with which a study may begin; and (6) the extent to which the study is independent of necessary negotiations with existing HCES stakeholders because of the types of changes it is likely to entail (in either the questionnaire or the way the data have traditionally been processed).

Micronutrient policy process in Malawi

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Author :
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 120 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Micronutrient policy process in Malawi by : Babu, Suresh Chandra

Download or read book Micronutrient policy process in Malawi written by Babu, Suresh Chandra and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-11-14 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Micronutrient deficiencies are common across the developing world and have major effects on the health outcomes of its population. Although this is well understood, many countries find it difficult to bring about policy change in this regard. This paper uses micronutrient policies designed and implemented in Malawi as a case study to shed light on the barriers and gaps faced by developing countries for similar programs and policies. To understand the drivers of policy change, this paper uses the kaleidoscope model to trace the policy processes of three major micronutrients—iodine, vitamin A, and iron. Using a select set of policy process tools, as well as field interviews with key informants who were part of Malawi’s micronutrient policy process, the authors test a set of hypotheses on 16 variables that drive policy change in the micronutrient policy sphere. Results indicate that much of the agenda setting for micronutrient policies and programs was triggered by external events that focused on the elimination of micronutrient deficiencies as part of the global development agenda. These events include the International Conference on Nutrition, the Millennium Development Goals, and, more recently, Scaling up Nutrition. The design of micronutrient policies and program interventions in Malawi was adopted by locally mandated ministries and institutions, in collaboration with development partners who provided both financial and technical support at the design stage. The adoption of micronutrient policies and intervention programs was driven primarily by external funding, particularly through supplementation programs related to vitamin A and iron. Adoption of fortification standards for vitamin A has been going on for more than a decade due to continuous resistance from the private sector, which faces additional costs and needs greater technical expertise. The biofortification method of micronutrient interventions for iron and vitamin A is externally driven and relatively new in Malawi. Although this method is widely accepted by policy makers, no concrete strategy has been developed for its design, adoption, and implementation. Further, supplementation and fortification programs continue to face implementation challenges due to poor physical infrastructure and monitoring systems. However, the national institutional architecture required for agenda setting, design, adoption, implementation, evaluation, and review to address micronutrient deficiencies is in place in Malawi. The system needs continued support from development partners for effective functioning at all levels. The use of various tools for the policy change part of the kaleidoscope model indicate that policy change is a dynamic process; over time, changes in the nature and composition of the members of policy and institutional architecture can result in different policy outcomes. The Malawi case study demonstrates two things. First, local leadership is crucial in keeping micronutrient deficiencies on the policy-making agenda, and second, it matters where coordinating power is placed in the policy hierarchy. This paper finds that, even with policy champions, adopted policies will face implementation challenges unless they are supported with adequate resources and are systematically followed through to final execution and delivery.