Current Issue

Vol. 52,  No. 1,  2022

Does Corruption Grease or Sand The Wheels of Growth? Panel Evidence from The European Union

Anvesak Vol. 52(1) (2022), pp. 1-24, Received: 7 January 2022; accepted: 3 October 2022

Anton Sneyders and Aad van Mourik
Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

Abstract: This paper assesses the impact of corruption on economic growth in the European Union between 1995 and 2019. Using panel data analysis, the corruption-growth nexus for the 27 members of the European Union is assessed. The results suggest a growth-decreasing effect of corruption. Furthermore, the impact tends to worsen when quality of governance is low. This supports the “sand the wheels” hypothesis, and contradicts the “grease the wheels” hypothesis which states that corruption may mitigate the costs of bad governance. In addition, this paper analyses whether corruption affected growth differently in Central European and Western European countries. The paper finds conflicting results in the impact of corruption in Central European and Western European countries.

Key Words: Panel data, Corruption, Institutions and growth, Economic growth, European Union, Governance

How Watershed Management Practices Enhance The Livelihood of Rural Households? A Cross Sectional Survey

Anvesak Vol. 52(1) (2022), pp. 25-40, Received: 29 May 2022; accepted: 15 Jul. 2022

R. Dayanandan
Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia

Abstract: Developing countries which are heavily dependent on rain-fed agricultural system, watersheds are increasingly being managed for poverty alleviation and environmental conservation. Watershed management practices should have a big role in improving the livelihoods of the households but the reality is unknown due to dearth of studies. Hence, the objective of this paper is to explore the effect of watershed management practices on the livelihood of rural households in Bona Zuria District of Ethiopia. An analytical design with mixed research approach was adopted to address the specific objectives. Required data were collected from 182 randomly selected households from two purposefully selected villages. Collected data were analysed with SPSS and STATA software. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean, standard deviation and inferential tools like chi-square test, one sample t-test and binary logistic regression were used for analysis. The findings reveal that the majority of respondents were involved in physical soil as well as water conservation practices, due to which natural resources conservation has been improved in the study area. Economically, the households benefited from generating additional income and an increase in crop productivity. All this somewhat enhanced their livelihood. However, there are challenges in practice of watershed management. Therefore, local community participation, access to markets, expanding the use of agricultural technologies, and strengthening local institutional capacity are imperative to improve livelihood and realize the goals of watershed management practices.

Key Words: Watershed management practices, Livelihood, Rural households, Ethiopia

Causality of Macroeconomic Variables in Generation of Non-Performing Assets of Indian Commercial Banks

Anvesak Vol. 52(1) (2022), pp. 41-54, Received: 5 January 2022; accepted: 29 September 2022

Jadab K. Das and Surojit Dey
University Of Calcutta, Kolkata, India

Abstract: This study is conducted to find the impact of macroeconomic variables on Non-performing Assets (NPAs). A total of four variables—Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Exchange rate (ER) and NPA—have been used for the period of 23 years, i.e., from 1997 to 2019. The study finds a cointegrating equation reflecting some long-run associations among the variables. There exist both short-run and long-run causalities running from the independent variables towards NPA. However, bidirectional causalities running from NPA to GDP and from GDP to NPA at 5% level of significance are also observed. Besides, unidirectional causalities running from FDI towards NPA and from ER towards NPA are observed at 10% level of significance.

Key Words: Non-performing asset, GDP, Exchange rate, Foreign direct investment, Granger causality, VECM.

Has Male Out-migration Increased Time Poverty among Left-behind Wives in Kerala? Evidence from Gulf Migration

Anvesak Vol. 52(1) (2022), pp. 55-65, Received: 22 April 2022; accepted: 29 September 2022

Ratheesh C.¹ and Anitha V.^2
1Fatima Mata National College, Kollam, Kerala, India ²University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

Abstract: Kerala has a long experience of Gulf migration. The repercussions of Gulf migration and the inflow of remittances are witnessed in every facet of the Kerala economy. The nature of Gulf migration from Kerala is predominantly gendered and temporary. In migrant households, the absence of male family heads demands more involvement of left-behind wives in housekeeping, decisions, household maintenance, and care work. It leads to a disproportionate allocation of their daily or weekly time between paid, unpaid domestic and non-work activities. Thus, the study’s primary objective is to understand the time use pattern and extent of time poverty among left-behind wives in Kerala. The findings of the study indicate that, on average, the left-behind wives spent relatively more hours in a day on household maintenance and care work, and social and cultural activities than married women in non-migrant households. However, they spent less time on personal care and leisure activities than married women in non-migrant households. In migrant households, the absence of male family heads causes to increase the incidence of time poverty among left-behind wives. In addition to that, various individual and household level variables also influence the incidence of time poverty among left-behind wives.

Key words:Migration, Left-behind wives, Time use, Discretionary time, Time poverty

Employment Vulnerability in Urban Labour Market: Evidence from Formal Enterprises in Uttar Pradesh

Anvesak Vol. 52(1) (2022), pp. 66-85, Received: 27 Jul. 2021; accepted: 16 Oct. 2021

Nomita P. Kumar and Achala Srivastava
Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow, India

Abstract: Gender inequality in labour markets is significant in terms of the sex distribution between formal and informal employment and within the informal economy. The distinction between formal and informal employment is of importance for policies related to gender issues. Therefore, an attempt has also been made for measuring gender inequality in formal labour markets through the analysis of multidimensional nature of vulnerability in formal and informal employment. The specific objectives of the paper are: firstly, to measure the risk of vulnerability related to employment in the urban formal market with the help of the multidimensional vulnerability index; secondly, to construct the multidimensional vulnerability index separately for formal and informal workers; thirdly, to assess the differentials in the vulnerability status of informal and formal workers in Uttar Pradesh; and lastly, to test the extent of vulnerability of female formal and informal workers in terms of nature and quality of employment, social security and job security compared to their male counterparts.

Key words:Employment vulnerability, Formal enterprises, Vulnerability index, Female workers

Dynamics of Development Partnership: A Case Study of India

Anvesak Vol. 52(1) (2022), pp. 86-109, Received: 2 Apr. 2022; accepted: 5 Aug. 2022

Shelly Gupta
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

Abstract: The turn of the new century witnessed India to be significantly expanding its development assistance—both in terms of volume and diversity—thereby, transforming itself into a donor. Today, India has been recognized as the new pole of growth in the world economy. While having a high incidence of poverty and hunger in its own country, India contributes to the development of other nations in need. As a result, India prefers to be referred to as “development partners” rather than “donors”. While India’s assistance distribution has climbed to levels equivalent to many smaller industrialised nations, this data is not comprehensibly available. Because India, along with other major southern donors, does not report its data to the OECD, the phenomenon of India’s foreign aid remains little recognized and appreciated. This paper tries to make an important contribution to identifying India’s approach to the development assistance programme. This paper will examine the positioning of India in the international development assistance framework, its volume, its sectoral allocation, and its geographical orientation which transforms its status to an emerging donor in the broader context of how the form and scale of India’s development assistance influence the total scope of overall international aid.

Key Words:Foreign aid, India, Development cooperation, Bilateral assistance

Impact of Rural Livelihood Vulnerability on Migration: A Meta-Analysis

Anvesak Vol. 52(1) (2022), pp. 110-129, Received: 24 February 2022; accepted: 21 May 2022

M. Bhaskara Rao and S. Pushparaj
Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract:Globalization has both beneficial and detrimental effects on our contemporary lives. The era of globalization has witnessed increasing vulnerability and migration. The relationship between the two will hold the key to the understanding of increased migration as the viability strategy to mitigate or reduce vulnerability and the contribution of vulnerability to migration. In this context, the study aimed to determine the nature and extent of the relationship between vulnerability and migration. The study used systematic review and meta-analysis under the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) convention. In this study, the odds ratio (OR), i.e., the odds for migration, was taken as the effect size for the meta-analysis and the vulnerability was identified in terms of household livelihood vulnerability indicators. After analyzing the pooled effects sizes of the odds ratio of migration by different vulnerability indicators at the household level, the study has found that the livelihood vulnerability significantly influences migration.

Key words: Migration, Livelihood, Vulnerability, Rural household, Meta-analysis