Mukti P. Upadhyay

The effects of openness, trade orientation, and human capital on total factor productivity

Abstract We study the effects of openness, trade orientation, and human capital on total factor productivity for a pooled sample of developed and developing countries. Total factor productivity emerges from a parsimonious specification of the aggregate production function. Potential determinants of total factor productivity include measures of openness, trade orientation, and human capital. Higher openness benefits total factor productivity. Outward-oriented countries experience higher total factor productivity, over and above the positive effect of openness. Human capital generally contributes positively to total factor productivity. In poor countries, however, human capital interacts with openness to achieve a positive effect.

Total factor productivity and the convergence hypothesis

We study the convergence, or lack thereof, of total factor productivity and real GDP per worker for a pooled (cross-section, time-series) sample of developed and developing countries, adding breadth and depth to the convergence debate. We first estimate total factor productivity from a parsimonious specification of the aggregate production function involving output per worker, capital per worker, and the labor force, both with and without the stock of human capital. Then we test for absolute and conditional convergence of total factor productivity and real GDP per worker, using cross-section and cross-section, time-series data. Fixed-effect estimates across countries convert the cross-section test of absolute convergence into a pooled test of conditional convergence, since it controls for country-specific effects. Our tests consider both B- and O-convergence. Our findings support both absolute and conditional B-convergence of total factor productivity, but only conditional convergence of real GDP per worker. Further, O-convergence tests must by definition measure absolute convergence, since conditional convergence assumes that an equilibrium dispersion of total factor productivity or real GDP per worker exists. We find mixed evidence for absolute O-convergence.

Output effects of devaluation: Evidence from Asia

We study the effect of devaluation on output in six developing countries of Asia. In an empirical model that includes monetary, fiscal, and external variables, we examine the impact of devaluation as the effect of real exchange depreciation and alternatively as the effect of nominal devaluation and changes in the foreign-to-domestic price ratio. We find that with few exceptions a devaluation fails to make any effect on output over any length of time — short run, intermediate run or long run. Whatever effect on output we are able to uncover comes from the relative price level (the ratio of foreign to domestic prices) but not from nominal devaluation.

Accumulation of Human Capital in LDCs in the Presence of Unemployment

This paper takes up an aggregative growth framework to study how human and physical capital evolve over time as households allocate their investment between the two assets. In the context of unemployment of educated labor, it develops a general equilibrium model of an economy with two sectors: a composite good sector and a schooling sector where output is subject to increasing returns to scale. A temporary equilibrium for this economy depends on the endowments of physical and human capital as well as on the output elasticity of returns to scale and the price elasticity of education. The dynamic evolution of this economy is explored in terms of the accumulation of the two types of capital. A rise in education subsidy increases the demand for education at the cost of investment in physical capital and could lead to inefficient substitution between skilled and unskilled workers in the long run. Copyright 1994 by The London School of Economics and Political Science.

Poverty reduction, economic growth and inequality in Africa

We study the relationships among economic growth, inequality and poverty. Economists agree that growth is fundamental to reducing poverty. But the links among growth, distribution and poverty is still a subject of debate because the growth elasticity of poverty seems to differ from one country to another. Using a data set for 16 African countries, based on household budget surveys, we find strong support that poverty decreases in response to economic growth, with the estimated elasticity ranging between −0.5 and −1.10. Other variables, albeit important in varying degrees, are much less significant as determinants of poverty.

Agricultural Productivity and Poverty Reduction in Nepal

This paper provides for the first time a clear quantitative link between agricultural productivity and poverty among rural households in Nepal. Using data from a nationwide Nepal Living Standard Survey 2004, we first estimate household‐specific productivity per worker under both Cobb–Douglas and translog production functions. Second, the paper identifies the determinants of productivity. Third, we explore a theoretical link between productivity and poverty using Sens poverty index and find empirically that productivity growth substantially helps poverty reduction. Finally, the integrated effects of changes in productivity determinants are found to be stronger than the outcomes of sectoral policies taken in isolation.

Can public sector employment spur human capital acquisition

Abstract In a general equilibrium model of a product and an education sector, we add government employment of educated labor for public goods provision and for political economy reasons. Education subsidy may cause fewer public goods and retard the product sector.

What Factors Change Education Inequality in Nepal

Abstract We estimate indices of income-based inequality of education for Nepal using comprehensive survey data from 1996 and 2004. The 5% increase in the inequality that we obtain for those eight years is then decomposed into its contributing factors. Greater urbanization contributed substantially to the rise in education inequality. On the other hand, income significantly reduced education inequality because of a substantial increase in mean income during the eight years, and because of a fall in income inequality. This implies that an increase in the median income could reduce education disparity substantially.

How do income and education affect health inequality: evidence from four developing countries

Using household survey data from four countries ‒ Albania, Nepal, Tajikistan and Tanzania ‒ this article calculates income-related inequality in health care utilization. We measure health disparity separately for generally and chronically ill individuals by constructing two models: one for the probability of a visit to a physician and another for the number of visits. Following model-based measurements, we decompose inequality into two major parts: one accounted for by identity-related factors and another by socioeconomic and other factors such as education, geography and distance to a clinic. We propose a new method to quantify the effect of changes in income and education on health disparity. One of our important findings suggests that health disparity is pro-rich in all our sample countries. The pro-rich disparity is prevalent among generally ill as well as chronically ill patients, in both visit probability and visit frequency models. Health inequality seems primarily driven by income differences followed by nonidentity factors. Further, the principle of equal treatment for equal need is not fulfilled in any of our countries. Among policy implications, increasing average income and education in a way that also reduces disparity in income and education, respectively, will substantially shrink inequality in health care utilization.

How are school dropouts related to household characteristics? Analysis of survey data from Bangladesh

Abstract Human capital accumulation is one of the key drivers of economic growth especially in developing countries that are trying to catch up in per capita income with the developed world. A high dropout rate of children from school can significantly impede growth. This paper presents evidence on school dropout rate being affected by household characteristics and social background. We investigate dropouts by using a large data-set from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 2011. A fractional logit model, a beta regression model, and for comparison a simple OLS model all indicate our empirical strategy to be fairly robust. The large incidence of households having a child quitting school to enter the labor market also allows us to study the dropout using a probit model. We find many interesting results. Children from poor families with less educated parents drop out sooner with a lasting effect on educational outcomes. Households that have more than three children or more than five members also experience greater quit rates. Richer and richest categories of households have the lowest dropouts. Those facing a costly commute to school or having no access to electricity also quit earlier. We also present evidence on several other factors with important policy implications. Our results suggest that any strategy that seeks to encourage human capital accumulation must simultaneously address the school dropout rate through a combination of such factors as promotion of female education and expansion of credit for small businesses.