Oleksiy Ivaschenko

Improving Child Nutrition Outcomes in India: Can the Integrated Child Development Services Program Be More Effective?

Levels of child malnutrition in India fell only slowly during the 1990s, despite significant economic growth and large public spending on the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program, of which the major component is supplementary feeding for malnourished children. To unravel this puzzle, the authors assess the programs placement and its outcomes using National Family Health Survey data from 1992 and 1998. They find that program placement is clearly regressive across states. The states with the greatest need for the program - the poor northern states with high levels of child malnutrition and nearly half of Indias population - have the lowest program coverage and the lowest budgetary allocations from the central government. Program placement within a state is more progressive: poorer and larger villages have a higher probability of having an ICDS center, as do those with other development programs or community associations. The authors also find little evidence of program impact on child nutrition status in villages with ICDS centers.

The Dynamics of Ownership of Durable Goods in Bulgaria: From Economic Crisis to EU Membership

The paper uses repeated cross-sections of Bulgarias household survey data (1995, 1997, 2001, and 2003) and a comparable list of durable goods to investigate the dynamics and distribution of durable goods over time, including during the economic crisis of 1996-1997 and the subsequent period of relatively robust economic growth leading up to European Union membership. It examines the dynamics of the ownership of durable goods by wealth classes, geographic locations, and various ethnic groups, including the Roma. In the aggregate, there was convergence between the poorest and the richest classes in the ownership of durable goods between 1995 and 2003, with the poorest class making a significant gain between 2001 and 2003 after having lost some ground between 1995 and 2001. There was also convergence in the ownership of durable goods between urban and rural residents. However, there appear to be some diverging tendencies between Bulgarians and the minority ethnic groups, particularly in the ownership of relatively more expensive goods such as personal computers and cars.

The Role of Economic Crisis and Social Spending in Explaining Crime in Russia

The paper investigates crime rate dynamics and its determinants using a panel data set for the Russian regions over the period 1995-2007. We focus on the determinants of convergence and divergence of crime rates across regions, focusing on the periods of economic turbulence such as the 1998 financial crisis. We also simulate the impact of the 2008-10 financial crisis on crime rates in Russia and identify the impact of government spending on reducing crime. Real income, unemployment level, and income inequality are found to be the most important factors explaining the crime rates. High levels of urbanization are also closely linked to higher crime rates. We find that the observed convergence in the regional crime rates during the 1998 crisis was driven mainly by the deteriorating crime situation in the regions with relatively low crime rates. The finding allows us to draw policy conclusions with respect to the role of the anti-crisis government programs in reducing crime. With respect to the types of crime, our analysis confirms that economic and property crimes tend to be the most responsive to the changing economic conditions.

Cash Transfers for Disaster Response: Lessons from Tropical Cyclone Winston

In 2016, following Tropical Cyclone (TC) Winston, Fiji became the First Pacific Island country to channel post-disaster assistance through its existing social safety net programs. With wind speeds of up to 306km/h, TC Winston was one of the most powerful cyclones ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, and the first Category 5 cyclone to directly strike Fiji. The Government swiftly mobilised funds through its existing social protection programs to channel cash assistance to poor households and vulnerable groups. Households covered under the Poverty Benefits Scheme, Social Pension Scheme, and Care and Protection Allowance were provided with a top-up payment equivalent to three months of their regular benefits, which was designed to help them meet their basic needs. This impact evaluation: (i) assesses the impact of these top-up cash transfers on poor households; and (ii) puts forward a list of recommendations on what measures could be put in place ex-ante to improve this type of response in the case of future natural disasters.

Social protection and humanitarian assistance nexus for disaster response : lessons learnt from Fiji's Tropical Cyclone Winston

This discussion paper presents an analysis of the humanitarian response following Tropical Cyclone (TC) Winston, and looks specifically at the role social protection played in improving disaster response and complementing the humanitarian assistance effort in Fiji. The paper also explores the changing landscape of social protections following TC Winston and documents some of the key achievements and challenges faced in the response period. Furthermore, a list of recommendations has been put together for further discussion on future disaster responsive social protection.