Saumik Paul

The Impact of Emigration on Source Country Wages: Evidence from the Republic of Moldova

Thousands of Moldovans emigrated for work abroad over the last few years following nearly a decade of economic stagnation in their home country. At about 30 percent of the labor force, Moldovas emigrant population is in relative terms among the largest in the world. This study uses a unique household survey to examine the impact of emigration on wages in Moldova. The authors find a positive and significant impact of emigration on wages and the result is robust to the use of alternative samples and specifications. The size of the emigration coefficient varies depending on the sample and model specification, but the baseline result suggests that, on average, a 10 percent increase in the emigration rate is associated with 3.2 percent increase in wages. At the same time, there is evidence of significant differences across economic sectors in the estimated effect of emigration on wages. The authors speculate and provide some evidence that offsetting changes in labor demand, as revealed by information on employment growth by sector, may help explain some of the heterogeneity.

History of Events and Life-Satisfaction in Transition Countries

Using Life in Transition Survey data for 27 transition countries, the findings of this paper suggest that higher life satisfaction is correlated with lesser experience of unpleasant events such as labor market shock or economic distress, mostly in the recent past. Social capital such as trust, participation in civic groups, and financial stability lead to higher satisfaction, whereas lower relative position to a reference group leaves one with lower life satisfaction. The paper also finds substantial regional variation in life satisfaction between European, Balkan, and lower and middle-income Commonwealth of Independent States. Finally, after controlling for various events that took place during the interview and the nature of refusal of the respondents across countries, the authors show that reported life satisfaction is lower if the emotional state is negative during the interview.

The livelihood effects of industrialization on displaced households: Evidence from falta special economic zone, West Bengal

Much of the debate on industrialization and displacement has, so far, focused on the optimum compensation for affected households. Our recently concluded study, comprising of a sample of 1017 households including 630 affected (displaced and land acquired) and 387 unaffected households, looks at the long-term livelihood effects of the Falta Special Economic Zone in West Bengal, India. The main findings indicate a lower labour market participation rate among affected household members. However, members of displaced households show the highest work participation rate in the industrial zone but with a lower return to education than others. Women earn about 17 percentage points less compared to men after controlling for education and experience and this gap is 5 to 10 percentage points higher for FSEZ employees; but this gap is narrowing over time likewise the gender education gap.

Accounting for Heterogeneity in Growth Incidence in Cameroon

This paper presents counterfactual decompositions based on both the Shapley method and a generalization of the Oaxaca-Blinder approach to identify proximate factors that might explain differences in the distribution of economic welfare in Cameroon in 1996-2007. In particular, the analysis uses re-centered influence function regressions to link the growth incidence curve for 2001-2007 to household characteristics and account for heterogeneity of impact across quantiles in terms of the composition (or endowment) effect and structural (or price) effect. The analysis finds that the level of the growth incidence curve is explained by the endowment effect while its shape is driven by the price effect. Observed gains at the bottom of the distribution are due to returns to endowments. The rest of the gains are accounted for by the composition effect. Further decomposition of these effects shows that the composition effect is determined mainly by household demographics while the structural effect is shaped by the sector of employment and geography. Finally, analysis of the rural-urban gap in living standards shows that, for the poorest households in both sectors, differences in household characteristics matter more than the returns to those characteristics. The opposite is true for better-off households.

Industrialisation-led displacement and long-term welfare: evidence from West Bengal

Abstract This study identifies whether people evicted for industrialisation purposes are worse-off in the long-run. The study focuses on the establishment of the Falta special economic zone in 1984 in West Bengal, India. Using household survey data, the results indicate that the displaced are not worse-off three decades after their displacement and resettlement. There is, however, some evidence that the displaced did not receive adequate land compensation or property rights on their new land and dwellings. There is also evidence that cash compensation policies were skewed, to the disadvantage of large landowners. We also identify three factors which possibly led to resilience among the displaced households: the creation of employment opportunities at the industrial park, gradual erosion of the gender gap in education and labour market participation, and large(r) household size. Overall, we do not find that the adverse effects of displacement and inadequate compensation persist in the long run.

Reversal of fortune? The long-term effect of conservation-led displacement in Nepal

Abstract Building on a panel data-set using two rounds of self-administered surveys, this study assesses the long-term welfare effects of conservation-led displacement in Nepal. Empirical findings indicate that while displaced households suffered from poor land productivity and food insecurity in the first five years after displacement, they appear to be better off today, a decade since displacement, compared to non-displaced households. However, this has come at the expense of loosening social ties, increased strain on human capital and, most importantly, an overall deterioration in people’s socio-cultural wellbeing.

The Effects of the Intensity, Timing, and Persistence of Personal History of Mobility on Support for Redistribution

This paper examines the association between the intensity, timing, and persistence of personal history of mobility on individual support for redistribution. Using both rounds of the Life in Transition Survey, the paper builds measures of downward mobility for about 57,000 individuals from 27 countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The analysis finds that more intensive, recent, and persistent downward mobility increases support for redistribution more. A number of extensions and checks are done by, among others, taking into account systematic bias in perceived mobility experience, considering an alternative definition of redistributive preferences, and exploring the severity of omitted variable bias problems. Overall, the results are robust.