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There is little systematic evidence on the links between procurement systems and outcomes such as competition and corruption levels. This paper adds to the evidence, using data on 34,000 firms from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys, in 90 countries with procurement systems data from Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessments. We find that in countries with better public access to complete, reliable, and timely procurement information, firms are more likely to participate in public procurement markets. Firms report paying less in kickbacks to officials in countries where exceptions to open competition in tendering must be explicitly justified, and where there are effective and independent complaints mechanisms. These findings—particularly on kickbacks—are robust to the inclusion of numerous controls and to a range of sensitivity tests. However, due to data limitations we are unable to rule out the possibility that these estimates may reflect in part endogeneity bias.

This paper analyzes market participation gaps among male, female, and joint decision-making households, and the factors influencing that gap, using data collected from 560 maize farm households in the Dawuro zone, southern Ethiopia. The results from the ordered probit analysis reveal that female and joint decision-making households were negatively associated with the probability of being a net seller, while being positively associated with being autarchic and net buyers. The decomposition results indicate clear market participation gaps in the net seller and net buyer positions between male and female decision-makers. The mean quantity gaps between males and females are more apparent in the net seller and net buyer positions. Between male and joint decision-makers, the mean quantity gaps are significant in the net seller and autarchic positions, while between female and joint decision-makers, it is significant in the net seller positions. In each market position, the quantity of gaps is unevenly distributed across the quantities of distribution, but the values increase as we approach higher levels of distribution. The gaps in the net seller and autarchic positions indicate that males are better positioned than females and that females are better positioned than joint decision-makers. Both endowment and return effects account for the quantity gaps. Thus, there is a need for policies to secure more equal access to productive resources for female and joint decision-making households and build their capacity to increase their resource returns.

The involvement of smallholders in various inclusive business models (IBMs) is being widely promoted in Ethiopia. The inclusion, exclusion and distribution effects of IBMs must be better understood, however, in order to make them more impactful. This study, which was carried out in three districts in northern Ethiopia, employed a mixed methods approach. Our results show that inclusion and exclusion are both complex and multidimensional. A focus on transaction costs, productive resource endowments and chain governance is crucial for enhancing smallholders’ inclusion. Our results further indicate that income obtained from participation in IBMs is unequally distributed. The benefits of IBMs vary according to the underlying position of the smallholder. Hence, inclusive development interventions should acknowledge the various positions of smallholders and consider how their positions shape social relations locally. The paper thus reveals the various dimensions, contradictory tendencies, hidden costs and side effects of IBMs.

We use nationally representative survey data from Zambia to evaluate whether rural youth out-migration is associated with a lack of rural economic vibrancy, as often asserted in policy discussion. After controlling for distance from markets, we do find some evidence that areas with more productive and market-oriented agriculture are associated with lower rates of out-migration, particularly for those who leave explicitly to find work. However, measures of non-farm orientation of the local economy are positively associated with out-migration, indicating that the sectoral composition of the local economy has some bearing on the relationship between vibrancy and migration. When we examine more disaggregated patterns, we find that the out-migration decisions of young males are particularly responsive to rural vibrancy conditions. However, we find that the migration decisions of those who have completed secondary school are influenced less by vibrancy measures than the decisions of less educated individuals, possibly indicating that individuals who aspire to leave rural areas, and who invest in educational attainment to achieve such aspirations, may be less susceptible to influence by rural productivity changes. Our results suggest that the narrative of a stagnation-driven exodus of educated rural youth is oversimplified and, as such, is of limited policy relevance.

Developing countries coalitions form an integral part of tariff negotiations that take place under the aegis of the World Trade Organization. While there was only a single coalition in the 70s, their number increased to 31 in the year 2005. Despite the apparent proliferation of coalitions in tariff negotiations, little research on their theoretical and empirical implications has been produced. In particular, we lack an understanding of efficiency and equity effects of coalitions. By exploring this equity-efficiency nexus, the study finds that developing countries coalitions like the G-90 and the Least Developed Countries Group – while benefiting member countries – lead to less efficiency and less equity overall. Forming the Cairns Group, however, leads to a more efficient and equal distribution of the gains from trade.

Interest in power systems economics is gaining momentum with the recent power supply shortages in America and the rising cost of fossil fuels.The involvement of independent power generators, brokers and distributors has changed the way in which power systems operate.

The European Union's (EU) market integration project has dramatically altered economic activity around Europe. This book presents evidence on how trade has increased, jobs have been created, and European business has been reorganized. The changes in the economy have been accompanied by dramatic changes in how people from different societies interact. This book argues that these changes have produced a truly transnational European society. The book explores the nature of that society and its relationship to the creation of a European identity, popular culture, and politics. Much of the current political conflict around Europe can be attributed to who is and who is not involved in European society. Business owners, managers, professionals, white-collar workers, the educated, and the young have all benefited from European economic integration, specifically by interacting more and more with their counterparts in other societies. They tend to think of themselves as Europeans. Older, poorer, less educated, and blue-collar citizens have benefited less. They view the EU as intrusive on national sovereignty, or they fear its pro-business orientation will overwhelm the national welfare states. They have maintained national identities. There is a third group of mainly-middle class citizens who see the EU in mostly positive terms and sometimes — but not always — think of themselves as Europeans. It is this swing group that is most critical for the future of the European project. If they favor more European cooperation, politicians will oblige. But, if they prefer that policies remain wedded to the nation, European cooperation will stall.

Fair trade is a fast-growing alternative market intended to bring better prices and greater social justice to small farmers around the world. But is it working? This vivid study of coffee farmers in Mexico offers the first thorough investigation of the social, economic, and environmental benefits of fair trade. Based on extensive research in Zapotec indigenous communities in the state of Oaxaca, Brewing Justice follows the members of the cooperative Michiza, whose organic coffee is sold on the international fair trade market. It compares these families to conventional farming families in the same region, who depend on local middlemen and are vulnerable to the fluctuations of the world coffee market. Written in a clear and accessible style, the book carries readers into the lives of these coffee producer households and their communities, offering a nuanced analysis of both the effects of fair trade on everyday life and the limits of its impact. Brewing Justice paints a clear picture of the complex dynamics of the fair trade market and its relationship to the global economy. Drawing on interviews with dozens of fair trade leaders, the book also explores the changing politics of this international movement, including the challenges posed by the entry of transnational corporations into the fair trade system. It concludes by offering recommendations for strengthening and protecting the integrity of fair trade.

This book analyses telecommunications markets from early to mature competition, filling the gap between the existing economic literature on competition and the real-life application of theory to policy. Paul De Bijl and Martin Peitz focus on both the transitory and the persistent asymmetries between telephone companies, investigating the extent to which access price and retail price regulation stimulate both short- and long-term competition. They explore and compare various settings, such as non-linear versus linear pricing, facilities-based versus unbundling-based or carrier-select-based competition, non-segmented versus segmented markets. On the basis of their analysis, De Bijl and Peitz then formulate guidelines for policy. This book is a valuable resource for academics, regulators and telecommunications professionals. It is accompanied by simulation programs devised by the authors both to establish and to illustrate their results.