District Level Analysis Research Articles

The damages from climatic extremes in India: do disaster-specific and generic adaptation measures matter?

The damages due to climatic extremes have gone up over the years, particularly in developing nations like India. Disaster-specific risk reduction measures have been adopted at both individual and policy levels to reduce potential impacts. At the same time, a variety of generic adaptation activities have also been undertaken. However, there is inconclusive empirical evidence on the effectiveness of these interventions in reducing damages from climatic extremes, especially for the developing nations. This study, therefore, examines the influence of disaster-specific and generic adaptation measures in reducing the damages resulting from the climate extremes like cyclones and floods in India. A district-level analysis was carried out for the state of Odisha, India from 1999 to 2008 using fixed effects for OLS and negative binomial models. Controlling for the influence of exposure and population, three major findings emerge: (1) households and policy makers have learned from the previous disaster experiences, i.e. there is a ‘learning effect’, (2) the disaster risk management programme undertaken by the government has reduced the damages from climate extremes, and (3) generic adaptation interventions are helpful. Since the frequency and intensity of these events are likely to increase because of climate change, these results have policy implications in the context of reducing potential impacts now and in the foreseeable future.

Regional concentration of FDI in post-reform India: A district-level analysis

We analyze the concentration of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India at the district level, based on project-specific location choices since the reform program in the early 1990s. The decomposition property of the Theil index allows us to trace changes over time in the overall concentration of FDI to changes in concentration between and within subgroups of districts. We also differentiate between major types and sources of FDI. We find that FDI concentrated in a persistently decreasing number of districts. Concentration across those districts that received at least one FDI project within a given time interval also increased, but this increase leveled off in the more recent past. These trends hold for essentially all types and sources of FDI, while the average level of concentration varies considerably between these types and sources.

The Relationship between Agricultural Production and Poverty in Malawi: A District Level Analysis

The importance of agricultural production in reducing poverty, especially in developing countries is well established in the literature. Most of the households in sub-Saharan Africa have their livelihood dependent on subsistence agriculture. Improvements in agricultural practices that result in higher yields and hence more income are some of the best strategies in dealing with rural poverty. This study looked at the relationship between agricultural production and the poverty rate at district level in Malawi. The study used panel data from IHS2 and IHS3 with the district head count poverty rate as a dependent variable. Some of the variables used were district annual maize production, tonnage of agricultural subsidy received per district, and the proportion of people benefiting from agricultural subsidy. The results show that there is a link between agriculture production and poverty at district level. An increase in maize production was associated with a reduction in the district poverty rate. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n21p221

Regionalization of Electoral Politics in Togo

The article provides both quantitative and qualitative evidence that Togolese electoral politics is regionalized along a north-south axis. The argument is based on a district-level analysis of selected general elections (1958, 2007, 2010, and 2013) and fieldwork focused on the working of political parties that the author conducted in the five regions of Togo in 2012. The significance of this regionalization is twofold. At the theoretical level, the north-south patterning can be described as an example of social antagonism that is primarily regional and not ethno-linguistic, a rare occurrence in sub-Saharan Africa. Using Lipset and Rokkan’s (1967) terminology, we conceptualize it as a case of centre-periphery conflict. Secondly, the regional perspective enables a novel interpretation of the Togolese political deadlock that has hitherto been explained as a combination of the regime’s authoritarian practices and divisions within the opposition camp. The article argues that the regionalization is an additional essential element that helps to explain the continuation of the Gnassingbe family rule, especially after the Presidency passed from father to son in 2005.

Ethnic or Political Fractionalisation? A District Level Analysis of the Provision of Public Goods in Sri Lanka

AbstractThis study investigates the influence of ethnic and political fractionalisation on the provision of public goods at a district level in Sri Lanka. Evidence shows that political fractionalisation has a greater negative impact on the provision of public goods compared with ethnic fractionalisation. Similarly, political polarisation has a greater negative effect on the provision of public goods compared with ethnic polarisation. The interaction between ethnic and political measures suggests that political fractionalisation (political polarisation) exacerbates the negative effects of ethnic fractionalisation (ethnic polarisation) on the provision of public goods. The ethnolinguistic fractionalisation (ELF) index assumes greater statistical significance under fixed effects estimation suggesting greater within district effects in the relationship between ELF and public good provision.

Predictors of HIV prevalence among street-based female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh state of India: a district-level analysis

BackgroundA decline in HIV prevalence among female sex workers (FSWs) has been reported from the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh between the two rounds of integrated biological and behavioural assessment (IBBA) surveys in 2005–06 and 2009, the first of these around the time of start of the Avahan HIV prevention intervention. In order to facilitate further planning of FSW interventions, we report the factors associated with HIV prevalence among street-based FSWs.MethodsBehavioural data from the two rounds of IBBA surveys, district-level FSW HIV prevention program data, and urbanisation data from the Census of India were utilized. A multilevel logistic model was used to investigate factors associated with inter-district variations in HIV positivity among street-based FSWs in the districts by fitting a two-level model.ResultsThe estimated HIV prevalence among street-based FSWs changed from 16% (95% confidence interval [CI] 14.2 – 17.7%) to 12.9% (95% CI 11.5 – 14.2%) from 2005–06 to 2009. HIV positivity was significantly higher in districts with a high proportion of FSWs registered with targeted interventions (odds ratio [OR] 2.02; 95% CI 1.18-3.45), and in districts with medium (OR 2.54; 95% CI 1.58-4.08) or high (OR 1.55; 95% CI 1.05-2.29) proportion of urban population. Districts which had met the condom requirement targets for FSWs had significantly lower HIV positivity (OR 0.50; 95% CI 0.26-0.97). In round 2 survey, the districts with medium level urbanisation had significantly higher proportion of FSWs registered with HIV intervention programmes and also reported higher consistent condom use with regular partner (p < 0.001).ConclusionsVariations in HIV positivity among street-based FSWs were seen at the district level in relation to HIV intervention programs and the degree of urbanization. These findings could be used to enhance program planning to further reduce HIV transmission in this population.

Regional abundance of on-premise outlets and drinking patterns among Swiss young men: district level analyses and geographic adjustments.

This study investigated the associations of alcohol outlet density with specific alcohol outcomes (consumption and consequences) among young men in Switzerland and assessed the possible geographically related variations. Alcohol consumption and drinking consequences were measured in a 2010-2011 study assessing substance use risk factors (Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors) among 5519 young Swiss men. Outlet density was based on the number of on- and off-premise outlets in the district of residence. Linear regression models were run separately for drinking level, heavy episodic drinking (HED) and drinking consequences. Geographically weighted regression models were estimated when variations were recorded at the district level. No consistent association was found between outlet density and drinking consequences. A positive association between drinking level and HED with on-premise outlet density was found. Geographically weighted regressions were run for drinking level and HED. The predicted values for HED were higher in the southwest part of Switzerland (French-speaking part). Among Swiss young men, the density of outlets and, in particular, the abundance of bars, clubs and other on-premise outlets was associated with drinking level and HED, even when drinking consequences were not significantly affected. These findings support the idea that outlet density needs to be considered when developing and implementing regional-based prevention initiatives.

Trade boom and wage inequality: evidence from Ugandan districts

The process of economic integration over the past two decades has been accompanied by expanding skilled wage premia—a key measure of wage inequality—in most countries. This was also the case for Ugandan wage employees during the 1990s, a period of abrupt trade opening, market reforms and improved relations with neighbouring Kenya. As in other unskilled labour abundant countries, this is a surprising result in light of the standard Heckscher–Ohlin (H–O) framework. By using a novel district-level analysis, I find that in fact increased trade reduced wage inequality in line with the H–O predictions. During the 1990s districts more exposed to the trade boom experienced a rise in wage premia 2.8 percentage points lower relative to less-exposed districts. On the other hand, the intensification of domestic trade across districts and the increase in average education were associated with increased wage premia during the period of analysis.

Spatial Variations in the Levels of Agricultural and Socio-economic Development in Jammu &amp; Kashmir — A District Level Analysis

The study has found the levels of agricultural and the socio-economic development in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The spatial variation has been determined with the help of seventeen variables related to agricultural and socio-economic domains. Z-score variate has been employed to remove the bias of scale of variables and then composite indices have been worked out to find disparity in the agricultural and socio-economic development across districts of the state. A positive correlation exists between the socioeconomic status and agricultural development. Two districts of the state (Jammu and Srinagar) have depicted high level of socio-economic development, but medium level of agricultural development, while four districts (Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, and Budgam) have shown high level of agricultural development and medium level of socio-economic development. The seven districts, viz. Kupwara, Ganderbal, Ramban, Kishtwar, Doda, Leh and Kargil, have revealed low development in both. The districts of Baramulla and Kulgam have shown medium level of development in both the domains. The study has indicated the existence of one-to-one correspondence between the levels of agricultural and socio-economic development, with few exceptions, across districts in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.

Impact of infrastructure availability on level of industrial development in Jharkhand, India: a district level analysis

This paper contributes to the ongoing research on measuring the industrial development at a micro (district) level and turning the findings into useful policy tools. The paper takes the analysis at micro level and concentrates on the districts of Jharkhand state – one of the most resource rich states in India with a low level of industrial development. For better understanding the impact, the infrastructure is split into three major components – physical infrastructure (PI), banking infrastructure (BI) and social infrastructure (SI). Results show that, when all the districts as a group is considered, for all the models, the association of the components of infrastructure with level of industrial development is found to be weak – which reflects the low level of infrastructure availability in the state, whereas when the more industrialised districts are considered, for the same set of models, only PI and SI are found to be significant, suggesting a lack of proper synchronisation of the industrial development policy for BI at the district level.

Spatial Patterns of Food Security in Haryana: A District-level Analysis

In today's era the issue of food security is gaining much more attention as foodis one of the three basic requirements of man and is still a serious issue formany poor people. Ensuring food security is a big challenge due to increase inpopulation, climate change etc. especially in developing Asian countries likeIndia. The present study is significant in a way that it examines the variationsin spatial patterns of food security at district level in one of the food bowlstates of India namely Haryana. This study also tries to identify the factorsbehind the spatial variations in food security. Despite being self-sufficient infoodgrains production, the state has vast regional contrasts in terms of landproductivity, farm labour and standard of living. At present, food grainsproduction is almost stagnant in the state and natural resources are alsoexperiencing degradation due to their extensive use. For this study, secondarydata have been collected from various state government offices. Further foodavailability, food accessibility and food utilization indices have beencalculated by using different indicators. The results of the study reveal that thedistricts situated in central and north-west part of the state having betteragricultural infrastructure are more food secure than the districts situated insouthern and northern parts of the state which have the disadvantageous thestate which have sandy soil, poor irrigation facilities and undulatingtopography.

Women's Political Role and Poverty in the Educational Dimension. A District-Level Analysis in India

This paper contributes to the debate on the effects of women’s political representation. It has a threefold objective: (1) to analyse whether the gender of elected politicians is relevant to the educational achievements of residents of the Indian districts in which they were elected; (2) to test whether politicians are more sensitive to the needs of people of the same gender; (3) to explore the possible channels through which these relationships operate. By applying instrumental variable regressions to a data set obtained by merging individual data with district-level political variables, we concluded that a 10% increase in women’s political representation at district level may produce a 5.9% increase in the probability of children completing primary school. In a further analysis, we found a striking difference in the results when broken down by gender: women’s political agency affects the education of a significantly larger number of girls than boys. Finally, none of the channels we examined relating to school buildings and the coverage of the Mid-Day Meal scheme helped explain the above relationship. This is due in part to poor-quality data. In conclusion, these findings provide further evidence of the benefits of women’s political representation and should be taken into consideration in the current debate on the Women’s Reservation Bill in India.

Education and Poverty Linkage in Malawi: A District Level Analysis

The need to reduce poverty in all its forms remains a priority around the world. The fact that countries with higher incidences of growth have an associated reduction in poverty levels is uncontested both in theory and in empirical findings. The channels through which growth results into poverty reduction are not clear. This study looks at education as a channel through which economic growth and poverty reduction are linked. Using data on districts in Malawi, we estimate a regression with the headcount poverty as a dependent variable and education at different levels as independent variables. The results show that there is a significant relationship between education qualification and poverty reduction at district level in Malawi. MSCE qualification has the highest coefficient, meaning that policies that would encourage attaining an MSCE (O-level equivalent) would have a more significant impact on poverty reduction than just attaining primary level qualification DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n14p213

Feasibility and effectiveness of a low cost campaign on antibiotic prescribing in Italy: community level, controlled, non-randomised trial

Objectives To test the hypothesis that a multifaceted, local public campaign could be feasible and influence antibiotic prescribing for outpatients. Design Community level, controlled, non-randomised trial. Setting Provinces of Modena...

Scaling intrinsic Gaussian Markov random field priors in spatial modelling

In Bayesian hierarchical regression models, intrinsic Gaussian Markov random fields (IGMRFs) are commonly applied to model underlying spatial or temporal dependency structures. IGMRFs have a scaled precision matrix that reflects the neighbourhood structure of the model, while the scaling is represented as a random precision parameter. The hyperprior chosen for the precision parameter influences the degree of smoothness of the resulting field and this can have a strong effect on posterior results. We suggest that hyperpriors for the precision parameters should be selected according to the type of IGMRF used. Also, hyperpriors for different types of IGMRFs can be selected to give the same degree of smoothness, a priori. This is achieved by mapping the random precision to the marginal standard deviation of the IGMRF and recalculate hyperpriors used for different models. Also, the parameters of the hyperprior can be interpreted in terms of the marginal standard deviation. The given ideas are demonstrated by analysing two different types of spatial data in R-INLA, including a district-level analysis of survival data and the analysis of a spatial point pattern discretized to a grid.

INDIAN YOUTH POVERTY: A DISTRICT LEVEL ANALYSIS

India made significant progress on reducing poverty between 1981 and 2001. The number of poor population living on less than US$1 a day has declined, but it needs considerable attention for antipoverty policy formulation. Estimating the Gini Coefficients for various age groups in four most populated states Uttarpradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and West Bengal in India by district level reveals that youth population are at risk. Youth poverty among these states deserves special attention for several reasons. First, economicallydeprived youth are not only a high risk for poverty themselves but also for the whole society. Second, once youth enter into poverty, it is hard for them to come out from this insufficiency of basic needs. Youth who are growing up in poor families are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors like early pregnancy, college absenteeism, and early entrance in the job market. Following Tokel and Huffman model, for any geographic area, labor and wage depend on the existing stock of human capital, local labor market conditions, macroeconomic conditions, local amenities, the age and caste of distribution of the population and various socioeconomic variables. We apply the multinomial logit model and proportional functional form for different socioeconomic & demographical characteristics to evaluate youth poverty in these four states in India. The paper determines the factors affecting youth poverty, employing district level data Analysis of the results conclude that rural youth population need more attention than urban youth population, agricultural industry need better infrastructure, educational program is essential to eradicate youth poverty from these states in India. Appropriate suggestions by the policymakers will limit the youth poverty in these four states. This paper is actually a baseline study for the initiation of a research for youth poverty in India, on the basis of which we can further proceed that whether policies implemented after this census were proper or not and what is the reflection of those policies in the next census. Key words: young adult, poverty, India

Ethnic heterogeneity and party system size: A district-level analysis

It has been theoretically and empirically shown that ideological diversity complements the effect of institutions on the development of party systems and the number of political parties that ensue. Thus, students of party and electoral systems now commonly employ ethnic fractionalization as an indicator of ideological differences; however, there is no unilaterally agreed upon data set that scholars use. In addition, extant data sets measure heterogeneity at the national level, rather than at the district level, where electoral competition takes place and where both institutional and social factors matter most. Using a multi-level empirical analysis, this article illustrates the interactive effect of the two main district characteristics – magnitude and heterogeneity – on the number of parties. It demonstrates the analytical benefit of using district-level characteristics in explaining party system size and aims to reduce the data gap by providing a district-level ethnic heterogeneity data set for 18 European states.

Performance of Agriculture in Uttar Pradesh-A District-level Analysis

The growth of agriculture is prerequisite for overall development of Indian economy. It contributes significantly to the export earnings and affects the performance of other sectors of the economy through forward and backward linkages. The present paper analyses district and regional level disparity in agriculture development in Uttar Pradesh on a number of agricultural parameters. It uses UNDP methodology (subsequently used by a number of others) to standardize various indicators for agricultural attainment in the state of Uttar Pradesh using 13 agricultural development indicators. A composite index has been constructed at the district level and also regional level for two cross-section years 1990-91 and 2008-09. The relative variations and changes in ranks of different districts have been computed during the period under consideration. Evidence shows existence of high and persistent inter-state disparity in agriculture in the state over the years. The transformation of some districts from the level of relatively underperformer to the rank of better performer and vice versa has been witnessed and explained. The findings encourage the authors to conclude that a more determined effort on the part of the policy makers is needed if the development policy has to be made truly inclusive.

Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission (PPTCT) Program Data in India: An Emerging Data Set for Appraising the HIV Epidemic

BackgroundEvidence based resource allocation and decentralized planning of an effective HIV/AIDS response requires reliable information on levels and trends of HIV at national and sub-national geographic levels. HIV sentinel surveillance data from antenatal clinics (HSS-ANC) has been an important data source to assess the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India, but has a number of limitations. We assess the value of Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission (PPTCT) programme data to appraise the HIV epidemic in India.Methods/FindingsHIV data from PPTCT sites were compared to HSS-ANC and general population level surveys at various geographic levels in the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Chi-square tests were used to ascertain statistical significance. PPTCT HIV prevalence was significantly lower than HSS-ANC HIV prevalence (0.92% vs. 1.22% in Andhra Pradesh, 0.65% vs. 0.89% in Karnataka, 0.52% vs. 0.60% in Maharashtra, p<0.001 for all three states). In all three states, HIV prevalence from PPTCT centres that were part of the sentinel surveillance was comparable to HSS-ANC prevalence but significantly higher than PPTCT centres that were not part of the sentinel surveillance. HIV prevalence from PPTCT data was comparable to that from general population surveys. In all three states, significant declines in HIV prevalence between 2007 and 2010 were observed with the PPTCT data set. District level analyses of HIV trends and sub-district level analysis of HIV prevalence were possible using the PPTCT and not the HSS-ANC data sets.ConclusionHIV prevalence from PPTCT may be a better proxy for general population prevalence than HSS-ANC. PPTCT data allow for analysis of HIV prevalence and trends at smaller geographic units, which is important for decentralized planning of HIV/AIDS programming. With further improvements to the system, India could replace its HSS-ANC with PPTCT programme data for surveillance.

Pattern of Regional Disparities in Socio-economic Development in India: District Level Analysis

The study assesses the pattern of disparities in socio-economic development at the district level in India applying the Wroclow Taxonomic technique (following Ewusi. Social Indicators Research 3(1) 75–110, 1976, and Arief. Social Indicators Research 11(3) 259–267, 1982) based upon optimal combination of selected socio-economic development indicators. In order to get a clear picture of regional socio-economic disparities in India, the level of development is assessed separately for agriculture, industrial and infrastructural sectors and the districts are classified into four development categories according to the values of the constructed development index. For bringing about uniform regional development and improving the quality-of-life, model districts for disadvantaged districts have been identified and potential targets for various social amenities have been estimated. An attempt has also been made to compare the levels of socio-economic development among various regions in India. The constructed socio-economic development index shows that India’s Southern region is far more and symmetrically developed in comparison of Central and Northern regions. The results show that wide disparities in the level of socio-economic development exist among different districts within and between different regions of India. The level of development in infrastructural service sector is found to be positively and statistically significantly associated with the overall socio-economic development indicating that the growth and progress of the sectors have been going hand in hand in the country. The results show that in Northern and Central regions of India the level of industrial development does not significantly influence the agricultural and overall socio-economic development while agricultural development influences overall socio-economic development. The study suggests that low developed districts require improvement in most of the indicators for enhancing their levels of overall socio-economic development.