India's surge in modern services exports: Empirics for policy

India's exports of modern services have grown consistently over the last three decades and more so since 1991. Sustaining modern services exports (MSEs), which in India enjoy comparative advantage, is important for sustaining service-led growth and maintaining stability on the external sector. In this context, we examine key drivers of India's surge in MSEs which have important implications for policy. The results reveal that endowment factors such as human capital, tele-density, financial development, physical infrastructure and institutions are the key drivers of India's MSEs along with the world demand, exchange rate and foreign direct investment. Therefore, India needs to focus on and speed up the ongoing reforms to improve supply side factors such as education, infrastructure, financial sector deepening, governance and broad-band tele-density to improve competitiveness of India's modern services exports.     

Trade in services: Impact on employment in India

India's services sector has been growing rapidly and so also the trade in services. This paper attempts to assess if trade is able to generate employment in the services sector. Based on the time series macro data the direct and indirect effects of exports and imports on employment after deciphering their effects included in the overall growth, are seen to be mostly negligible. This holds both in the case of formal and informal services. Also, as per the company-level data international trade is not found to be an important determinant of employment in the services sector. On the whole, trade in services sector may enhance growth but this pattern of growth is less likely to be inclusive. Finally, the paper brings out the policy implications.     

Challenges of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in India Need for Legislative Reforms in Partnership with the Social-Work Profession

This article examines the challenges of commercial sexual exploitation of children in India, ranging from the traditional religion-sanctioned commercial sexual exploitation of children, to child trafficking for brothel-based prostitution, to the recent trends in child-sex tourism. It then reviews India's legislation to deal with these problems. Identifying the gaps, the article concludes with recommendations for a child rights-based comprehensive legislation for child protection and the role of the social-work profession to support such legislation.     

Home country impact on Outward FDI from India

The altering policy environment in emerging markets and the surge in their outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) calls for an empirical investigation. Accordingly, this paper examines the effect of home country macroeconomic conditions and Government policies on the OFDI flows from India during the period 1984 to 2015. Incorporating the structural breaks in the empirical model, results indicate the existence of a long-run relationship between OFDI flows and home country macroeconomic and Government policies. Government policies relating to foreign trade and investment and financial sector development are found to be significant determinants. The results also suggest the need for the Government to enhance its effort on the development of knowledge infrastructure in order to support the OFDI from India's manufacturing sector and thereby contribute to the success of “Make in India” programme. Policy implications are discussed.     

Sociologies of India's missing children

The sociologies of India's missing children merit spatial and contextual examination. The sociological space into which a child goes missing is highly under‐researched in India. Building on overarching narratives emerging from secondary sources and existing literature on Indian children's vulnerability and precarity, the article aims to evaluate the landscape of missing children. The analyses suggest that a number of interconnected sociologies contribute to the phenomenon of missing children – these children are mainly from the poorer backgrounds, who are kidnapped, trafficked, or lured largely for social, commercial, and sexual exploitation. This research was conducted to gain a deeper understanding into the problem of missing children in order to address the gaps that require intervention.     

An Analysis of Selected Pension and Health Care Initiatives for Informal Sector Workers in India

India's demographic trends portend moderately rapid ageing of the population. This, combined with the limited coverage of pension and health care programmes in terms of population, types of risks covered, and benefit levels has led to greater urgency in extending the coverage and reform directions of the current pension and health care programmes. This article analyses three pension and health care initiatives in India directed at the workers and their families engaged in the informal sector. The first initiative, India's National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), undertaken in 1995 provides budget‐financed transfers targeted at older persons. It is funded by the Union government but implemented by the state governments. The second initiative, called Swavalamban, was started in 2010, but has been subsumed under Atal Pension Yojana (APY), in the 2015–16 budget. Both are voluntary co‐contributory initiatives aimed at providing access to retirement income to low‐income individuals (government co‐contributing with the individual). Unlike Swavalamban, the APY initiative has provisions for minimum guaranteed pension benefits, with contributions required by the members adjusted accordingly. Effectiveness in increasing enrollment and in sustaining contributions over a longer period will impact on the extent of retirement income security obtained by the members. The third initiative, Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), is insurance‐based and aims to provide hospital care to low‐income households. The article argues that for improving outcomes of these initiatives, more effective implementation, greater fiscal resources, and an integrated and systemic approach which is aided by technology‐enabled platforms such as Aadhaar, will be needed.     

Religious freedom and gender equality in India

After India gained independence in 1947, the country's leaders promised its diverse constituents citizenship rights that extended across religion, gender, and caste. Distinct from its previous British rule, India's constitutional law guarantees citizens the right to religious freedom and associated cultural practices, and prohibits gender and caste‐based discrimination. However, in ensuring freedom of religion, the constitution also effectively affirms gender inequality through patriarchal religious and cultural practices. This article examines how the constitutional rights of religious freedom and gender equality have been negotiated among each other in contemporary Indian society. I draw upon three landmark Indian Supreme Court cases that navigate the terrain of affirming both women's civic rights and religious freedom. Findings suggest that the Supreme Court is working toward a more inclusive definition of citizenship, particularly one which supports women's civic rights within the context of religious personal law.     

Financing urban growth in China: A case study of Guangzhou

Rapid urban growth has become a global phenomenon. As these city populations expand, urban governance is even more of a daunting challenge in many countries. China is not an exception. It is at once a transitional state still undergoing urbanization and economic development; it is also currently experiencing a slowing economy. China's cities must simultaneously continue to improve the quality of urban life while maintaining social stability. Using the city of Guangzhou as an example of China's mega-cities, this study explores the financing strategies used by Chinese cities to manage urban growth. While economic growth has always been the main priority, Guangzhou's strategy has not followed China's traditional approach of growth for growth's sake; instead, it is relying on investment in innovation and transportation to promote the local economy. Education is also being stressed as a means of fostering human resources. However, undisciplined infrastructure financing and ineffective intergovernmental fiscal relations are jeopardizing the city's fiscal sustainability. To correct this will require further reforms of China's fiscal system and a careful sequencing of reforms to maintain a sustainable growth in the urban area.     

The Irish macroeconomic response to an external shock with an application to stress testing

The Irish economy has recently endured a period of turbulence as a result of the collapse of the domestic property market bubble and the onset of the global financial crisis. There are two critical vulnerabilities in the Irish economy at present. The first is the potential for sluggish economic growth due to a slowdown in external demand, which impacts on the government's ability to meet budgetary targets. The second concern relates to the financial stability of the banking system given the escalating mortgage crisis. Our results show that Irish economic growth is highly sensitive to the performance of its trading partners and any international slowdown will hinder Ireland's growth prospects. The model used suggests that the appropriate policy response is to pursue further gains in competitiveness. We estimate the impact of an external slowdown on mortgage delinquency using a new dataset on the loan books of the commercial banking sector. The results suggest that a negative one standard deviation shock to US GDP growth leads to an increase of 1600 in the number of mortgages in arrears for at least 90 days. Arrears are driven by unemployment and negative equity in the model. We discuss policies to contain the mortgage crisis by improving these intermediate target variables.     

Modeling the Niger Delta Insurgency

Nigeria's oil guarantees its role in the global economy; however, the state's overwhelming weaknesses perpetuate a high level of volatility vis-à-vis the potential for an immediate disruption of the national, regional, and global environment. This study presents a current qualitative analysis of Nigeria to produce a model that characterizes current conditions in the state and the state response to the nefarious acts in the delta region. This model will serve as a baseline for a significant iteration of the model that reflects the delta region counter-insurgency at various levels of strength: a what-if scenario of the region with an increase of state security over southern separatists, insurgents seeking to gain control of the oil assets. The conjectured model serves to inform/educate decision and policy makers in developing proactive, effective strategies to counter existent and potential threats in the Niger Delta.     

Islamisation and activism of a Muslim NGO in Pakistan: Jama'at‐ud‐Da'wa as a case study

This paper locates the study of Jamat‐ud‐Da'wa (JUD) within the context of global political developments. Premised on the nexus between the local and the global developments, it discusses how changes in the domestic or international arena shaped the policies of JUD after 9/11. It argues that, as a successor to the Lashker‐e‐Toiba in Pakistan, the JUD has been active in the social welfare space. It has moved into roles that reside in the domain of the state's responsibility but have passed to the private sector due to the state's failure to meet the needs of its citizens, including the provision of education and relief and rescue efforts after natural disasters. Though not categorically identified as being part of the jihadi agenda, this activism increases the appeal of the JUD among Pakistani citizens, with a possibility of increasing their declared and/or active support for JUD's views on Pakistan's foreign policy.     

Two-parameter decision models and rank-dependent expected utility

This paper extends the existing literature concerning the relationship between two parameter decision models and those based on expected utility in two main directions. The first relaxes Meyer's location and scale (or Sinn's linear class) condition and shows that a two-parameter representation of preferences over uncertain prospects and the expected utility representation yield consistent rankings of random variables when the decision maker's choice set is restricted to random variables differing by mean shifts and monotone meanpreserving spreads. The second shows that the rank-dependent expected utility model is also consistent with two-parameter ranking methods if the probability transform satisfies certain dominance conditions. The main implication of these results is that the simple two-parameter model can be used to analyze the comparative statics properties of a wide variety of economic models, including those with multiple sources of uncertainty when the random variables are comonotonic. To illustrate this point, we apply our results to the problem of optimal portfolio investment with random initial wealth. We find that it is relatively easy to obtain strong global comparative statics results even if preferences do not satisfy the independence axiom.     

Micro‐pensions in India: Issues and challenges

This article aims to fill a gap in the social security literature on India by examining the role of micro‐pensions. The analysis suggests that because of the heterogeneity of the target population, micro‐pension products — with microfinance institutions (MFIs) as the main, but not only sponsors — should be voluntary and portable and permit experimentation in their design and in the delivery of services. Accordingly, decentralized micro‐pension schemes that operate within an appropriate regulatory framework and according to sound governance practices are deemed more fitting for the Indian context than centralized schemes with limited flexibility. The article discusses two case studies of recently‐initiated micro‐pension schemes in India, which reveal the need for rigorous analytical research on the micro‐pension sector, particularly concerning the structuring of pay‐out options and innovative delivery mechanisms. The article concludes that micro‐pensions have the potential to be one of the most useful components in India's multi‐tiered social security system, and should be encouraged.     

Social Security through Guaranteed Employment

This article reviews the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA), perhaps India's foremost social security scheme, which is in the form of a right for rural households throughout India to work for up to 100 days a year in public works and to be paid the minimum wage for unskilled labourers. It is argued that self‐targeting leads to a more pro‐poor scheme than a cash transfer programme. However, in many states, especially poor states, work for NREGA is shown to be not a right. This is a major aspect of the corruption which gives the scheme a bad name. Also generally disappointing is the value of the assets created by the public works. But it is argued that NREGA is worth salvaging, especially if the example of the best states could be followed more widely. Attention is particularly drawn to the contribution of NREGA to the empowerment of women and scheduled castes and tribes in much of rural India.     

Environmental Policy Attitudes: Issues,Geographical Scale,and Political Trust*

Objectives. This article examines environmental policy attitudes, focusing on the differences in preferences across issue type (i.e., pollution, resource preservation) and geographical scale (i.e., local, national, global). In addition, we study whether an individual's trust in government influences environmental policy attitudes. Methods. Analyzing data from the 2007 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, we estimate a series of OLS regression models to examine the public's environmental policy attitudes. Results. We find stronger public support for government action to address pollution issues than resources issues, and stronger support for local and national pollution abatement than dealing with global problems. We also find that Republicans and ideological conservatives are less likely to support further government effort to address the environment, and that more trusting individuals are more favorable to government action to address pollution and global issues. Conclusion. Environmental policy attitudes vary by the nature of the issue; however, political ideology and partisan affiliation are consistent predictors of preferences across issues, even when controlling for an individual's level of trust in government.     

Differences in Well‐being among People with Disabilities in Paid Employment: Level of Restriction,Gender and Labour Market Context

This study investigates the variability in well‐being of people with disabilities in paid employment in two different labour market contexts: the beginning (1998) and end (2009) of a period of growth in non‐standard hours and work intensification. It focuses on the well‐being constraints that arise from three influences: a person's disability, a person's gender, and the labour market context. Hypotheses are developed using the social model of disability and social identity theory. Hierarchical moderator regression is employed to examine two national samples of nearly 4,000 people with disabilities in paid employment. Individuals who are most limited by their disabilities, particularly women, reported lower well‐being in 2009 than in 1998. Welfare‐to‐work policies affecting these disadvantaged groups are discussed in relation to the labour market and national regulatory environments.     

The effects of autonomy support and psychological capital on readiness for independent living through personal growth initiative among youth in out‐of‐home care

This study explored the effects of the factors on independent living readiness among youth under out‐of‐home care. Specifically, this study focused on the effects of caregivers' autonomy support and psychological capital on independent living readiness through personal growth initiative. A total of 215 youth who were expected to be discharged from caring institution within three years were gathered for the survey, and the final sample was 194 after excluding incomplete responses. Structural equation modeling with Mplus (version 7) was used to test research model and hypotheses in the study. Results showed that the research model was appropriated with several fit indices satisfied and that all the hypotheses were supported. Also, direct and indirect effects of independent variables were fully supported. However, the indirect effect of psychological capital was marginally significant. The results implicate that both caregiver's autonomy support and psychological capital are important for increasing personal growth initiative and that personal growth initiative served as a motivation to facilitating the readiness for independent living among children under institutional care.     

Mothers' and Children's Positive Emotion: Relations and Trajectories across Four Years

The goals of this study were to examine the relations between and trajectories of mothers' and children's social positive expressivity (PE). Mothers' and children's PE were observed annually for four years beginning when children were approximately 18 months old (N = 247; 110 girls). Based on correlations, there was evidence of rank‐order stability in children's and mothers' PE. Based on growth curve analyses, mothers' and children's PE followed curvilinear trajectories; thus, mean‐level instability was found. Children's PE during a free‐play interaction with their mothers increased then decreased slightly whereas mothers' affect during the same task decreased then stabilized. Children's PE during a joy‐inducing situation (i.e., bubbles) with an experimenter slightly decreased and then increased. In panel models, there was no evidence of prediction over time across children's and mothers' PE when taking stability into account. These unique trajectories and relations provide insight into the developmental pattern of young children's and their mothers' PE elicited within social contexts.     

Pathways to Problem Behaviors: Chaotic Homes, Parent and Child Effortful Control, and Parenting

Guided by Belsky's and Eisenberg, Cumberland, and Spinrad's heuristic models, we tested a process model with hypothesized paths from parents' effortful control (EC) and family chaos to indices of parenting to children's EC, and finally children's externalizing problem behavior. Parents reported on all constructs and children ( N = 188; M age = 9.55 years) reported on their EC and externalizing problem behaviors. Consistent with expectations, parents' EC promoted their positive (and inhibited negative) reactions to children's negative emotions. In addition, high levels of family chaos predicted low levels of parental positive reactions to children's emotion. Children's EC was predicted by high levels of positive reactions and low levels of negative reactions. As expected, children's externalizing problem behaviors were negatively related to their EC. Results clarify possible family processes by which children's EC is enhanced and problem behaviors are reduced.     

The dynamics of economic globalization and political development on the welfare state in South Korea

The Korean welfare system has grown over the past 40 years from a limited and selective developmental system into a relatively comprehensive universal system. What explains this dynamic is the interplay between South Korea's global economic integration and its political transition from authoritarian rule to democratic governance. While the corporatist consensus under the authoritarian government limited social welfare to an instrument to promote economic growth and industrialization, the social democratic corporatist consensus under economic globalization has enabled the democratic regime to introduce a relatively universal welfare system.