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Summary This paper explores the recent fall in female labour force participation and its socio-economic determinants in India. The major contribution of this paper is: to explore both micro- and macro-level factors which determine female labour force participation rate (LFPR); to examine the “U shape” female LFPR, by examining the likely income and substitution effects of the real wage increase, to identify the sub-sectors within manufacturing and service sectors that could create jobs for new female job aspirants and those older women displaced from agriculture in recent years; and thus to understand the conditions under which female LFPR could be raised. Using both macro-level and household survey (NSS) data, we find that the recent fillip in the process of structural transformation has pushed a large number of females out of agriculture. The growing mechanization in agriculture and rising capital intensity in manufacturing sectors together have limited the opportunity for females because of their low education and skill and due to other cultural constraints. We also found that the rise in real wages in rural areas and the consequent improvement in the standard of living has produced a strong negative income effect which outweighs the positive substitution effect and as a result female LFPR has declined substantially. However, with the massive increase in female enrollment in secondary and higher levels of education, it could be expected that the substitution effect of the increase in real wage would become stronger if appropriate measures are taken by the government, which are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Developing countries' (DCs') people who are neither poor nor rich are increasingly categorized as the "middle class". • The heterogeneous socio-economic characteristics and subjective preferences of this group are mapped over four countries. • DCs' middle-classes share strong and identifying commonalities as to consumption, investment and preference for stability. • They also present strong specificities across subgroups that might preclude class identification and stabilization. • Knowing better this vulnerable group is urgent to target policies and investment on their socio-economic consolidation. The term "middle class" is increasingly used to qualify the mass of people in developing countries who are neither poor nor rich and share consumption patterns historically associated with the western middle class. However, what differentiates them from the ideal-typical middle class, as well as the extent to which emerging middle classes differ across developing countries, has only been marginally documented by economists to date. This article proposes to scratch beneath the surface of the so-called middle-class that is burgeoning in developing countries by documenting the commonalities and differences hidden by the all-encompassing term of "middle class" for a set of developing countries exhibiting different levels of income, economic structures and socio-political systems: Brazil, Côte d'Ivoire, Turkey and Vietnam. Relying on quantitative and qualitative micro-economic data, our paper compares the objective characteristics (occupation, education, income), behavior and subjective expectations of the people standing in the middle of the income distribution in the four countries. Four main research questions structure the paper. Where is the middle? How is the middle specific? Who is in the middle? What does the middle aspire to? Results show that the middle-income group in each country covers distinct realities. Although some similar characteristics and behaviors are observable, our results reveal a strong heterogeneity within each national middle class, with no fewer than four to seven socio-economic subgroups, and strong country-specific traits as most of the subgroups are deeply rooted in the country's specific historical trajectory. In each country, our analysis also unveils a pattern of bipolarization between a rather affluent and stable middle class and a "new" or more vulnerable one. Finally, middle class members appear to be characterized by an individualist positioning and the absence of a marked political commitment, challenging the common assumption that developing countries' middle classes are agents of political change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Societal engagement and vertical coordination across state levels are under-institutionalised in most countries' SDG-implementation frameworks. • SDG implementation efforts are frequently headed by the top executive with a strong role for ministries of foreign affairs and the environment. • Higher socio-economic development positively impacts the adoption of more integrated institutional designs for SDG implementation. • This article's typology of integrated governance will help determine if new SDG institutions integrate sustainability policies or are in fact "potemkin villages." • Development cooperation should foster the involvement of key line ministries in the national institutional design for SDG implementation. Increased policy coherence and integrated implementation are necessary to address pressing development problems that cut across different sectors. Meeting these demands, as called for by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, requires institutional innovation. Based on the comparative analysis of 137 countries, this paper investigates how governments have responded to this call and which contextual factors shape their institutional responses. We propose a four-dimensional typology to analyse the institutional set-ups for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), focusing on political leadership, horizontal integration across policy sectors, vertical integration across levels of government, and integration of societal stakeholders. We apply this framework to the descriptions of national SDG-implementation bodies provided by governments in their Voluntary National Review (VNRs) and use qualitative directed content analysis and regression modelling to investigate different driving factors of institutional design choices, including socio-economic development and political regime. Besides a strong commitment from the Centre of Government in most cases, our results show that ministries of the exterior and the environment have a dominant role, indicating that sustainability is not yet perceived holistically. Further, we find that the integration of subnational governments and societal actors is often under-institutionalised: while countries with higher levels of socio-economic development appear more likely to set up mechanisms suited to achieving cross-sectoral integration, political regime type seems to have little impact on institutional design choices for SDG implementation. Conceptually, this study offers a theory-led investigation of the institutional mechanisms for integrated SDG-implementation and the factors that drive institutional innovation or inertia. Empirically, by compiling the information in an original dataset, our study paves the way for future cross-national analysis on effective integrated SDG implementation and identifies entry points for inter- and transnational support of integrated SDG implementation in the context of development cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Participation in global value chains (GVCs) shapes development patterns and ecologically unequal exchange (EUE) dynamics. • We conduct a principal components analysis and a clustering analysis along six dimensions (GVC participation, GVC value capture, investment, socioeconomic development, domestic environmental impact and international environmental balance) for 133 countries between 1995 and 2015. • We find three social, ecological, productive development and GVC insertion patterns: " curse of GVC marginalization ", " ecologically perverse upgrading " and " reproduction of the core ". • Our results confirm and refine the asymmetry in ecological degradation between high-income and low-income economies shown by EUE, depending on how countries articulate within GVCs. This paper relates participation in global value chains (GVCs) to development patterns and ecologically unequal exchange (EUE). We conduct a principal components analysis and a clustering analysis along six dimensions (GVC participation, GVC value capture, investment, socioeconomic development, domestic environmental impact and international environmental balance) for 133 countries between 1995 and 2015. We find three social, ecological, productive development and GVC insertion patterns: " curse of GVC marginalization ", " ecologically perverse upgrading " and " reproduction of the core ". While our results confirm the asymmetry in ecological degradation between high-income and low-income economies shown by EUE, it refines and nuances these findings. We argue that environmental asymmetries are driven in large part by differences in how countries articulate within GVCs. Countries with a higher capacity to capture value from GVC participation (" reproduction of the core ") are able to displace environmental impacts to countries facing a trade-off between upgrading in GVCs and ecological degradation (" ecologically perverse upgrading "). Marginalization from GVCs, mitigates the impact of ecologically unequal exchange but constitutes a barrier to socio-economic benefits. Moreover, the lack of diffusion of more ecologically-efficient processes through GVCs has a negative impact on domestic ecological degradation for countries of the " curse of GVC marginalization " group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Climate-related shocks are key push factors for livelihood diversification. • Effect of livelihood diversification on household income are varied across countries and diversification strategies. • Impact of both crop and income diversification on households' welfare is generally higher for the poorest. • Livelihood diversification interventions should be tailored toward specific socio-economic segments of the rural population. Abstract This article investigates the empirical linkages between crop and livelihood diversification strategies, extreme weather events, and household welfare using a unique dataset that integrates harmonized, national representative household surveys and geo-referenced climatic information collected in Malawi, Niger and Zambia. In doing so, the paper addresses the potential endogeneity arising from the selection bias and the heterogeneity of the effect across the quantiles of the income distribution. Results show that exposure to extreme rainfall events is positively associated with either crop or livelihood diversification in all the countries analyzed, suggesting that climate-related shocks are key push factors for diversification. Moreover, results show that the effect of diversification on household income are varied across countries and diversification strategies. However, most of this heterogeneity disappears when estimating the quantile treatment effects. In particular, the results show that the impact of both crop and income diversification on households' welfare is generally higher for the poorest (people located at the bottom tail of the distribution) while it decreases, and in some cases turns to be negative, moving toward the upper end of the income distribution in all three countries. The findings, therefore, highlight the pro-poor impact of diversification strategies in multiple rural African contexts, as well as the need to tailor diversification interventions toward specific socio-economic segments of the rural population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Recent, “rights-based approaches” offer a promising route for bringing about social change. However, we have little experience with state-provided legally enforceable socio-economic rights. This paper examines one of the few examples of a legally granted socio-economic right—a limited “right to work”—that has existed in one state of India for over 25 years in the form of the Employment Guarantee Scheme. The paper argues that legal underpinnings do not automatically enable the poor to obtain rights; however, legal rights have important indirect effects for pro-poor activist organizations including mobilizing membership, protecting activists from arbitrary action, and shifting public discourse. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Based on a new data set, this paper develops two innovative indicators to measure gender inequalities in developing countries. The indicators measure different aspects of constraints imposed on women by social institutions, that is, laws, norms, traditions, and codes of conduct that exist in societies for centuries. The paper finds that social institutions are the most important single factor determining women’s participation in economic activities outside the household. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper analyzes rights-based and economic approaches to the provision of health care and education in developing countries. It assesses the foundations and uses of social rights in development, outlines the economic approach to health care and education, highlights differences and similarities, and assesses the hard questions that the economic critique poses for rights. The paper argues that the policy consequences of the approaches overlap considerably. Differences include the consequences of long-term deprivation, metrics for tradeoffs, and the behavioral distortions of subsidies. But the differences are not irreconcilable, and advocates of the approaches need not regard each other as antagonists. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper draws on recent empirical studies of changing land and water use in semi-arid Africa to identify socioeconomic and political dynamics and discusses their implications for current policy which emphasizes decentralization and the strengthening of “local”––often customary––land rights. The paper presents cases where local initiative in response to market opportunities is driving investment and intensification of water use to increase production. This trend is associated with an increase in individualized control and market relationships in access to land, with increasing disadvantage to the poor. It is argued that this “default” pattern of development is occurring irrespective of the formal system of land tenure and may be promoted, rather than inhibited, by policies of decentralizing natural resource management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Using Hybrid MRIO, we analyse countries' macroeconomic dependence on sunset industries in three dimensions: external, fiscal and socioeconomic. • Some countries depends on these industries to raise foreign currency, whilst others depends to raise fiscal revenues or to generate well-paid jobs. • Supply of intermediate inputs for sunset industries are very relevant for many economies, mainly in terms of employment and as a share of wages. • Different types of current exposure impose specific constraints, especially in countries with low capabilities to move towards green industries. The low-carbon transition is a specific type of rapid structural change where low-emission industries grow and high-emission industries decline due to deliberate policies, changing preferences and technological change. Developing countries' macroeconomic exposure to this transition depends upon their reliance on carbon-intensive industries as a source of foreign currency, fiscal revenue, employment and wage income. Identifying these different dimensions of countries' exposure is important because different green policies need to be applied in different contexts, and the results of these policies will be more or less effective according to countries' idiosyncrasies. This paper aims at providing estimates of countries' macroeconomic current exposures to the low-carbon transition. We develop a method to evaluate countries' external, fiscal and socioeconomic exposure, and, considering their capacity to adapt their productive structure, we analyse countries' vulnerabilities and risks in these different dimensions. Using a Hybrid World Input-output table for 189 countries, we identify the carbon-intensive industries, and then we estimate each country's direct and indirect dependence on these industries, considering countries' dependence for raising of foreign currency to analyse the external exposure, government revenue to evaluate the fiscal exposure, and the share of wages and employment to analyse the socioeconomic exposure. Results show that countries present different degrees of exposure in different dimensions, and the degree of exposure varies significantly when indirect impacts are considered. Moreover, by analysing countries' capacity to adapt their production structure and resilience factors, we evaluate to what extent countries' macroeconomic exposure imply a higher vulnerability to the green transition process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Since the first decade of the 2000s, there has been serious concern that public interest litigation (PIL) in India, which was launched by the Supreme Court in the late 1970s to protect the rights of weaker sections of the society, has come to be occasionally used against them instead. Can PIL in India truly serve as a model for other developing countries in promoting the basic rights of their citizens? Reconsidering the conditions that enable the judiciary to engage in judicial activism through PIL, this paper argues that writ jurisdiction is the key factor in considering the peculiarity and sustainability of Indian PIL, as the unique development of its jurisdiction has contributed to increased power for judges in delivering social justice to society and has also opened the possibility of judges pursuing their own agendas through the resulting informalization of procedure and remedy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Investigating the cash transfers–child height link we found 21 papers on 17 schemes. [•] Overall transfers average a positive but not significant impact on height for age. [•] Significant correlates include child sex and health infrastructure. [•] Conditional programs average no better than unconditional and some may be harmful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The global spread of Islamic finance has transformed the financial systems of many Muslim countries, but analysts know little about the factors that shape individuals’ demand for Islamic finance. This paper examines the socioeconomic origins of consumer demand for Islamic financial products, using original survey data from Indonesia, where a growing Islamic financial market coexists with a large conventional financial system. Modernization and globalization play critical roles in shaping individual use of Islamic financial products. Perhaps surprisingly, there is no evidence that Islamic piety has any systematic effect on consumers’ choice of Islamic versus conventional financial products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper discusses two well-known market-based social change initiatives, Fair Trade coffee and Forest Stewardship Council certification, which harness market forces to pursue social and environmental objectives. A serious challenge for both is to operate in the conventional market without undermining their original objectives. A global commodity chain analysis approach is combined with insights from economic sociology embeddedness theory to explore the social, cultural and organizational factors shaping the initiatives’ governance structures. Both initiatives are seen to move along opposite organizational trajectories, but face similar pressures from conventional market logics, practices and dominant actors. A preliminary framework is proposed for comparative assessment, focusing on distribution of benefits, how conventional market institutions may be questioned, and how internal governance manages diverse stakeholder interests and influence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the sustainability of conventional and ecological agricultural systems based on their environmental soundness, economic viability and social acceptability. Significant differences were found in crop diversification, soil fertility management, pests and diseases management, and use of agrochemicals. No remarkable variations were found in land-use pattern, crop yield and stability, financial and economic returns, risk and uncertainties, or food security. The findings suggest that ecological agriculture is relatively more sustainable, and it could be an economically and environmentally viable alternative to the conventional agricultural system. Ecological agriculture could become an alternative if market distortions created by subsidies were removed, and financial benefits were provided to resource-conserving farmers along with necessary support through extension, credit, research, and marketing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Income inequality is of fundamental interest not only to economists, but also to other social scientists. A substantial literature in economics and the social sciences has investigated the relationship between income inequality and economic growth, and a variety of social phenomena. The links between inequality and economic growth are explored as well as those between inequality and such key social variables as political conflict, education, health, and crime. The analysis in this paper follows a two-step process. First, a review of the empirical evidence relating inequality to growth and to each of the above social variables is undertaken. Second, the various causal mechanisms that have been proposed in the social science literature to explain those links are surveyed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]