Social Institutions and Norms in the Developing World

Interim Report

Edited by Yuya Kudo

Published in March 2019

chapter 1

I explore whether and how community policing (CP) in Tanzania is associated with people’s welfare. When locals voluntarily formed CP, communities had lower likelihood of property be-ing stolen and larger consumption compared to those without CP. However, this consumption premium existed only in its top 20 distribution percentiles. The remaining majority were in-different to CP but still favored a village leader’s communal management. Agricultural wage rates were also higher, and negative economic shocks were effectively absorbed. These findings are not inconsistent with a developed game-theoretic model wherein a politically powerful elite protects his/her property by mobilizing all the citizens to join CP while giving them minimum rents. Elites’ individualized monetary incentive may forge the citizens’ norms of cooperation, which are welfare-enhancing but primarily benefit the elites. No distinct welfare consequences existed when the government promoted CP.

chapter 2

Female labor force participation (FLFP) remains low in South Asian countries even though it is considered to be crucial for development and for the alleviation of poverty. There seems to be a strong stigma in the region against women working outside the home. Previous qualitative interviews reveal the general lack of knowledge with regard to labor market opportunities for female workers. This study aims to investigate whether providing parents with information on income earning opportunities for young women is effective in changing parental attitudes toward FLFP. We conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) within commuting distance of formal export-oriented garment factories in rural Pakistan. The estimation results show that the provision of information with regard to working conditions and environments is effective in influencing positive changes in parental attitudes toward FLFP in garment factories in rural Pakistan. Given the strong stigma that exists against FLFP, especially in factories, we believe that the observed positive transformations in the attitudes toward FLFP in factories is a prerequisite to FLFP and that it forms an encouraging first step toward achieving the actual enhancement of FLFP.