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    <title>EconStor Collection: CREDIT Research Papers, The University of Nottingham</title>
    <link>http://hdl.handle.net/10419/65283</link>
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    <title>Gender differentials in maths test scores in MENA countries</title>
    <link>http://hdl.handle.net/10419/65485</link>
    <description>Title: Gender differentials in maths test scores in MENA countries
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;Authors: Badr, Menshawy; Morrissey, Oliver; Appleton, Simon
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;Abstract: This paper investigates gender inequality of academic achievement using mean and quantile decomposition analysis in eight selected MENA countries. We use data from TIMSS 2007 to decompose the test scores gap between boys and girls at the eighth grade. There is a mixed picture of gender inequality across the eight countries; the gap favours boys in three, favours girls in three and there is no average difference in two countries. No particular factors consistently explain gender inequality in test scores across MENA. In general, although family characteristics tend to favour girls (in most countries their characteristics suggest they should perform better than boys) the returns to education tend to favour boys (they get a higher test score for given characteristics); the educational system appears to favour boys.</description>
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  <item rdf:about="http://hdl.handle.net/10419/65484">
    <title>25 years of aid allocation practice: Comparing donors and eras</title>
    <link>http://hdl.handle.net/10419/65484</link>
    <description>Title: 25 years of aid allocation practice: Comparing donors and eras
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;Authors: Clist, Paul
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;Abstract: Focusing on seven bilateral donors over a 25 year period, the paper answers 4 questions related to aid allocation practice. Questions one and two examine allocation differences between donors and time periods. Questions three and four relate to changes in poverty and policy selectivity. To answer these questions a formal approach is used to quantify the effects of four factors that influence aid allocation: poverty, policy, proximity and population. The results reaffirm findings of large donor heterogeneity and the role of non-development influences. However, they dispute recent findings of large or growing policy sensitivity.</description>
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  <item rdf:about="http://hdl.handle.net/10419/65483">
    <title>Origins of the Sicilian mafia: The market for lemons</title>
    <link>http://hdl.handle.net/10419/65483</link>
    <description>Title: Origins of the Sicilian mafia: The market for lemons
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;Authors: Dimico, Arcangelo; Isopi, Alessia; Olsson, Ola
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;Abstract: Since its first appearance in the late 1800s, the origins of the Sicilian mafia have remained a largely unresolved mystery. Both institutional and historical explanations have been proposed in the literature through the years. In this paper, we develop an argument for a market structure-hypothesis, contending that mafia arose in towns where firms made unusually high profits due to imperfect competition. We identify the market for citrus fruits as a sector with very high international demand as well as substantial fixed costs that acted as a barrier to entry in many places and secured high profits in others. We argue that the mafia arose out of the need to protect citrus production from predation by thieves. Using the original data from a parliamentary inquiry in 1881-86 on all towns in Sicily, we show that mafia presence is strongly related to the production of orange and lemon. This result contrasts recent work that emphasizes the importance of land reforms and a broadening of property rights as the main reason for the emergence of mafia protection.</description>
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  <item rdf:about="http://hdl.handle.net/10419/65482">
    <title>Selectivity on aid modality: Determinants of budget support from multilateral donors</title>
    <link>http://hdl.handle.net/10419/65482</link>
    <description>Title: Selectivity on aid modality: Determinants of budget support from multilateral donors
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;Authors: Clist, Paul; Isopi, Alessia; Morrissey, Oliver
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;Abstract: Since the late 1990s a selection on policy approach to aid was advocated such that more aid should be allocated to countries with good policies. A number of donors accepted this recommendation, including the World Bank, but there is little evidence that this has occurred. Donors, including the World Bank, seem no more likely to use policy and governance indicators to determine the amount of aid allocated to particular recipients. This paper argues that donors may exercise selectivity over the aid modality. Specifically, multilateral donors (we consider only EC and WB) will cede more recipient control over aid by granting more budget support to those recipients with better service delivery systems and spending preferences (towards the poor) aligned with the donor. We test this for the EC and WB over 1997-2007 and find some support. The principal determinant of receiving budget support has been having a PRSP process in place, and this can be considered a good indicator of aligned preferences. Furthermore towards the end of the period (2005-07) there was some increase in the share of countries receiving budget support but then government effectiveness was also a determinant of eligibility, and having a PRSP increased the amount of budget support. Multilateral donors have been more likely to give budget support to countries with aligned spending preferences and better quality systems, even if they have not reallocated the total aid envelope in that way.</description>
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