"Group work on How the VAT impact on men and women and suggested solutions"
Group members: Ngoc from RRDP & Hosana, Sharita, Yin Yin from GDS

Summarize session by Dr. Reina 

Critical Reflective Writing on "GENDER INEQUALITY AND POVERTY "

      The most interesting significant insight I have realized this week is that the relationship between gender inequality and poverty. At a macro level, seems to reduce economic growth but on the questions of how economic growth affects on it. Additionally, private consumption poverty remains a very widely used concept of poverty, often arrived at through per capita estimates from household level data, not from individual-level data, by using the common international poverty line $1.25 per day of Pushing Power Parity (PPP) by World Bank. The non-linear relationship between inequality and poverty has been discussed with Kuznet’s curve, showing inequality relating to household incomes in an inverted ‘U’ shape, so that inequality initially rises with rising household income then flattens and falls. However, there might be no grounds to simply say that inequality will be declined at higher income levels as well.

      A possible implication of this understanding that gender and growth links are rather than expecting poverty reduction to automatically reduce gender inequality, it would be more realistic to assume that economic growth produces rising household incomes, but gender inequalities are still likely. For example, a rising household income may disempower women in terms of bargaining strength as men behaving more patriarchal ways and a dependent wife may be suppressed. For this reason, such poverty lines are certainly useful within an economic framework of poverty but are irrespective of multi-dimensional poverty. In this regards, there are other alternatives to poverty measurements, such ECLAC’s index of Unmet Basic needs (UBN) which includes household quality, overcrowding, running water, basic sanitation, etc. Additionally, UNDP also introduced multi-dimensional poverty index (MPI) that includes health, education and standard of living in 2011.

      Having realized that current poverty measurements are lack of engagement with personal, social, cultural and political factors, Amartya Sen (1999) has noted that, economists’ traditional tendency focus upon the household as the unit of measurement, not taking into account “intra-household” process. This limits the ability to distinguish the significance of incomes and expenses for each individual since there is obstacle to take full advantage of using resources to improve personal well-being, in an aspect of key indicators of MPI: health, education and living standard.  According to UNDP website, “the MPI can help the effective allocation of resources by making possible the targeting of those with the greatest intensity of poverty; it can help addressing MDG’s strategically and monitoring of impacts of policy intervention”. By addressing the centerpiece in poverty reduction strategies in terms of MDGs, gender sensitive policies and programmes should be initiated in every level. Moreover, it needs to ensure for taking account the fact that women as a group face non-economic barriers in terms of social constructs (laws, norms, attitudes) which limit their access to land, inheritance, education, employment, carriers, mobility and personal freedom.

      This learning insight will be useful in number of ways for me. As a student, it could enhance the prospects for overall poverty reduction in terms of effective resources allocation with non-discriminatory manner by conducting research and or in the form of seminars and joint studies. As a development worker, I will advocate policy makers and donors to guarantee women involvement in all stages of the process from designing to implementation of anti-poverty policies and programmes – setting agendas, defining strategies and allocation of resources.  Furthermore, I will explore and recommend different options to women communities to access more opportunities for improving their own incomes and then for enhancing intra-household bargaining power. For instance, bridging community to the microfinance websites, which can help grass roots organizations and community to access loans for improving their standard of living, and introducing conditional cash, transfer (CCT) programme in the development of economic through a gender lens in my country as well. In short, I could be a catalyst in governance institution reforms process as that is one of the key routes to reduce poverty, which can promote gender equality. 

References:

1)   Birdsall, Nancy. (2008). Inequality matters. In G. Secondi (Ed.), The development economics reader (pp. 135-145). New York: Routledge.

2)   Baherjee, Abhijit T., & Duflo, Esther. (2008). The economic lives of the poor. In G. Secondi (Ed.), The development economics reader (pp. 146-171). New York: Routledge.

3)   Coates, Anna., Multidimensional poverty measurement in Mexico and Central America: incorporating rights and equality. (2010). The international handbook of gender and poverty: concepts, research, policy.  Edward Elgar Publishing Limited., USA.

 4) http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/multidimensional-poverty-index-mpi

"Continued..Family Budget Planning Group Work Presentation"

"Group product on Family Budget Planning _Myanmar Farmer's Family"

"Introducing websites to access loans"

http://www.kiva.org 



How Kiva Works from Kiva on Vimeo.


http://www.mykro.org

Those micro finance websites are aimed for empower people around the world by accessing loans through their website. 

"Group Work on Family Budget Planning"

"Group product on Family Budget Planning _Thailand farmer's family"
Group members_Ngoc from RRDP &  Hosana, Sharita, Yin Yin from GDS 

"Group work presentation on Family Budget Planning _Vietnam farmer's family"

"Wrap-up Session from Small Group Discussion"

"Strategies to reduce income poverty"

"Criteria to choose borrowers _using Kiva website" 

"Poverty Issues based on GDP (PPP) indicator and Solutions_Thailand Case "

Critical Reflective Writing on "LEVEL OF DEMOCRACY AFFECTS ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT"

      I would like to reflect the experience of Myanmar and the level of democracy affects on its economic development. A 1998 Nobel Prize economist Amartya Sen argues that an Economic development and democracy are contingent upon each other with achieving economic freedom, and growth in long run, help citizens to secure more political freedom and vice versa. There is also a strong correlation between good governance and human development as people under bad governance are deprived of political rights and civil liberties, and can result in such economic disasters as famine and poverty.

        Myanmar was under dictatorship for almost half of the century, and corruption, rampant black markets, economic and political restrictions combined with a failed education system, and imposed economic sanction have impacted on economy. New government after 2010 election with the promise of democracy, and economic opening up bring hopes with significant potential for country to grow if there is right reforms although it is under-developed and poor but being endowed in natural resources and situated in the fastest growing region of the world.

          Foreign investors are less inclined to make substantial investment in the country with instability, rampant corruption and inefficient command economy. And with the new hope, the significant influx of foreign investment has been seen then. In this realization political stability and economic freedom have driven the improvements in corruption and business freedom that outweighs a decline in monetary freedom.

       There is a significant to see strong correlation between education and human development in both short and long run, as education is central to economic and social capital development. The failed education in country has becomes a major challenge for development in term of human development. Moreover, gender equality is one fundamental aspect of human rights, and increase women participation in politics can have immediate effect on the level of democracy which can further lead to political stability.  

      This reflection indicates that country needs to adopt policies which ensure democracy with political stability, address corruption for economic growth. There is also needs to increase education investment and improve gender equality for achieving higher economic growth through labor growth, efficiency and thereby total factor productivity.

 References: 

1) Acemoglu, Daron. (2008). Root causes: A historical approach to assessing the role of institutions in economic development. In G. Secondi (Ed.), The development economics reader pp. 73-78). New York: Routledge. 

2) Barrow, Robert J. (2008). Democracy and grwth. In G. Secondi (Ed.), The development economics reader (pp. 92 - 98). New York: Routledge.

3) Jose Tavares, Jose., Wacziarg, Romain., How democracy affects growth, (2001), European Economic Review 45(1341-1378), University of California, Los Angeles, Graduate School of Business, Standford Universty, Standford, USA.

4) http://www.heritage.org/index/country/burma