alok K bohara | University of New Mexico (original) (raw)

Papers by alok K bohara

Research paper thumbnail of Consumption Insurance under Uncertainty: The Case of Nepal during Maoist Insurgency

We test the implication of the full consumption insurance hypotheses in the presence of violent c... more We test the implication of the full consumption insurance hypotheses in the presence of violent conflict due to the Maoist People’s War using household survey data from Nepal. We find that food consumption is more vulnerable than non-food consumption if we do not account for the non-linear relationship between the consumption and the level of violence. The level of food consumption vulnerability, however, is not severe for the households with low levels of education and income. Contrary to the common notion of vulnerability of low-caste/ethnic group, we find complete consumption insurance for this socially excluded social group. This result is surprising as the socially disadvantaged caste/ethnic group has been considered more vulnerable in Nepal.

Research paper thumbnail of Looking Beyond Ethno-federalism

It is the institution that makes a long-lasting difference in the making of a nation and the peop... more It is the institution that makes a long-lasting difference in the making of a nation and the people. Any division of the nation solely based on ethnicity and without any regard for its natural resources, comparative advantage, economy of scale, carrying capacity, geography or a long-run pragmatism will not be very wise. Furthermore, dividing up the country along the ethnic line into ethnic regions (along the line of Pahadis versus Madhesis), or including other ethnic groups, would hardly be practical in incorporating all of the ethnic and cultural aspirations of a nation of 100 ethnic groups and 80 languages.

Research paper thumbnail of Biogas: A promising renewable technology and its impact on rural households in Nepal

Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2009

... 3. Historical background and current status of biogas in Nepal. ... It also increases the ris... more ... 3. Historical background and current status of biogas in Nepal. ... It also increases the risk of bronchitis, asthma, lung cancer, ear infection etc [15]. Firewood burning, which is most common in Nepal, is the principal causes of indoor air pollution. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Micro Level Estimation and Decomposition of Poverty and Inequality in Nepal

Poverty alleviation has become one of the main development agendas of the twenty first century wo... more Poverty alleviation has become one of the main development agendas of the twenty first century worldwide. But, the identification targeting of poor has been facing fundamental
problems due to the lack of required information. Using the micro-level estimation technique we estimate household expenditure for the census households using 1995/96 and 2003/04 household surveys, and estimate different measures of poverty and inequality using the estimated expenditure for those two years at the country level as well as at the regional, districts and village levels, and for the different caste/ethnic households. The public good aspects of this research is that these measures can be used as a guide for formulating decentralization and fiscal policies for decentralized communities across Nepal. Despite the indication that the aggregate level of poverty went down by 10 percentage points during the past eight years (1995/96 – 2003/04), our findings indicate that the reduction is not uniform in the first place, and the level of poverty actually went up in the significant part of the country. The increased poverty accompanied by the accelerating inequality throughout the country has compounded the divide between the haves and the have-nots and provided a suitable atmosphere for the conflict. As the foremost contributors of rising inequality are enterprise income and remittance, and agriculture income, high school and college level education help to reduce it, there are some clear policy implications of our findings that focusing on agricultural sector, high school and college education along with fiscal policy-mix (tax-transfer) could address the rising inequality and poverty.

Research paper thumbnail of Compound Democracy and the Control of Corruption: A Cross‐Country Investigation

Policy Studies Journal, Jan 1, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Accent penalties and the earnings of Mexican Americans

Social Science Quarterly, Jan 1, 1993

Research paper thumbnail of Further investigation of voluntary contribution contingent valuation: Fair share, time of contribution, and respondent uncertainty

Journal of Environmental …, Jan 1, 2002

In the spirit of Randall's [Resource Energy Econom. 20, 197–206 ... more In the spirit of Randall's [Resource Energy Econom. 20, 197–206 (1998)] argument for focusing on mapping the performance characteristics of alternative contingent valuation designs and formats, the focus of this study is on three tests of the voluntary contribution mechanism. We investigate the response effects of three crossed treatments:(1) an informational treatment that randomly varies the total cost of providing the good to identify possible fair share effects;(2) a split-sample informational treatment that makes the time of ...

Research paper thumbnail of Trade diversion and declining tariffs: evidence from Mercosur

Journal of International …, Jan 1, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Testing the Validity of Contingent Behavior Trip Responses

American Journal of …, Jan 1, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of A test of tariff endogeneity in the United States

The American Economic Review, Jan 1, 1991

... On the other hand, while we find a causal im-pact of tariffs on inflation and the ... envi-ro... more ... On the other hand, while we find a causal im-pact of tariffs on inflation and the ... envi-ronment, the role of tariffs in causing changes to real GNP and unemployment might prove ... Baack, Bennett D. and Ray, Edward John, "The Political Economy of Tariff Policy: A Case Study of the ...

Research paper thumbnail of Exchange rate volatility and exports: regional differences between developing and industrialized countries

Review of International Economics, Jan 1, 2001

Research paper thumbnail of Examining the role of social isolation on stated preferences

The American Economic …, Jan 1, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Information and effort in contingent valuation surveys: application to global climate change using national internet samples

Journal of …, Jan 1, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of The advent of Internet surveys for political research: A comparison of telephone and Internet samples

Research paper thumbnail of Consumption Insurance under Uncertainty: The Case of Nepal during Maoist Insurgency

We test the implication of the full consumption insurance hypotheses in the presence of violent c... more We test the implication of the full consumption insurance hypotheses in the presence of violent conflict due to the Maoist People’s War using household survey data from Nepal. We find that food consumption is more vulnerable than non-food consumption if we do not account for the non-linear relationship between the consumption and the level of violence. The level of food consumption vulnerability, however, is not severe for the households with low levels of education and income. Contrary to the common notion of vulnerability of low-caste/ethnic group, we find complete consumption insurance for this socially excluded social group. This result is surprising as the socially disadvantaged caste/ethnic group has been considered more vulnerable in Nepal.

Research paper thumbnail of Looking Beyond Ethno-federalism

It is the institution that makes a long-lasting difference in the making of a nation and the peop... more It is the institution that makes a long-lasting difference in the making of a nation and the people. Any division of the nation solely based on ethnicity and without any regard for its natural resources, comparative advantage, economy of scale, carrying capacity, geography or a long-run pragmatism will not be very wise. Furthermore, dividing up the country along the ethnic line into ethnic regions (along the line of Pahadis versus Madhesis), or including other ethnic groups, would hardly be practical in incorporating all of the ethnic and cultural aspirations of a nation of 100 ethnic groups and 80 languages.

Research paper thumbnail of Biogas: A promising renewable technology and its impact on rural households in Nepal

Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2009

... 3. Historical background and current status of biogas in Nepal. ... It also increases the ris... more ... 3. Historical background and current status of biogas in Nepal. ... It also increases the risk of bronchitis, asthma, lung cancer, ear infection etc [15]. Firewood burning, which is most common in Nepal, is the principal causes of indoor air pollution. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Micro Level Estimation and Decomposition of Poverty and Inequality in Nepal

Poverty alleviation has become one of the main development agendas of the twenty first century wo... more Poverty alleviation has become one of the main development agendas of the twenty first century worldwide. But, the identification targeting of poor has been facing fundamental
problems due to the lack of required information. Using the micro-level estimation technique we estimate household expenditure for the census households using 1995/96 and 2003/04 household surveys, and estimate different measures of poverty and inequality using the estimated expenditure for those two years at the country level as well as at the regional, districts and village levels, and for the different caste/ethnic households. The public good aspects of this research is that these measures can be used as a guide for formulating decentralization and fiscal policies for decentralized communities across Nepal. Despite the indication that the aggregate level of poverty went down by 10 percentage points during the past eight years (1995/96 – 2003/04), our findings indicate that the reduction is not uniform in the first place, and the level of poverty actually went up in the significant part of the country. The increased poverty accompanied by the accelerating inequality throughout the country has compounded the divide between the haves and the have-nots and provided a suitable atmosphere for the conflict. As the foremost contributors of rising inequality are enterprise income and remittance, and agriculture income, high school and college level education help to reduce it, there are some clear policy implications of our findings that focusing on agricultural sector, high school and college education along with fiscal policy-mix (tax-transfer) could address the rising inequality and poverty.

Research paper thumbnail of Compound Democracy and the Control of Corruption: A Cross‐Country Investigation

Policy Studies Journal, Jan 1, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Accent penalties and the earnings of Mexican Americans

Social Science Quarterly, Jan 1, 1993

Research paper thumbnail of Further investigation of voluntary contribution contingent valuation: Fair share, time of contribution, and respondent uncertainty

Journal of Environmental …, Jan 1, 2002

In the spirit of Randall's [Resource Energy Econom. 20, 197–206 ... more In the spirit of Randall's [Resource Energy Econom. 20, 197–206 (1998)] argument for focusing on mapping the performance characteristics of alternative contingent valuation designs and formats, the focus of this study is on three tests of the voluntary contribution mechanism. We investigate the response effects of three crossed treatments:(1) an informational treatment that randomly varies the total cost of providing the good to identify possible fair share effects;(2) a split-sample informational treatment that makes the time of ...

Research paper thumbnail of Trade diversion and declining tariffs: evidence from Mercosur

Journal of International …, Jan 1, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Testing the Validity of Contingent Behavior Trip Responses

American Journal of …, Jan 1, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of A test of tariff endogeneity in the United States

The American Economic Review, Jan 1, 1991

... On the other hand, while we find a causal im-pact of tariffs on inflation and the ... envi-ro... more ... On the other hand, while we find a causal im-pact of tariffs on inflation and the ... envi-ronment, the role of tariffs in causing changes to real GNP and unemployment might prove ... Baack, Bennett D. and Ray, Edward John, "The Political Economy of Tariff Policy: A Case Study of the ...

Research paper thumbnail of Exchange rate volatility and exports: regional differences between developing and industrialized countries

Review of International Economics, Jan 1, 2001

Research paper thumbnail of Examining the role of social isolation on stated preferences

The American Economic …, Jan 1, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Information and effort in contingent valuation surveys: application to global climate change using national internet samples

Journal of …, Jan 1, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of The advent of Internet surveys for political research: A comparison of telephone and Internet samples