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Working Papers | 2007

Animal Health Policy in South Asia: What can Economic Analysis Contribute?

Vinod Ahuja

Animal health policy in South Asia region has been characterized predominantly by direct action by the government either in providing services to livestock farmers or in undertaking livestock productivity enhancing measures. It is a widely held view among policy makers that given the poverty status of livestock farmers, the potential of livestock in contributing to poverty reduction, and poverty reduction being a public good, there is strong rationale for direct action by the government as opposed to regulatory, monitoring and market enhancing role. Accordingly, most governments in South Asia have developed large networks of publicly supported service providers backed by free or heavily subsidized input supply. A series of studies undertaken to assess the distributional outcomes of the above policy have however raised questions about the desirability of such a policy and the need to fine tune service delivery systems including creating space for other non-government service providers. These studies make a reasonably strong case for reducing the subsidies in the form of free services and putting this money into services such as disease prevention, reporting, control, awareness education and so on, for these are the services that are currently neglected due to fiscal pressures and are likely to generate a larger social good than simple treatment services. The question then is that if policy choices are so clear, why animal health policy in the region continues to encourage 'pervasive direct action by the government' in livestock service delivery instead of a more facilitating role. To address that question the paper shares the experience of one such attempt to understand and influence animal health policy in one of the southern states of India. Based on that experience, the paper argues that policies are an outcome of a process of complex interactions between economic logic, formal and informal power structures, legacies of trust and mistrust, and communication narratives. While significant investment is often made in clarifying the economic logic of alternative policy prescriptions and outcomes, very little thought and investment goes into managing and broad-basing policy processes. The process leading to 'wider buy-in' can often be far more important and needs equal, if not more, attention than economic analysis. This requires greater emphasis on socio-political studies of 'policy processes' and a long term strategy of investment in 'relationship building'.

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Working Papers | 2007

Scope and Space for small scale poultry production in developing countries

Vinod Ahuja and Sen Arindam

In recent years there has been growing recognition among the development community of the role of small scale commercial poultry production in accelerating the pace of poverty reduction and reaching out to the poorest of the poor. There is also growing evidence to demonstrate the role of small scale poultry in enhancing the food and nutrition security of the poorest households and in the promotion of gender equality. At the same time, the market and production context of poultry production has been changing rapidly over the last two decades. Rapid economic growth and urbanization in developing countries has resulted in fast expansion of industrial large scale, vertically integrated, poultry production units, specially in Asia. Opportunities have also expanded for small scale poultry enterprises due to improved market access infrastructure and a preference structure that might still favour free range birds and eggs. As a result, there has been increased market orientation even among small scale poultry enterprises. These changes have brought large and small production systems in overlapping competitive space which has created both challenges and opportunities. These changes have raised concerns about the sustainability of small scale poultry production systems due to (i) intensified competition from large scale producers who can exercise significant control over the poultry value chain (including concentrated holding of genetic stock of industrial poultry by a few multinational corporations), and (ii) the public perception that small units of production may be dangerous reservoirs of diseases, specially in the wake of recent outbreaks of HPAI. In the light of that background, this paper attempts to summarize the nature of small scale poultry production across nations and brings together some evidence on the viability of small scale poultry production in the wake of expanding large scale production systems with substantial economies of scale, well organized and integrated supply chains and the ability to respond to various types of risks. The paper argues that the main challenge for small-scale/rural poultry is organizational, not technical. Based on a review of available evidence, the paper concludes that it is important to continue to promote village poultry to contribute towards household nutrition security and livelihood support but concerted efforts must be made to find organizational solutions to minimize public health risks and provide appropriate extension support on issues like disease prevention, predation, improving hatchability, etc. Unfortunately most government extension programs in the developing countries are not oriented towards addressing the needs of poor households. While some private sector organizations (such as Kegg Farm in India) have invested significantly towards developing fast growing and more productive birds without requiring significant additional inputs, and have also made sufficient investment for developing the distribution network for birds, extension and public health support systems continue to be the weak point, making them vulnerable to exogenous shocks. This requires a well orchestrated public policy response in support of small scale poultry production.

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Working Papers | 2007

Why have some Indian states lagged behind the others in improving agriculture sector performance?

Vinod Ahuja, Bhamoriya Vaibhav, and Lalit Dipti

While India has sustained annual GDP growth rate of over 6 percent over the last more than two decades, the distribution of this growth across various regions of the country has been highly uneven with significant year-to-year variations. Improving agricultural performance is critical to sustaining future economic growth and continued poverty reduction. As the country moves forward towards identifying newer ways of improving farm competitiveness, it is important to recognize that agriculture in India is extremely heterogeneous and the trajectory for agricultural development will be significantly influenced by area specific (i) natural endowments, (ii) access to markets, and (iii) overall policy and institutional environment. In the light of that motivation, this paper examines the differences in above sets of variables across four different categories of states ranked by per capita income and attempts to outline the strategic options to address these constraints. The paper argues that the challenge of accelerating agricultural growth in these poor states can not be met without public investment in irrigation, research and extensions, enhanced credit flow and improved delivery systems for improved seeds. It is further argued that while paying careful attention to public investment in agriculture, it must also be understood that the problems of agriculture will not be solved only through on-farm investment. Non-farm activity is essential for farmer prosperity. Non-farm activities tend to have the greater proportional impact on the income of poorest members of the village. But, this requires adequate social and physical infrastructure to ensure that the rural non-farm sector has the capacity to adjust and modernize in response to conditions brought about by increasing competition, and changing demands from consumers. Broadly, therefore, agricultural growth strategy has to work towards (i) establishing a healthy investment climate to encourage entrepreneurial action in commodities and value chains, (ii) support human resource development through improved quality and access to social services, and (iii) strengthen agricultural technology support services.

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Working Papers | 2007

Aspirations, Enterprise Strategy and Sustenance of a Start-up in a Competitive Environment: A Study of Developments in Air Deccan

M. R. Dixit, Sunil Sharma, and Amit Karna

This paper studies the developments in Air Deccan, a start up in the Indian aviation industry and discusses the linkages among the aspirations of the entrepreneur, enterprise strategy and its sustenance in a competitive environment. It argues that the entrepreneur fails to sustain his/her enterprise and the aspirations if his strategic and operational choices and environmental responses to the choices create a resource or competence imbalance and constrain the entrepreneur. Based on its analysis and discussion, the paper delineates managerial themes like encyclopedic entrepreneurship, sustenance through co-sharing aspirations, managing first and fast mover advantages, dynamics of enterprise and its environment and competence management in start- ups.

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Working Papers | 2007

Sales Promotion Practices in Apparel Retail Sector and Challenges Ahead

Vyas Preeta H

Indian organised retail industry is poised for growth. Apparel sector in particular has a great opportunity with alignment of Indian economy to globalised markets. With the widespread use of sales promotions- short term activities which provide material inducements to consumers and trade it becomes imperative for managers to understand such practices and understand challenges. This study investigates sales promotion activities of six apparel stores in Ahmedabad market and compares them on various dimensions. It presents major findings and provides insights on consumer behaviour. Lifestyle, for instance, has a loyalty programme called `The Inner Circle`, while Pantaloons offers a `Green Card` Rewards programmes, Westside has `Club West` to woo the customers. Managerial challenges are posed in planning and implementing such activities. The paper concludes with future bright outlook.

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Working Papers | 2007

Examining the Nonlinear Effects in Satisfaction-Loyalty-Behavioral Intentions Model

A. K. Jaiswal and Rakesh Niraj

Extant research has widely investigated linear functional forms in satisfaction and loyalty models. Though complex nonlinear nature of satisfaction loyalty link is suggested by several researchers, few attempts have been made to empirically examine nonlinearity. Moreover, researchers have used divergent functional forms to model nonlinearity and their findings are often inconclusive. In this study we use nonlinear form to describe the relationship between satisfaction, attitudinal loyalty, purchase loyalty and customer behavioral intentions such as willingness to pay more and external and internal complaining responses in the context of business-to-consumer ecommerce. We find modest empirical support for nonlinear effects in the relationship. Results support nonlinearity only in the case of attitudinal loyalty to internal complaining response link. Results also present evidence about the mediating role of attitudinal loyalty in the relationship between satisfaction, purchase loyalty, willingness to pay more and internal complaining responses.

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Working Papers | 2007

Maternal Health Financing in Gujarat: Preliminary Results from a Household Survey of Beneficiaries under Chiranjeevi Scheme

Bhat Ramesh, Dileep Mavalankar, Prabal V. Singh, and Singh Neelu

The objective of this paper is to provide preliminary analysis of information collected at household level from beneficiaries of the Chiranjeevi scheme and from those who have not used the scheme (non-user group). The key findings have been discussed. Some of the questions which have guided this exercise are: understanding the socio-economic profile and differences of the households who have used the scheme and those who have not used the scheme, ability of scheme to target the poor and out-of-pocket expenditures incurred both users and non-users of the scheme. We have discussed this by analysing education, land holding, number of earning members in the family, possession of specific assets, age of women at the time of delivery, ANC services received, place of delivery, distance and time taken to reach the facility, status (normal or complication) of delivery, complications experienced, and cost incurred during the process. The total sample size consists of 656 respondents from 3 talukas of Dahod District. Of these total 656 respondents, 262 (40 per cent) are Chiranjeevi clients and 394 (60 per cent) comprise the non-user group. Key findings of the study are: * The Chiranjeevi scheme is being used by relatively younger mothers and having lesser number of children at the time of index delivery. * Most of the Chiranjeevi users have income levels less than Rs. 12,000 per annum indicating the scheme is able to target the poor families in these three blocks of the district, * The expenditure incurred by non-user group on index (recent) delivery at a private facility is Rs. 4000. * The average expenditure incurred by the Chiranjeevi beneficiary on their previous delivery was Rs. 3070. On index delivery a Chiranjeevi client has spent out-of- pocket on an average Rs. 727 per delivery on medicine (self Rs. 297, child Rs. 358) and transportation Rs.72 indicating that the delivery is not really cash-less. However, the average amount saved by the Chiranjeevi client by availing the benefit of the scheme is Rs 3273 (Rs. 4000 minus Rs. 727). * The average distance travelled by a Chiranjeevi client to reach the health care facility is 13.79 kms and the average time taken is 44 minutes. * The average expenditure on transportation using mostly private transport by a Chiranjeevi client is Rs.272 as compared to Rs. 200 which the Chiranjeevi client is reimbursed, * Private doctors have conducted 41 per cent of deliveries where as rest of the deliveries have been conducted by staff at the private health care facility under the Chiranjeevi scheme, * ANMs have been the source of information to 55 per cent of Chiranjeevi scheme users. Anganwadi workers provided information to 17 percent of the clients and Female Health Workers to 10 per cent of the Chiranjeevi clients. Thus, 82 per cent of the total beneficiaries of the Chiranjeevi scheme were provided information by the community health workers.

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Working Papers | 2007

A Conceptual Note on Classification of Literature on Capabilities

M. R. Dixit, Amit Karna, and Sunil Sharma

The research literature has looked at capabilities of a firm from various dimensions. Through this conceptual note, we aim to classify the literature on eight dimensions: Definition, Portfolio, Utilization, Level, Characterization, Demonstration, Lifecycle, and Development. These eight dimensions cover the various perspectives through which capabilities literature has been approached from and furthered to. This classification is expected to enable researchers in this area to position their studies within or across one or more of these dimensions, thus providing a clear contribution by strengthening or furthering research in the area.

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Working Papers | 2007

Role of 'corporate persistence' and 'environmental support' in building breakthrough capability: Empirical investigation of Samsung's initiatives in memory and microwave oven business

M. R. Dixit, Sunil Sharma, and Amit Karna

It is now an incontrovertible fact that capabilities are the source of competitive advantage. However, the process through which firms build capabilities over a period of time is only partially understood. Concepts like learning, resource combination, and co-evolution can be categorized as enablers as they support capability formation. On the other hand, concepts like inertia and path dependence can be categorized as restrictors as they constrain the process of capability formation. Combined together, while these concepts hint in the right direction, there is a need to have concepts that explain the process of capability formation holistically. An endeavour towards this objective would require taking into account the role of internal and external events. This paper builds concepts of 'corporate persistence' and 'environmental support' to explain their role in building breakthrough capability by examining major events in the evolution of two mega high technology business belonging to the Samsung group.

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Working Papers | 2007

Containerization – Building Global Trade Competitiveness

G. Raghuram and Gangwar Rachna

India has 12 major and 187 non-major ports along its 7517 km coastline. Cargo traffic handled by Indian ports in 2006-07 was 649 mt, of which 80 mt (6.0 mTEUs) was the container traffic. The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of container traffic for the past five years (2002-07) was 22.9 per cent. This was higher than the world's average for the same period. Trade growth, penetration of containerisation, and hub and feeder service structure are the drivers of the container traffic growth. India's export import growth has grown around 24 per cent during 2002-07. Its impact on container traffic growth could be higher, since a greater share of trade is moving towards finished goods requiring containerization. Presently, containerized cargo represents about 30% by value of India's external trade, and this proportion is likely to grow as containerization increasingly penetrates the general cargo trades and increases its share from the current 68 per cent to nearer international levels of around 75-80 per cent [World Bank, 2007]. Considering various growth scenarios and studies, it appears that international trade growth and penetration would result in 21 mTEUs by 2015-16. Looking at the container traffic growth in the past few years, there seems to be scope for hub operations in India, possibly one each on the east and west coast. As per the projections made by a study of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, 9 mTEUs of the Indian traffic of 21 mTEUs will be hubbed in 2015-16 [JNPT, 2006]. If 50 per cent hubbing were to take place in India, then 4.5 mTEUs will be hubbed in India, implying transhipment handling of 9 mTEUs. This requires port handling capacity of 30 mTEUs, with 9mTEUs as transhipment at hub ports. Further, shipping trends will play an important role in deciding whether the Indian ports have potential for hub operations. Hinterland connectivity is a critical area to ensure a seamless flow of containers and improved port productivity. Currently, 30% of the traffic is expected to move hinterland by rail and the remaining is expected to move entirely by road, mostly to nearby CFSs, and some to the interior Inland Container Depots (ICD) [PC, 2006]. There are also issues with respect to evacuation of containers from ICDs. There is a lot of road based congestion due to insufficient infrastructure. Interfacing with customs is another issue. This paper focuses on issues in marine and port operations, hinterland connectivity, and ICDs; in short, the entire supply chain of container movement for building global trade competitiveness.

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IIMA