Natural experiment: Nobel Prize in economics
- This year’s Laureates David Card, Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens have provided us with new insights about the labour market and shown what conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn from natural experiments.
- Their approach has spread to other fields and revolutionised empirical research.
- A natural experiment is an empirical study in which individuals (or clusters of individuals) are exposed to the experimental and control conditions that are determined by nature or by other factors outside the control of the investigators. The process governing the exposures arguably resembles random assignment.
- Using natural experiments, David Card has analysed the labour market effects of minimum wages, immigration and education. His studies from the early 1990s challenged conventional wisdom, leading to new analyses and additional insights.
- The results showed, among other things that increasing the minimum wage does not necessarily lead to fewer jobs. We now know that the incomes of people who were born in a country can benefit from new immigration, while people who immigrated at an earlier time risk being negatively affected.
- We have also realised that resources in schools are far more important for students’ future labour market success than was previously thought.
- Data from a natural experiment are difficult to interpret, however. For example, extending compulsory education by a year for one group of students (but not another) will not affect everyone in that group in the same way.
- Some students would have kept studying anyway and, for them, the value of education is often not representative of the entire group.
- So, is it even possible to draw any conclusions about the effect of an extra year in school?
- In the mid-1990s, Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens solved this methodological problem, demonstrating how precise conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn from natural experiments.
THE HINDU
Agrofood system
- The health of a country’s agri-food systems determines the health of its people.
- The findings from the first round of the Fifth National Family Health Survey suggest that nutrition related indicators have worsened in most States.
- For Indians to eat better, India must sow better.
- A structural shift in dietary pattern and nutrition requires a shift in production.
- Pathways for nutritional security consist of improving dietary diversity, kitchen gardens, reducing postharvest losses, making safety net programmes more nutrition sensitive, women’s empowerment, enforcement of standards and regulations, improving Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, nutrition education, and effective use of digital technology. Addressing the complex problem of malnutrition is a colossal task for which we need to look at agrifood systems as a whole and adopt a multipronged approach.
- While COVID19 has exacerbated the nutrition issue, climate change has challenged agricultural production itself.
- However, the country’s agrifood systems are facing new and unprecedented challenges, especially related to economic and ecological sustainability, nutrition and the adoption of new agricultural technologies. The edifice of India’s biosecurity remains vulnerable to disasters and extreme events.
- The agrifood systems are the most important part of the Indian economy.
- India produces sufficient food, feed and fibre to sustain about 18% of the world’s population (as of 2020). Agriculture contributes about 16.5% to India’s GDP and employs 42.3% of the workforce (201920)
- There is an urgent need for reorientation of the long-term direction of agrifood systems to not only enhance farm incomes but also ensure better access to safe and nutritious foods.
- Additionally, the agrifood systems need to be reoriented to minimise cost on the environment and the climate. This need is recognised by the theme of World Food Day 2021: ‘Our actions are our future. Better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life’.
- The four betters represent the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals and other high level aspirational goals.
- World Food Day marks the foundation day of the FAO. FAO has enjoyed valuable partnership with India since it began operations in 1948. More recently, FAO has been engaged with the Indian government for mainstreaming agrobiodiversity, greening agriculture, promoting nutrition sensitive agriculture and strengthening national food security.
- FAO’s support for the transformation of agrifood systems is rooted in agroecology.
- The more diverse an agricultural system, the greater its ability to adapt to shocks.
- Different combinations of integrated crop livestock forestry fishery systems can help farmers produce a variety of products in the same area, at the same time or in rotation
- A sustainable agrifood system is one in which a variety of sufficient, nutritious and safe foods are made available at an affordable price to everyone, and nobody goes hungry or suffers from any form of malnutrition.
- Less food is wasted, and the food supply chain is more resilient to shocks.
- Food systems can help combat environmental degradation or climate change.
- Sustainable agrifood systems can deliver food security and nutrition for all, without compromising the economic, social and environmental bases.
THE HINDU
Duplicate tea from Nepal
- After years of countering cheaper teas imported from Kenya and Sri Lanka, the beverage industry in India has a new worry duplicate Darjeeling tea brought in from Nepal.
- The Tea Association of India (TAI) has raised the red flag on Nepal origin teas reportedly sold in the domestic market as the premium Darjeeling teas, thereby “diluting the brand image of Darjeeling tea and adversely impacting prices”.
- A concerted effort by the Tea Board along with the Customs, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was needed to check the damage to the Darjeeling brand, The paper said a revised treaty on trade signed in 2009 allowed the free and unhampered flow of goods between India and Nepal.
- But that should not be the reason for overlooking certain regulations,
- “The current trade between India and Nepal allows mandatory sanitary and phytosanitary certificates before products are allowed in the country. This should be strictly enforced and a notification may accordingly be issued,” allowing duty free import of poor quality teas, primarily from Kenya and Sri Lanka, had been undermining the ‘self reliant India’ and ‘vocal for local’ vision.
THE HINDU
India and Sri Lanka – fishermen
- Sri Lanka’s northern fishermen want the authorities in India and Sri Lanka to urgently step up action to resolve the long persisting conflict in the Palk Strait, fearing tensions with Indian fishermen could escalate.
- Sri Lanka Society Unions pointed to the perils of bottom trawling and pair trawling fishing methods commonly used by Tamil Nadu fishermen resulting in a drastically smaller catch and frequent damage to their modest fishing gear.
- Tamil Nadu has repeatedly accused the Sri Lankan Navy of attacking or killing its fishermen in the Palk Strait
THE HINDU