Lessons for Life
Impact of Digital Access on Incidence of Poverty in Indian Households: An Empirical Analysis View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Krishna Nair Jayakumar, Pulak Mishra
Access to digital technology is crucial to address poverty and socio-economic disparities along with shaping economic opportunities, educational outcomes, and overall standard of living. On contrary, the digital divide limits access to essential amenities and socio-economic outcomes. It is well-recognized that the digital divide compounded the pre-existing disadvantages and deepened poverty and disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, one may hypothesize that strengthening digital access would help in overcoming socio-economic barriers and promoting inclusive development. In this context, the objective of this paper is to empirically examine the impact of access to digital devices and connectivity on the poverty levels of Indian households. The study uses household-level secondary data sourced from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey of the Government of India. Based on the results of the estimated binary logit and probit models, the paper finds a significant negative influence of digital access, geographic location, economic status, basic amenities, and household head’s education on the incidence of poverty, whereas households belonging to socially disadvantaged groups are more likely to live in poverty vis-à-vis the general category households. In addition, state-level factors like the number of fair price shops and social sector expenditure also lower the likelihood of household poverty. The findings, therefore, suggest for greater emphasis on improvement in households’ digital access and basic amenities along with strengthening government support systems for lowering the incidence of poverty in Indian households.
A Sustainability Innovation Framework to Drive Government, Civil Society, and Business Action: Multi-level Climate Action Analysis Derived from the Nationally Determined Contributions of the Paris Agreement View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Erin Hoffer
This paper frames responsibility to act through the lens of a 2021 research study of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of the parties to the UNFCCC’s Paris Agreement. These formal documents express the policy intentions of 196 nations with ambitious sustainability and emissions-reductions goals. The purpose of the study was to develop a framework of multi-level climate actions across the parties to the Paris Agreement. A content analysis of the text of an influential sample of NDCs considered management theories that inform action, agency theory, stakeholder theory, institutional theory, and the resource-based view of organizations. The study found that policymakers responded to the existential threat of climate change by prioritizing two overarching strategies--transforming behavior and providing resources--to align government, civil society, and business. The paper explores the multi-level governance concepts of vertical coherence and horizontal cooperation, critical factors noted throughout the NDCs, through examples and illustrations drawn from policy documents and external sources. A sustainability innovation framework that integrates the concepts of management theory along with multi-level climate action will be described, suggesting the potential for collective action by policymakers, leaders, and negotiators to respond to the challenges of climate change. The discussion explores agency theory factors of leadership and negotiation, stakeholder theory factors of engagement and education, institutional theory factors of regulation and standards, and resource-based factors of financing and vulnerable resource protection, among others, aiming for positive impacts to the environment, economy, society, and culture.
Examining the Role of Knowledge Management in the Knowledge-based Economy View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Bibi Alajmi
Over the past two decades, governments worldwide have demonstrated a strong interest in knowledge as a valuable commodity and a prerequisite for fostering profitability, sustainability, and competitiveness. Knowledge is replacing natural resources as the primary economic resource. Investment in all knowledge management practices is needed to convert nations and organizations from conventional to cutting-edge. As a result, the knowledge-based economy (KBE) has been brought to the attention of policymakers worldwide, and it has become the dominant economic diversification strategy for the Gulf States. A knowledge-based economy is one where knowledge acquisition, creation, and dissemination are the primary economic development mechanisms. However, four elements are essential for a successful transition to KBE: effective investment in education, constructing a robust and innovative capability, modernizing the information technology infrastructure, and having an economic environment conducive to maximum development benefits. This research seeks to inform policymakers by proposing actionable policies based on knowledge management practices and techniques targeting education and innovation and defining concrete steps to strengthen the transition to KBE, especially for Gulf countries and Kuwait. This qualitative study uses observation, interviews, and other descriptive data. Two-step qualitative data gathering is adopted. First, a descriptive-analytical research approach uses data from government reports and previous literature to critically examine the research problem. Stakeholder interviews were then performed to learn how knowledge management strategies and methodologies improve education systems and promote innovation to better transition to KBE.
