This thesis is a collection of three independent essays that applies microeconometrics techniques to empirically study topics in development and labour economics. The first chapter uses evidence from a natural experiment in Bangladesh, where households were treated to different types of transfer, food grains and cash, at different periods in time, to test the effect of these transfers on household consumption behaviour. Using the fixed effect instrumental variable model, the estimation results show that though in-kind transfers did cause households to consume more grain than they would have chosen under equal-value cash transfers, the impact on calorie consumption and children health status is minimal. Households that received cash were able to reallocate their funds more effectively, and chose to spend their extra income on clothing and children's non-food consumption, while at the same time spending no more on vices. The second chapter investigates the dynamics of living standards in Thailand. Income and earnings processes are first modelled after the statistical Galton-Markov process before being extended to follow a more structural permanent earnings model. Empirical estimations of income and earnings persistence in Thailand employ both constructed pseudo-panel data from Thailand's Labour Force Surveys and the Townsend Thai panel data. Galton-Markov estimates found conditional persistence to be low in Thailand. However, quantile regression estimates find that persistence is low at the bottom of the distribution but high at the top, indicating a divergence in earnings as time passes. A study of the covariance structure of earnings finds that total variation in the earnings process is predominantly driven by moderately persistent transitory components following the AR(1) process. The third chapter attempts to empirically fit the power-law distribution and study the dynamics of inequality, especially at the upper end, of the income and consumption distribution in Thailand. We find that using the popular but incorrect method based on the linear regression approach will lead to researchers drawing a wrong conclusion. Regression estimates of the power-law exponent, a, provide strong evidence of power-law fit in Thailand. However, from the implementation of the superior Clauset et al. method, the evidence in support of the power-law fit is much weaker. Estimates of a for both income and consumption suggest that there is low inequality at the top in Thailand but further inspection finds that there is a high level of persistent between-group inequality between the top and bottom ends of the distribution. In addition, following Battistin et al. (2009), we find weak support for Gibrat's law of proportional random growth as the income-generating process in Thailand.

Among the reasons for financial exclusion is the fact that the poor, being largely illiterate and unemployed, are traditionally perceived as ‘bad credit risks’. This is the dominant perception of the poor in the formal credit markets – a perception that also exists in the microcredit sector. In other words, while information asymmetry is a recognized problem in lender-borrower relationships, lenders consider the problem particularly severe when they contemplate doing business with the poor. A contrasting paradigm, such as the one adopted by Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, views the poor as possessing economic potentials that have not been tapped – that is, as ‘good credit risks’. Grameen Bank’s microcredit features appear to have successfully mitigated the problems of information asymmetry and, to a large extent, made it possible for the poor to access microenterprise credit. Using the Grameen Bank model as a benchmark, this study examined the lending features of private sector microlenders in South Africa and those of KhulaStart (credit) scheme. The aim was to identify how the lending features affect microenterprise credit access. Primary data were obtained through interviews, while relevant secondary data were also used in the study. A key finding of the study was that while the Khulastart scheme was, like Grameencredit, targeted at the poor, the method of its delivery appeared diluted or unduly influenced by the conventional (private sector) paradigm that pre-classifies people as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ credit risks. As a result, the scheme was not robust enough to support microenterprise credit access. This has consequences for job-creation and poverty reduction. Based on the findings, the study maintains that a realistic broadening of microenterprise credit access will not occur unless there is a fundamental paradigm shift in microcredit practices, and unless measures designed to mitigate information asymmetries are sensitive to the historical, economic and sociocultural realities of the South African poor.

The global economy celebrates microcredit as poverty alleviation for the individual and as a way to boost a country’s economic growth. This study examines if results from previous research on Grameen Bank’s microcredits are supported by statistics. By using Exploratory Sequential Mixed Method, five themes was conducted from the qualitative findings and then analyzed from capability approach theory and Schumpeterian growth theory. Results indicates that poverty have declined in Bangladesh, but it also shows that income share for the poorest has not increased nor the female employment rate.  Both the consumption and the GDP for Bangladesh have increased, but the conclusion of this study suggest that microcredits are convoluted and needs further studies that are comprehensive with both qualitative and statistical research that are more detailed and profound. Since the available statistics are inadequate further research generally about microcredits are needed, especially if banks and organizations worldwide are going to use it as poverty alleviation.

Background Because of extreme population and a lack of resources the risk of beeing harmed while admitted to a hospital in Bangladesh is big. Mistakes made at operating theatres can result in devastating consequences, but by evaluating the patient safety that risk can be minimized. Right now Bangladesh is in the middle of an industrialisation that is contributing to the growing need for an expanding health care. The country is regularly suffering from cyclones, tsunamis and monsoon rains and there is an urgent demand for safe health care. Method The aim of this thesis was to study the physical structure, organisation and practice at operating theatres in Bangladesh. At three private and two public hospitals 14 operating rooms in total were visited and the basic equipment was examined. Managers, physicians, nurses and technicians were interviewed at all hospitals, 41 people in total participated in the study. Results The temperature control was not up to standard, bigger storages were needed and none of the public hospitals had enough washing equipment for proper scrubbing. Only one hospital could monitor the patient’s body temperature during surgery and proper resuscitation equipment was missing in half of the operating rooms. The autoclave process could not keep up with the surgeries and delays were not unusual. The cleaning staff had no training in patient safety and the staff found that the nurse’s education was not enough. The reporting of mistakes rarely reached the management and a written report was unusual. Discussion Most of the staff did not know what calibration meant and there were only biomedical departments at two of the hospitals. Even though training was re- quested by the staff the management did not plan for any changes. This shows that it is the organisation, not the human errors, that is the source to the unstable situation of health care. The lacking of the reporting system is an- other reason for the slow development. Staff with technical knowledge must be available at the hospitals in order to help prevent risks and all hospitals should establish a biomedical department. Patients had to lie on the floor, due to the shortness of space. This is not good for patient safety, but the alternative would be that they would end up with no help at all. The outcome of patient safety should always result in better health for the people. The personal had this view of thinking and they showed great engagement to their work. Key words: Patient safety, Bangladesh, operating theatres, operating rooms / Bakgrund På grund av extrem befolkningsmängd och brist på resurser är risken för att bli skadad av sjukvården i Bangladesh stor. Misstag inom kirurgin ger förödande konsekvenser, men genom att utreda patientsäkerheten kan risken minimeras avsevärt. Bangladesh befinner sig just nu i en industrialisering som bidrar till det ökande behovet av vård. Flodvågor, översvämningar och stormar drabbar landet regelbundet och efterfrågan på säker sjukvård är akut. Metod Patientsäkerheten analyserades genom att undersöka den fysiska miljön, organi- sationen och den praktiska utövningen i operationssalar. På tre privata och två statliga sjukhus i Bangladesh besöktes sammanlagt 14 operationsrum, där den grundläggande utrustningen utvärderades. Avdelningschefer, läkare, sköterskor och tekniker intervjuades på samtliga sjukhus, totalt är 41 anställda med i stu- dien. Resultat Temperaturkontrollen var bristfällig, bättre förvaringsmöjligheter efterfrågades och ingen av de statliga sjukhusen hade tillräcklig utrustning för att tvätta händerna rätt. Endast ett sjuhus kunde övervaka patientens kroppstemperatur och återupplivningsutrustning saknades på hälften. Sterilisering av instrument kunde inte ske i samma tempo som operationerna och förseningar var vanligt. Städpersonalen hade ingen träning i patientsäkerhet och det fanns ett missnöje över sköterskornas utbildning. Rapportering av misstag gick sällan till sjukhus- ledningen och skriftlig rapportering var sällsynt. Diskussion De flesta av de tillfrågade visste inte vad innebörden av kalibrering var och endast två av sjukhusen hade en medicinteknisk avdelning. Trots att vidareut- bildning efterfrågades av personalen hade ledningen inga planer på förändringar. Detta visar på att det är organisationen, inte de anställdas misstag, som är källan till den osäkra sjukvården. Den otillräckliga rapporteringen är också en anled- ning till varför utvecklingen hämmas. Tekniskt kunniga personer måste finnas tillgängliga på sjukhusen för att förebygga risker och varje sjukhus bör organi- sera en medicinteknisk avdelning. På grund av platsbrist låg många patienter på golvet. Detta är självklart inte bra för patientsäkerheten, men alternativet skulle vara att de inte fick någon hjälp alls. Synen på patientsäkerhet måste alltid inkludera att hälsan i sin helhet förbättras, den insikten hade personalen på sjukhusen och de visade stort engagemang. Key words: Patientsäkerhet, Bangladesh, operationsavdelningar, operations- salar

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, with coastal areas being especially vulnerable. Along the Bangladeshi coast lies mangrove forests that protect against storm surges, tropical cyclones, SLR, coastal erosion, and salt-water intrusion. On Char Kukri Mukri, a remote island in the Bay of Bengal, Keora-species (Sonneratia apetala) mangroves are planted. The forest is virtually a monoculture in degradation and thus needs restoration through enrichment. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the opportunities and limitations of mangrove enrichment as climate adaptation on Char Kukri Mukri. We conducted semi-structured interviews with local communities and other key stakeholders and analysed soil and water samples along the island's south coast to assess this. Our results indicate that the soil is highly saline, which, combined with projected climate impact, limits the abilities of more sensitive mangroves to survive there. Climate impacts severely affect the lives and livelihoods of the people living on Char Kukri Mukri. Successful adaptation requires further involvement of local communities, site-specific solutions, and a holistic approach to adaptation. However, a hindrance to adaptation measures is the lack of resources to fund large-scale projects, which leads to beneficiaries being required to provide money and land themselves to be considered for projects. This risks systematically excluding the landless poor, and there is therefore a need to reform adaptation financing systems so that measures benefit the most vulnerable. / Bangladesh är ett av de länder i världen som är mest sårbara för klimatförändringarna. Kustområdena är mest känsliga. Längs Bangladeshs kust finns mangroveskogar, som skyddar mot klimateffekter som stormar, cykloner, havsnivåhöjning, kusterosion, och saltvattenintrång. På Char Kukri Mukri, en avlägsen ö utanför Bangladeshs centralkust i Bengaliska viken, har mangrover av arten Keora (Sonneratia apetala) planterats. Skogen är praktiskt taget en monokultur som håller på att förstöras, och det finns därför ett behov av att restaurera skogen. Denna studie syftade till att undersöka möjligheterna och hindrena för restaurering av mangroveskogarna som klimatanpassning på Char Kukri Mukri. För att uppnå detta genomförde vi semistrukturerade intervjuer med lokalbefolkningen och andra nyckelintressenter, och analyserade jord- och vattenprover tagna vid öns sydkust. Våra resultat indikerar att jorden har hög salthalt, vilket i kombination med ökade klimateffekter minskar mer känsliga mangrovearters möjligheter att överleva i dessa områden. Klimateffekter påverkar människorna och deras försörjning på Char Kukri Mukri i hög grad. Lyckad klimatanpassning kräver mer inkludering av lokalbefolkningen i initativ, platsspecifika lösningar, samt ett holistiskt tillvägagångssätt. Resursbrist hindrar dock investeringar i storskaliga och långsiktiga projekt, vilket gör att förmånstagare behöver bidra med pengar och mark till projekten. Detta gör att fattiga människor som inte äger mark systematiskt exkluderas ur anpassningsprojekten. De nuvarande finansieringssystemen behöver därför reformeras för att projekten ska ge fördelar till de människor som är mest sårbara för klimatförändringarna.

Arsenic-contaminated drinking water exposes ~230 million people worldwide to increased risks of several diseases and is considered one of the greatest threats to public health. In Bangladesh, arsenic-contaminated water has been declared the largest poisoning of a population in history, where 39 million people are exposed to arsenic levels above the WHO guidelines (>10 μg/L). Drinking water is mainly provided by tube-wells installed by local drillers and the majority are located in aquifers with high arsenic levels. The major challenges of identifying arsenic-safe aquifers consist of a lack of a common tool for quality assurance of hydrogeological data, post-processing of the data, and a possibility to forward analyzed data to national and local stakeholders. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of applying a digital solution for collecting and managing hydrogeological data in a quality assured platform. This study was a pilot-project in the sub-district Daudkandi, Bangladesh in collaboration with the KTH-International Groundwater Research Group. To fulfill the purpose, a method was developed for systematic and automated data capturing of hydrogeological information in GeoGIS, an advanced software that proved to be an efficient tool for visualizing hydrogeological data. The results show that collecting a few field data in a systematic and automated way is helpful for interpreting aquifer sequences and will enable better prerequisites for targeting safe aquifers and installing safe tube-wells. Conclusions are that the integration of a digital platform as a decision tool may significantly improve arsenic mitigation strategies. Furthermore, providing information to public and private sectors in Bangladesh would increase the transparency of hydrogeological conditions and may help improve safe water access to high arsenic areas of Bangladesh. / Över 230 miljoner människor världen över exponeras dagligen för arsenik-förorenat dricksvatten vilket kan ge upphov till hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar, diabetes samt olika cancersjukdomar. Arsenik (As) är en extremt giftig halvmetall som är naturligt förekommande i grundvatten och klassas som ett utav de största hoten mot allmän folkhälsa, vilket gör reducerande åtgärder till en samhällsutmaning av global karaktär. Ett land som är hårt drabbat av höga arsenikhalter är Bangladesh, där miljontals människor utsätts för arsenik-nivåer som överstiger WHO:s rekommenderade riktlinjer (>10 μg/L). Dricksvattenförsörjningen tillhandahålls framförallt genom vattenbrunnar installerade av lokala borrare och där majoriteten är placerade i akviferer med skadligt höga arsenikhalter.  Utmaningarna med att identifiera arseniksäkra akviferer är flera, bland annat saknas ett gemensamt verktyg för att hantera, kvalitetssäkra och analysera hydrogeologisk data, samt för att delge denna till olika parter på lokal, regional och nationell nivå. Syftet med den här studien var således att undersöka potentialen i att tillämpa ett digitalt verktyg för insamling och hantering av fältdata från olika databaser till en kvalitetssäkrad plattform. Studien genomfördes som ett pilotprojekt i distriktet Daudkandi, Bangladesh i samarbete med forskningsgruppen KTH-International Groundwater Research Group. För att uppfylla syftet utvecklades en metod för systematisk och automatiserad datainsamling av hydrogeologisk information i GeoGIS, en avancerad mjukvara som visade sig vara ett effektivt verktyg för visualiseringar av hydrogeologiska data. Resultaten visar att insamling av en liten mängd fältdata är till stor hjälp för att tolka akvifersekvenser samt för att urskilja arseniksäkra akviferer, vilket skapar bättre förutsättningar för installation av säkra vattenbrunnar. En slutsats som dras är att integreringen av en digital plattform för datainsamling avsevärt kan förbättra beslutsfattandet för arsenikreducerande strategier samt underlättar ett transparent informationsflöde. Genom att tillhandahålla transparent hydrogeologisk information till privat och offentlig sektor i Bangladesh kan även tillgången på säkert dricksvatten förbättras.

Ce mémoire analyse les relations entre la participation aux programmes de microfinance et les processus d'empowerment des femmes. Au moyen d'une étude de cas à portée comparative de deux institutions de microfinance asiatiques, la Grameen Bank du Bangladesh et Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) en Inde, j'examine, en fonction des données secondaires déjà publiées, dans quelle mesure ces institutions ont un effet sur les processus d'empowerment des participantes. J'analyse précisément les effets en regard de six dimensions de l'empowerment (économique, socioculturelle, familiale/interpersonnelle, juridique, politique et psychologique) se manifestant au niveau personnel ou du ménage et au niveau de la communauté. Enfin, j'étudie dans quelle mesure, ces effets sont modulés par le contexte d'action des institutions et par le type d'approche qui encadre la mise en oeuvre de leurs programmes de microfinance.

Contemporary north-west Bangladesh is the scene of a religious contest between the self-described 'Hanafis‘, who include various expressions of Islamic faith and practice, and Salafi reformist groups known as Ahl-i-Hadith. Occasionally labelled 'Wahhabis‘ due to their affinity with the doctrine from Arabia, the Ahl-i-Hadith actively seek to purify local Islam of all practices which they consider to be bidaʿ. Local Hanafi Muslims, who form a majority, are resistant to these efforts at total religious reform. This thesis investigates the contemporary discourse taking place between these two communities in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and between these groups and their authoritative Islamic texts. The case study used to focus on inter-group debates is the contested issue of whether or not to perform rituals meant to assist the dead during al-barzakh – the conscious waiting period in the grave believed to last from death until the day of resurrection. Especially during a soul‘s first forty days in al-barzakh, the Hanafi community observes rituals intended to reduce the torment of the grave and send soʾab, or merit, to the account of the deceased. Participant observation at numerous milad, chollisha and khotom ceremonies for the dead, as well as interviews with local ʿulamaʾ and other informants highlight the progress of Ahl-i-Hadith reform efforts, but also the way in which Hanafi leaders defend and interpret their 'unorthodox‘ practices using authoritative Sunni hadith and Qurʾanic passages. Additional Islamic texts which are locally influential are examined. Special voice is given to "what Muslims say" in an attempt to let the words and actions of those involved in the debates direct the research agenda as they interpret and defend their respective positions. This thesis provides other researchers with a field-based account of contemporary Islamic belief and practice in Bangladesh – an understudied Islamic context containing over 150 million people. Dozens of quotations from ʿulamaʾ are reproduced in the original Bengali and in English. Additionally, this study complicates Islamic fundamentalist and Western scholarly conceptions of 'popular Islam‘ and 'syncretism‘ by showing that Hanafi ʿulamaʾ in Rajshahi explain their (contested) beliefs and activities in Islamic terms, using universally recognised Sunni sources of authority, especially the hadith literature.

Aim: The aim of this research is to investigate whether CSR can be used as a marketing tool by the readymade garment suppliers in Bangladesh to attract international buyers. Method: This study is conducted by applying qualitative method. The data has been collected through semi-structured interview and using secondary data.   Result and Conclusions: The study reflects that that CSR implementation generates various benefits such as, creates good corporate image, reputation and opportunity for innovation and offers competitive advantage.  As international buyers’ foremost requirement is to verify suppliers’ social compliance, the CSR practices and benefits act as marketing instrument by the garments suppliers to attract international buyers and grab more business. Suggestions for future research: This study considered multiple large (1st tier) garments suppliers and multinational buying organization which calls for further research such as, a comparative study on taking both large and small scale suppliers as well as more international buyers. One of the findings indicates that buyers’ support is important in CSR implementation which can also be considered for further investigation. Contribution of the thesis: This study investigates suppliers’ CSR practices from the marketing perspective in relation to buyers in business to business context which has not been considered in previous literature. Further CSR as marketing tool has not been addressed in developing country context while this study includes empirical study on garment suppliers of Bangladesh. This study suggests that managers need to be aware of the significant role of CSR as marketing tool while designing and implementing CSR programs effectively to increase business. Moreover, CSR activities benefit both the company as well as other stakeholders (customer, employee, public, shareholder, government) of the society by way of meeting those stakeholders’ interest.

In recent decades, international feminist activism and research has had significant success in pushing gender issues onto the international agenda and into global governance institutions and processes. The goal of gender equality is now widely accepted and codified in international legal instruments. While this appears to be a remarkable global success for feminism, widespread gender inequalities persist around the globe. This paradox has led scholars to question the extent to which feminist concepts and goals can retain their transformative potential when they are institutionalized in global governance institutions and processes. This thesis examines the institutionalization of feminist ideas in global governance through an analysis of how, and with what effects, gender equality norms are constructed, interpreted and applied in the global governance of refugees: a field that has thus far received little attention in the growing literature on feminism, gender and global governance. This aim is pursued through a case study of humanitarian aid practices in refugee camps in Bangladesh and Thailand. The study is based on interviews with humanitarian workers in these two contexts, and its theoretical framework is informed by postcolonial feminist theory and Foucauldian thought on power and governing. These analytical perspectives allows the thesis to capture how gender equality norms operate as governing tools, and situate the politics of gender equality in refugee camps in the context of global relations of power and marginalization. The findings of this thesis show that in the global governance of refugees, gender equality is rarely treated as a goal in its own right. The construction, interpretation and application of gender equality norms is mediated and shaped by the dominant governing projects in this field. Gender equality norms are either advocated on the basis of their usefulness as means for the efficient management of refugee situations, or as necessary components of a process of modernization and development of the regions from which refugees originate. These governing projects significantly limit the forms of social change and the forms of agency that are enabled. Nevertheless, gender equality norms do contribute to opening up new opportunities for refugee women and destabilizing local gendered relations of power, and they are appropriated and used by refugees in ways that challenge and go beyond humanitarian agendas.