Essays on Family Welfare and Indian Development Policy
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文摘
My dissertation is concerned with family welfare and economic development in India. In my first two papers,I consider the potential for India's public works program to contribute to long-term growth and poverty reduction by examining the impact on household entrepreneurship and investments in child health. The third paper analyzes the impact of increasing male earnings inequality on female marital and education outcomes. Essays I and II: Long-term impact of NREGS. First,I analyze the impact of India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) on selection into entrepreneurship using a model of household occupational choice. My hypothesis is that NREGS allows liquidity constrained individuals to accumulate some savings,enabling subsequent investment in a risky,but more profitable,entrepreneurial venture. Using linear regression methods,I find that rates of non-farm entrepreneurship increase by 3 percentage points in program areas (increasing rates from 15 percent to 18 percent),compared to areas that did not receive NREGS. The effects are concentrated amongst rural non-farm entrepreneurs,who have been often excluded from the formal credit market. The results suggest that by acting as a source of credit,NREGS impacts household occupational choice,contributing to increased income,and ultimately promoting current and future family welfare. Next,adapting the neoclassical model of labor supply,I examine the impact of NREGS on maternal investments in children's health,and the subsequent impact on child health outcomes. The net effect of a public works program on child health is unclear given the trade-off women face between working and care-giving. NREGS raises the value of employment,reducing the incentive for women to spend time at home on care-giving activities,potentially negatively impacting children's health. But income from NREGS may allow women to purchase high-quality healthcare,resulting in improved health outcomes for children. Using lineal,non-linear,and non-parametric methods,I find that women substitute towards employment and reduce investment in time-intensive health activities: they delay their first prenatal visit,reduce the total number of visits,and decrease the duration of breastfeeding. Further,the results show that women are using their additional earned income to purchase money-intensive health inputs: women in NREGS areas are more likely to deliver in a healthcare facility. Understanding how the program can reduce long-term poverty rates through its impact on the skills,productivity,and health of the labor force is important for economic growth in developing countries with similar policies,in addition to analyzing the sustainability of NREGS itself. Essay III: Income inequality and female marriage. Early marriage has been associated with negative health,educational,and economic outcomes,especially for women. This paper utilizes the logic of the job search model to explore the role of increased male income inequality in delaying female marriage and the subsequent impact on female educational attainment. The results from linear regression methods indicate that greater male income inequality decreases female marriage rates by about 2 percentage points and delays marriage by one third of a year. In response to their longer search times,women attend school,and are more likely to finish high school or attend college. The acquisition of more education due to increased search duration on the marriage market might increase the future income stream of women,contributing to their economic well-being. In addition,greater educational attainment may improve their bargaining power in the household,allowing women to direct resources towards children's,especially girls',education and health. These findings will inform policy decisions aimed at increasing women's empowerment in India.

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