Below is a synopsis of my most recent research. My work focuses mostly on environmental shocks in developing countries: the adaptation of social protection, migration and labor.
If you have any questions or would like a copy of the most recent drafts please contact me at [email protected]
Can Natural Disasters Affect Decentralized Targeting of Social Safety Nets Intended for the Poor?: Evidence from Earthquakes in Indonesia [pdf coming soon] (submitted)
Natural disaster shocks are highly destructive in underdeveloped countries. Social safety nets may be particularly important in the face of such shocks for insuring households. This paper examines the targeting of a rice subsidy with decentralized village level targeting, in the aftermath of earthquakes in Indonesia. I find earthquake affected villages benefit more from RASKIN. However, access of the poorest is nearly 12% lower relative to such households in unaffected areas in the post earthquake pe- riod. The non-poor in earthquake affected villages are more likely to participate by 6% to 13% relative to the poorest. While the non-poor face larger relative losses than the poor during an earthquake, both consumption and assets of the non-poor remain above the poor in absolute terms. I also explore heterogenous effects of earthquake shocks on safety net targeting by village social capital. It is widely believed that social capital is associated with better governance. However, in this case, higher pre-disaster social capital does not increase access of the poorest to RASKIN. The results of this paper suggest that decentralized targeting of social insurance may not be effective at reaching intended beneficiaries in the context of natural disasters.
Environmental Migration and Labor Markets in Nepal (with Jean-Francois Maystadt and Valerie Mueller) [pdf coming soon] (submitted)
While an emerging literature cites weather shocks as migration determinants, scant evidence exists on how such migration impacts the markets of receiving communities in developing countries. We address this knowledge gap by investigating the impact of weather-driven internal migration on labor markets in Nepal. An increase of 1 percentage point in net migration reduces wages in the formal sector by 4.8 percentage points. The absence of wage effects in the informal sector is consistent with the exit of low-skilled native workers from the labor market. Understanding entrepreneurial constraints and drivers of labor market exits will inform pathways to resilience.
Crop Loss and Youth Labor and Schooling Outcomes in Tanzania [pdf coming soon] (working paper)
I investigate the relationship between transitory income shocks and youth labor and schooling outcomes. I find that crop shocks increase labor signicantly among youth aged 14 to 19 and increase the probability that youth enrolled in school miss school by 13-18%. The observed impacts on youth predominantly affect female youth. Labor across female and male youth is approximately equivalent among unaffected households. I find that youth not enrolled in school are more likely to take up paid employment as a result of crop shocks. Youth enrolled in school on the other hand, substitute in for unpaid labor and participation in household chores. Further, comparing youth and children, I find that while youth schooling outcomes are affected, I find no similar effects among children aged 7 to 13.
Other work on gender & adaptation:
Gateway Technologies: Learning by doing something else (with Vivian Hoffmann and Sarah Adelman) [pdf coming soon] (working paper)
The market for menstrual hygiene products in developing countries is expanding rapidly, driven both by private demand and by public efforts to improve girls’ educational outcomes as well as women’s health and dignity. However, many girls and women cannot consistently afford the monthly cost of disposable menstrual products and revert to less hygienic solutions when facing cash constraints.
Reusable technologies such as menstrual cups are much less expensive over the lifetime of their use, but are characterized by barriers to adoption, including a higher initial cost of purchase, learning costs, and psychological barriers to insertion.Previous non-experimental work shows that consumer choices over substitute goods are highly persistent over time, suggesting that early experiences may determine lasting preferences for a particular product or technology. On the other hand, if barriers to the adoption of a particular technology exist, experience with other technologies that achieve similar outcomes could demonstrate the value of overcoming these barriers. Two menstrual hygiene technologies, one with low barriers to adoption (disposable sanitary pads) and one with higher adoption barriers (reusable menstrual cups) were distributed free of charge to 960 women across 60 rural villages in the state of Bihar, India. Receiving pads for free strongly increased subsequent demand for pads, as well as demand for a menstrual cup. The findings suggest that in this context, demonstration of the returns to adoption through experimentation with a substitute technology outweighs any preference or demand formation effect specific to the first technology used.
If you have any questions or would like a copy of the most recent drafts please contact me at [email protected]
Can Natural Disasters Affect Decentralized Targeting of Social Safety Nets Intended for the Poor?: Evidence from Earthquakes in Indonesia [pdf coming soon] (submitted)
Natural disaster shocks are highly destructive in underdeveloped countries. Social safety nets may be particularly important in the face of such shocks for insuring households. This paper examines the targeting of a rice subsidy with decentralized village level targeting, in the aftermath of earthquakes in Indonesia. I find earthquake affected villages benefit more from RASKIN. However, access of the poorest is nearly 12% lower relative to such households in unaffected areas in the post earthquake pe- riod. The non-poor in earthquake affected villages are more likely to participate by 6% to 13% relative to the poorest. While the non-poor face larger relative losses than the poor during an earthquake, both consumption and assets of the non-poor remain above the poor in absolute terms. I also explore heterogenous effects of earthquake shocks on safety net targeting by village social capital. It is widely believed that social capital is associated with better governance. However, in this case, higher pre-disaster social capital does not increase access of the poorest to RASKIN. The results of this paper suggest that decentralized targeting of social insurance may not be effective at reaching intended beneficiaries in the context of natural disasters.
Environmental Migration and Labor Markets in Nepal (with Jean-Francois Maystadt and Valerie Mueller) [pdf coming soon] (submitted)
While an emerging literature cites weather shocks as migration determinants, scant evidence exists on how such migration impacts the markets of receiving communities in developing countries. We address this knowledge gap by investigating the impact of weather-driven internal migration on labor markets in Nepal. An increase of 1 percentage point in net migration reduces wages in the formal sector by 4.8 percentage points. The absence of wage effects in the informal sector is consistent with the exit of low-skilled native workers from the labor market. Understanding entrepreneurial constraints and drivers of labor market exits will inform pathways to resilience.
Crop Loss and Youth Labor and Schooling Outcomes in Tanzania [pdf coming soon] (working paper)
I investigate the relationship between transitory income shocks and youth labor and schooling outcomes. I find that crop shocks increase labor signicantly among youth aged 14 to 19 and increase the probability that youth enrolled in school miss school by 13-18%. The observed impacts on youth predominantly affect female youth. Labor across female and male youth is approximately equivalent among unaffected households. I find that youth not enrolled in school are more likely to take up paid employment as a result of crop shocks. Youth enrolled in school on the other hand, substitute in for unpaid labor and participation in household chores. Further, comparing youth and children, I find that while youth schooling outcomes are affected, I find no similar effects among children aged 7 to 13.
Other work on gender & adaptation:
Gateway Technologies: Learning by doing something else (with Vivian Hoffmann and Sarah Adelman) [pdf coming soon] (working paper)
The market for menstrual hygiene products in developing countries is expanding rapidly, driven both by private demand and by public efforts to improve girls’ educational outcomes as well as women’s health and dignity. However, many girls and women cannot consistently afford the monthly cost of disposable menstrual products and revert to less hygienic solutions when facing cash constraints.
Reusable technologies such as menstrual cups are much less expensive over the lifetime of their use, but are characterized by barriers to adoption, including a higher initial cost of purchase, learning costs, and psychological barriers to insertion.Previous non-experimental work shows that consumer choices over substitute goods are highly persistent over time, suggesting that early experiences may determine lasting preferences for a particular product or technology. On the other hand, if barriers to the adoption of a particular technology exist, experience with other technologies that achieve similar outcomes could demonstrate the value of overcoming these barriers. Two menstrual hygiene technologies, one with low barriers to adoption (disposable sanitary pads) and one with higher adoption barriers (reusable menstrual cups) were distributed free of charge to 960 women across 60 rural villages in the state of Bihar, India. Receiving pads for free strongly increased subsequent demand for pads, as well as demand for a menstrual cup. The findings suggest that in this context, demonstration of the returns to adoption through experimentation with a substitute technology outweighs any preference or demand formation effect specific to the first technology used.