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on Development |
| By: | Ishita Varma (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research; Institute of Economic Growth) |
| Abstract: | India's indigenous communities (Schedule Tribes or STs) have historically relied on forests for their subsistence, livelihood and cultural identity. Despite this, the STs lacked formal rights to reside in forests and use forest resources under governmental control. In 2008, the Forest Rights Act (FRA) was implemented which granted these STs access to forest land and non-timber forest products (NTFPs). This paper examines the impact of FRA on the dietary diversity of STs. We evaluate this objective by making use of four rounds of a large-scale consumer expenditure survey and use variation in forest cover as a proxy for the potential of the Act to employ a generalised difference-in-differences strategy. We find that post-FRA, dietary diversity of ST households increased in areas with greater forest cover. This increased dietary diversity is driven by an increase in the diversity of vegetables, fruits, and oils consumed. In addition, we find that the sources of food shifted from subsistence-based collection and cultivation to market purchases. Suggestive evidence points to an occupational shift toward non-agricultural employments, particularly in wholesale and retail trade, potentially facilitated by improved NTFP access. |
| Keywords: | FRA, Dietary Diversity, Indigenous Communities, Forest Dwellers, Land Tenure |
| JEL: | J15 O15 Q15 Q23 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2025-012 |
| By: | Elmallakh, Nelly Youssef Louis William; Gatti, Roberta V.; Islam, Asif Mohammed; Mousa, Mennatallah Emam Mohamed Sayed |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the long-term impacts of early-life drought exposure on the human capital and socioeconomic outcomes of women born in the Arab Republic of Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco across more than five decades. Using a pooled cross-section of 13 rounds of the Demographic and Health Surveys, the paper demonstrates that early childhood drought exposure significantly hinders female education, leading to lower educational attainment, increased illiteracy, and reduced likelihood of secondary school completion. These adverse effects are concentrated among women from rural households, suggesting that drought impacts operate through disruptions to agricultural livelihoods. Furthermore, the paper finds that early-life drought exposure is associated with reduced adult height, an increased likelihood of early marriage, and continued engagement in agricultural labor. This study provides novel evidence on the enduring human costs of climate variability in the Middle East and North Africa region, highlighting the urgent need for targeted policy interventions to mitigate the socioeconomic vulnerabilities of rural women in the face of climate change. |
| Date: | 2025–08–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11190 |
| By: | Jose Cobian Alvarez; Budy Resosudarmo |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the effects of devastating flooding on household welfare in northern Peru. Remote sensing data are used to construct a novel damage index as a proxy for the local economic impact caused by the 2017 coastal El Niño floods. Using 5-year panel data from the Peruvian National Household Survey (ENAHO), we observe that affected households experience a decrease in income and expenditure compared to those in unaffected areas during the period 2015–2019. Additionally, poverty increases as a result of this natural hazard, especially among households in urban areas. Although there is a recovery in income and expenditure in the aftermath of the floods, households mitigate their consumption through donations of food and clothing. We suggest that, in a context where the occurrence of flooding affects the most vulnerable groups, the development of formal risk-coping strategies such as insurance is crucial for boosting their ability to reduce, mitigate, or adapt to future disaster risk. |
| JEL: | C23 O12 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:papers:2025-07 |
| By: | Bogler, Lisa; Cullinan, John; Jockers, Dominik; Pechar, Stefanie |
| Abstract: | Moscona and Seck (2024a) examine how redistribution of economic benefits differs between age-based and kin-based societies in sub-Saharan Africa. Using the experimental evaluation of a cash transfer program in Kenya, they find that an increase in income of members of an individual's age cohort increased consumption expenditure in age-set societies but not in kin-based societies. Next, exploiting the staggered introduction of a pension program in Uganda, they find that the program had positive effects on child health in kin-based societies, though not in age-set societies. In this replication report, we successfully computationally reproduce all results of the paper, with only a few minor deviations. We then conduct three robustness checks on the pension program results in Uganda, by varying the definition of the exposure variable, excluding outliers, and re-weighting observations. The original results are robust to our sensitivity analyses. The point estimates are very close to the original results and statistical significance is unchanged. Finally, we highlight some issues relating to the lack of sample descriptive statistics on key explanatory variables in the original paper. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:259 |
| By: | Bonilla-Mejía, Leonardo (Banco de la República de Colombia); Bracco, Jessica (CEDLAS-UNLP); Ham Gonzalez, Andres (Department of Economics, Universidad de los Andes); Peñaloza-Pacheco, Leonardo (Cornell University) |
| Abstract: | We study how drug-related violence affects emigration from Central America, a region with rapidly rising migration to the United States. Using multiple data sources, we apply an instrumental variables strategy based on proximity to drug-trafficking routes and coca production in Colombia. We find that violence significantly increases intentions, plans, and preparations to emigrate—especially to the U.S.—with stronger effects among young and high-skilled individuals. Mediation analysis suggests this response is driven by declining economic activity and, more importantly, deteriorating labor market conditions caused by escalating violence. |
| Keywords: | drug trafficking, violence, economic activity, labor markets, migration |
| JEL: | J61 O15 N96 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18028 |
| By: | Bharti Nandwani (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research); Ishita Verma (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of a decentralisation program implemented in India's Schedule Five Areas - home to 100 million indigenous people (Scheduled Tribes, or STs) - on maternal healthcare utilisation. The program institutionalised local governance councils and introduced political reservations for STs, granting these councils formal authority over the provision of public goods and services. Using three rounds of a large-scale reproductive health data and a difference-in-differences strategy exploiting staggered program implementation, we find that the policy significantly increased the use of antenatal care services, particularly from government facilities. It also reduced delivery complications and increased reliance on public services for managing such complications. Evidence suggests that these improvements were driven by increased trust in the health system when political representatives belonged to the ST community. The findings highlight how decentralisation combined with political inclusion can improve public service utilisation and health outcomes among historically marginalised population. |
| Keywords: | Decentralisation, India, Political representation, Maternal healthcare, Public service delivery, Local governance |
| JEL: | I15 H75 O12 P16 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2025-014 |
| By: | Arief Anshory Yusuf; Martin D. Siyaranamual; Andy Sumner |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the impact of education expansion on structural transformation and income inequality in Indonesia, contextualized within the Kuznetsian framework of economic development. Using a natural policy experiment from the 1978-1979 extension of the school year, we apply a regression discontinuity design (RDD) to establish the causal relationship between increased education and labour shifts from agriculture to non-agricultural sectors. |
| Keywords: | Kuznets, Structural transformation, Inequality, Indonesia |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2025-50 |
| By: | Getrude Njokwe (University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa); Yoko Kijima (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, Japan) |
| Abstract: | Restrictive abortion laws in many African nations are associated with risks such as unsafe procedures and teenage motherhood. This study examines how abortion legalization influences sexual and reproductive health and women’s empowerment in South Africa, using a difference-in-differences design. Analyzing variations in birth cohorts and access to health care facilities with abortion services across provinces, the study finds no direct causal impact of the abortion policy on teenage motherhood, fertility rates, early sexual debut, high school completion, or college attendance, though negative associations with teenage motherhood and fertility rates and positive associations with early sexual debut, high school completion, and college attendance, were observed. The study suggests that limited access to health care facilities with abortion services and cultural taboos contribute to underreporting of behaviors. Given these findings, we recommend prioritizing access to contraception and creating supportive environments for adolescent girls living in vulnerable situations, including improved access to health care facilities that offer abortion services. |
| Keywords: | abortion legalization, fertility, schooling, adolescent, difference-in-difference; South Africa. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ngi:dpaper:25-09 |
| By: | Felix Rusche (University of Mannheim & Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods) |
| Abstract: | In poor countries, the interaction of early marriage, early motherhood, and low educational attainment disempowers women and limits their life opportunities. Even as countries grow richer, gender inequality is often sustained by social norms, thereby limiting welfare gains from women’s empowerment. I investigate the use of media as a cheap and scalable policy to empower women. In 2006, India enacted a community radio policy that grants radio licenses to NGOs and educational institutions with the aim to foster local development. I collect original data on the content and coverage areas of all 250+ radio stations. I uncover women’s empowerment as a key theme through topic modeling and ChatGPT-based analyses of radio show recordings. For identification, I exploit topography-driven variation in radio access and develop a novel econometric approach to deal with randomly displaced geolocated household data. The results show that women exposed to radio gain an additional 0.3 years of education and are 4.1pp (11%) more likely to obtain a secondary degree. In line with increased education, exposure reduces child marriages by 1.4pp (22%) and fertility of young women by around 10% while they are 11pp more likely to exhibit autonomy in household decisions. The findings demonstrate that community media can effectively address gender inequality. |
| Keywords: | Mass Media, Policy, Women Empowerment, Spatial Econometrics, Education |
| JEL: | O12 J13 J16 J18 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpg:wpaper:2025_05 |
| By: | Helen Chiappini; Laura Nieri; Stefano Piser |
| Abstract: | This study investigates whether physical risk and transition risk factors affect South African bank lending behaviour. Results of baseline analysis suggest that physical climate risk negatively affects South African bank lending behaviour. Similarly, we find consistent results when considering climate transition risk proxied by the adoption of South Africas carbon tax in 2019. Finally, we find that the physical climate risk effect is stronger for commercial banks and tends to assume a non-linear U-shape effect. Our research provides one of the first empirical assessments of climate risk effects on the South African banking industry and includes useful suggestions for practitioners, policymakers and regulators. |
| Date: | 2025–08–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rbz:wpaper:11086 |