The welfare effects of India’s rural employment guarantee

We assess the welfare effects of India’s workfare program NREGA using a novel, almost sharp regression discontinuity design. We find large seasonal consumption increases in states implementing the program intensely, which are a multiple of the direct income gains. We also find increases in adolescen...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Klonner, Stefan (Author) , Oldiges, Christian (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: June 2022
In: Journal of development economics
Year: 2022, Volume: 157, Pages: 1-20
ISSN:0304-3878
DOI:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2022.102848
Subjects:
Online Access:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2022.102848
Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304387822000256
Get full text
Author Notes:Stefan Klonner, Christian Oldiges
Description
Summary:We assess the welfare effects of India’s workfare program NREGA using a novel, almost sharp regression discontinuity design. We find large seasonal consumption increases in states implementing the program intensely, which are a multiple of the direct income gains. We also find increases in adolescents’ schooling. Our results imply substantial beneficial indirect effects of this large welfare program. We conclude that public employment programs hold significant potential for reducing poverty and insuring households against various adverse implications of seasonal income shortfalls — when properly implemented.
Item Description:Available online 25 April 2022
Gesehen am 28.06.2022
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:0304-3878
DOI:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2022.102848