Can the major public works policy buffer negative shocks in early childhood? Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, India

The study examines the role of the largest public works program in the world-the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) - in buffering the negative effects of early childhood exposure to rainfall shocks on long-term health outcomes. Exploiting the spatial and temporal variation in NREGS...

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Hlavní autor: Dasgupta, A
Médium: Working paper
Jazyk:English
Vydáno: Young Lives 2013
Témata:
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author Dasgupta, A
author_facet Dasgupta, A
author_sort Dasgupta, A
collection OXFORD
description The study examines the role of the largest public works program in the world-the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) - in buffering the negative effects of early childhood exposure to rainfall shocks on long-term health outcomes. Exploiting the spatial and temporal variation in NREGS coverage, the study estimates the extent to which nutritional shocks in early childhood can be offset by access to the policy. The study employs a unique identification strategy by integrating detailed administrative records of drought shock and phase-wise roll-out information of NREGS with a household level panel data-the Young Lives survey- conducted over three waves (2002, 2007 and 2009-10) in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Using individual fixed effects estimation the study finds that while the policy does not help correct for long term past health deficiencies it is useful in buffering recent drought shocks, which varies by policy relevant sub-groups. We find that an increase in 22 working days per household increases height-for-age by around 0.26 standard deviations which is bridging about half the rural-urban gap in average height for age score.We find the program is most effective for the case of lower educated households and scheduled castes, who are presumably more vulnerable in the face of climatic variability. Hence there is much room to reap in the indirect benefits of the program by ensuring food security issues of these households.
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spelling oxford-uuid:ddad0bda-45d5-4bf2-8d4e-335d66f9a0e22022-05-17T14:23:32ZCan the major public works policy buffer negative shocks in early childhood? Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, IndiaWorking paperhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_8042uuid:ddad0bda-45d5-4bf2-8d4e-335d66f9a0e2Ethnic minorities and ethnicityPovertyChildren and youthEvaluation of social policies,programmes and practiceEnglishOxford University Research Archive - ValetYoung Lives2013Dasgupta, AThe study examines the role of the largest public works program in the world-the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) - in buffering the negative effects of early childhood exposure to rainfall shocks on long-term health outcomes. Exploiting the spatial and temporal variation in NREGS coverage, the study estimates the extent to which nutritional shocks in early childhood can be offset by access to the policy. The study employs a unique identification strategy by integrating detailed administrative records of drought shock and phase-wise roll-out information of NREGS with a household level panel data-the Young Lives survey- conducted over three waves (2002, 2007 and 2009-10) in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Using individual fixed effects estimation the study finds that while the policy does not help correct for long term past health deficiencies it is useful in buffering recent drought shocks, which varies by policy relevant sub-groups. We find that an increase in 22 working days per household increases height-for-age by around 0.26 standard deviations which is bridging about half the rural-urban gap in average height for age score.We find the program is most effective for the case of lower educated households and scheduled castes, who are presumably more vulnerable in the face of climatic variability. Hence there is much room to reap in the indirect benefits of the program by ensuring food security issues of these households.
spellingShingle Ethnic minorities and ethnicity
Poverty
Children and youth
Evaluation of social policies,programmes and practice
Dasgupta, A
Can the major public works policy buffer negative shocks in early childhood? Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, India
title Can the major public works policy buffer negative shocks in early childhood? Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, India
title_full Can the major public works policy buffer negative shocks in early childhood? Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, India
title_fullStr Can the major public works policy buffer negative shocks in early childhood? Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, India
title_full_unstemmed Can the major public works policy buffer negative shocks in early childhood? Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, India
title_short Can the major public works policy buffer negative shocks in early childhood? Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, India
title_sort can the major public works policy buffer negative shocks in early childhood evidence from andhra pradesh india
topic Ethnic minorities and ethnicity
Poverty
Children and youth
Evaluation of social policies,programmes and practice
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