Research
Male Migration & Changing Roles for Women in Indian Agriculture
I examine the effects of male migration in rural India on women’s roles in agriculture – in terms of their participation in farm labor and farm decision-making. Using panel data and a Difference-in-Differences approach in combination with matching methods, I find that male migration leads to a 13% increase in the likelihood of having a female farm manager. Additionally, using Causal Mediation Analysis, I find that having a female farm manager mediates almost 30% of the overall negative effect of migration on farm profits.
Effect of Father's Migration on Children's Education & Labor in Rural India
Using cross-sectional data and Propensity Score Matching methods, I find positive effects of father's migration on child enrollment rates, child-specific educational expenditure and time spent on schooling/education. I find a modest reduction in child labor in external wage work; in cultivating households, I find a small but significant increase in child labor in own farm work and animal care. An increase in schooling time alongside greater labor in household production suggests that there could be time adjustments in other domains not captured by the data – for example, home chores & leisure time.
Effect of Remittances on Child Health in Rural India
I examine the effect of receiving remittances on the health of under-5 children in migrant-sending households in rural India (left-behind children). I use cross-sectional data and employ an Instrumental Variables (IV) strategy to account for the endogeneity of remittance receipts. I find that young children in remittance receiving households have higher weight-for-age and weight-for-height z-scores relative to under-5 children in non-recipient households. The improvement in health appears to be driven by: a reduction in the prevalence of diarrhea, and an increase in food expenditure on cereals, eggs, fish & meat.