This paper tests, using data from South Africa and Pakistan, two major implications of the unitar... more This paper tests, using data from South Africa and Pakistan, two major implications of the unitary household model, namely, that (a) each individual pools the various components of her/his non labour earnings, and (b) men and women pool their non labour earnings between themselves. The study uses a three stage least squares procedure that, besides recognising the endogeneity of all the income variables, allows for simultaneity between all the income and expenditure equations. The study finds that men and women are much less likely to pool their transfer receipts than other types of income. This paper, also, investigates the crowding out of private transfers by public transfers in both countries. While it finds no crowding out in Pakistan, it reports strong evidence of such crowding out in South Africa in 1993/94 and that too for the poor but not the non poor households. However, the negative impact of social pensions on private transfers in South Africa seems to have weakened over 1993-98. This study also finds that, in 1993/94 though not in 1998, social pensions had a negative impact on earned income of members, especially of females, in the household. The social pensions scheme in South Africa, as prevailing in 1993/94, was not as generous towards black households or as redistributive towards the poor, as commonly believed. However, the pensions scheme seems to have changed in both these respects over 1993-98.
This paper examines the effects of individual, household and community characteristics on two asp... more This paper examines the effects of individual, household and community characteristics on two aspects of fertility among South African women the age at first conception and the number of pregnancies. We find that education has a significant effect in pushing back the age at first conception and in reducing the number of pregnancies. There is a thresh-hold level of education
The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2013
Using a unique dataset from Australia, we investigate how individual fertility preferences transl... more Using a unique dataset from Australia, we investigate how individual fertility preferences translate into fertility realizations. We find consistent evidence that the wife’s preference is more important than the husband’s preference in predicting subsequent births, no matter whether her initial fertility desire is higher or lower than that of her partner. We also explore the effects of the introduction of the non-means-tested Baby Bonus introduced in 2004 by testing whether the hypothesis that the cash transfers from the scheme increase the bargaining power of the partner with higher fertility desire, thus leading to an increase in fertility for couples with disagreement on fertility plans. Our findings do not support this hypothesis. They also do not suggest any significant fertility-enhancing effect of the scheme.
This paper examines the effect of parental, household and community characteristics on the health... more This paper examines the effect of parental, household and community characteristics on the health of children in China. We find that birth order, death of elder siblings, use of prenatal care and alcohol consumption by the mother when pregnant have statistically significant effects on the health of children. Although parental education does not have a significant direct effect on child health, it does affect mothers' behavior during pregnancy and influences the use of health inputs, indirectly impacting the health of children. The research findings have important implications for both family planning programs and broader social policies in China.
Obesity is a major risk factor for several diseases including diabetes, heart disease and stroke.... more Obesity is a major risk factor for several diseases including diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Increasing rates of obesity internationally are set to cost health systems increasing resources. In the US a conservative estimate puts resources already spent on obesity at $120 billion annually. Given scarce health care resources it is important that categorisation of the overweight and obese is
This paper investigates, on South African data, the impact of alternative resource inflows on hou... more This paper investigates, on South African data, the impact of alternative resource inflows on household expenditure using a framework that allows the resource inflows and expenditure to be determined simultaneously. This study, also, provides South African evidence on the impact of resource inflows on household size and composition. The results on panel data provide evidence of fluidity of household structure, and point to new hypotheses on the effects of household resources on household composition.
conducted useful analysis and provided insights from a field study of relations between agents an... more conducted useful analysis and provided insights from a field study of relations between agents and borrowers in the study. We thank Xavier Gine, Albert Park, Russell Toth, Bruce Wydick and a large number of seminar and conference participants for helpful comments on previous and related versions. Internal review board clearance was received ABSTRACT Recent evaluations of traditional microfinance loans have found no significant impacts on borrower incomes or productive activities. We examine whether this can be remedied by (a) modifying loan features to facilitate financing of working capital needs of farmers, and (b) delegating selection of borrowers for individual liability loans to local trader-lender agents incentivized by repayment-based commissions. We conduct a field experiment in West Bengal where this design (called TRAIL) was offered in randomly selected villages. In remaining villages a more traditional design (called GBL) was offered, wherein five-member groups applied for joint liability loans with terms otherwise similar to TRAIL loans. TRAIL loans increased cultivation of potatoes (the major cash crop in the region) and farm incomes by 17-21%, whereas GBL loans had insignificant and highly dispersed effects. We argue this was because TRAIL agents selected borrowers that were low-risk and highly productive, whereas the GBL scheme attracted farmers that were riskier on average and highly heterogeneous in terms of productivity. TRAIL loans also achieved higher repayment and take-up rates, and lower administrative costs.
This paper tests, using data from South Africa and Pakistan, two major implications of the unitar... more This paper tests, using data from South Africa and Pakistan, two major implications of the unitary household model, namely, that (a) each individual pools the various components of her/his non labour earnings, and (b) men and women pool their non labour earnings between themselves. The study uses a three stage least squares procedure that, besides recognising the endogeneity of all the income variables, allows for simultaneity between all the income and expenditure equations. The study finds that men and women are much less likely to pool their transfer receipts than other types of income. This paper, also, investigates the crowding out of private transfers by public transfers in both countries. While it finds no crowding out in Pakistan, it reports strong evidence of such crowding out in South Africa in 1993/94 and that too for the poor but not the non poor households. However, the negative impact of social pensions on private transfers in South Africa seems to have weakened over 1993-98. This study also finds that, in 1993/94 though not in 1998, social pensions had a negative impact on earned income of members, especially of females, in the household. The social pensions scheme in South Africa, as prevailing in 1993/94, was not as generous towards black households or as redistributive towards the poor, as commonly believed. However, the pensions scheme seems to have changed in both these respects over 1993-98.
The International Obesity Taskforce calls obesity one of the most important medical and public he... more The International Obesity Taskforce calls obesity one of the most important medical and public health problems of our time. An estimated 1 billion people around the world are over weight, of whom around 300 million are clinically obese. Estimates suggest that obesity levels will continue to rise in the early 21st century - with severe health consequences in the absence
It has been argued that one of the reasons for the uneven distributional eects of the high rates ... more It has been argued that one of the reasons for the uneven distributional eects of the high rates of economic growth in India has been the lack of mobility of the Indian population. In this paper we use a nationally representative data set from India to examine one aspect of mobility: that of educational attainment across generations. Specically, we examine
... and Pushkar Maitra Department of Economics Monash University Clayton Campus VIC 3168 Australi... more ... and Pushkar Maitra Department of Economics Monash University Clayton Campus VIC 3168 Australia [email protected] Abstract ... Alston, Dutta & Nugent (1984) discuss crop sharing in 19th century cotton production in the US. ...
This paper examines the effects of individual, household and community characteristics on two asp... more This paper examines the effects of individual, household and community characteristics on two aspects of fertility among South African women the age at first conception and the number of pregnancies. We find that education has a significant effect in pushing back the age at first conception and in reducing the number of pregnancies. There is a thresh-hold level of education
This paper tests, using data from South Africa and Pakistan, two major implications of the unitar... more This paper tests, using data from South Africa and Pakistan, two major implications of the unitary household model, namely, that (a) each individual pools the various components of her/his non labour earnings, and (b) men and women pool their non labour earnings between themselves. The study uses a three stage least squares procedure that, besides recognising the endogeneity of all the income variables, allows for simultaneity between all the income and expenditure equations. The study finds that men and women are much less likely to pool their transfer receipts than other types of income. This paper, also, investigates the crowding out of private transfers by public transfers in both countries. While it finds no crowding out in Pakistan, it reports strong evidence of such crowding out in South Africa in 1993/94 and that too for the poor but not the non poor households. However, the negative impact of social pensions on private transfers in South Africa seems to have weakened over 1993-98. This study also finds that, in 1993/94 though not in 1998, social pensions had a negative impact on earned income of members, especially of females, in the household. The social pensions scheme in South Africa, as prevailing in 1993/94, was not as generous towards black households or as redistributive towards the poor, as commonly believed. However, the pensions scheme seems to have changed in both these respects over 1993-98.
This paper examines the effects of individual, household and community characteristics on two asp... more This paper examines the effects of individual, household and community characteristics on two aspects of fertility among South African women the age at first conception and the number of pregnancies. We find that education has a significant effect in pushing back the age at first conception and in reducing the number of pregnancies. There is a thresh-hold level of education
The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2013
Using a unique dataset from Australia, we investigate how individual fertility preferences transl... more Using a unique dataset from Australia, we investigate how individual fertility preferences translate into fertility realizations. We find consistent evidence that the wife’s preference is more important than the husband’s preference in predicting subsequent births, no matter whether her initial fertility desire is higher or lower than that of her partner. We also explore the effects of the introduction of the non-means-tested Baby Bonus introduced in 2004 by testing whether the hypothesis that the cash transfers from the scheme increase the bargaining power of the partner with higher fertility desire, thus leading to an increase in fertility for couples with disagreement on fertility plans. Our findings do not support this hypothesis. They also do not suggest any significant fertility-enhancing effect of the scheme.
This paper examines the effect of parental, household and community characteristics on the health... more This paper examines the effect of parental, household and community characteristics on the health of children in China. We find that birth order, death of elder siblings, use of prenatal care and alcohol consumption by the mother when pregnant have statistically significant effects on the health of children. Although parental education does not have a significant direct effect on child health, it does affect mothers' behavior during pregnancy and influences the use of health inputs, indirectly impacting the health of children. The research findings have important implications for both family planning programs and broader social policies in China.
Obesity is a major risk factor for several diseases including diabetes, heart disease and stroke.... more Obesity is a major risk factor for several diseases including diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Increasing rates of obesity internationally are set to cost health systems increasing resources. In the US a conservative estimate puts resources already spent on obesity at $120 billion annually. Given scarce health care resources it is important that categorisation of the overweight and obese is
This paper investigates, on South African data, the impact of alternative resource inflows on hou... more This paper investigates, on South African data, the impact of alternative resource inflows on household expenditure using a framework that allows the resource inflows and expenditure to be determined simultaneously. This study, also, provides South African evidence on the impact of resource inflows on household size and composition. The results on panel data provide evidence of fluidity of household structure, and point to new hypotheses on the effects of household resources on household composition.
conducted useful analysis and provided insights from a field study of relations between agents an... more conducted useful analysis and provided insights from a field study of relations between agents and borrowers in the study. We thank Xavier Gine, Albert Park, Russell Toth, Bruce Wydick and a large number of seminar and conference participants for helpful comments on previous and related versions. Internal review board clearance was received ABSTRACT Recent evaluations of traditional microfinance loans have found no significant impacts on borrower incomes or productive activities. We examine whether this can be remedied by (a) modifying loan features to facilitate financing of working capital needs of farmers, and (b) delegating selection of borrowers for individual liability loans to local trader-lender agents incentivized by repayment-based commissions. We conduct a field experiment in West Bengal where this design (called TRAIL) was offered in randomly selected villages. In remaining villages a more traditional design (called GBL) was offered, wherein five-member groups applied for joint liability loans with terms otherwise similar to TRAIL loans. TRAIL loans increased cultivation of potatoes (the major cash crop in the region) and farm incomes by 17-21%, whereas GBL loans had insignificant and highly dispersed effects. We argue this was because TRAIL agents selected borrowers that were low-risk and highly productive, whereas the GBL scheme attracted farmers that were riskier on average and highly heterogeneous in terms of productivity. TRAIL loans also achieved higher repayment and take-up rates, and lower administrative costs.
This paper tests, using data from South Africa and Pakistan, two major implications of the unitar... more This paper tests, using data from South Africa and Pakistan, two major implications of the unitary household model, namely, that (a) each individual pools the various components of her/his non labour earnings, and (b) men and women pool their non labour earnings between themselves. The study uses a three stage least squares procedure that, besides recognising the endogeneity of all the income variables, allows for simultaneity between all the income and expenditure equations. The study finds that men and women are much less likely to pool their transfer receipts than other types of income. This paper, also, investigates the crowding out of private transfers by public transfers in both countries. While it finds no crowding out in Pakistan, it reports strong evidence of such crowding out in South Africa in 1993/94 and that too for the poor but not the non poor households. However, the negative impact of social pensions on private transfers in South Africa seems to have weakened over 1993-98. This study also finds that, in 1993/94 though not in 1998, social pensions had a negative impact on earned income of members, especially of females, in the household. The social pensions scheme in South Africa, as prevailing in 1993/94, was not as generous towards black households or as redistributive towards the poor, as commonly believed. However, the pensions scheme seems to have changed in both these respects over 1993-98.
The International Obesity Taskforce calls obesity one of the most important medical and public he... more The International Obesity Taskforce calls obesity one of the most important medical and public health problems of our time. An estimated 1 billion people around the world are over weight, of whom around 300 million are clinically obese. Estimates suggest that obesity levels will continue to rise in the early 21st century - with severe health consequences in the absence
It has been argued that one of the reasons for the uneven distributional eects of the high rates ... more It has been argued that one of the reasons for the uneven distributional eects of the high rates of economic growth in India has been the lack of mobility of the Indian population. In this paper we use a nationally representative data set from India to examine one aspect of mobility: that of educational attainment across generations. Specically, we examine
... and Pushkar Maitra Department of Economics Monash University Clayton Campus VIC 3168 Australi... more ... and Pushkar Maitra Department of Economics Monash University Clayton Campus VIC 3168 Australia [email protected] Abstract ... Alston, Dutta & Nugent (1984) discuss crop sharing in 19th century cotton production in the US. ...
This paper examines the effects of individual, household and community characteristics on two asp... more This paper examines the effects of individual, household and community characteristics on two aspects of fertility among South African women the age at first conception and the number of pregnancies. We find that education has a significant effect in pushing back the age at first conception and in reducing the number of pregnancies. There is a thresh-hold level of education
Abstract: This paper combines unique experimental and survey data to examine the determinants of ... more Abstract: This paper combines unique experimental and survey data to examine the determinants of self-selection into a training program. Women residing in selected disadvantaged areas in New Delhi, India were invited to apply for a six-month long subsidized training program in stitching and tailoring. A random subset of applicants and non-applicants to the training program were invited to participate in an artefactual field experiment and in a detailed socio-economic survey.
Uploads
Papers by Pushkar Maitra