Publications
Household behaviour in times of political change: Evidence from Egypt. 2019. World Development. Vol. 113, pp. 259-276 (with Yvonne Giesing)
Abstract: Using representative household survey data, we study the short-term effects of the 2011 Egyptian uprisings on household behaviour in terms of education and health expenditure as well as savings. We construct a measure of political instability by analysing the number of fatalities during political protests throughout the country. Difference-in-Difference estimations show that affected households increased spending on education, especially on their sons’ higher education. The increase in education expenditure is particularly prominent in areas where households were in favour of a regime change. We argue that after the fall of Mubarak those households had a positive outlook towards the future, with better labour market prospects, and therefore invested more in their sons’ education. At the same time, households decreased spending on health and increased savings, which can be interpreted as precautionary behaviour. Our results are robust to placebo tests, excluding Cairo, spillovers and alternative ways of measuring political instability.
Working papers
Active Conflict and Access to Education : Evidence from a Series of Conflict-Related Shocks in the Republic of Yemen. (with Safa Almoayad, Eliana Favari, Samira Halabi, Siddharth Krishnaswamy, and Sharad Tandon)
Abstract: Using a high-frequency survey in the Republic of Yemen, this paper demonstrates how school attendance responds to a series of conflict-related shocks. First, there are plausibly exogenous changes in violence that have limited impacts on school attendance but do affect other dimensions of well-being. And second, consequences of conflict aside from living in close proximity to violence can impact attendance. The importance of a wide variety of conflict shocks suggests that an understanding of all shocks is needed before attributing the cause of attendance changes in such tumultuous settings, and these results have implications for the delivery of education assistance in conflict settings.
Critical ages and the long-run effects of natural disaster on children's education and health: Evidence from Indonesia. (with Jérémie Gignoux and Marta Menéndez)
Abstract: This paper analyses the effect of earthquake exposure that occurred in Indonesia since 1985 on children's human capital outcomes over the life cycle. We exploit the quasi- random spatial and temporal nature of earthquakes occurrence and rely on individual-level panel data from large-scale household surveys, combined with precise measures of local ground tremors obtained from a US Geological Survey database. The main finding is that children affected by an earthquake before the age of 5 complete on average 0.7 years less schooling. Overall, boys are more at disadvantage in all analysed education outcomes including cognitive skills. Results also suggest that affected boys are more likely to engage in child labour. Affected girls on the other hand exhibit significantly lower health outcomes following an earthquake.
Love thy neighbour? Ethnic favouritism and social cohesion in Indonesia. 2018.
Abstract: The paper analyses the effects of ethnic favouritism on social cohesion. Ethnic favouritism refers to a situation where co-ethnics receive a disproportionate share of resources when members of their ethnic group control the local government - a phenomenon that is prevalent in many countries. This paper addresses two empirical questions: At household level, is there any evidence of ethnic favouritism in the allocation of post-disaster relief transfers? And if so, how does this type of ethnic favouritism affect trust levels in communities? Using household panel data, the analysis draws on a quasi-natural experiment with an unexpected inflow of post-disaster aid to Indonesian communities that have been affected by a natural disaster. Results show that co-ethnic households are more likely to receive post-disaster relief transfers than households that were equally affected by a natural disaster, but do not share the same ethnicity as the community leader. Results also indicate that trust levels towards other ethnicities are lower in areas where ethnic favouritism prevails while general trust levels remain unaffected.
Work in progress:
- Do skills needs differ in high-growth sectors? Evidence from middle-income countries.
- The effects of Indonesia's decentralization on education outcomes.
- Being first: Analyzing study choices of first-generation university students in European countries.