Published Work

Brown, Caitlin, Martin Ravallion, and Dominique van de Walle. (2019). Most of Africa's Nutritionally-Deprived Women and Children are Not Found in Poor Households  Review of Economics and Statistics, 101(4): 631-644

Previous versions: NBER Working Paper No. 24047, World Bank Policy Research Paper No. 8001

Brown, Caitlin, Martin Ravallion, and Dominique van de Walle. (2018). A Poor Means Test? On Econometric Targeting in Africa  Journal of Development Economics, 134, 109-124

Previous versions: NBER Working Paper No. 22919, World Bank Policy Research Paper No. 7915

Press: 

Informational Constraints on Anti-poverty Programmes: Evidence for Africa voxeu.org 

World Bank Development Impact Blog 

Reaching Poor People: Sobering Evidence from Africa Shows How Hard it is to Target Anti-Poverty Efforts Well Finance & Development, December 2017 

Current Research

Sharing the Pie: Undernutrition, Intra-household Allocation, and Poverty with Rossella Calvi and Jacob Penglase

Abstract: Anti-poverty policies often assume that targeting poor households is effective in reaching poor individuals. However, intra-household inequality may mean many poor individuals reside in non-poor households. Using Bangladeshi data, we show that undernourished individuals are spread across the household per- capita expenditure distribution. We the quantify the extent of food and total consumption inequality within families. Based on a collective model, we develop a new methodology to compute individual-level poverty rates that account for intra-household inequality. We show that women, children, and the elderly face significant probabilities of living in poverty even in households with per-capita expenditure above the poverty threshold. 

Headship and Poverty in Africa with Dominique van de Walle

Abstract: While female-headed households (FHHs) are often compared to male-headed households (MHHs) in terms of living standards, there are some conceptual problems in making such comparisons. We focus on two issues that confound measurement: i) demographic heterogeneity and ii) the head’s marital status. FHHs tend to have higher household per capita expenditures than MHHs, though there is substantial variation both within and across sub- regions. However, even a modest adjustment for economies of scale changes the poverty comparisons, with FHHs faring significantly worse overall in East, Central, and Southern Africa. Marital status is also key, with the households of female heads in all categories except married poorer than their male-headed counterparts. Taking the head’s marital status and the household’s demographics into account is critical to the association between female headship and outcomes. 

Conflict and Trust in Institutions: The Sudanese Experience  with Cristina Corduneanu-Huci

Abstract: This paper investigates how exposure to different types of conflict affects public trust in autocratic institutions. Using a unique dataset from Sudan that spans a time period involving substantial unrest and fighting across the country, we present causal estimates of the impact conflict has on trust in a range of institutions. On average, battles that involve government forces fighting against rebels or militia increase trust in political institutions such as the government and parliament. On the other hand, remote violence, protests and riots, and violence against citizens weaken trust in institutions. We show that these effects differ by geographic region, political affiliation, and socio-economic status. An instrumental variables strategy based on temperature at the time of conflict reveals these results are robust to potential reverse causality. These findings have important implications for understanding regime vulnerability in non-democracies that rely on depleting or disappearing natural resource rents. 

Social Effects and Schooling in Rural India

Abstract: While efforts to promote schooling in poor families have tended to focus more on individualized parental incentives, social effects may play an important role. This paper investigates whether these effects matter in the school enrollment decisions of rural Indian households. Two social effects are considered: a peer effect and a 'role model' effect, whereby mothers of a child's peer group can influence his or her enrollment. Role model effects are found to be negligible. An instrumental variables strategy using average peer mother education and village-level fixed effects is used to identify the peer effect. Peers are found to significantly influence child enrollment: on average, a one percent increase in peer enrollment increases the probability of a school-aged child enrolling by 0.22 percent. The magnitude of the effect varies by caste group, as well as by age and gender. Peer enrollment is also found to positively influence the number of hours per day spent studying, and negatively influence the amount of time spent on farm work, household chores and leisure activities. 

Work in Progress

"Political Reservations as Term-Limits: Evidence from India" with Nishtha Kochhar and Garance Genicot 

"Inequality and Growth in Québec: Using Machine Learning and Satellite Imagery to Identify Local-Level Effects" with Vasia Panousi