Job Market Paper
Maternal Health Programs and the Continuation of Unintended Pregnancies
This paper examines how maternal and child health (MCH) programs influence fertility and the continuation of unintended pregnancies. I study a large-scale MCH program in India that offered cash incentives for institutional delivery and engaged community health workers, using a difference-in-differences design exploiting variation in eligibility across states. The program generated two distinct responses: fertility declined among older women, while younger women became more likely to carry unintended pregnancies to term, increasing unplanned births. Mechanism analysis shows that increased access to community health workers was a key driver of the rise in unplanned births. Further evidence points to two behavioral responses underlying this channel: women’s desired fertility declined more than men’s, creating spousal disagreement that often results in more unintended pregnancies being carried to term in male-dominated settings; and contact with health workers led to more negative attitudes toward abortion. These findings suggest that while MCH programs aim to improve maternal care, they can also shape post-conception decisions in unintended ways.
Working Papers
Hot Weather, Hot Tempers: the Impact of Heat Waves on Intimate Partenr Violence in Peru
This paper examines the causal relationship between heat waves and intimate partner violence (IPV), focusing on immediate responses to extreme temperature shocks. The findings reveal that heat waves increase IPV in Peru, with a more pronounced effect in urban areas. Two complementary pathways are identified: First, heat waves worsen male spouses' mental health in urban settings. Second, heat waves intensify community violence, fostering an environment where violent behaviors become more normalized. This normalization is accompanied by a shift in attitudes that make violence more acceptable, reinforcing the impact of heat waves on IPV. These findings highlight the significant impact of severe climate events on intra-household dynamics and underscore the need for targeted interventions for urban populations during heat waves.
Work in Progress
Climate Shocks and Farmers' Responses: Evidence from Indonesia (with Hyelim Son and Xing Xia)
This paper examines how Indonesian farmers respond to extreme temperature and rainfall shocks. Exploiting within-subdistrict variation over time, we find that both extreme temperatures and low monsoon rainfall reduce rural household expenditure. In response, households deplete both productive and liquid assets. Paradoxically, adverse climate shocks increase agricultural labor intensity. Low rainfall leads to more hours worked in agriculture and fewer in non-agricultural sectors, particularly among rice-farming men and in irrigated areas. In contrast, high rainfall reduces agricultural labor and increases non-agricultural work. Temperature shocks are associated with some increases in agricultural work hours and do not lead to meaningful shifts into non-agricultural work. Our findings suggest that rural households are better equipped to adjust to rainfall variability --- likely due to existing irrigation infrastructure --- than to rising temperatures, which remain difficult to mitigate.
Violence and Child Marriage in Northern Nigeria (with Isabelle Cohen)
This study examines how adolescent exposure to armed conflict influences marriage timing in Northern Nigeria. Leveraging novel individual-level survey data—collected in 2022 among married girls aged 16 to 22 in Kaduna State—and geocoded conflict data from ACLED, we estimate the effect of conflict exposure during adolescence on early marriage. Girls exposed to violence near typical marriage ages are significantly more likely to marry early. Disruptions to education appear to be a key mechanism: conflict-exposed girls complete fewer years of schooling, suggesting that families may substitute early marriage for continued education in insecure environments. Conflict exposure also increases early fertility and the likelihood of polygynous unions. These findings highlight how localized violence can shift life-cycle decisions, contributing to the literature on early marriage, human capital, and the long-run impacts of conflict.