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Authors: Rikhia Bhukta, Chandan Kumar Jha, Swarup Joshi, Ashish K. Sedai
Authors: Rikhia Bhukta, Chandan Kumar Jha, Swarup Joshi, Ashish K. Sedai
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Volume 231, March 2025, 106933
Multiple studies have shown that dowry payments are among the main causes of domestic violence in developing countries. This paper studies the effects of banking expansion on dowry payments and domestic violence in India. Using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design, we present robust evidence that financial inclusion brought about by banking expansion reduces dowry-related deaths and cruelty by husbands. We propose two primary mechanisms underlying this relationship. First, banking expansion enhances the ability of the bride's family to make higher cash payments and more wedding gifts to the groom's family at the time of marriage, often known as dowry. Second, banking expansion empowered women as reflected by better education outcomes for girls. Additionally, by enhancing the household's ability to make dowry payments and improving girls’ education outcomes, banking expansion led to better spouse quality as measured by their education and earnings, reducing the likelihood of domestic violence.
Private Sanitation and Psychosocial Health in Adolescent Girls
Authors: Ray Miller, Lackson D Mudenda, Ashish K Sedai, Lauren Vilims
The World Bank Economic Review, lhae049
The relationship between access to private sanitation facilities at home and psychosocial development is documented among adolescents aged 12 to 22 in India and Ethiopia. Obtaining access to private sanitation (flush toilets or pit latrines in the household) is associated with significantly higher self-efficacy and self-esteem for adolescent girls but not boys. Associations are stronger for girls who lived in communities with higher overall access to private sanitation, consistent with the hypothesis that relative access may matter more for psychosocial development than absolute access. There was also a significant correlation with improved peer relations for girls in early (age 12 to 15) but not late (age 19 to 22) adolescence. However, there is no evidence that results are operating through improved physical health or parent relationships.
Household Welfare Effects of ROSCAs
Authors: Pushkar Maitra, Ray Miller, Ashish Sedai
World Development, Volume 169, September 2023, 106287
We examine the effects of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) on household welfare in India. The identification strategy is based on household fixed effects and instrumental variables (using the geographic leave-one-out instrument). We find that ROSCA membership increases household assets, consumption, energy efficiency and school expenditure, but only in rural areas. Welfare effects are stronger for poorer households and for those living in communities with stronger social ties. We argue that the persistence and success of ROSCAs depends on social ties, which are often stronger in rural communities.
The Welfare Cost of Late-life Depression
Authors: Ray Miller, Sayorn Chin, Ashish Sedai
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 15-36, Volume 204, December 2022
Abstract
We quantify the welfare cost of depression among older Americans by estimating a panel VAR model of mental and physical health, labor supply, and consumption using data from the Health and Retirement Study. We use the estimated model and age sixty joint distribution of outcomes to simulate life-cycle paths with and without prevalence of depressive symptoms after age sixty. We estimate that the prevalence of late-life depression costs an average of between 0.85 and 2.1 years in quality-adjusted life expectancy per person. Moreover, depression may result in an average loss of labor supply of up to 1.1 months and lifetime consumption of up to $16,000. Combining into a single compensating variation welfare metric, we estimate a bound on the average welfare cost of depression of 8-15% of annual consumption after age sixty. On aggregate, this amounts to roughly $180-360 billion annually. We also project that while the average welfare cost of late-life depression is declining slightly over birth cohorts, the welfare burden is becoming significantly more unequal.
Opportunity costs of unpaid caregiving: Evidence from panel time diaries
Authors: Ray Miller, Ashish Sedai
Journal of Economics of Ageing, Volume 22, June 2022, 100386
We examine the association between unpaid adult and child caregiving by older Americans and time allocated to labor supply, home production, leisure, and personal care. After controlling for time-invariant heterogeneity using panel time diaries, we find that older caregivers reported reduced time allocated to each domain fairly evenly overall. However, women showed a stronger associated decline in personal care and labor supply while men showed stronger declines in time devoted to home production. Gendered differences are more pronounced with intensive and non-spousal care. Results highlight time–cost differentials that could be driving observed gender gaps in health and labor market outcomes among unpaid caregivers. The study also underscores the serious endogeneity concerns between caregiving and broader time allocation patterns and highlights the need for additional research to establish the causal effects of caregiving.
Authors: Ashish Sedai, Ramaa Vasudevan, Anita Alves Pena
Abstract
This study examines the effects of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) on women’s socio-economic freedom and autonomy at the national level in India. We compare ROSCAs to agency based micro-credit schemes and analyze their effects using nationally representative longitudinal gender-disaggregated data from 2005 to 2012. Building on a theoretical model of household savings and spousal bargaining power, we use individual fixed effects and instrumental variable regressions to test the theoretical predictions. Results show that ROSCA membership increases the likelihood of women’s cash in hand for expenditure by 1.7 percentage points, say in major purchase decisions by 3.9 percentage points and fertility choice by 4.7 percentage points. These margins exceed those for exogenous micro-credit schemes and are robust to sensitivity tests. This study is the first to contrast ROSCAs with other micro-credit schemes at the national level. We propose scaling up and associating longstanding ROSCAs with self-help groups for more inclusive development.
Does reliable electrification reduce gender differences? Evidence from India
Authors: Ashish Sedai, Ramaa Vasudevan, Anita Alves Pena, Ray Miller
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 185 (2021) 580–601
Abstract
This study examines the effect of reliability of electricity on gender differences in socio- economic status using a comprehensive set of labor and non-labor market outcomes in India. Using the temporal variation in household electricity hours from a large gender-disaggregated data set, we examine the effects of electricity reliability with individual fixed effects and instrumental variable regressions. Our analysis reveals contrasting trends with significant progress at the extensive margin of electricity access, but little progress at the intensive margin of reliability, hours of electricity. We find that reliable electrification im- proves the status of women relative to men through increased employment opportunities and reduced time allocation to home production. For instance, 10 more hours of electric- ity increases the likelihood of employment in the ‘usual status’ by 2.8 percentage points (pp) for men, and 4.2 pp for women. The analysis is robust to the use of piece-wise linear regression approaches, as well as alternate specifications of the outcome variables. The study recommends considering electricity as a right, and as part of the broader strategy for reducing gender disparities in India.
Flickering lifelines: Electrification and household welfare in India
Authors: Ashish Sedai, Rabindra Nepal, Tooraj Jamasb
Energy Economics 94 (2021) 104975
Abstract
This study moves beyond counting electrified households as the policy consensus on electrification and examines the effect of reliability of electricity on household's welfare in India. We analyse two household surveys covering the period from 2005 to 2018, and examine the effect of additional hours of electricity using panel fixed effects instrumental variables regressions. We focus on the intensive margins of deficiency, i.e. how additional hours of electricity in a day affects household's consumption expenditure, income, amenities, assets, borrowing and the status of poverty among others. Results show significant effects of an additional hour of electricity overall, especially among the poor households in rural India. The findings are robust to alternative ways of measuring household income, the use of alternative datasets to measure the effects on reliable electrification, as well as other robustness checks. The study recommends progressive pricing with targeted subsidies for the electrified households to increase household welfare while reducing the financial losses of the State Electricity Boards.
Electrification and welfare for the marginalized: Evidence from India
Authors: Ashish Sedai, Tooraj Jamasb, Rabindra Nepal, Ray Miller
Abstract
Uneven electrification can be a source of welfare disparity. Given the recent progress of electrification in India, we analyze the differences in access and reliability of electricity, and its impact on household welfare for marginalized and dominant social groups by caste and religion. We carry out longitudinal analysis from a national survey, 2005–2012, using OLS, fixed effects and panel instrumental variable regressions. Our analysis shows that marginalized groups (Hindu SC/ST and Muslims) had higher likelihood of electricity access compared to the dominant groups (Hindu forward castes and OBC). In terms of electricity reliability, in a period when the all households lost electricity hours, marginalized groups lost less electricity hours in a day as compared to dominant groups. Results showed that electrification enabled marginalized households to increase their consumption, assets and move out of poverty, but the effect was smaller as compared to dominant groups. Overall, the effects were more pronounced in rural areas. The findings are robust to alternative ways of measuring consumption, and other robustness checks. We posit that electrification increased household welfare of marginalized groups, but did not reduce absolute disparities among social groups.
Electrification and Socio-Economic Empowerment of Women in India
Authors: Ashish Sedai, Tooraj Jamasb, Rabindra Nepal
The Energy Journal
Abstract
This study moves beyond the consensus of counting electrified households as a measure of progress in gender energy parity. Using the India Human Development Survey (2012), we examine the effect of reliability of electrification on empowerment of women in terms of economic autonomy, agency, mobility and decision-making abilities, underscoring the labor market and respite effects of service reliability. We develop a comprehensive set of empowerment indices using principal component analysis and assess the causal effects of power outages on the indices with instrumental variable regressions while controlling for individual, household, district and caste characteristics. Results show that reliability of electricity has significant positive effects on all empowerment indices and improves women's labor market outcomes, however, the effects differ at the margin of deficiency, location, living standards and education. The study recommends policy focus on electrification from a gendered lens for cost-effective solutions.
Author: Ashish Sedai
Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 52, Issue No. 49, 09 Dec, 2017
Abstract
Abstract
This study empirically analyses the relationship between market imperfections and wage growth in the Indian manufacturing sector, underscoring rising inequality and unemployment in the sector. Using concentration indices, Kaleckian “mark-up,” and wage rate, relationships between market concentration, monopoly power, and wage growth are examined. A panel data analysis shows that the impact of market competition on industry wage structure is dialectical: firms with higher market power pay higher wages compared to competitors; however, if the market power translated into a monopoly position, then the company may resort to cost-cutting, leading to relatively decreasing wage growth. The panel regression shows that, other things held constant, fewer firms with prudential regulation for monopoly power would lead to higher wage growth.
Authors: Ashish Sedai
Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 54, Issue No. 44, 09 Nov, 2019
Abstract
The developed world faces a new bout of anxiety given the current status of technology development. To understand the anxiety, the historical perspective on the short- and long-run effects of technological progress on labour substitution, post the Great Depression, is traced. The present technological progress stands in contrast to what Keynes called the “Economic Possibilities” of technological unemployment. The probable policies for tackling contemporary issues of technological unemployment are discussed.
Working Research Papers
Digital Finance and Gendered Labor Reallocation
Rikhia Bhukta Sandhya Garg Ashish K. Sedai
Abstract
This study examines how digital financial services (DFS) drive labor reallocation in India, leveraging nationally representative data and a two-stage least squares approach. For men, DFS facilitates a shift from agricultural self-employment to formal wage employment. For women, it reduces unpaid labor, promoting entry into formal work and increasing financial autonomy through expanded access to banking, mobile money, and
the internet. Both genders experience increased time spent in paid work and earnings.
Our findings demonstrate the critical role of DFS in transforming labor markets and
advancing gender equity.
Who benefits from piped water in the house? Empirical evidence from a gendered analysis in India
Asian Development Bank Institute Working Paper Series
Author: Ashish Sedai
Abstract
The disproportionate burden of water collection and availability of clean water on women in developing economies calls for a study on the relationship between piped water supply and gender differences in employment and health. We use spatiotemporal data from the largest gender disaggregated human development survey in India, 2005-2012, and carry out econometric analyses using individual fixed effects, conditionally exogenous village fixed effects and instrumental variable regressions to study the effect of indoor piped drinking water (IPDW) on employment and earnings by gender, self-reported health of women, prevalence of diarrhea and absence from school for children. Results show that a 1 percent increase in village access to IPDW increases the likelihood of women's employment by 3.3 percentage points and wage salary employment by 3.9 percentage points, comparatively higher than men. Women's earning with IPDW increases by 9.9 percent annually, their health improves, child's health and education outcomes also improve. Our study recommends evaluating the social demand curve for piped water supply, and the consideration of piped water supply as a basic necessity as part of a broader strategy to reduce gender differences.
Are Autocracies Bad for the Environment: Evidence from two centuries of data
Authors: Apra Sinha, Ashish Sedai, Abhishek Kumar, Rabindra Nepal
Center for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Vol 24/2021, Australian National University, Working Paper Series
Abstract
This study examines the effects of the rule of law on carbon-dioxide emissions using a large sample of countries for over a century. In principle, the turning point of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) is compared for a range of countries lying between autocracy and democracy. Using decadal data for 220 years (1790-2010) and 150 countries, we use country fixed effects estimation technique to quantify the absolute and interactive effects of autocracy-democracy index on carbon-dioxide emissions. Results show that democracies emit less carbon-dioxide for one unit increase in per-capita income, leading to lower turning point and thus lower emission. The turning point in case of autocracies are more than twice of the turning point for democracies. Electoral autocracies have lower turning point in comparison to closed autocracies. Point estimates are robust to alternative estimation techniques and are not likely to be influenced by omitted variable biases. Strengthening rule enforcement and improving access to justice can be critical in decreasing carbon-dioxide emissions.
Why Care for the Unpaid Care in Nepal: A Capability Approach Analysis
Authors: Aashima Sinha, Ashish Sedai, Gunseli Barik
Abstract
Using data from the Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS)-III-2010/11 this paper examines the relationship between unpaid care work, which includes child and elderly care, and the capability deprivations of care provider in Nepal. We assess capabilities in terms of employment to earn a living, and ability to lead healthy lives. In turn, the adverse employment and health effects experienced by the care provider can result in wider compounding effects, contemporaneously and intergenerationally. OLS and Probit analysis/estimation that controls for district, caste, demographic, and socio-economic characteristics, shows that women have a higher likelihood of giving up employment and having a health problem when they spend an additional hour on caregiving per week, and these effects intensify beyond a threshold of five hours of care per week. The study draws attention of the policymakers to two adverse effects in the context of Nepal: first, unpaid care work within households has gender unequal effects on individual well-being and these can potentially contribute to lower economic growth rate and hinder achievement of human well-being/development.
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