Publications:
The Intergenerational Effects of Marital Transfers: Evidence from India [with Sounak Thakur] (Forthcoming, Journal of Human Resources, (ABDC Journal ranking A*))
We study the intergenerational effects of marital transfers in India. We use exogenous variation in dowry amounts induced by stronger anti-dowry laws introduced in 1985. The new legal regime reduced dowries substantially and increased domestic violence against women. We find that children born to mothers exposed to the reform have a 0.24 standard deviation lower height-for-age z-score and about 0.41 fewer years of completed schooling. These results are plausibly driven by increased domestic violence against mothers and lower household wealth on account of reduced dowries.
Link to SSRN Working Paper (Old Version)
Link to Journal Pre-Print DOI : https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.1022-12589R1
Completed Working Papers:
Fertility Outcomes and Parental Well-being in Later Life: Evidence from India [with Sounak Thakur and Esha Chatterjee] (R&R, Journal of Development Economics, (ABDC Journal ranking A*))
We study the effect of fertility outcomes on parental well-being in post-reproductive ages. The context is India, where the gender of the firstborn is plausibly random, and parents with firstborn daughters end up having more daughters. For both women and men, we find that having a firstborn daughter leads to lower subjective life satisfaction and a greater chance of labor force participation in their post-reproductive years. These results are plausibly driven by greater financial stress associated with marrying off daughters, and, for women, by the long-term effects of abortion and lower autonomy in households with firstborn daughters.
Crimes against Women and Migration: Evidence from India [with Sounak Thakur]
Barriers to migration lead to intersectoral misallocation of labor in developing countries. We provide novel evidence that parental concerns about daughters being potential victims of sexual crimes act as a barrier to temporary migration for adult males. Families with firstborn daughters end up having more daughters, and are 20% less likely to have an out-migrant. We provide evidence that this is driven by the imperative to have male members around to protect daughters. Our results suggest that improved law and order and more security for women may improve eciency of intersectoral allocation, and increase GDP.
Work in Progress:
The Cost of Gender Preferences: Impact on Household Debt and Child Outcomes in India (with Gargi Sarkar, Sarani Saha and Sounak Thakur)
Precautionary Guidelines, Lifestyle Changes and Geriatric Health: A proposed Randomized Controlled Trial in India (with Debayan Pakrashi, Sounak Thakur and Mahamitra Das)
Debt, Fertility and Weather Shocks: Evidence from India (with Sounak Thakur and Sujaya Sircar)
What She Leaves Behind? Dowry and Welfare at Bride's Natal Home in India (with Pragati)