Working Paper
Interethnic Proximity, Complementarities, and Politics in Malaysia (joint with Gedeon Lim, Danial Shariat, Abu Siddique, and Shunsuke Tsuda)
We exploit a British colonial resettlement policy in Malaysia (1948-1951) - which forcibly relocated over half a million ethnic minority Chinese into segregated "Chinese New Villages" (CNVs) - along with fine-grained spatial variation to examine how persistent interethnic proximity affects the political identity of ethnic majority Malays and long-run economic development. Malays residing in polling districts closer to CNVs exhibit lower electoral support for the ruling ethno-nationalist coalition, potentially reflecting a moderation of ethno-nationalistic political identity. We also find significant impacts on contemporary local economic development. The political effects are stronger in regions with historical interethnic complementarities, indicating that initial economic interdependence has had lasting consequences. Novel, in-person, primary survey data further reveal that Malays living near CNVs report greater contact with Chinese minorities, higher trust, weaker zero-sum mindsets, and higher income and wealth. These findings suggest that persistent intergroup contact and economic complementarities can jointly underpin political moderation and local development.
Previous Version: SSRN, SoDa Labotarories Working Paper Series, VoxDev
Gender and Religion: A Survey (joint with Sascha O. Becker and Jeanet Sinding Bentzen)
This paper provides a survey of the literature on gender differences in religiosity and the influence of religion on gender-related economic and social outcomes. Part I examines why women tend to be more religious than men, discussing central explanations. Part II explores how religion impacts various gender-related outcomes, such as gender norms and attitudes, education, labor market participation, fertility, health, legal institutions and reforms, and discrimination. Within each domain, we distinguish between effects driven by individual religiosity (intensity of religious practice or belief) and those driven by their religious denomination. We synthesize findings from numerous studies, highlighting data source, measures of religion and gender outcomes, and empirical strategies. We focus on studies with credible causal identification - to uncover the impact of religion on outcomes. Correlational studies are also reviewed to provide context. Across studies, the evidence suggests that religious teachings and participation often reinforce traditional gender roles, affecting women's education, labor force participation, and fertility choices, although there are important nuances and exceptions. We also document instances where secular reforms or religious movements have altered these outcomes. The survey concludes by identifying gaps in the literature and suggesting directions for future research. An important take-away from our review is that rigorous empirical studies are scarce, leaving room for novel causal studies in the field.
Work In Progress
Tapping into Childhood: Rubber Booms and Child Labor in Malaysia (joint with Kaveendra Vasuthevan) [New! Draft available upon request]
We study the relationship between global rubber booms and child labor in Malaysia. We exploit fluctuations in international rubber prices combined with spatial variation in colonial-era rubber estates across districts between 1940-1983. Using a difference-in-differences design, we show robust evidence that higher world rubber prices significantly increased the incidence of child labor. Rising opportunity costs of schooling is an important mechanism. We document that the effect is stronger among older children than younger children and that higher rubber prices led to higher dropout and lower school enrollment rates. We explore long-term impact of rubber booms and show that childhood exposure to rubber booms is associated with lower wages during adulthood. The results contribute to the debates on the distributional effects of export-led growth in a rapidly-growing developing country.
Inter-ethnic Proximity and Competition in Southeast Asia (joint with Gedeon Lim, Abu Siddique, and Shunsuke Tsuda) [In the field]
Nation building is crucial for economic development. Doing so, however, is particularly challenging for ethnically diverse nation-states (Alesina and Zhuvarskaya 2011). In this project, we focus on one aspect -- the extent to which nation building efforts are shaped by (the lack of) macro-level contact across ethnic groups and the attendant, downstream impacts on inter-ethnic political and economic competition. A crucial problem is that individuals usually have a choice over where they live, and, by extension, whom they interact with. We circumvent this by studying a large-scale colonial resettlement program that created 550 mono-ethnic villages; many of which still exist today. Plausibly exogenous placement of these villages offers us persistent inter-village variation in ethnic proximity and contact. Using this variation, we study long-run effects on inter-ethnic competition and national identity. To do so, we have secured funding to conduct an original, large-scale, in-person, retrospective survey. The final survey will measure, amongst others, inter-ethnic contact rates and attitudes.
Using Religion to Ensure Mental Health in Ghana (joint with Anthony Amoah, Prachi Jain, and Amma Panin)
Forged in Uniform: Napoleonic Conscription and the Foundations of the Italian State (joint with Marco Lecci) [Exploration stage]
Language, Nation-building, and Economic Development: Evidence from Indonesia (joint with Arya Gaduh and Gedeon Lim)