Works in progress
Institutional Reforms and Child Health: Unintended Effects of the Sharia Penal Codes in Nigeria
The complex relationship between religious institutions, legal frameworks, and human development outcomes is a fundamental economic question with significant policy implications. This paper investigates how the Sharia Penal Codes, implemented in northern Nigeria in 2000 to reinforce religious and social norms, impacted child health outcomes. Using data from the Demographic and Health Survey, I find that the reform led to significant and substantial declines in child anthropometric measures by 0.234 to 0.293 standard deviations, or 13%–50% of the average non-affected child. These results are predominantly driven by negative spillover effects among non-Muslim minorities. A theoretical model of household decision making under religious law enforcement predicts these divergent effects arise from cultural dynamics. This is supported by empirical evidence: among Muslims, the reform created conflicting parental goals—balancing child-rearing costs against future support expectations from sons—that ultimately neutralized its impact. For non-Muslims, heightened institutional discrimination in low-penalty states led to reduced childcare investment and poorer health outcomes, while high-penalty states showed no such discrimination, allowing investment and child health levels comparable to those of Muslims.
Feeding Fairly: Gendered Nutrition Interventions and Intra-Household Norms in Uganda. With Teresa Molina-Millàn, Emily Ouma, and Nils Teufil
Malnutrition is pervasive in Uganda, with approximately 30% of children experiencing stunted growth. This is partly driven by limited knowledge of proper nutrition and social norms that restrict the consumption of certain foods among vulnerable groups. This paper evaluates a randomized intervention combining gender-differentiated nutrition campaigns with a social norms component to improve dietary outcomes for women and children. We find that involving both spouses increases nutritional knowledge for men and women, with larger gains among men. Adding the social norms module significantly reduces adherence to conservative food norms—particularly among men—and increases reported pro-child food distribution. The combined intervention leads to substantial improvements in dietary diversity and consumption of ASFs for women and children, relative to both the wife-only and couple-only information campaigns. These effects are not driven by increased food expenditures but by changes in intra-household allocation and reduced spending on meals consumed outside the home.
Social Norms Under Observation: Gendered Bias in Household Survey Responses
This paper studies enumerator effects in survey responses and intervention outcomes. Using a fully interpenetrated survey design with randomized assignment of enumerators to approximately 2,400 respondents in rural Uganda, I causally identify enumerator effects in both measurement and treatment effectiveness. I find three key results: First, enumerator effects vary systematically with question type, with minimal impact on objective measures (R-square of 0%-10%) but substantial influence on sensitive topics like household activities, social norms, and dietary taboos (R-square of 5%-30%). Second, gender matching produces asymmetric effects, with male-male pairs reporting more conservative attitudes while female-female pairs express more progressive views. Third, enumerator-respondent gender dynamics significantly moderate intervention effectiveness, with male respondents interviewed by male enumerators showing a 47 percentage point reduction in nutrition intervention benefits compared to those interviewed by females. Through a novel priming experiment, I demonstrate these patterns reflect a "female interviewer'' effect mechanism. These findings challenge conventional approaches to gender matching in surveys and have significant implications for both research methodology and policy evaluation in development contexts.