Research

My JMP received the Best Graduate Student Paper Award 2023 from the MSU Asian Studies Center





Presenting JMP at the 4th SANEM-World Bank North American Discussion Forum in Washington DC in May 2023

Job Market Paper: High School Institution and Labor Market Discrimination in Bangladesh

Abstract: This paper presents experimental evidence of discrimination in the labor market for college graduates in Bangladesh, with a focus on their high school background—whether general or religious—using data from two consecutive field experiments. The study also investigates the presence (or absence) of discrimination based on gender and religious attire preferences. Additionally, the underlying nature of the discrimination against religious high school backgrounds is further explored. In the initial experiment, 3,248 fictitious resumes were submitted to 406 job postings, each with eight resumes featuring random variations in high school type, attire, and gender. Results show that college graduates with religious high school backgrounds received significantly fewer callbacks, and male candidates faced a higher degree of discrimination than their female counterparts. To elucidate whether the discrimination was driven by employers' taste-based preference or statistical considerations, a subsequent second-round experiment was implemented. This involves introducing a new set of eight fictitious resumes with random variations in high school background, gender, and resume quality (high vs. low). The hypothesis posits that if prevailing discrimination against religious high school background is statistical, it would progressively diminish for high-quality resumes. A total of 5,040 fictitious resumes were submitted to 630 job openings during this phase. The outcomes confirm a persistent pattern indicating that graduates with religious high school backgrounds face substantial discrimination. Moreover, the fact that the discrimination against religious high school backgrounds persists (even larger) for resumes perceived to possess higher productive qualities, poses a challenge to align the theory of statistical discrimination and suggests that discrimination is likely to be rooted in taste-based bias. While the overall findings indicate no significant gender-based discrimination, female candidates receive more callbacks for low-paying jobs and positions involving high client engagement.


Conference Presentations (*forthcoming):

Media Coverage: My job market paper garnered significant media attention following its presentation at the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Annual Meeting 2023 in Washington DC, which took place in July 2023. The study findings have been featured in over ten national dailies in Bangladesh and Turkey, in both English and local languages. This widespread coverage led to the publication of opinion articles discussing my study findings.

Published Papers

Published in Journal of Agricultural Economics- Input subsidies and crop diversity on family farms in Burkina Faso. 

Synopsis: We analyze the effects of both a fertilizer and a seed subsidy on farming households' land allocation among crops and crop diversity in Burkina Faso. Applying a correlated random-effects model with a control function approach to nationally representative, two-year panel data collected from farming households, we find that those with access to the fertilizer subsidy allocate more land to the crops it targets (rice, maize, and cotton) than non-targeted crops, negatively affects crop diversity. However, we find that the cowpea (a minor crop) seed subsidy along with the fertilizer subsidy offsets the bias of fertilizer subsidy toward fertilizer-targeted crops and enhances diversity.

Published in Health Management Policy & Innovation- Impact of State Incentives on COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake in the U.S.

Synopsis: This study presents evidence from a natural experiment on the effects of the U.S. state governments' announced incentives (i.e., cash, lottery/sweepstakes, or other non-financial incentives) for vaccination by twenty-six U.S. states in 2021 to attenuate vaccine hesitancy or reluctance. The research design is an event study assessing the changes in the daily state-level COVID-19 vaccination rates between April 19 and July 18. Estimates suggest that state daily vaccination rates increased marginally due to the announcement of financial incentives but not for non-financial incentives. Findings of this impact evaluation study of the vaccine incentive program suggest modest but insignificant effects of statewide incentives on COVID-19 vaccination efforts. 

Published in Development In Practice- The ‘fishnet approach’ to livelihood improvement in depressed basins: evidence from BRAC’s Integrated Development Programme.

Synopsis: The multidimensional nature of poverty renders comprehensive development efforts encompassing livelihoods, health, and education as well as communal support, essential for achieving equality in growth. This study analyses the impact of BRAC’s Integrated Development Programme (IDP) implemented in remote depressed basins in north-eastern Bangladesh. Using a geographic regression discontinuity design, we estimate the impact of the BRAC IDP on household asset holding, income, employment, internal migration, consumption, health-seeking behavior, welfare, sanitation and hygiene practice, savings and borrowing practice, social inclusion, and women empowerment. We found that Households within the intervened area are not only economically better off due to higher purchasing power, insurance against crisis as well as occupational diversity, but also have stronger social cohesion, especially among women. 

Working Papers

Synopsis: This study focuses on investigating the relative contributions of on-farm diversity of crops and livestock versus commercialization of crops & livestock to food security among farm households in Mali. To test our hypothesis, we employ a simultaneous equation model using data from the 2017 Living Standard Measurement Survey-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA). Preliminary findings indicate that on-farm crops and livestock diversity have a statistically significant positive impact on food security. However, we did not observe a strong association between crop/livestock commercialization and food security, which contrasts with existing literature on livestock and food security. Considering that the majority of farm households in Mali maintain subsistence-oriented practices and only a small fraction engage in selling their produce, the promotion of production diversity with market-based incentives at a regional scale emerges as a potentially effective policy tool to address food insecurity.

Synopsis: Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction- Targeting the Ultra Poor (CFPR-TUP) program of BRAC implements two interventions for the ultra-poor: a grant-based support package for specially targeted ultra-poor (STUP support package), and a credit plus grant support package for other (better off) targeted ultra-poor (OTUP support package). Using a difference-in-difference estimation technique, we evaluate the impact of a BRAC Targeting ultra-poor program that implements two intervention packages for poverty alleviation– a grant-based support package and a credit plus grant support package. It was observed that both the STUP and OTUP support packages increase self-employment, total labor supply, per capita income, consumption of high-value food products, and productive asset base of the ultra-poor. There is also evidence that these supports lead to additional non-food improvements, such as increased clothing and reduced domestic violence against women. 


Research in Progress

Synopsis: This study investigates the impacts of international workers’ remittances on education completion rates by using the panel data of developing countries from 1990 to 2018. Studies that examined the effects of remittances on education outcomes are plagued by endogeneity, which arises from the correlation between the remittance variable and the error term. The challenge of finding a valid instrumental variable makes it difficult to address the problem of endogeneity. To address the endogeneity of remittances, we use per capita real GDP, real interest rate, and the unemployment rate of remittance-sending developed countries (host or destination country) as an instrument to the volume of average per capita real remittances received by the remittance-receiving developing countries (home country). We find that remittance has a positive impact on education completion rates at primary, lower secondary, secondary, and tertiary levels in remittance-receiving developing countries. Findings also show that the inflow of remittances to the developing countries increases investment in girls’ education more than that of boys’ education. These findings are also consistent with the hypothesis that the relaxation of budget constraints by the inflow of remittances to poor households increases education investment in developing countries.

Technical Reports

Research Workshop participation                                                        

2023 Professional Development Session-How to Publish, MVEA Conference 2023

2015 Program Evaluation Techniques organized by IZA/DFID in Dhaka, Bangladesh

2015 Needs Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis, AFDI & ADB, Shanghai, China

2015 Measurement and Impact Evaluation, J-PAL South Asia, Dhaka, Bangladesh

2014 Quantitative Research Methodology, BRAC University, Bangladesh

2014 Understanding and Analyzing Financial Soundness Indicators, ADB, Dhaka, Bangladesh

2014 Think Qualitatively’ a training on Qualitative Research Methodology, organized by BRAC.

2014 Evaluating the Impact of Development Programs: Turning Promises into Evidence, World Bank.