23 research outputs found
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Where Local Kings Rule: Long-Term Impacts of Precolonial Institutions and Geography on Access to Public Infrastructure Services in Nigeria
Although previous works have discussed the benefits of precolonial centralization for development in Africa, the findings and the mechanisms provided do not explain the heterogeneity in access to public services of formerly centralized states. Using new survey data from Nigeria, I find a significant negative effect of centralization on access to certain public services in centralized regions whose leaders failed to comply with the autocratic federal regime, and whose jurisdictions were subsequently punished by underinvestment in these services, with lasting impacts till today. The results are robust to extensive controls and instrumenting for precolonial centralization with an ecological diversity index
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Where Local Kings Rule: Long-Term Impacts of Precolonial Institutions and Geography on Access to Public Infrastructure Services in Nigeria
Though previous works have discussed the benefits of precolonial ethnic state centralization for development in Africa, the findings, of a positive relationship between centralization and development and the mechanisms provided, of local accountability of ethnic state leaders, do not explain the heterogeneity in outcomes, reflected in the unequal distribution of access to public services among formerly centralized states today. Here, I find that centralization has had a negative effect on access to federally administrated, high state control goods when cooperation failed between ethnic state and autocratic federal government leaders in the kind of cooperative federalist regimes that defined much of colonial and postcolonial Africa. I focus on the case of Nigeria, and specifically, I find a significant negative effect of centralization on access to high federal state control goods for centralized states whose leaders failed to cooperate with the autocratic military regime, and whose jurisdictions were subsequently subject to a punishment regime, typified by underinvestment in public services, with lasting impacts till today. I also posit that the long-term effects of this punishment can be seen in the relatively lower reported trust in institutions of federal authority over traditional institutions today from respondents from these previously punished, centralized precolonial states. The results are robust to a number of controls and instrumenting for centralization with an ecological diversity index
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'An Ill Wind that Blows No Girl Any Good': The Impacts of Climate-Induced Disease on Gender Inequality
Disease epidemics with climate links can worsen social inequality by increasing gender gaps in educational attainment through raising the direct and opportunity costs of investing in girls, particularly in poorer countries in the tropics. We investigate this hypothesis by examining the effects of sudden exposure to the 1986 meningitis epidemic in Niger on the gender gap in education. We document a significant reduction in years of education for school-aged girls relative to boys following the epidemic. We explore several channels underlying the results and find evidence highlighting income effects of epidemics on households and increased early marriage of girls
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Disease and Gender Gaps in Human Capital Investment: Evidence from Niger's 1986 Meningitis Epidemic
This paper examines whether disease burdens, especially prevalent in the tropics, contribute significantly to widening gender gaps in educational attainments. We estimate the impact of sudden exposure to the 1986 meningitis epidemic in Niger on girls’ education relative to boys. Our results suggest that increases in meningitis cases during epidemic years significantly reduce years of education disproportionately for primary school-aged going girls in areas with higher meningitis exposure. There is no significant effect for boys in the same cohort and no effects of meningitis exposure for non-epidemic years. Our findings have broader implications for climate-induced disease effects on social inequality
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The Epidemic Effect: On the Politics and Economic Burden of Infectious Disease
Epidemics of infectious disease can have deleterious effects on economic development except mitigated through global health governance and domestic institutions. We investigate this hypothesis by examining the effects of sudden exposure to meningitis on economic outcomes using evidence from the meningitis belt in sub-Saharan Africa. Meningitis shocks reduce economic activity and child health outcomes in periods when the World Health Organization (WHO) does not declare an epidemic year. These effects are reversed when the WHO declares an epidemic year. A primary mechanism explaining the heterogeneity in results may be the influx of donor aid when the WHO declares an epidemic year. We document an increase in World Bank health aid projects approved during epidemic years. Areas that receive more health aid have more economic activity though health projects funded during epidemic years are rated relatively worse by independent evaluators. Domestic institutions influence resource distribution, with regions that are co-ethnic with the president having better outcomes than non-co-ethnic areas. The results are robust to extensive controls and using the timing of the Islamic Hajj to instrument for meningitis shocks
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'We Are Not Guinea Pigs': The Effects of Negative News on Vaccine Compliance
In 1996, following an epidemic, Pfizer tested a new drug on 200 children in Muslim Nigeria. 11 children died and multiple were disabled. We study the effects of negative news on vaccine compliance using evidence from the 2000 disclosure of deaths of Muslim children in the Pfizer trials. Muslim mothers reduced routine vaccination of children born after the 2000 disclosure. The effect was stronger for educated mothers and mothers residing in minority Muslim neighborhoods with relatively stronger ties to religious networks. The disclosure did not affect other health-seeking behavior of mothers, and the reduction effect is specific to child vaccination
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Climate Change, Epidemics and Inequality
What are the links between climate change, epidemics and socioeconomic inequality? While recent epidemics have focused attention on the effects of epidemics on economic outcomes, and a separate literature in climate science and environmental health has linked global environmental change to increased incidence of epidemics of infectious disease, there's relatively little work connecting these two literatures. We explore the links between climate change, epidemics and group-based inequality by first reviewing the scientific literature modeling the effects of global warming on epidemics of infectious disease. We highlight the ways in which climate variables like temperature, precipitation and wind speeds, and adaptive human behavior like migration may more easily facilitate the spread of infectious disease. We then examine the effects of climate-induced epidemics on gender inequality using evidence from the African meningitis belt. The results show that epidemics can worsen outcomes for groups in already relatively economically precarious circumstances, thereby widening group-based socioeconomic inequality. Effective polices to combat the negative effects of epidemics must be mindful not to increase existing group-based inequalities, and should focus on minimizing damage for members of the most marginalized groups
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The Value of Communication for Mental Health
Mental health disorders account for a significant share of the overall global disease burden and translate into staggeringly large economic losses, particularly in low-income countries, where people are faced with several unexpected shocks. We test whether improved communication can mitigate such mental health disorders. Partnering with a major telecommunications company, we implement low-cost communication interventions that provide mobile calling credits to a nationally representative set of low-income adults in Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals’ inability to make unexpected calls, need to borrow SOS airtime, and to seek digital loans decreased significantly relative to a control group. As a result, the programs led to a significant decrease in mental distress (-9.8%) and the likelihood of severe mental distress by -2.3 percentage points (a quarter of the mean prevalence), with null impact on consumption expenditure. The effects are stronger for monthly mobile credits than a lump-sum. Simple cost-benefit analysis shows that providing communication credit to low-income adults is a cost-effective policy for improving mental health. Communication – the ability to stay connected – meaningfully improves mental well-being and interventions about communication are particularly valuable when implemented as many installments
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Shocking Offers: Gender, Wage Inequality, and Recessions in Online Labor Markets
Using data from the largest online job portal in Nigeria, we document: (a) gender differences in salary offers for jobs, and (b) the response of (a) to recessions. Jobs in industries where the number of job applicants skews female, offer lower starting salaries than jobs in industries where applicants skews male. During Nigeria’s 2016 recession, applications to jobs in industries that skew female fell, and salary offers rose. In contrast, applications to jobs in industries that skew male rose, and salary offers fell. In accordance with this relative shift in applications, in 2016, the salary-offer gap almost disappears.
Keywords: Recession, Wage, Gender, Employment, Bias, IC