How Efficient are the Current U.S. Beer Taxes?

Abstract. This paper examines the status of current beer taxes in the U.S. by questioning how far away the present beer taxes are from the optimal taxes. Following the estimation of tax elasticity, I estimate the lifetime discounted costs that a heavy drinker levies on others through: 1) Years of life lost; 2) Social insurance system; 3) Drunk driving accidents; and 4) Forgone income taxes. The optimal level of beer tax ranges from 17.15 percent to 47.5 percent of the price per drink. Even the conservative estimates suggest that current beer taxes comprise only 16 percent of the external costs.Keywords. Externality, Beer Taxation, Efficiency.JEL. H21, H23, I10

Emerging from “The Darkness”: The effect of school construction on educational and child health in Nepal

Using across-district variation in schools constructed and differences across cohorts affected by school construction, I evaluate the effect of school construction of 1950s on educational and infant health outcomes. I find that 1 new school increased ability to read and write by 1.8 and 1.9 percentage points among males and also reduced infant mortality. Using school construction of 1950s as instruments, I find that father’s ability to read reduces infant mortality

Schooling infrastructure and educational outcomes in Nepal

We estimate the impact of an increase in the number of schools on educational outcomes in Nepal. We combine the between-district differences in number of new schools with variation in exposure to these schools created by the virtue of individuals being of school-age. Our results and back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that on average the increase in the number of schools can explain about a third of the total differences in the reading and writing abilities for the treated and control groups of women. These results underscore the continued importance of increasing access to schooling in developing countries like Nepal

The Effect of School Construction on Educational Outcomes among Females: Evidence from Nepal

We estimate the impact of increases in schools constructed from 1985 to 1995 on girls educational outcomes in Nepal. We use a difference-in-differences framework by combining the across-district differences in the number of new schools with variation in exposure to these schools created by the virtue of individuals being of school-going-age during the school construction period. Our results indicate that the construction of an additional school (per 1,000 square kilometers) increased the probability to read and write among females by 1.5 percentage points and increased their highest level of schooling attained by 0.12 units but did not affect basic literacy skills among males. Our back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that, on average, the increase in the number of schools can explain about a fourth of the total differences in the reading and writing outcomes between females who were of schooling age during the period of school constructions and those who were not. These results underscore the continued importance of increasing access to schooling in developing countries like Nepal.\u2