Are special economic zones a curse on those "chosen" to be evicted? : evidence form West Bengal, India

Using data from a self-administered survey of 1,017 households we assess the long-term impact of establishing a special economic zone, on those who are exogenously selected to be displaced. We find those who are displaced suffer from lower land compensation and lack of adequate property rights. There is also some evidence of lower labour market participation among those who are displaced. However, in the long term, across measurable welfare indicators, we do not find that displaced households are significantly different from other households. One source of this resilience is through employment at the special economic zone – which is higher among displaced households compared to other households. Another factor that contributed to the absence of differences is spill-over effects; which made access to employment, education and other facilities about homogenous across displaced and non-displaced households

Economic crisis and female entrepreneurship: Evidence from countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Building on the theory of necessity entrepreneurship, we test whether female entrepreneurship was a part of the household coping mechanism facing the recent global crisis across 30 transition countries centered in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The identification strategy relies on the self-reported crisis victimization indicators at the household level. Main findings indicate that female members from crisis-affected households are more willing to become entrepreneurs and have initiated firms at a significantly higher rate since 2007. The estimated outcomes are particularly critical for male headed households with propensity score matching and doubly robust tests supporting the main findings. We also find that prior entrepreneurial activity at the household level, acts as a catalyst for such female necessity entrepreneurship. Overall, the findings suggest that crisis perhaps worked as a contextual factor contributing to the creation of necessary entrepreneurship among women

The livelihood effects of industrialization on displaced households : evidence from falta special economic zone, West Bengal

Much of the debate on industrialization and displacement has, so far, focused on the optimum compensation for affected households. Our recently concluded study, comprising of a sample of 1017 households including 630 affected (displaced and land acquired) and 387 unaffected households, looks at the long-term livelihood effects of the Falta Special Economic Zone in West Bengal, India. The main findings indicate a lower labour market participation rate among affected household members. However, members of displaced households show the highest work participation rate in the industrial zone but with a lower return to education than others. Women earn about 17 percentage points less compared to men after controlling for education and experience and this gap is 5 to 10 percentage points higher for FSEZ employees; but this gap is narrowing over time likewise the gender education gap

Children and Maternal Migration: Evidence from Exogenous Variations in Family Size

Both theoretically and empirically, childbearing decreases labour supply of females, but few papers examine the effect of children on whether women emigrate to work. Using exogenous variations in family size induced by parents’ preferences for mixed sibling-sex composition in instrumental variable estimations, we find that, in Sri Lanka where most migrants are women and mothers, children decrease labour participation of females in the domestic market but they increase the likelihood of females working abroad

What happen to children's education when their parents emigrate? Evidence from Sri Lanka

We examine the effects of parental emigration from Sri Lanka on the education of the migrants' children left behind. Using access to foreign-employment agencies at community level as an instrument for migration in two-stage least squares estimations, we do not find parental migration matters on average. However, analyses by the gender of the migrants show the effects are heterogeneous: When the mothers migrate and the fathers stay behind, education of the children worsens; but, when the fathers migrate and the mothers take care of the children, it improves. There are also some evidence boys, younger children, and children of the less educated parents gain more from parental migration

Structural transformation, growth, and inequality: Evidence from Viet Nam

We examine whether structural transformation leads to growth and income inequality in Viet Nam. Using three rounds of the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey (2002, 2006, and 2010), we estimate re-centered influence functions to construct a decomposition analysis. Our results indicate that Viet Nam continues to experience sustained structural transformation and growth, but this growth is heterogeneous across regions. The growth exhibits pro-rich gains, with returns to agriculture and manufacturing increasing only for the top 10 to 20th percentiles. We also find that such growth increases income inequality in Viet Nam, and change in income inequality is heterogeneous across regions. Differences in growth and income inequality are driven by differences in the rate of industrialisation across regions and by structural effects such as access to seaports. For a more inclusive growth, access to non-farm activities may need to be increased for households that are not in areas with high levels of structural transformation

Married men with children may stop working when their wives emigrate to work: Evidence from Sri Lanka

We examine what happens to Sri Lankan men’s labour supply when their wives emigrate to work and leave the husbands and children at home—the effects of maternal migration on the husbands’ labour supply. Using sibling sex-composition of a household as an instrumental variable for the household’s number of children in three-stage least-square estimations, we find maternal migration reduces the husbands’ labour supply. The husbands are more likely to exit the labour market and become unemployed; the employed are less likely to moonlight and have lower wages; those that exit the labour market are more likely to become stay-at-home dads

Married men with children may stop working when their wives emigrate to work: Evidence from Sri Lanka

We examine what happens to Sri Lankan men’s labour supply when their wives emigrate to work and leave the husbands and children at home—the effects of maternal migration on the husbands’ labour supply. Using sibling sex-composition of a household as an instrumental variable for the household’s number of children in three-stage least-square estimations, we find maternal migration reduces the husbands’ labour supply. The husbands are more likely to exit the labour market and become unemployed; the employed are less likely to moonlight and have lower wages; those that exit the labour market are more likely to become stay-at-home dads

What happen to children's education when their parents emigrate? Evidence from Sri Lanka

We examine the effects of parental emigration from Sri Lanka on the education of the migrants' children left behind. Using access to foreign-employment agencies at community level as an instrument for migration in two-stage least squares estimations, we do not find parental migration matters on average. However, analyses by the gender of the migrants show the effects are heterogeneous: When the mothers migrate and the fathers stay behind, education of the children worsens; but, when the fathers migrate and the mothers take care of the children, it improves. There are also some evidence boys, younger children, and children of the less educated parents gain more from parental migration

Children and Maternal Migration: Evidence from Exogenous Variations in Family Size

Both theoretically and empirically, childbearing decreases labour supply of females, but few papers examine the effect of children on whether women emigrate to work. Using exogenous variations in family size induced by parents’ preferences for mixed sibling-sex composition in instrumental variable estimations, we find that, in Sri Lanka where most migrants are women and mothers, children decrease labour participation of females in the domestic market but they increase the likelihood of females working abroad