Using Information and Technology to Improve the Efficacy of Welfare Programmes: Evidence From a Field Experiment in India

Das, Upasak, Paul, Amartya and Sharma, Mohit. (2020) Using information and technology to improve the efficacy of welfare programmes: evidence from a field experiment in India. GDI Working Paper 2020-049. Manchester: The University of Manchester.

39 Pages Posted: 2 Dec 2020

See all articles by Upasak Das

Upasak Das

University of Manchester

Amartya Paul

Centre for Development Studies (CDS) India

Mohit Sharma

Collaborative Research and Dissemination (CORD)

Date Written: October 15, 2020

Abstract

We investigate whether female early marriage is a conduit for the transmission of social norms, specifically norms relating to gender roles and rights within the household. We exploit differences in the age at menarche between sisters as an exogenous source of variation in marriage age. This approach allows us to control for beliefs and attitudes that are transmitted from parents to children. Using a sample of unmarried adolescents in Bangladesh, we first show that the timing of onset of menstruation has no direct effect on adolescent attitudes on attitudes towards gender norms. Yet we find that early marriage increases agreement with statements supportive of gender bias in the allocation of resources, and worsens the quality of a woman’s post-marital social network. We also find evidence suggesting that schooling is a complement and the quality of the social network a substitute of later marriage in terms of their effects on attitudes towards traditional gender norms.

Keywords: Information, welfare programme, implementation, randomisation, delay of payments, MGNREGS

JEL Classification: I30, I38, H75

Suggested Citation

Das, Upasak and Paul, Amartya and Sharma, Mohit, Using Information and Technology to Improve the Efficacy of Welfare Programmes: Evidence From a Field Experiment in India (October 15, 2020). Das, Upasak, Paul, Amartya and Sharma, Mohit. (2020) Using information and technology to improve the efficacy of welfare programmes: evidence from a field experiment in India. GDI Working Paper 2020-049. Manchester: The University of Manchester., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3712047 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3712047

Upasak Das (Contact Author)

University of Manchester ( email )

Manchester
United Kingdom

Amartya Paul

Centre for Development Studies (CDS) India ( email )

Trivandrum 695 011, Kerala
India

Mohit Sharma

Collaborative Research and Dissemination (CORD) ( email )

India

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