Essays in Development and Labor Economics
Contributors: Katz, Lawrence F.; Katz, Lawrence F.; Pande, Rohini; Hanna, Rema N.
Published: 2012
Language: eng
Description: This thesis consists of three essays in development and labor economics. The first essay analyzes the medium-term effects of children's exposure during early-life stages of development to ENSO-related extreme rain events. Exposure to negative weather conditions is exogenously identified using geographical variation of rainfall deviations from historical averages. The main findings show that four to five years after the shock occurrence, affected children exhibit lower performance in cognitive tests and are impaired in terms of physical development with respect to same-aged children not affected by the shock. Negative effects of weather shocks on income, food consumption, and diet composition during early childhood appear to be key mechanisms behind the impacts on children's outcomes. No mitigation effects from the provision of Progresa, a Mexican conditional cash transfer program (CCT), are found.
Notes: Keywords: conditional cash transfers, early-child development, migration, weather shocks.

Thesis Ph.D. Harvard University 2012