Hema Swaminathan

Economic Development and Female Labor Force Participation in India

India has experienced steady economic growth over the last two decades alongside a persistent decline in womens labor force participation (LFPR). This paper explores the relationship between economic development and womens labor supply using state-level data spanning the period 1983–4 to 2011–2. While several studies suggest a U-shaped relationship between development and womens labor force participation, our results suggest that at the state level, there is no systematic U-shaped relationship between level of domestic product and womens LFPR. On examining the relationship between the structure of the economy and womens economic activity, we find that it is not economic growth but rather the composition of growth that is relevant for women. Further, our results suggest that aggregate changes in the proportion of women in the workforce can be mostly attributed to the movement of the workforce across sectors rather than changes in the proportion of women workers within a sector.

Slums and Malnourishment: Evidence From Women in India

OBJECTIVES We examined the association between slum residence and nutritional status in women in India by using competing classifications of slum type. METHODS We used nationally representative data from the 2005-2006 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) to create our citywide analysis sample. The data provided us with individual, household, and community information. We used the body mass index data to identify nutritional status, whereas the residential status variable provided slum details. We used a multinomial regression framework to model the 3 nutrition states-undernutrition, normal, and overnutrition. RESULTS After we controlled for a range of attributes, we found that living in a census slum did not affect nutritional status. By contrast, living in NFHS slums decreased the odds of being overweight by 14% (95% confidence interval [CI] =0.79, 0.95) and increased the odds of being underweight by 10% (95% CI=1.00, 1.22). CONCLUSIONS The association between slum residence and nutritional outcomes is nuanced and depends on how one defines a slum. This suggests that interventions targeted at slums should look beyond official definitions and include current living conditions to effectively reach the most vulnerable.

Economic Development, Inequality and Malnutrition in India

Economic development and inequality is known to have an impact on health outcomes. We show this to be true in India where we study the effect of economic status on under and over nutrition. Inequality is measured using income or assets and we show that both matter for malnutrition. We find women are at much higher risk of being malnourished and this risk increases with age. Our results suggest that while under nutrition should remain a policy priority, rising over nutrition in the population cannot be ignored by nutritional planners.

Assets and shocks: a gendered analysis of Ecuador, Ghana and Karnataka, India

ABSTRACT Drawing upon household surveys in Ecuador, Ghana and Karnataka, India, we analyse the relationship between assets and shocks, distinguishing between asset loss as the shock, and the use of assets as a coping strategy. A greater proportion of households experienced a direct loss of assets due to shocks than as a coping response. In Karnataka, but not in Ghana or Ecuador, women’s assets are more likely to be sold than men’s. Asset ownership and the decision to sell or pawn assets are fairly strongly related but do not completely overlap. Husbands and wives often differ in both the perception of shocks and the response to them.

The effect of paid maternity leave on early childhood growth in low-income and middle-income countries

Background Despite recent improvements, low height-for-age, a key indicator of inadequate child nutrition, is an ongoing public health issue in low-income and middle-income countries. Paid maternity leave has the potential to improve child nutrition, but few studies have estimated its impact. Methods We used data from 583 227 children younger than 5 years in 37 countries surveyed as part of the Demographic and Health Surveys (2000–2014) to compare the change in children’s height-for-age z score in five countries that increased their legislated duration of paid maternity leave (Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Lesotho) relative to 32 other countries that did not. A quasiexperimental difference-in-difference design involving a linear regression of height-for-age z score on the number of weeks of legislated paid maternity leave was used. We included fixed effects for country and birth year to control for, respectively, fixed country characteristics and shared trends in height-for-age, and adjusted for time-varying covariates such as gross domestic product per capita and the female labour force participation rate. Results The mean height-for-age z scores in the pretreatment period were -1.91 (SD=1.44) and –1.47 (SD=1.57) in countries that did and did not change their policies, respectively. The scores increased in treated and control countries over time. A 1-month increase in legislated paid maternity leave was associated with a decrease of 0.08(95% CI −0.20 to 0.04) in child height-for-age z score. Sensitivity analyses did not support a robust association between paid maternity leave policies and height-for-age z score. Conclusion We found little evidence that recent changes in legislated paid maternity leave have been sufficient to affect child height-for-age z scores. The relatively short durations of leave, the potential for low coverage and the strong increasing trend in children’s growth may explain our findings. Future studies considering longer durations or combined interventions may reveal further insight to support policy.

Individual Property Rights and Bargaining Outcomes: Evidence from Intra-Household Asset Data

This paper examines the determinants of the decision-making process among couples. Using an expanded conceptualization of decision-making, this paper explores factors that affect convergence or divergence between spousal perceptions. In particular, the paper considers the impact of women’s property status, specifically, their ownership of a house or land, on decision-making within households using data from the Karnataka Household Asset Survey, 2010-11, which collected individual-level asset ownership and valuation information. The results suggest that property ownership improves women’s autonomy in decision making but does not impact egalitarianism in decision-making between couples.

Intrahousehold Wealth Inequality and Welfare: Evidence from Karnataka, India

Inequality within the household is neglected in wealth inequality re-search due to paucity of data and established theoretical frames for accounting for intrahousehold distribution. We develop a framework for welfare theoretic interpretation of intrahousehold wealth inequality. Illustrative data from India shows that 32% of total wealth inequality is attributable to intrahousehold inequality that results in a median welfare loss of as much as 80% for plausible values of inequality aversion.