Calendrier du 16 janvier 2019
Casual Friday Development Seminar - Brown Bag Seminar
Du 16/01/2019 de 12:30 à 13:30
Salle R2.01, 48 Bd Jourdan 75014 Paris
TARAZ Vis (Smith College)
Climate change, social protection, and crop yields: Evidence from India
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India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), the world’s largest public works program, has been demonstrated to have beneficial impacts on a wide range of outcomes, but its effects on agricultural productivity have been relatively understudied (Sukhtankar, 2017). I test whether NREGA modulates the impact of adverse weather shocks on agricultural yields. My empirical strategy exploits the staggered roll-out of NREGA and random fluctuations in weather. Using nationwide data, I find evidence that NREGA makes yields more sensitive to adverse weather shocks. The effects are most pronounced for labor-intensive crops, indicating that labor market effects may drive my results. My results suggest that the household-level consumption-smoothing benefits of NREGA must be balanced against the challenges to national food security that India faces, particularly in the face of climate change. Hence, implementing complementary programs such as investing in improved seed varieties, expanding extension services and promoting farm mechanization is critical.