Arbeitspapier
Why Guarantee Employment? Evidence from a Large Indian Public-Works Program
Most countries around the world implement some form of a safety net program for poor households. A widespread concern is that such programs crowd out private-sector jobs. But they could also improve workers' welfare by allowing them to take on more risk, for example through self-employment. This paper analyzes the employment impacts of the world's largest public-works program using a novel regression-discontinuity design. The analysis exploits detailed institutional information to describe the allocation formula of the program and to construct a benefit calculator that predicts early and late treatment of districts. The results show that there is little evidence of a crowding out of private-sector jobs. Instead, the scheme functions as a safety net after a bad rainfall shock. Male workers also take on more risk by moving into family employment. This self-revealed preference for a different type of job suggests other potential benefits of safety net programs which so far have received little attention in the literature.
- Language
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Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
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Series: GLO Discussion Paper ; No. 504
- Classification
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Wirtschaft
National Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
Time Allocation and Labor Supply
Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: Public Policy
- Subject
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public-works program
anti-poverty program
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
NREGA
NREGS
India
regression discontinuity design
safety net
crowding out
risk coping
risk mitigation
insurance
- Event
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Geistige Schöpfung
- (who)
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Zimmermann, Laura
- Event
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Veröffentlichung
- (who)
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Global Labor Organization (GLO)
- (where)
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Essen
- (when)
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2020
- Handle
- Last update
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10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET
Data provider
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Object type
- Arbeitspapier
Associated
- Zimmermann, Laura
- Global Labor Organization (GLO)
Time of origin
- 2020