Essays on the Externalities of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of India
In this dissertation, I offer two distinct studies on the welfare externalities of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) of India. The MGNREGA is an employment guarantee scheme implemented in rural India since 2006 and is the world’s largest public works project. In the first study, I look at the effects of the MGNREGA on crime in India. I use crime statistics from National Crime Records Bureau of India to create a district level panel between 2002 and 2012 to estimate the effects of the program on various violent and property crimes. I also create a district level panel of annual rainfall and investigate the relationship between rainfall, crime, and the MGNREGA program. In the second study, I use a micro level sample survey called the District Level Household Survey to investigate the effects of the program on use of various methods of contraception among rural couples. I use a difference in difference empirical design to isolate the effect of MGNREGA on contraception.
public works, India, crime, family planning
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