Effects of birth order and sibling sex composition on human capital investment in children in India

The paper explores the effects of birth order and sibling sex composition on human capital investment in children in India using the Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS). Endogeneity of fertility is addressed using instruments and controlling for household fixed effects. Family size effect is also distinguished from the sibling sex composition effect. Previous literature has often failed to take endogeneity into account and shows a negative birth order effect for girls in India. Once endogeneity of fertility is addressed, there is no evidence for a negative birth order effect or sibling sex composition effect for girls. Results show that boys are worse off in households that have a higher proportion of boys specifically when they have older brothers.

Toiling children in India : the gender dimension

Child labour in several low income households is rather pursued for gaining experience and at times for meagre incomes, which are possibly spent on household food expenditure. Though the contribution made by the child labour to the overall wellbeing does not turn out to be substantial, without child labour these households would have been much worse off than the households which can afford not to have child labour. The probability of working is higher for a male child compared to a girl child. This is because the girl children are often engaged in household activities and even when they are engaged in income earning jobs they are shown as helpers. Parents' income as such may not be having a positive impact on child's education rather it is the educational level of the parents which matters in determining whether the child would go to school and continue her/his education. To substantiate the gender bias, the probability of falling ill among the girl children is found to be higher compared to the boys. Parents' educational attainments beyond a certain level again tend to reduce the probability of falling ill.

The Bangladesh gender gap in education : biased intra-household educational expenditures

By investigating the educational expenditure of children over the ten years (2000 to 2010), we evaluate whether there exists any gender specific discrepancy at the household level and the trend of such discrepancy over the years. Using three rounds of nationally representative Household Income & Expenditure Surveys this study reveals that households spend less on education for their school-going girls compared to boys. By disaggregating the total expenditure into fixed and variable components, we find persistent gender imbalance in educational expenditure where households provide better quality of education for boys. Moreover, we find that gender based discrepancy has a very persistent trend and does not show any significant sign of narrowing the gap over the years. Cohort wise difference-in-difference estimation also reveals that the gap has initially widened and later converged but has not diminished beyond the initial level of discrepancy, which may warrant targeted policy intervention.

Better than nothing? : dowry in the absence of the legal protection of women's inheritance rights

The practice of dowry is often thought to be the root cause of the unequal treatment of women in India. For women without inheritance rights, however, dowry may function as their only source of protection. Using a nationwide dataset and exploiting a natural experimental situation, this study explores the effects of dowry on women's empowerment in India, a society where women do not have inheritance rights. In such a society, dowry seems to enhance women's status in the marital household. The effects reverse when women have equal inheritance rights as their brothers. Empirical analysis suggests that the outright ban on dowry that ignores the context may not necessarily benefit women.

Impacts of an HIV counseling and testing initiative -- results from an experimental intervention in a large firm in South Africa

We have run experimental interventions to promote HIV tests in a large firm in South Africa. We combined HIV tests with existing medical check programs to increase the uptake. In the foregoing survey we undertook previously, it was suggested that fears and stigma of HIV/AIDS were the primary reasons given by the employees for not taking the test. To counter these, we implemented randomized interventions. We find substantial heterogeneity in responses by ethnicity. Africans and Colored rejected the tests most often. Supportive information increased the uptake by 6 to 16% points. A tradeoff in targeting resulting in stigmatizing the targeted and a reduction of exclusion error is discussed.

Income disparity among persons with disabilities assessed by education and sex : findings from a field survey conducted in Metro Manila, the Philippines

How do persons with disabilities (PWDs) earn a living? From the view point of poverty reduction, this question is quite critical in developing countries. This paper presents an investigation of economic activities of PWDs in the Philippines where, among developing countries, disability-related legislation is relatively progressive. In 2008, a field survey was conducted in cooperation with Disability People’s Organizations (DPOs) using a tailor-made questionnaire in four representative cities of Metro Manila. The level and determinants of income of PWDs were examined with Mincer regression. Conclusions are as follows: (1) The incidence and depth of poverty are greater among sample PWDs than that of the total population in Metro Manila. (2) There is remarkable income disparity among PWDs which is associated with education and sex. (3) After controlling individual, parental, and environmental characteristics, it was found that female PWDs are likely to earn less than male PWDs due to fewer opportunities to participate in economic activities. It is suggested that female PWDs are doubly handicapped in earning income.

Young women's economic daily lives in rural Ethiopia

In rural Ethiopia, livelihood diversification is essential for households to be able to sustain themselves. Declining agricultural profits and a land shortage have accelerated this diversification. While the past literature has ignored young women's economic contributions in its discussions about livelihood diversification, this research indicates that the current rapid educational expansion for girls has changed their economic role in their households. This has resulted in changes in the conventional life courses of women in rural Ethiopia as they have more choices in terms of education, marriage, and the types and location of their economic activities, due to the increasing importance of young women's economic contributions to their households and their improved educational opportunities. The aim of this paper is to elucidate how the economic environment and government educational policy have affected young women's lives in terms of education, marriage, economic activities, and intra-household power relationships, especially with their parents.

What motivates female operators to enter the garment industry in Pakistan in the post-MFA period?

Pakistan's knitwear exports had been struggling since the quota phase-out until 2009. A particular feature of Pakistan's garment industry is that hiring more male sewing operators at piece rates. Recently, a few surviving knitwear factories have adopted a strategy of shifting from male piece-rate operators to salaried female operators. In Pakistan, female participation in general workforce is very limited and hiring salaried female operators requires management effort and expertise. However, even in the factories with such management skills, household factors prevent females from working outside because Pakistani culture disrespects women working in factories. Our survey reveals that financial motives compel female household members to work outside their homes and that female operators contribute substantially to their households' finances.

Marriage, dowry, and women's status in rural Punjab, Pakistan

Dowry is a common custom observed in South Asian countries. It has been a target of an opposition movement because it is assumed to be a root cause of women's mistreatment, for example, in the form of sex-selective abortion, girls' malnutrition, female infanticide, and domestic homicide called "dowry murder." Despite its alleged evil consequences and the legal ban or restrictions on it, the custom has been extended, and recently, the dowry amount seems to be increasing. However, there is little empirical evidence of dowry's effects. This study empirically investigates the effects of dowry on women's status in rural Pakistan. We conducted a unique survey in rural Punjab, Pakistan, to explore the marriage practices there and to answer the research question. Results show that a higher dowry amount enhances women’s status in the marital household. This implies that an outright ban on dowries does not necessarily improve women's welfare at this time.

Re-examining "difference" and "development" : a note on broadening the field of gender and development in Japan

It is the author’s position that the framework for WID/GAD, as academic field and practice concerned primarily with developing countries should be broadened so as to incorporate Japan’s own gender and development issues in its scope. Unlike other developed countries, activists and scholars in Japan rarely connected, as was also the case with the fields of women’s/gender studies and WID/GAD. However, this was not due to any lack of interest among Japanese women regarding the lives of women in developing countries. Rather the points of fissure were the notions of ‘difference’ and ‘development’ held by Japanese women. These analytical concepts were narrowly defined, which resulted in limited interaction between discourse on women’s issues in Japan and WID/GAD related to ‘other’ women. By re-examining these notions and looking more deeply into perceived differences in the local context of ‘development’, not only can we strategize on ‘differences’ in such a way that we draw strength from the very fact of being different, but also prevent ‘differences’ from being used as grounds for discrimination. As a whole, we could gain substantially by broadening the field of Gender and Development and, as such, it is imperative that this field be broadened with urgency as development itself changes in this ever-interconnected world