Speaker: Dr. Nayantara Sarma, World Bank, Washington D.C.

Date & Hour: 23 September 2020, 4:30 pm

Title: Domestic Violence and Workfare: An Evaluation of India’s MGNREGA

Abstract:

Economic stress is commonly linked with domestic violence. This paper looks at how India’s workfare program mediates the effect of income shocks on domestic violence. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), guarantees 100 days of employment to rural households and acts as a form of insurance. I use a difference-in-differences strategy to show that the implementation of the MGNREGS reduces the effect of adverse rainfall shocks on reported crimes of domestic violence at the district level by 22 percent. Using household panel data, I explore the same mediating effect and possible increases in women’s empowerment. There are positive effects of participating in the scheme on women’s freedom of mobility but limited evidence on women’s say in household decisions.