We examine the link between a mother's autonomy – the freedom and ability to think, express, act and make decisions independently – and the nutritional status of her children. We design a novel statistical framework that accounts for cultural and traditional environment, to create a measure...

We examine the link between a mother's autonomy – the freedom and ability to think, express, act and make decisions independently – and the nutritional status of her children. We design a novel statistical framework that accounts for cultural and traditional environment, to create a measure...

We examine the impact of establishing women police stations (WPS) on gender-based violence in India. Using administrative crime data and exploiting staggered implementation across Indian cities, we find that the opening of WPS is associated with a 20 percent increase in gender-based violence...

We investigate women's fertility, labor and marriage market responses to large declines in child and maternal mortality that occurred following a major medical innovation in the US. In response to the decline in child mortality, women delayed childbearing and had fewer children overall. Fewer...

We analyze long-term impacts of the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War, providing the first evidence of intergenerational impacts. Women exposed to the war in their growing years exhibit reduced adult stature, increased likelihood of being overweight, earlier age at first birth, and lower educational...

We analyze long-term impacts of the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War, providing the first evidence of intergenerational impacts. Women exposed to the war in their growing years exhibit reduced adult stature, increased likelihood of being overweight, earlier age at first birth, and lower educational...

There has been a phenomenal global increase in the proportion of women in politics in the last two decades, but there is no evidence of how this influences economic performance. We investigate this using data on competitive elections to India's state assemblies, leveraging close elections to...

Raising women's political participation leads to faster maternal mortality decline. We estimate that the introduction of quotas for women in parliament results in a 9 to 12% decline in maternal mortality. In terms of mechanisms, it also leads to an 8 to 11% increase in skilled birth attendance...

This paper analyzes the effect of a woman's electoral victory on women's subsequent political participation. Using the regression discontinuity afforded by close elections between women and men in India's state elections, we find that a woman winning office leads to a large and significant...