The success of joint liability programs depends on nature and composition of borrowing groups. Group formation is a costly process and in our model these costs vary with the social identity of group partners. We show that risk heterogeneity in a borrowing group may arise due to the social...

The joint liability literature claims that positive assortative matching, or risk homogeneity, is always the first best solution. We examine this claim in presence of group formation costs and find that the assertion is not always true

Outbreaks of infectious diseases bring behavior and policy responses into sharp focus since societies face acute constraints and uncertainties. This paper compares two infectious disease outbreaks: the COVID-19 pandemic and the 1665 London plague outbreak described by Daniel Defoe in A Journal...

We study a public goods game with heterogeneous agents who care about their own payoff as well as of the player who receives the lowest payoff. The weight on own payoff varies across players, and is private information. We first develop a theoretical model and then test the predictions of our...

We study the effects of a randomized role models intervention in which female engineering students gave presentations at high schools about their experiences in the major. Among girls, we find an increased preference for engineering majors for those in the top math ability quartile; with stronger...

Risk is an important concern in the management of a farm business. The rising input prices along with the variability in the farm commodity prices may result in a risk environment. Government programs have generally provided income support to farmers. However, there has been considerable...

Group lending has received a great attention from economists and policymakers for its successful delivery of credit to poor borrowers and its role in alleviating poverty in the developing countries. The success of group lending in providing credit to poor borrowers has been attributed to its...

This dissertation focuses on two research themes related to econometric estimation oflinear almost ideal demand systems (LAIDS) for U.S. meats. The first theme addresses whethernonstationarity (unit-roots and cointegration) contributes to a dynamic specification of LAIDSmodels. The results of...

This dissertation consists of three essays on corporate acquisitions, bidders liquidity and monitoring. In the first essay, Acquisitions and Bidders Liquidity: Evidence from Successful and Unsuccessful Takeovers, I examine the impact of corporate acquisitions on bidders liquidity. I find that...

Networks of relationships play an important role in the social and economic operation of the labor market. Social connections have been shown to be crucial in influencing the transition and efficiency in the labor market because they can quickly spread information over large segments of society....