The “Discouraged Worker Effect” in public works programs: Evidence from the MGNREGA in India
This study investigates the consequences of poor implementation in public workfare programs, focusing on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in India. Using nationally representative data, we test empirically for a discouraged worker effect arising from either of two...
| Autores principales: | , , , |
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| Formato: | Artículo preliminar |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
International Food Policy Research Institute
2017
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148375 |
| _version_ | 1855533286816743424 |
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| author | Narayanan, Sudha Das, Upasak Liu, Yanyan Barrett, Christopher B. |
| author_browse | Barrett, Christopher B. Das, Upasak Liu, Yanyan Narayanan, Sudha |
| author_facet | Narayanan, Sudha Das, Upasak Liu, Yanyan Barrett, Christopher B. |
| author_sort | Narayanan, Sudha |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | This study investigates the consequences of poor implementation in public workfare programs, focusing on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in India. Using nationally representative data, we test empirically for a discouraged worker effect arising from either of two mechanisms: administrative rationing of jobs among those who seek work and delays in wage payments. We find strong evidence at the household and district levels that administrative rationing discourages subsequent demand for work. Delayed wage payments seem to matter significantly during rainfall shocks. We find further that rationing is strongly associated with indicators of implementation ability such as staff capacity. Politics appears to play only a limited role. The findings suggest that assessments of the relevance of public programs over their lifecycle need to factor in implementation quality. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace148375 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1483752025-11-06T07:03:14Z The “Discouraged Worker Effect” in public works programs: Evidence from the MGNREGA in India Narayanan, Sudha Das, Upasak Liu, Yanyan Barrett, Christopher B. social protection administrative proceedings labour remuneration social safety nets This study investigates the consequences of poor implementation in public workfare programs, focusing on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in India. Using nationally representative data, we test empirically for a discouraged worker effect arising from either of two mechanisms: administrative rationing of jobs among those who seek work and delays in wage payments. We find strong evidence at the household and district levels that administrative rationing discourages subsequent demand for work. Delayed wage payments seem to matter significantly during rainfall shocks. We find further that rationing is strongly associated with indicators of implementation ability such as staff capacity. Politics appears to play only a limited role. The findings suggest that assessments of the relevance of public programs over their lifecycle need to factor in implementation quality. 2017 2024-06-21T09:24:31Z 2024-06-21T09:24:31Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148375 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/146169 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147676 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/153599 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Narayanan, Sudha; Das, Upasak; Liu, Yanyan; and Barrett, Christopher B. 2017. The “Discouraged Worker Effect” in public works programs: Evidence from the MGNREGA in India. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1633. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148375 |
| spellingShingle | social protection administrative proceedings labour remuneration social safety nets Narayanan, Sudha Das, Upasak Liu, Yanyan Barrett, Christopher B. The “Discouraged Worker Effect” in public works programs: Evidence from the MGNREGA in India |
| title | The “Discouraged Worker Effect” in public works programs: Evidence from the MGNREGA in India |
| title_full | The “Discouraged Worker Effect” in public works programs: Evidence from the MGNREGA in India |
| title_fullStr | The “Discouraged Worker Effect” in public works programs: Evidence from the MGNREGA in India |
| title_full_unstemmed | The “Discouraged Worker Effect” in public works programs: Evidence from the MGNREGA in India |
| title_short | The “Discouraged Worker Effect” in public works programs: Evidence from the MGNREGA in India |
| title_sort | discouraged worker effect in public works programs evidence from the mgnrega in india |
| topic | social protection administrative proceedings labour remuneration social safety nets |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148375 |
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