Human Capital Accumulation in a Developing-country Context: Gender Disparities, Concurrent and Lagged Effects of Air Pollution and Climate Change
| dc.contributor.advisor | Cameron, Trudy | |
| dc.contributor.author | Khalid, Ayesha | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-09-24T17:13:50Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2020-09-24T17:13:50Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020-09-24 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This research examines how air pollution and climate change influence human capital accumulation in a developing-country context and also studies the effects of policies targeted to keep children in school in face of whatever factors deter them from developing their human capital. Effective human capital accumulation enhances a society's potential for economic development and prosperity, and therefore is especially important for developing countries. In Chapter \ref{chapter1}, I evaluate the effectiveness of an increase in the cash amount of a female-targeted conditional cash transfer on schooling outcomes for girls, using a novel monthly dataset on student enrollment and attendance at all public schools in Punjab, Pakistan. I find that the increase in the cash transfer increased female enrollment in $6^{th}$ grade and $9^{th}$ grade in treated districts. The increase in cash transfer also had positive spillover effects on the enrollment of boys in middle and high schools in treated districts. In Chapter \ref{chapter2}, I examine the causal effect of air pollution and temperature on student attendance and test scores using a satellite-based measure of daily pollution and a novel monthly dataset on school enrollment and test scores in Punjab, Pakistan. The instrumental variables estimation indicates that an exogenous increase in air pollution reduces student attendance, and has an adverse effect on test scores---specifically, math and Urdu scores. Estimates of the effects of different temperature levels show that high temperatures in the range 30-38$^\circ$C (86-100.4$^\circ$F) reduce test scores, especially math scores. In Chapter \ref{chapter3}, I investigate the effect of in-utero exposure to pollution and heatwaves on children's physical health and schooling status in Punjab, Pakistan. I find that an increase in air pollution during gestation and an additional heatwave day during gestation reduces height-for-age z-scores and weight-for-age z-scores. However, the negative effects of in-utero temperature shocks seem to decline with a child's age. Moreover, the results suggest in-utero pollution exposure decreases the probability of a school-age child being in school, whereas in-utero exposure to heatwaves lowers the current school-grade of a child, controlling for the child's age. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1794/25621 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | University of Oregon | |
| dc.rights | All Rights Reserved. | |
| dc.title | Human Capital Accumulation in a Developing-country Context: Gender Disparities, Concurrent and Lagged Effects of Air Pollution and Climate Change | |
| dc.type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Department of Economics | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Oregon | |
| thesis.degree.level | doctoral | |
| thesis.degree.name | Ph.D. |
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