2015/03/26 by Clément Imbert, John Papp · 2 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Social Sciences · #Agricultural risk and resilience #Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare #Social and Economic Development in India #Workfare #Welfare #Private sector #Economics #Labour economics #Public sector #Consumption (sociology) #Work (physics) #Private consumption #General equilibrium theory #Economic growth #Macroeconomics #Market economy #Economy
paper · pdf · doi:10.1257/app.20130401
openalex publication_date 2015/03/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
We estimate the effect of a large rural workfare program in India on private employment and wages by comparing trends in districts that received the program earlier relative to those that received it later. Our results suggest that public sector hiring crowded out private sector work and increased private sector wages. We compute the implied welfare gains of the program by consumption quintile. Our calculations show that the welfare gains to the poor from the equilibrium increase in private sector wages are large in absolute terms and large relative to the gains received solely by program participants. (JEL I38, J31, J45, J68, O15)