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Publication Gender Implications of Biofuels Expansion in Africa : The Case of Mozambique(2011) Arndt, Channing; Benfica, Rui; Thurlow, JamesWe use a gendered dynamic CGE model to assess the implications of biofuels expansion in a low-income, land-abundant setting. Mozambique is chosen as a representative case. We compare scenarios with different gender employment intensities in producing jatropha feedstock for biodiesel. Under all scenarios, biofuels investments accelerate GDP growth and reduce poverty. However, a stronger trade-off between biofuels and food availability emerges when female labor is used intensively, as women are drawn away from food production. A skills-shortage among female workers also limits poverty reduction. Policy simulations indicate that only modest improvements in women's education and food crop yields are needed to address food security concerns and ensure broader-based benefits from biofuels investments.Publication Transactional Sex as a Response to Risk in Western Kenya(2011) Robinson, Jonathan; Yeh, EthanThough formal and informal sex work has long been identified as crucial for the spread of HIV/AIDS, the nature of the sex-for-money market remains poorly understood. Using a unique panel dataset constructed from 192 self-reported diaries, we find that women who engage in transactional sex substantially increase their supply of risky, better compensated sex to cope with unexpected health shocks, particularly the illness of another household member. These behavioral responses entail significant health risks for these women and their partners, and suggest that these women are unable to cope with risk through other consumption smoothing mechanisms.Publication Tenure Insecurity, Gender, Low-Cost Land Certification and Land Rental Market Participation in Ethiopia(2011) Holden, Stein T.; Deininger, Klaus; Ghebru, HosaenaThere is a renewed interest in whether land reforms can contribute to market development and poverty reduction in Africa. This paper assesses effects on the allocative efficiency of the land rental market of the low-cost approach to land registration and certification of restricted property rights that was implemented in Ethiopia in the late 1990s. Four rounds of a balanced household panel from 16 villages in northern Ethiopia are analysed, showing that land certification initially enhanced land rental market participation of (potential) tenant and landlord households, especially those that are headed by females.Publication Variations in Condom Use by Type of Partner in 13 Sub-Saharan African Countries(2011) de Walque, DamienUsing nationally representative data from 13 sub-Saharan African countries, we reinforce and expand upon previous findings that men report using condoms more frequently than women do and that unmarried respondents report that they use condoms with casual partners more frequently than married individuals report using them with their spouses. Based on descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses, we also demonstrate to a degree not previously shown in the current literature that married men from most countries report using condoms with extramarital partners about as frequently as unmarried men report using them with casual partners. Married women from most of the countries included in the study reported using condoms with extramarital partners less frequently than unmarried women reported using them with casual partners. This result is especially troubling because marriage usually ensures regular sexual intercourse, thereby providing more opportunities for a person to pass HIV infection from an extramarital partner to his or her spouse. These findings about high-risk behaviors can be used to better target future HIV-transmission-prevention efforts.Publication Female Migration and Child Occupation in Rural El Salvador(2011) Acosta, PabloThis article looks at the consequences of migration in terms of child education and child labor using a unique rural panel dataset for El Salvador. Results suggest gender differences in the consequences of migration on child activities that remain in El Salvador. While female migration tends to reduce child labor, both in domestic and non-domestic activities, male migration seems to stimulate it, in particular in terms of domestic labor. In contrast, while male migration has null or slightly positive impact in terms of school enrollment rates, female migration apparently reduces the likelihood that a particular child stays at school. Some of these results differ according to the gender of the child. The results do not seem to be driven by female migrants remitting more than males, but rather to alternative competing explanations, such as the existence of child-adult male labor substitution, differences in the use of remittances by gender of the recipient person, or limited ability to monitor funds when remitted by female migrants.Publication Conditional Cash Transfers and Female Schooling : The Impact of the Female School Stipend Programme on Public School Enrolments in Punjab, Pakistan(2010) Chaudhury, Nazmul; Parajuli, DilipInstead of mean-tested Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes, some countries have implemented gender-targeted CCTs to explicitly address intra-household disparities in human capital investments. This study focuses on addressing the direct impact of a female school stipend programme in Punjab, Pakistan--Did the intervention increase female enrolment in public schools? To address this question, we draw upon data from the provincial school censuses 2003 and 2005. We estimate the net growth in female enrolments in grade 6-8 in stipend eligible schools. Impact evaluation analysis, including difference-and-difference (DD), triple differencing (DDD) and regression-discontinuity design (RDD), indicate a modest but statistically significant impact of the intervention. The preferred estimator derived from a combination of DDD and RDD empirical strategies suggests that the average programme impact between 2003 and 2005 was an increase of six female students per school in terms of absolute change and an increase of 9% in female enrolment in terms of relative change. A triangulation effort is also undertaken using two rounds of a nationally representative household survey before and after the intervention. Even though the surveys are not representative at the sub-provincial level, the results corroborate evidence of the impact using school census data.Publication Intentions to Participate in Adolescent Training Programs : Evidence from Uganda(2010) Bandiera, Oriana; Burgess, Robin; Goldstein, Markus; Gulesci, Selim; Rasul, Imran; Sulaiman, MunshiAlmost one-third of the population in developing countries is under age 15. Hence improving the effectiveness of policy interventions that target adolescents might be especially important. We analyze the intention to participate in training programs of adolescent girls in Uganda, a country with perhaps the most skewed age distribution anywhere in the world. The training program we focus on is BRAC's Adolescent Development Program, which emphasizes the provision of life skills, entrepreneurship training, and microfinance. We find that girls who are more likely to benefit from the program are more likely to intend to participate. The program attracts girls who are likely to place a high value on financial independence: single mothers and girls who are alienated from their families. The program attracts girls who are more likely to benefit from training: girls who believe they could be successful entrepreneurs but currently lack the quantitative skills to do so. Reassuringly, girls who are in school full-time are less likely to intend to participate. We also find that the program attracts girls from poorer villages but we find no evidence that poorer girls within each village are more likely to want to participate. Finally, girls from villages who have previously been exposed to NGO projects are less likely to intend to participate.Publication Part-Time Work, Gender and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from a Developing Country(2010) Lopez Boo, Florencia; Madrigal, Lucia; Pages, CarmenThis paper investigates the relationship between part-time work and job satisfaction in Honduras. In contrast to previous work for developed countries, this paper does not find higher job satisfaction among women working part-time. Instead, for both women and men, job satisfaction is higher when in full-time work, although this finding is stronger for men. Consistent with an interpretation of working part-time as luxury consumption, the paper finds that partnered women with children, poor women or women working in the informal sector are more likely to report higher job satisfaction when working full-time than single women, partnered women without children, non-poor women or women working in the formal sector.Publication Watta Satta: Bride Exchange and Women's Welfare in Rural Pakistan(2010) Jacoby, Hanan G.; Mansuri, GhazalaCan marriage institutions limit marital inefficiency? We study the pervasive custom of watta satta in rural Pakistan, a bride exchange between families coupled with a mutual threat of retaliation. Watta satta can be seen as a mechanism for coordinating the actions of two sets of parents, each wishing to restrain their son-in-law. We find that marital discord, as measured by estrangement, domestic abuse, and wife's mental health, is indeed significantly lower in watta satta versus "conventional" marriage, but only after accounting for selection bias. These benefits cannot be explained by endogamy, a marriage pattern associated with watta satta.Publication The Short-Term Impacts of a Schooling Conditional Cash Transfer Program on the Sexual Behavior of Young Women(2010) Baird, Sarah; Chirwa, Ephraim; McIntosh, Craig; Ozler, BerkRecent evidence suggests that conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs for schooling are effective in raising school enrolment and attendance. However, there is also reason to believe that such programs can affect other outcomes, such as the sexual behavior of their young beneficiaries. Zomba Cash Transfer Program is a randomized ongoing CCT intervention targeting young women in Malawi that provides incentives (in the form of school fees and cash transfers) to current schoolgirls and recent dropouts to stay in or return to school. An average offer of US$ 10/month conditional on satisfactory school attendance--plus direct payment of secondary school fees--led to significant declines in early marriage, teenage pregnancy, and self-reported sexual activity among program beneficiaries after just one year of program implementation. For program beneficiaries who were out of school at baseline, the probability of getting married and becoming pregnant declined by more than 40 and 30%, respectively. In addition, the incidence of the onset of sexual activity was 38% lower among all program beneficiaries than the control group. Overall, these results suggest that CCT programs not only serve as useful tools for improving school attendance but may also reduce sexual activity, teen pregnancy, and early marriage.