Person: Raju, Dhushyanth
Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice, World Bank
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Education, Health, Nutrition, Labor, Poverty, Risk
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Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice, World Bank
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Last updated: September 19, 2024
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Publication Gender Equality, Poverty and Economic Growth(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-09) Morrison, Andrew; Raju, Dhushyanth; Sinha, NisthaThis paper reviews empirical findings from economic analyses of the role of gender equality and women's empowerment in reducing poverty and stimulating growth. Going beyond the large literature documenting the impact of female education on a range of development outcomes, the paper presents evidence on the impact of women's access to markets (labor, land, and credit) and women's decision-making power within households on poverty reduction and productivity at the individual and household level. The paper also summarizes evidence from studies examining the relationship between gender equality and poverty reduction and growth at the macro level. Although micro level effects of gender equality on individual productivity and human development outcomes have been well documented and have important ramifications for aggregate economic performance, establishing an empirical relationship between gender equality and poverty reduction and growth at the macro level has proven to be more challenging. The paper concludes by identifying priority areas for future research.Publication Effects over the Life of a Program: Evidence from an Education Conditional Cash Transfer Program for Girls(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12) Chhabra, Esha; Najeeb, Fatima; Raju, DhushyanthWhile most evaluations of education programs in developing countries examine effects one or two years after a program has been introduced, this study does so over an extended duration of a program. Administered in Punjab, Pakistan, the program offers cash benefits to households conditional on girls' regular attendance in secondary grades in government schools. The study evaluates the evolution of the program's effects on girls' secondary school enrollment numbers over roughly a decade of its existence. The program was targeted to districts with low adult literacy rates, a targeting mechanism that provides an observed, numerical program assignment variable and results in a cutoff value. Recent advances in regression discontinuity designs allow the study to appropriately fit key features of the data. The study finds that the program had positive effects on girls’ secondary school enrollment numbers throughout the period and that these effects were stable. This pattern is observed despite a loss of more than 60 percent in the real value of the cash benefit over the period. The findings are consistent with potential behavioral explanations, such as the program making girls' education salient to households or catalyzing a shift in social norms around girls' education.Publication Youth Employment in Nepal(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2018-06-22) Rajbhandary, Jasmine; Raju, Dhushyanth; Raju, Dhushyanth; Rajbhandary, JasminePromoting the smooth labor market integration and early labor market success of workers has increasingly become an important economic and social development aim globally. The Nepal government sees addressing the social and economic challenges of youth, and leveraging their social and economic prospects, as critical for the country’s economic growth and development. There has been limited systematic, policy-oriented empirical research conducted on labor and livelihoods in Nepal. Dedicated examinations of the labor conditions, behaviors, and outcomes of youth are rarer still. Responding to the knowledge needs expressed by the Nepal government and other stakeholders in the country, this book aims to improve our understanding of the labor market conditions, behaviors, and outcomes of Nepalese youth. It examines these aspects in Nepal’s domestic labor market as well as in relation to labor migration to India and other countries, including temporary 'foreign employment' of Nepalese workers under bilateral labor agreements between destination countries and Nepal. In so doing, the report seeks to present insights and implications for research and public policy, with the goal of improving the labor market prospects of Nepalese youth. The collective findings in the report point to three directions for orienting public policy and program initiatives. First is raising rural labor productivity, urban labor demand, and urban worker–job matching efficiency. Second is supporting the labor market integration of rural youth migrating to urban parts of Nepal and of youth labor migrants returning from India and other countries. Third is improving the orientation and efficacy of labor skill training.Publication Youth Labor Skill Training in Nepal(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-01) Raju, DhushyanthTraining is one of the main ways that the Nepal government intervenes in the labor market. This descriptive study documents patterns, trends, correlates, and the labor market effects of formal off-the-job training of youth, based on national household survey data. Training rates in Nepal tend to be higher than in other South Asian countries. Within the country, rates are higher for traditionally advantaged groups. While both short- and long-term training programs are available, most programs are short-term. Training is associated with a higher likelihood of employment, wagework, and nonfarm work for women but not for men. Training does not appear to be associated with wage earnings for either gender. Interest in training runs high, especially among traditionally disadvantaged groups, and among those who are currently employed or have previously obtained training. Little rigorous evidence is available for Nepal to inform the extent and nature of public intervention in the training market. The study concludes by offering suggestions for future, policy relevant research.