Person:
Joseph, George
Author Name Variants
Fields of Specialization
Impact evaluation,
Applied microeconomics
Degrees
Departments
Global Practice on Water, The World Bank
Externally Hosted Work
Contact Information
Last updated
June 26, 2023
Biography
George Joseph is a Senior Economist with the Water Global Practice of the World Bank, Washington, DC. His research interests are centered on development economics and behavioral and applied microeconomics. He received his PhD in economics from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and an MA in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Publication Search Results
1 - 3 of 3
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Publication
Underreporting of Gender-Based Violence in Kerala, India: An Application of the List Randomization Method
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-04)This paper analyzes the incidence and extent to which domestic violence and physical harassment on public/private buses is underreported in Kerala, India, using the list randomization technique. The results indicate that the level of underreporting is over nine percentage points for domestic violence and negligible for physical harassment on public/private buses. Urban households, especially poor urban households, tend to have higher levels of incidence of domestic violence. Further, women and those who are professionally educated tend to underreport more than others. Underreporting is also higher among the youngest and oldest age cohorts. For physical harassment on public/private buses, rural population -- especially the rural non --poor and urban females—tend to underreport compared with the rural poor and urban males. -
Publication
Getting to Work: Unlocking Women's Potential in Sri Lanka's Labor Force
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2020-03-02)Sri Lanka has shown remarkable persistence in low female labor force participation rates—at 36 percent in the past two years, compared with 75 percent for same-aged men—despite overall economic growth and poverty reduction over the past decade. The trend stands in contrast to the country’s achievements in human capital development that favor women, such as high levels of female education and low total fertility rates, as well as its status as a lower-middle-income country. This study intends to better understand the puzzle of women’s poor labor market outcomes in Sri Lanka. Using nationally representative secondary survey data—as well as primary qualitative and quantitative research—it tests three hypotheses that would explain gender gaps in labor market outcomes: (1) household roles and responsibilities, which fall disproportionately on women, and the associated sociophysical constraints on women’s mobility; (2) a human capital mismatch, whereby women are not acquiring the proper skills demanded by job markets; and (3) gender discrimination in job search, hiring, and promotion processes. Further, the analysis provides a comparison of women’s experience of the labor market between the years leading up to the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war (2006–09) and the years following the civil war (2010–15). The study recommends priority areas for addressing the multiple supply- and demand-side factors to improve women’s labor force participation rates and reduce other gender gaps in labor market outcomes. It also offers specific recommendations for improving women’s participation in the five private sector industries covered by the primary research: commercial agriculture, garments, tourism, information and communications technology, and tea estate work. The findings are intended to influence policy makers, educators, and employment program practitioners with a stake in helping Sri Lanka achieve its vision of inclusive and sustainable job creation and economic growth. The study also aims to contribute to the work of research institutions and civil society in identifying the most effective means of engaging more women—and their untapped potential for labor, innovation, and productivity—in Sri Lanka’s future. -
Publication
Precarious Drop: Reassessing Patterns of Female Labor Force Participation in India
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-04)This paper uses successive rounds of National Sample Survey Organization data from 1993-94 to 2011-12, and draws from census data. This paper (i) provides a description of nearly two decades of patterns and trends in female labor force participation in India; (ii) estimates the extent of the recent decline in female labor force participation; and (iii) examines and assesses the contribution of various demographic and socioeconomic factors in explaining the female labor force participation decision and the recent the drop. The analysis finds that female labor force participation dropped by 19.6 million women from 2004–05 to 2011–12. Participation declined by 11.4 percent, from 42.6 to 31.2 percent during 1993–94 to 2011–12. Approximately 53 percent of this drop occurred in rural India, among those ages 15 to 24 years. Factors such as educational attainment, socioeconomic status, and household composition largely contributed to the drop, although their effects were more pronounced in rural areas. Specifically, the analysis finds a U-shaped relationship between levels of educational attainment and female labor force participation. The decomposition of the contribution of these various determinants to the female labor force participation decision suggests that stability in family income, as indicated by the increasing share of regular wage earners and declining share of casual labor in the composition of family labor supply, has led female family members to choose dropping out of, rather than joining, the labor force. The findings of this paper suggest that conventional approaches to increasing female labor force participation (such as education and skills and legal provisions) will be insufficient. Policies should center on promoting the acceptability of female employment and investing in growing economic sectors that are more attractive for female employment.