Social hierarchies and the allocation of development aid : evidence from the 2015 earthquake in Nepal
Pathak, Prakash and Schündeln, Matthias (2022) Social hierarchies and the allocation of development aid : evidence from the 2015 earthquake in Nepal. Journal of Public Economics, 209 (104607). 104607. ISSN 0047-2727 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2022.104607)
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Abstract
We study the role of discrimination and in-group biases in the allocation of public funds by community-based committees. Specifically, we investigate the effect of caste hierarchies on the amount of emergency aid given to households after the 2015 earthquake in Nepal. Local committees allocated aid immediately after the earthquake, and –officially– the amount of aid was a function of the magnitude of the housing damage. To identify discrimination and in-group favoritism in this context, we utilize rich data on house characteristics and housing damage and exploit exogenous variation in earthquake intensity. We first provide evidence for caste-based discrimination by these committees: Upper caste households received more aid than lower caste households. Second, we find in-group favoritism among upper caste households: Upper caste households received more aid if individuals from their own (upper) caste were involved in the allocation of aid. In contrast, lower caste households did not benefit from the presence of their own (lower) caste representatives in aid allocation committees. The results highlight the importance of social hierarchies in the study of favoritism and contribute to a better understanding of social structure for the implementation of development policy.
ORCID iDs
Pathak, Prakash ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8929-2881 and Schündeln, Matthias;-
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Item type: Article ID code: 89789 Dates: DateEvent31 May 2022Published7 April 2022Published Online20 January 2022Accepted4 May 2021SubmittedSubjects: Social Sciences > Public Finance
Social Sciences > Communities. Classes. RacesDepartment: Strathclyde Business School > Economics Depositing user: Pure Administrator Date deposited: 01 Jul 2024 14:38 Last modified: 03 Oct 2024 10:14 URI: https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/89789