This dissertation explores three distinct aspects of labor markets in India: the impacts of the public works program on agricultural productivity, the impact of gender reservation in local leadership on labor market dynamics, and the role of identity-based political connections in public employment.The first essay of the dissertation studies the impacts of India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) on agricultural productivity. While previous research has primarily focused on wage effects, this study investigates the effects on agricultural productivity, considering wages, income, and infrastructure development. By employing the difference-in-differences method and utilizing detailed agricultural data, the analysis reveals that NREGS has led to a significant increase in agricultural productivity for marginal farmers and no effects for large farmers. The increase in agricultural productivity for marginal farmers can be attributed to the more intensive use of family labor by marginal farmers, coupled with mechanization and increased irrigation. The second essay of the dissertation focuses on the decline in female labor force participation in rural India. The study explores the effects of gender reservation in village leadership on women's access to job opportunities, labor force participation, income, and intra-household bargaining. The econometric results suggest that gender reservation in local leadership primarily affects female participation in public works and regular labor markets and their income and influence on household decisions. The effects of reservation are observed with a lag, indicating the influence of social norms and stereotypes.The third essay investigates the role of identity-based political connections in public employment. A measure of political connection is constructed by matching surnames representing the caste of individuals and local leaders. The caste-based reservations are used to instrument the identities of council leaders to address the potential endogeneity problem. The findings indicate that political connections significantly increased participation in public employment, both on intensive and extensive margins. The results are robust to the inclusion of controls and various fixed effects. Moreover, the study finds that connections with council leaders have a stronger effect compared to connections with village council members. This research emphasizes the dynamics of identity-based political networks and their implications for the distribution of public sector opportunities in India.
Read
