Although agriculture is the main occupation in rural Nepal, evidence suggests that households strive to diversify their sources of income. This paper investigates why this is the case. Using household data from the World Bank and information on rainfall for the various rural districts of Nepal,...

Certain regulations in developing countries have often been cited as impediments to progress. This paper considers one facet of these regulations - labor laws - and investigates whether these have detrimental effects on firm location and investment decisions. Conventional wisdom holds that...

Acrimonious relations between employers and employees in developing countries have often been cited as impediments to progress. This article considers various measures of labor disputes and investigates whether these have detrimental effects on the location choice of new domestic investment...

It is generally assumed that credit has a positive effect on children's schooling among poor households. This article shows that need not be the case when households obtain credit for investment purposes. In fact, investment loans may not have any effect on the likelihood of schooling for...

This paper analyzes patterns of foreign direct investment in India. We investigate how labor conflict, credit constraints, and indicators of a state’s economic health influence location decisions of foreign firms. We account for the possible endogeneity of labor conflict variables in modeling...

Summary This study examines how increasing competitive forces from India's trade liberalization have affected women's relative wages and employment. Neoclassical theory implies that costly discrimination against female workers should diminish over time with increased competition. We incorporate...

This paper analyzes patterns of foreign direct investment in India. We investigate how labor conflict, credit constraints, and indicators of a state's economic health influence location decisions of foreign firms. We account for the possible endogeneity of labor conflict variables in modeling...

This study studies the benefits of membership in microfinance programmes, and examines whether membership in these programmes is an effective instrument in smoothing inter-seasonal consumption. We hypothesise that the benefits to participation accrue differentially over time, as more experienced...

This paper examines how Nepal's 1996-2006 civil conflict affected women's decisions to engage in employment. Using three waves of the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, the authors employ a difference-in-difference approach to identify the impact of war on women's employment decisions. The...