Using a unique dataset collected among farmers in India’s semi-arid tropics, this paper documents the surprising prevalence of risk-taking behavior in the face of high-stakes gambles. The evidence suggests that this apparently anomalous behavior is due to a combination of credit constraints...

This paper examines the relationship between maternal employment and infant health in the context of a large workfare program that explicitly prioritizes female participation, India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Using multiple estimation strategies including a triple difference...