Here Comes the Rain Again: Productivity Shocks, Educational Investments, and Child Work
利用印度农村家庭面板数据，研究发现农业生产率冲击（以降雨量衡量）会显著减少教育支出并增加儿童劳动，尤其对土地所有者、信贷可得家庭、边缘种姓和低教育家庭影响更大，加剧教育不平等。
This study uses household-level panel data from a nationally representative survey to estimate the effect of agricultural productivity shocks—as proxied by exogenous annual rainfall deviations—on education expenditures and children’s work status in rural India. We find that a transitory increase in rainfall significantly reduces education expenditures and increases the likelihood of child labor across multiple work activities. Additionally, households owning land and those with better credit access increase the use of child labor as rainfall increases because labor (and land) markets are incomplete. The effects of productivity shocks are reinforced for marginalized castes and for less educated households, thereby exacerbating inequalities in education.