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Financial Incentives for Female Births and Parental Investments in Daughters: Evidence From a Program in North India

  • July 2011
  • Interview
Nistha Sinha

For over a decade, several states in India have offered financial incentives to discourage preference for sons and to encourage parents to invest in their daughters’ education and health. Nistha Sinha and Joanne Yoong of the World Bank evaluated Apni Beti Apna Dhan (“Our Daughter, Our Wealth”), one such program in the state of Haryana. The researchers analyzed statewide household survey data on fertility and child health in order to estimate the program’s impact on women’s fertility preferences and on children’s health and schooling. Although the program’s effects on mothers’ preferences for having girls were inconclusive, Sinha and Yoong’s analysis suggests that the program increased families’ investments both in eligible girls’ health immediately after birth and in their human capital. Sinha discusses the details and outcomes of this research program in this video interview.

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Financial Incentives for Female Births and Parental Investments in Daughters: Evidence From a Program in North India

  • July 2011
  • Interview
Nistha Sinha

For over a decade, several states in India have offered financial incentives to discourage preference for sons and to encourage parents to invest in their daughters’ education and health. Nistha Sinha and Joanne Yoong of the World Bank evaluated Apni Beti Apna Dhan (“Our Daughter, Our Wealth”), one such program in the state of Haryana. The researchers analyzed statewide household survey data on fertility and child health in order to estimate the program’s impact on women’s fertility preferences and on children’s health and schooling. Although the program’s effects on mothers’ preferences for having girls were inconclusive, Sinha and Yoong’s analysis suggests that the program increased families’ investments both in eligible girls’ health immediately after birth and in their human capital. Sinha discusses the details and outcomes of this research program in this video interview.

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