385/2018 Prashant Bharadwaj, James Fenske, Rinchan Ali Mirza, and Namrata Kala

We use a difference in differences approach to show that the adoption of High Yielding Varieties (HYV) reduced infant mortality in India. This holds even comparing children of the same mother. Children of mothers whose characteristics predict higher child mortality, rural children, boys, and low-caste children benefit more from HYV adoption. We find no obvious evidence that parental investments respond to HYV adoption. We find little evidence of selection into child bearing in response to HYV adoption.

Culture and development

Journal of Health Economics

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2020.102314