Presentations by Venkata Krishna Nadella and Alma Boustati

WIDER Seminar Series

WIDER Seminar Series - Venkata Nadella and Alma Boustati


There will be two 30-minute presentations at the seminar on 11 October 2017. Venkata Nadella of Indiana University will present evidence from India on social group identity, electoral reservations, and entrepreneurship, and Alma Boustati of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, will speak on determinants of female labour force participation in Jordan.

Venkata Krishna Nadella: Abstract – Social group identity, electoral reservations, and entrepreneurship: Evidence from India | Slides

Constitutionally mandated political representation of historically disadvantaged groups has become increasingly common in democratic societies – most notably, through explicit quotas or political reservations of electoral constituencies for ethnic/indigenous minorities and women. However, the proximal mechanisms through which political representation impacts (social) group outcomes are unaddressed. This study proposes political favoritism as one causal pathway through which political reservations impact social group outcomes. Using micro data from Economic Census of India, and matching firm’s location to state-assembly electoral constituencies – this study examines the effects of political reservations on industry-firm activity based on social group identity of the firm’s owner. To estimate the effects of political reservations on entrepreneurship and group economic activity, the study employs two instrumentation strategies – first a matched-pair approach at the electoral constituency-level to estimate an average treatment on the treated estimator, and a regression discontinuity design balanced on close electoral outcomes at the constituency-level to estimate an local-area average treatment effect estimator.

Alma Boustati: Abstract – Determinant of Female Labour Force Participation in Jordan: A Microeconomic Analysis | Slides

Despite completely closing the gender education gap and dramatically decreasing fertility rates, Jordan still has one of the lowest female labour force participation rates in the world (12.6% in 2014). In fact, in recent years, female labour force participation rate in Jordan exhibited a substantial decline. The labour market experience of Jordanian women, however, is by no means homogenous. For example, women with university degrees have a participation rate as high as 60% while that of women with a primary education does not exceed 5%. This research will aim to get a better understanding of factors that affect labour market outcomes of women in Jordan and the mechanisms through which they operate by using a unique dataset - the Jordanian Labour Market Panel Survey. This survey makes use of retrospective questions to get complete employment trajectories and provide a dynamic view of the life-cycle labour supply of Jordanian women.

The WIDER Seminar Series

The WIDER Seminar Series showcases recent and ongoing work on key topics in development economics. The weekly sessions held in Helsinki are open to local and visiting researchers, policy makers, and others working on development topics. Click here to read more about the WIDER Seminar Series.