Pub Date : 2025-10-22DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103671
Lukas Vashold , Gustav Pirich , Maximilian Heinze , Nikolas Kuschnig
Mining operations in Africa are expanding rapidly, creating negative externalities that remain poorly understood. In this paper, we provide causal evidence for the impact of water pollution from mines on downstream vegetation and agriculture across the continent. We exploit a natural experiment, where mines cause a discontinuity in water pollution along river networks, to compare vegetation health in upstream and downstream locations. We find that mines significantly reduce peak vegetation downstream by 1.3–1.5%, impairing the productivity of over 74,000 km2 of croplands. These reductions correspond to annual losses of 91,000–205,000 tons of cereal crops in the immediate vicinity alone, with particularly severe effects in fertile regions and areas where gold mining predominates. Our findings highlight substantial externalities of mining and demonstrate an urgent need for oversight and regulation.
{"title":"Downstream impacts of mines on agriculture in Africa","authors":"Lukas Vashold , Gustav Pirich , Maximilian Heinze , Nikolas Kuschnig","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103671","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103671","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mining operations in Africa are expanding rapidly, creating negative externalities that remain poorly understood. In this paper, we provide causal evidence for the impact of water pollution from mines on downstream vegetation and agriculture across the continent. We exploit a natural experiment, where mines cause a discontinuity in water pollution along river networks, to compare vegetation health in upstream and downstream locations. We find that mines significantly reduce peak vegetation downstream by 1.3–1.5%, impairing the productivity of over 74,000 km<sup>2</sup> of croplands. These reductions correspond to annual losses of 91,000–205,000 tons of cereal crops in the immediate vicinity alone, with particularly severe effects in fertile regions and areas where gold mining predominates. Our findings highlight substantial externalities of mining and demonstrate an urgent need for oversight and regulation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103671"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145416641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-18DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103663
Vinicius Curti Cícero , Laura Heras-Recuero
We study how a large, exogenous trade shock — triggered by China’s accession to the WTO in 2001 — reshaped income, inequality, and import behavior across Brazilian regions. Using a shift-share instrument based on pre-shock export structures, we show that regions more exposed to China’s demand boom experienced faster growth in per capita income and larger increases in within-region inequality relative to less exposed areas. These changes, in turn, led to rising import values and shifts in composition, especially toward consumption and medium- to high-tech manufactured goods. To analyze these shifts, we classify goods by necessity and luxury status using Brazilian household data and introduce a complementary classification based on the spending patterns of high-income households in the United States. Luxury imports rose most in regions that were initially more unequal or experienced sharper post-shock inequality growth, consistent with non-homothetic preferences and broader theories of stratified consumption. Our findings highlight inequality as a key channel through which trade shocks shape regional import demand in developing economies.
{"title":"The consumption side of trade shocks: Inequality dynamics and luxury imports","authors":"Vinicius Curti Cícero , Laura Heras-Recuero","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103663","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103663","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We study how a large, exogenous trade shock — triggered by China’s accession to the WTO in 2001 — reshaped income, inequality, and import behavior across Brazilian regions. Using a shift-share instrument based on pre-shock export structures, we show that regions more exposed to China’s demand boom experienced faster growth in per capita income and larger increases in within-region inequality relative to less exposed areas. These changes, in turn, led to rising import values and shifts in composition, especially toward consumption and medium- to high-tech manufactured goods. To analyze these shifts, we classify goods by necessity and luxury status using Brazilian household data and introduce a complementary classification based on the spending patterns of high-income households in the United States. Luxury imports rose most in regions that were initially more unequal or experienced sharper post-shock inequality growth, consistent with non-homothetic preferences and broader theories of stratified consumption. Our findings highlight inequality as a key channel through which trade shocks shape regional import demand in developing economies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103663"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145362567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-17DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103664
Leonardo Sánchez-Aragón , Gonzalo E. Sánchez , Wladimir Zanoni
This paper provides causal evidence on the economic impact of central-to-local government transfers in a developing country context. We exploit plausibly exogenous variation in municipal transfers generated by a 2018 reform to Ecuador’s intergovernmental allocation formula. Using a design-based instrumental variables strategy, we estimate that a 1% increase in government transfers led to a 0.94% increase in total business sales in 2018 and 1.05% in 2019. The strongest effects are found in non-VAT sales. Mechanism analysis shows that transfers boost local economic activity mainly through increased recurrent and capital spending, particularly wages and procurement, suggesting that well-designed transfers can act as effective local demand stimuli.
{"title":"Stimulating local economies through central transfers: A natural experiment from Ecuador","authors":"Leonardo Sánchez-Aragón , Gonzalo E. Sánchez , Wladimir Zanoni","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103664","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103664","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper provides causal evidence on the economic impact of central-to-local government transfers in a developing country context. We exploit plausibly exogenous variation in municipal transfers generated by a 2018 reform to Ecuador’s intergovernmental allocation formula. Using a design-based instrumental variables strategy, we estimate that a 1% increase in government transfers led to a 0.94% increase in total business sales in 2018 and 1.05% in 2019. The strongest effects are found in non-VAT sales. Mechanism analysis shows that transfers boost local economic activity mainly through increased recurrent and capital spending, particularly wages and procurement, suggesting that well-designed transfers can act as effective local demand stimuli.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103664"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145362565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-17DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103672
Ang Sun , Wei Sun , Wang Xiang , Huili Zhang , Junsen Zhang
We investigate whether shorter working hours can narrow the gender gap in market and domestic work by examining the impact of China's workweek reduction policy. We find that the policy deepened the gender division of labor within dual-employee households, resulting in women further leaning toward familial roles. Specifically, women allocated more time to childcare and other household chores, while men withdrew from these domestic duties, worked longer hours beyond the designated schedule, and pursued higher education. This shift contributed to improved income and career advancement for men, whereas women did not experience similar improvements. The impact of this polarized gender division of labor was particularly pronounced in households with higher demands for domestic product consumption or with higher male-female wage ratios prior to the reform. Our analysis demonstrates that under the shortened working hours system, families' optimization behavior manifests as a deepened household specialization aimed at maximizing household consumption, suggesting that the reduction in working hours may exacerbate labor market gender inequality.
{"title":"Narrowing or widening the gender gap in market and domestic work? The impact of workweek reduction reform in China","authors":"Ang Sun , Wei Sun , Wang Xiang , Huili Zhang , Junsen Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103672","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103672","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We investigate whether shorter working hours can narrow the gender gap in market and domestic work by examining the impact of China's workweek reduction policy. We find that the policy deepened the gender division of labor within dual-employee households, resulting in women further leaning toward familial roles. Specifically, women allocated more time to childcare and other household chores, while men withdrew from these domestic duties, worked longer hours beyond the designated schedule, and pursued higher education. This shift contributed to improved income and career advancement for men, whereas women did not experience similar improvements. The impact of this polarized gender division of labor was particularly pronounced in households with higher demands for domestic product consumption or with higher male-female wage ratios prior to the reform. Our analysis demonstrates that under the shortened working hours system, families' optimization behavior manifests as a deepened household specialization aimed at maximizing household consumption, suggesting that the reduction in working hours may exacerbate labor market gender inequality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103672"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145362566","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-17DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103646
Alisher Batmanov , Idaliya Grigoryeva , Bruno Calderón-Hernández , Roberto González-Téllez , Alejandro Guardiola Ramírez
This paper investigates the role of beliefs and stigma in shaping students’ use of professional mental health services at a large private university in Mexico, where supply-side barriers are minimal and services are readily accessible. In a survey experiment with 680 students, we find that nearly 50% of students in distress do not receive professional mental health support despite a high level of awareness and perceived effectiveness, constituting a substantial treatment gap. We document stigmatized beliefs and misconceptions correlated with the treatment gap. As three-quarters of students incorrectly believe that those in distress perform worse academically and that the majority of students going to therapy are in severe distress, we implement an information intervention to correct these beliefs. We find that it increases students’ sharing of on-campus mental health resources with peers and encourages them to recommend these resources when advising a friend in distress. Interestingly, we find that it lowers respondents’ willingness to pay for private therapy at the end of the intervention. Yet, this effect does not translate into a long-run reduction in self-reported therapy use 6 months after the experiment, with prior therapy users showing increased off-campus take-up.
{"title":"Beliefs, information sharing, and mental health care use among university students","authors":"Alisher Batmanov , Idaliya Grigoryeva , Bruno Calderón-Hernández , Roberto González-Téllez , Alejandro Guardiola Ramírez","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103646","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103646","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates the role of beliefs and stigma in shaping students’ use of professional mental health services at a large private university in Mexico, where supply-side barriers are minimal and services are readily accessible. In a survey experiment with 680 students, we find that nearly 50% of students in distress do not receive professional mental health support despite a high level of awareness and perceived effectiveness, constituting a substantial treatment gap. We document stigmatized beliefs and misconceptions correlated with the treatment gap. As three-quarters of students incorrectly believe that those in distress perform worse academically and that the majority of students going to therapy are in severe distress, we implement an information intervention to correct these beliefs. We find that it increases students’ sharing of on-campus mental health resources with peers and encourages them to recommend these resources when advising a friend in distress. Interestingly, we find that it lowers respondents’ willingness to pay for private therapy at the end of the intervention. Yet, this effect does not translate into a long-run reduction in self-reported therapy use 6 months after the experiment, with prior therapy users showing increased off-campus take-up.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"180 ","pages":"Article 103646"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145665452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-16DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103662
Ankush Asri , Viola Asri , Anke Hoeffler
Societal expectations and gender norms constrain young people’s career planning, particularly for girls, limiting the role of personal interests in skill-building decisions. This study evaluates a low-cost, 10-hour career exploration intervention through a pre-registered, school-level, clustered randomized controlled trial with over 6,000 primarily female students in urban India. The program improved future planning and increased the importance students placed on personal interests in career choices. However, there is no evidence of medium-term impacts on educational or skill-building investments. These findings suggest that while scalable interventions can shift aspirations and planning, structural barriers constrain longer-term behavioral change.
{"title":"Unlocking young women’s potential? The impact of a low-cost career guidance program","authors":"Ankush Asri , Viola Asri , Anke Hoeffler","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103662","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103662","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Societal expectations and gender norms constrain young people’s career planning, particularly for girls, limiting the role of personal interests in skill-building decisions. This study evaluates a low-cost, 10-hour career exploration intervention through a pre-registered, school-level, clustered randomized controlled trial with over 6,000 primarily female students in urban India. The program improved future planning and increased the importance students placed on personal interests in career choices. However, there is no evidence of medium-term impacts on educational or skill-building investments. These findings suggest that while scalable interventions can shift aspirations and planning, structural barriers constrain longer-term behavioral change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103662"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145362564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-14DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103665
Xintong Han , Jan Victor Dee , Shaojia Wang , Kefan Chen
We examine how a government-initiated e-commerce platform (GEP) affects sales of a local specialty in China’s Pu’er tea market. Using a unique dataset from field experiments and surveys of 983 farmers, we examine changes in online and offline sales over time. We employ two-way fixed effects (TWFE) models to identify the causal impact of GEP access. The results reveal significant substitution effects: access to the GEP increases online sales by 16.649% and decreases offline sales by 15.549%, indicating an overall shift from offline to online sales. On the extensive margin, households that previously sold only offline become more likely to sell online. On the intensive margin, adopters expand their online channels and offer a wider range of tea qualities. The mediation analysis suggests that the increase in online sales channels and product variety accounts for the impact of GEP access on the shift to online transactions.
{"title":"Digital revitalization or useless effort? Public e-commerce support and local specialty sales","authors":"Xintong Han , Jan Victor Dee , Shaojia Wang , Kefan Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103665","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103665","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We examine how a government-initiated e-commerce platform (GEP) affects sales of a local specialty in China’s Pu’er tea market. Using a unique dataset from field experiments and surveys of 983 farmers, we examine changes in online and offline sales over time. We employ two-way fixed effects (TWFE) models to identify the causal impact of GEP access. The results reveal significant substitution effects: access to the GEP increases online sales by 16.649% and decreases offline sales by 15.549%, indicating an overall shift from offline to online sales. On the extensive margin, households that previously sold only offline become more likely to sell online. On the intensive margin, adopters expand their online channels and offer a wider range of tea qualities. The mediation analysis suggests that the increase in online sales channels and product variety accounts for the impact of GEP access on the shift to online transactions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103665"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145333326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-14DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103661
Klaus Deininger , Daniel Ayalew Ali , Nataliia Kussul , Andrii Shelestov , Leonid Shumilo , Guido Lemoine
We use remotely sensed data to measure conflict-induced field damage in Ukraine 2022-24 for about 10,000 village councils (VCs). Compared to media-based indicators (ACLED), these suggest higher conflict incidence in less densely populated VCs, consistent with official data. Use of annual crop maps for 2019-24 to estimate a difference in differences (DID) model at VC level suggests conflict significantly and persistently reduced cropped area in directly affected and neighboring VCs. Predicted conflict effects are three times larger and differently distributed for image as compared to media-based indicators, suggesting remotely sensed conflict measures may usefully complement media-based ones, especially in rural areas.
{"title":"Using free remotely sensed data to assess war-induced damage to agricultural cultivation: Evidence from Ukraine","authors":"Klaus Deininger , Daniel Ayalew Ali , Nataliia Kussul , Andrii Shelestov , Leonid Shumilo , Guido Lemoine","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103661","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103661","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We use remotely sensed data to measure conflict-induced field damage in Ukraine 2022-24 for about 10,000 village councils (VCs). Compared to media-based indicators (ACLED), these suggest higher conflict incidence in less densely populated VCs, consistent with official data. Use of annual crop maps for 2019-24 to estimate a difference in differences (DID) model at VC level suggests conflict significantly and persistently reduced cropped area in directly affected and neighboring VCs. Predicted conflict effects are three times larger and differently distributed for image as compared to media-based indicators, suggesting remotely sensed conflict measures may usefully complement media-based ones, especially in rural areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103661"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145363006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-13DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103669
Sandhya Garg , Samarth Gupta , Sushanta Mallick
This paper examines whether improved financial access can mitigate the constraints imposed by social identity on entrepreneurship among under-privileged caste groups in India. Using a novel dataset on Indian villages and their proximity to bank branches, we find that closer access to a bank branch significantly enhances entrepreneurial activity among Scheduled Castes (SCs) in non-agricultural sectors, especially in those sectors that are traditionally dominated by upper-caste groups. These findings are more pronounced in villages where the improvement in proximity was plausibly exogenous, resulting from the RBI's Bank Branch Expansion Policy of 2005. For Scheduled Tribes (STs), however, financial access is associated with a gain in the size of hired employment within enterprises. Exploring several mechanisms, we find that these effects are primarily driven by credit uptake. Overall, our findings highlight the potential of financial inclusion in breaking rigid social norms around the entrenched caste-based occupational segregation and promoting more equitable economic participation in India.
{"title":"Does social identity constrain rural entrepreneurship? Evidence on the role of financial inclusion","authors":"Sandhya Garg , Samarth Gupta , Sushanta Mallick","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103669","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103669","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines whether improved financial access can mitigate the constraints imposed by social identity on entrepreneurship among under-privileged caste groups in India. Using a novel dataset on Indian villages and their proximity to bank branches, we find that closer access to a bank branch significantly enhances entrepreneurial activity among Scheduled Castes (SCs) in non-agricultural sectors, especially in those sectors that are traditionally dominated by upper-caste groups. These findings are more pronounced in villages where the improvement in proximity was plausibly exogenous, resulting from the RBI's Bank Branch Expansion Policy of 2005. For Scheduled Tribes (STs), however, financial access is associated with a gain in the size of hired employment within enterprises. Exploring several mechanisms, we find that these effects are primarily driven by credit uptake. Overall, our findings highlight the potential of financial inclusion in breaking rigid social norms around the entrenched caste-based occupational segregation and promoting more equitable economic participation in India.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103669"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145473630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-11DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103670
Dapeng Chen , Shin-Yi Chou , Bingjin Xue
We exploit China's universal two-child policy and variations in adult children's birth cohort to examine the causal impact of the family-planning policy on grandparenting and elderly mental well-being. Using a difference-in-differences design, we find that the policy significantly increased the number of grandchildren and intensified grandparental involvement—raising informal caregiving, weekly hours spent, co-residence, and contact with adult children. These changes were accompanied by a 6.8 % increase in CESD-10 depression scores and 8.9 %–14.3 % increase in underlying symptoms such as restless sleep, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and hopelessness. We find no significant changes in income, consumption, or healthcare use, suggesting that the mental health effects are most plausibly driven by increased caregiving demands. The impacts are most pronounced among urban and paternal grandparents, especially paternal grandmothers. Despite these declines, we find no evidence of elevated risk of severe clinical depression.
{"title":"Bittersweet: Grandparenting and elderly mental health in the two-child policy era","authors":"Dapeng Chen , Shin-Yi Chou , Bingjin Xue","doi":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103670","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103670","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We exploit China's universal two-child policy and variations in adult children's birth cohort to examine the causal impact of the family-planning policy on grandparenting and elderly mental well-being. Using a difference-in-differences design, we find that the policy significantly increased the number of grandchildren and intensified grandparental involvement—raising informal caregiving, weekly hours spent, co-residence, and contact with adult children. These changes were accompanied by a 6.8 % increase in CESD-10 depression scores and 8.9 %–14.3 % increase in underlying symptoms such as restless sleep, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and hopelessness. We find no significant changes in income, consumption, or healthcare use, suggesting that the mental health effects are most plausibly driven by increased caregiving demands. The impacts are most pronounced among urban and paternal grandparents, especially paternal grandmothers. Despite these declines, we find no evidence of elevated risk of severe clinical depression.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48418,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Development Economics","volume":"179 ","pages":"Article 103670"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145333324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}