Conference Agenda

Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).

Please note that all times are shown in the time zone of the conference. The current conference time is: 13th May 2024, 10:05:09pm EDT

 
 
Session Overview
Session
Track T5-3: Labor and the Finance of Human Capital
Time:
Tuesday, 21/May/2024:
10:30am - 11:15am

Session Chair: Elena Simintzi, UNC
Discussant: Constantine Yannelis, University of Chicago
Location: Room 1212


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Presentations

Banking on Education: How Credit Access Promotes Human Capital Development

Suzanne Chang1, Saravana Ravindran2

1Tulane University; 2National University of Singapore

This paper presents new evidence on the impact of bank branch expansion and credit access on human capital outcomes for children. Using a regression discontinuity design, we study a branch authorization policy by the Reserve Bank of India that encouraged banks to open branches in underbanked districts, where the population-to-branch ratio exceeded the national average. Bank presence, bank lending, and household borrowing increased. We find significant improvements in test scores: children in underbanked districts scored 0.16–0.22 SD higher on reading and math. We document three mechanisms. First, we find evidence for a demand-side channel where parents spent more on their children’s education and children spent more time on homework. Second, we document supply-side impacts in improvements in the quantity and quality of schools and teachers. Third, we find support for a labor market channel, with shifts away from agricultural employment and towards employment in manufacturing, while self-employed individuals expanded their businesses.


Chang-Banking on Education-1391.pdf


 
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