Working Papers

Targeting men, women or both to reduce child marriage
with Rachel Cassidy, Wendy Janssens, Umair Kiani & Karlijn Morsink
Paper · Submitted

Abstract

We study whether targeting men, women, or both with the same intervention in the same context is more effective in improving women’s and girls’ outcomes in settings governed by gendered social norms. Using a clusterrandomized controlled trial in Pakistan, we evaluate an edutainment intervention aimed at delaying girls’ marriage. Targeting men reduces child marriage within target households, while targeting women generates sustained reductions in child marriages at village level. Our results can be rationalized by a Bayesian persuasion model, where women are more hesitant to deviate from norms than men. Extending the model to gender-segregated information transmission accounts for the village-level spillover effects.

Keeping the peace while getting your way: Information, persuasion, and intimate partner violence
with Dan Anderberg, Rachel Cassidy, Wendy Janssens, Umair Kiani, Karlijn Morsink & Anouk van Veldhoven
Paper · Submitted

Abstract

We study the effects on intimate partner violence (IPV) of new information received by women only, men only, or both, relevant to a high-stakes joint household decision. We model communication between spouses as Bayesian persuasion where disagreements elevate the risk of IPV. Our framework predicts that IPV will be lower when only one spouse is informed, compared to when both are, as the opportunity for persuasion by one spouse leads to more agreement. To test the model’s predictions we leverage an existing randomized controlled trial of an edutainment intervention addressing child marriage decisions for girls in rural Pakistan, targeted at men, women, or both. Our empirical findings confirm the prediction that the likelihood of IPV is highest when men and women are jointly targeted. Due to systematic gender differences in preferences, our persuasion model further predicts that marriage delays are largest when targeting men alone or jointly with women and smallest when targeting women alone, predictions that are also confirmed in the data.

Intimate partner violence and women’s economic preferences
with Dan Anderberg, Rachel Cassidy, Melissa Hidrobo, Jessica Leight & Karlijn Morsink
Paper · Submitted

Abstract

One in three women globally experience intimate partner violence (IPV), yet its effects on economic decision-making remain poorly understood. We provide causal evidence that IPV alters victims' patience – a key parameter for decisions about savings, investment, and labor supply. We first present evidence from two randomized-recall experiments, showing that women with recent IPV exposure when prompted to recall acts of abuse display significantly greater impatience than otherwise similar women who were not prompted. In two additional analyses of interventions (cash transfers or psychotherapy) that reduced IPV, we show that women randomly allocated to these interventions exhibit more patience. Together, these findings show that IPV impairs intertemporal decision-making. This effect potentially undermines victims’ ability to invest in future-oriented actions– such as education, health, finances – or decisions to leave abusive relationships, thereby reinforcing cycles of disadvantage.

Learning to work towards goals: A sequential evaluation of the effect of a goal-setting course on academic and soft skills
with Guthrie Gray-Lobe, Michael Kremer, Joost de Laat & Karlijn Morsink
Paper

Abstract

This study sequentially evaluates a soft-skills course implemented in Ugandan and Kenyan primary schools that replaced academic review time with lessons on goal-setting and related skills as students prepared for high-stakes primary school-leaving exams. An exploratory evaluation in Uganda provided evidence of positive impacts on girls’ test scores. A confirmatory evaluation in Kenya found that the course led to improvements in self-reported soft skills, especially among girls, although no gains in test scores. The study illustrates the utility of sequential evaluation, with exploratory analysis to identify promising hypotheses, followed by out-of-sample testing, as a tool to uncover heterogeneous effects.

Work in progress

LinkinOut harassment: A targeted social media experiment to reduce workplace harassment towards women
with Jesita Ajani & Diego Dabed Sitnisky
Blog: Social media experiments, Harassment rates · Funded, RCT ongoing

Freedom within: Can foundational skills expand agency under severe constraints?
with Noam Angrist, Michael Callen, Claire Cullen, Oeindrila Dube & Saipremnath Muthukumaran
AEA-RCT Registration · Funded, RCT completed

Stories that shape us: Evidence from a gender-empowering literacy program
with Noam Angrist, Emilie Berkhout, Konstantin Buchel & Tendekai Mukoyi