 | Department of Economics |
PeopleResearch Themes
Behavioural Economics
MPhil Theses
Intergenerational Transfer of Aspirations: The Impact of Gender
Researcher: Fatimah Shah (Ongoing)
Abstract
This research seeks to identify the relationship between parental occupations and gender specific career aspirations of undergraduate students. To do this surveys would be conducted on fourth year undergraduate students in different universities of Lahore. These would be capturing data on demographic characteristics, parental occupations and career aspirations. As career aspirations are determinant of one's career and lifestyle choices, the results from this study may help in understanding prevailing gender gap in various labor market outcomes.
Measuring Mother's Empowerment through the Culture of Son Preference in Pakistan
Researcher: Amal Tanvir (Ongoing)
Abstract
In a developing country, the changes in the economic conditions of a household can lead to parents treating their children differently based on their gender. According to Global Gender Gap Index (2016), out of 144 countries, Pakistan's global ranking in terms of gender gap in economic participation, educational attainment, health and survival along with political empowerment are 143, 135, 124 and 90 respectively. This gender discrimination has given rise to the concept of son preference where the social and economic utility from having a son outweighs that of a daughter.
This study analyzed the factors having an impact on mother's empowerment in Pakistan and focuses on how the prevalent culture of son preference is translated in the gender along with birth-order of the child to play an important role in determining mother's status within the household. To explore this relationship Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) for the year 2012-13 has been used.
The results suggest that having a son or a number of sons (regardless of the birth-order they are born in) is more likely to have a significant and a positive impact on mother's overall empowerment as compared to having sons belonging to different birth-orders. These results hold true even when mother's empowerment is segregated in terms of behavioral and attitudinal dimensions. Moreover, young mothers who belong to an age bracket of 16 to 30 years are more positively impacted by the birth-order of the son(s) as compared to mothers belonging to an age bracket of 30 to 49 years. Similarly, mothers who are old are more likely to see an increase in their empowerment by the mere presence of a son or a number of sons (regardless of the order they are born in) as compared to young mothers.
Spousal Trust Game- Evidence from a Field Experiment in Pakistan
Researcher: Shemiah Parshad (Ongoing)
Abstract
The research by Shemiah Parshad explored trust dynamics between spouses, strangers of the same gender and strangers of the opposite gender by carrying out a Trust Game (BDM game) with a sample of 41 couples in Lahore, Pakistan. The author tried to ascertain whether any spouses choose the efficiency maximizing strategy. The results from the Trust Game showed that wives are more trusting as compared to husbands while overall, females are low on both trust and trustworthiness.
Transfer of Behavioral Traits from Parents to Children: An Experimental Approach
Researcher: Maria Zubair (2017)
Abstract
It is commonly believed that parents transfer their behavioral traits to their offspring. But where does one draw the line between nature and nurture? Most of us have received our first lessons in lying, trust, generosity and even selfishness from our parents. These non-cognitive skills, like patience, ambition, tenacity etc. are all thus malleable trait if we come to prove that they are transferred from parent to their child. A field experiment was conducted at a private school in Lahore, Pakistan. These experiments measured two key non-cognitive skills that literature believes are passed onto the offspring via their parents: patience and trust. To measure the correlation between parents and children, an ordered probit analysis was employed. Our findings show that there is a strong negative relationship between child's patience to that of his parent. Child and parent trust display no significant relationship. However, a positive significant relationship was analyzed between child reciprocity (trustworthiness) and parent reciprocity.
Homophily and Strategic Behavior in Social Interactions: Evidence from a Lab Experiment
Researcher: Zeenat Ansari (2017)
Abstract
Social networks play an important role in human interaction. It is possible for social differentiation and segregation to discourage links that are desirable from an efficiency point of view, or for social matches to encourage them. This study looks at how individual behavior and the diffusion of demographic information affects social interactions. Based on a controlled lab experiment, we assess three key determinants of social interaction: (i) homophily, (ii) preference for fairness and (iii) past behavior. Of the experiment's three treatment groups - an out-group and two variations of in-group pairings - we find that participants show less homophily toward an in-group match when they know their partner cannot influence their outcome. However, if there is a chance of the behavior being reprimanded, the opposite is true. Finally, we present strong evidence in favor of reciprocity and coordination because participants are responsive to their partner's decision in prior interactions.
Published Working Paper: CREB Working Paper No. 02-17
Cognitive Reflection and Decision Making
Researcher: Taimoor Naseer Waraich (2016)
Abstract
We conduct a study which tests the impact of Cognitive Reflection on decision making theories of time and risk preferences. Decision theorists have suggest that people make lottery decisions according to the expected maximum value assigned to the lottery and they also claim that people generally discount the future more. We test these theories using the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT). We use an extension of the original CRT which was a 3 item test based on the dual system theory and was used to divide people into different cognitive groups according to their scores. Originally the test was developed by Fredrick (2005) and then worked on by Primi etal (2013); they extended it to a 7 version item of the test which has greater predictive powers as compared to the original one. We also conduct an additional behavioral experiment which measures time and risk preferences but with real monetary rewards to see whether the decisions of the respondents change when presented with real life choices. The aim is to see the impact on both risk and time preferences using the instruments initially used by Fredrick (2005) and our additional experiment. We find a significant difference between decision making of respondents divided into two groups of low and high CRT scores. We also find that that new version of CRT has a stronger correlation with time and risk preferences. Our results show that the relation persists when we switch from hypothetical to real choices.
Link to the Article:
http://121.52.153.178:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/15316/Taimoor
%20Naseer-MPHIL.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Fuzzy Judgment Aggregation: Distance Based Methods
Researcher: Ayesha Syed (2016)
Abstract
Arrow (1963) established that a group cannot always reach logically consistent collective outcome. Subsequently many developments like premise based, conclusion based and distance based methods have emerged in literature to reach group consistency in crisp logic. This study is focused on the judgment aggregation in fuzzy logic based setting with novel involvement of family of t-norms. We compare four distance based methods due to Miller and Osherson (2009) using Lukasiewicz and min t-norm. These methods in fuzzy setting gives closer results to consistency of outcome. It also broaden the set of properties and authenticity of the methods. Distance method in our study satisfy Arrow's axioms in solution method that previously failed in crisp logic.
Link to the Paper:
http://121.52.153.178:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/14884/Thesis
%20-%20Ayesha%20Syed.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Socioeconomic Determinants of Maternal Health Behavior in Pakistan: An Instrumental Variable Approach
Researcher: Shandana Shahid Dar (2013)
Abstract
Utilization of maternal health services is a complex behavioral phenomenon. Empirical studies have established that the use of maternal health services is related to social and cultural structures, household factors and personal characteristics of women such as education and health knowledge. Yet the causal mechanism through which education of women in Pakistan affects their health seeking behavior is poorly understood. Using the 2006-07 Pakistan Demographic Health Survey (PDHS) information on women aged 15-49 who had given at least one birth in the three years prior to the survey, this study aims to; (i) determine which socioeconomic factors affect maternal health care utilization behavior of women, and (ii) identify the pathway through which effect of women's education is transmitted to their maternal health seeking behavior. Empirical analysis is conducted using instrumental variable technique and community fixed effects. The results of the analysis indicate that women's predisposing factors such as educational attainment, child's birth order, spouse's educational attainment and type of occupation, along with female empowerment are important determinants of maternal health seeking behavior of women in Pakistan. Results of this study also confirm an important role played by women's health knowledge, independent of educational attainment, on their maternal health care utilization.
Link to the Paper:
http://121.52.153.178:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/6342/upload-Final%20Theis_Shandana%20Dar-july%201-13.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y
Education, Employment, and Women's Say in Household Decision-Making in Pakistan
Researcher: Duryab Fatima (2014)
Abstract
This study uses data from the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey for 2007/08 to conduct an empirical analysis of the relationship between education, employment, and women's say in household decision-making in Pakistan. Using a linear probability model with fixed effects, we analyze decisions pertaining to family planning and to expenditure on food, clothing, medical costs, and recreation. In order to address the reverse causality between employment and empowerment, the study uses district cotton production as an instrument for employment. We find that education and employment have a significant effect on women's say in certain- though not all-household decisions. In most cases, employment in nonagriculture increases women's say as opposed to employment in agriculture.
However, employment tends to empower women mainly in terms of expenditure-related decisions and not decisions pertaining to family planning.
Published Working Paper: CREB Working Paper Series No.04-14.
Impact of Parents' Subjective Aspirations on Schooling Investment in Rural Punjab
Researcher: Anam Ashraf (2013)
Abstract
Human capital accumulation is deemed as a key indicator in the development process. It is closely related to other development indicators like socioeconomic status and occupational productivity. This study focuses on human capital investment decisions of parents for their child's schooling. By conducting a cross sectional empirical analysis, we attempt to identify parental subjective aspirations as a causal channel which impacts investment decisions regarding schooling of children. This study utilizes the 2010-11 Privatization in Education Research Initiative (PERI) dataset for children aged 5-14 who are currently enrolled in a school. The aim of this study is to; (i) assess the impact of differences in subjective aspirations between communities on schooling investment, (instrumented by the arrival of a factory) and, (ii) assess how different capabilities of siblings can influence investment decisions of parents. By exploiting exogenous variation in the arrival of new factories to a community and household fixed effects technique, parents' desire for the level of education they want for their child plays a major role in shaping up investment behaviour, but aspirations which are motivated by external factors such as arrival of new factories have a more pronounced impact on investment in schooling than differences in aspirations caused by differences between siblings. Moreover, from this study it can be deduced that this impact on investment goes into expenditure rather than towards private school enrolment.
Link to the Paper:
http://121.52.153.178:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/6339/upload-Anam%20Ashraf%20%28Final%20Thesis%29%20Formatted.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y
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