Three Essays in Development Economics

Abstract

This dissertation presents three studies on development economics. In the first essay, “Impacts of Healthcare Expansion on Labor Outcomes: Evidence from Thailand's Universal Coverage Scheme,” I examine the impact on labor outcomes of Thailand's UCS, a health reform in 2001-2002 that raised the national insured rate by about 30% to almost 100%. A healthcare expansion policy typically leads to a concern of distortionary effects on the labor market, such as lower incentives for labor supply or employment. At the same time, this type of policy is found to promote business creation and entrepreneurship. I run difference-in-difference analysis and use the access to civil servant medical benefit scheme (CSMBS), which features spousal coverage, to identify treatment and control groups. I do not find evidence that the reform decreases labor force participation or private employment, as concerned. However, there is evidence suggesting that the policy increases self-employment among females with high health demands and business ownership among males with high health demands.

In the second essay, “Migration Network and Selectivity in Education in Indonesia,” I study the variation in migration selection in terms of education across migration network sizes in the context of Indonesian internal migration from 1985-2005. Using origin-destination-specific established migrant fractions to identify network sizes, I provide empirical evidence that highlight the role of network size in lowering the degree of positive selection in migration with respect to education. The results suggest that as origin communities accumulate migration experience, the education level of migrants should decline.

In the third essay, “Do Migrants Demand In-kind Remittances?: Experimental Evidence among Kenyans in the U.S.,” I examine the paternalistic motive of migrants in the international remittance context using experimental data. I test whether there is a demand for in-kind (non-cash direct goods) transfers, specifically whether the ability to transfer remittance in form of in-kind, as opposed to cash, change migrants (givers) behaviors. I find that the availability of in-kind giving significantly decreases the values of cash transfers, indicating that there is a demand for in-kind remittances. While this channel changes the composition of remittances, it does not statistically change the total values shared or the fractions shared to relatives. Migrants with low trust measures and migrants who usually give instructions to relatives are found to use this channel more and share larger values.

The dissertation contributes to the empirical evidence regarding health policy impacts, migration patterns, and remittance behaviors. The three studies hope to shed some light on key development economics issues in health and migration policies.