TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Cook, C. Justin
AU  - Shah, Manisha
        TI  - Aggregate Effects from Public Works: Evidence from India
        PY  - 2020/Sep/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 13710
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp13710
        AB  - This paper explores the aggregate economic effects from India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), which provides up to 100 days of labor to rural laborers at the mandated minimum wage. We examine the within-district change to night-time lights and banking deposits using the staggered program rollout for identification. We find consistent and robust evidence that NREGS increased aggregate economic output by 1-2% per capita measured by night-time lights. This effect, however, is not equal across districts. We observe no positive effect of the program in poorer districts, illuminating an important source of heterogeneity.
        KW  - aggregate output
KW  - NREGS
        ER  -