Background During the current ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, psychological problems like anxiety, depression, irritability, mood swings, inattention and sleep disturbance are fairly common among quarantined children in several studies. A systematic review of these publications to provide an accurate burden of these psychiatric/behavioral problems is needed for planning mitigating measures by the health authorities. Methods Different electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, CENTRAL, medRxiv and bioRxiv) were searched for articles describing psychological/behavioral complications in children/adolescents with/without pre-existing behavioral abnormalities and their caregivers related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only original articles with/without comparator arms and a minimum sample size of 50 were included in the analysis. The pooled estimate of various psychological/behavioral problems was calculated using a random-effect meta-analysis. Results Fifteen studies describing 22 996 children/adolescents fulfilled the eligibility criteria from a total of 219 records. Overall, 34.5%, 41.7%, 42.3% and 30.8% of children were found to be suffering from anxiety, depression, irritability and inattention. Although the behavior/psychological state of a total of 79.4% of children was affected negatively by the pandemic and quarantine, at least 22.5% of children had a significant fear of COVID-19, and 35.2% and 21.3% of children had boredom and sleep disturbance. Similarly, 52.3% and 27.4% of caregivers developed anxiety and depression, respectively, while being in isolation with children. Conclusion Anxiety, depression, irritability, boredom, inattention and fear of COVID-19 are predominant new-onset psychological problems in children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Children with pre-existing behavioral problems like autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have a high probability of worsening of their behavioral symptoms.

A large literature has emerged dealing with the economic and non-economic determinants of migration. Among the economic determinants of migration are income levels and rates of change in income in different areas. These variables are designed to measure labor market opportunities both currently and in the future. Invariably, studies which attempt to explain migration utilize nominal measures of income and change in income, not real measures. Yet assuming that individuals are not subject to money illusion, they would be interested in cost of living information as well as in information regarding nominal income and change in income. This paper examines this issue empirically.We demonstrate that some cost of living variables, when included in a migration equation, enter with the expected sign and are statistically significant. We also demonstrate the failure to include such variables in a regression results in misspecification and bias involving some of the variables in the regression.

Background: India is at the cusp of a population change and is currently undergoing the phase of 'demographic dividend. ' This has thrown a challenge towards the policymakers to ensure that there are enough employment opportunities for the everincreasing labour force. One of the areas where improvement is urgently required in India is skill development. This paper attempts to identify the factors, which affect an individual's participation in vocational training using nationally representative National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data. Further, we investigate the impact of vocational training on the wages of an individual at overall and sectoral levels. Methods: For addressing the first question of factors that are associated with participation in vocational training programmes, we will be applying logit and multi-nominal logit models. The explanatory variables will broadly be social and economic indicators of the individual as well as the individual's household characteristics. The second issue of identifying the effect formal vocational training on wages will be analysed through a multiple regression model. Results: We found that being an urban dweller increases the odds of participating in formal vocational training. Further, being male increases the odds of receiving formal vocational training. We found that having formal training increases the wage by 4.7% in the overall economy as compared to a person without any training. The effect is highest in the primary sector, where the individuals with vocational training had a wage increase of 36.9%. Workers with formal vocational training in the secondary sector had an increase in wages by 17.6%. Conclusions: The analysis done in the paper reveals that formal vocational training is associated with higher wages with the effect being the highest in the primary sector. Being male and urban dweller improved the odds of participating in formal vocational training. The model suggests that there exist good economic returns, which are associated with formal vocational training, and hence, it makes sense to invest resources in vocational training.

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Child stunting is associated with substantial impediments to human development and loss in human capital. An important factor contributing to the prevalence of stunting, a manifestation of malnutrition among children, is believed to be women's lack of empowerment. This paper, therefore, aims to describe the trends and variations in child stunting in India using data from the National Family and Health Survey. This study also seeks to find the factors associated with child stunting, with particular focus on the influence of women's empowerment. We analyzed stunting across various socioeconomic groups, and applied chi-square tests and logistic regression modeling to determine whether any significant association existed between the different dimensions of women's empowerment and child stunting. We found that the financial autonomy of women is one of the factors which is associated with a reduction in the odds of being a child stunted. Other reasons that decrease the odds of child stunting are maternal health, measured by body mass index, and the number of antenatal visits during pregnancy. Women's empowerment can, therefore, play an essential role in improving child nutrition.