Social Interventions, Health, and Well-Being

Abstract

We analyze the long-run and intergenerational effects of a large-scale school building project (INPRES) that took place in Indonesia between 1974 and 1979. Specifically, we link the geographic rollout of INPRES to longitudinal data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey covering two generations. We find that individuals exposed to the program have better health later in life along multiple measures. We also find that the children of those exposed experience improved health and educational outcomes and that these effects are generally stronger for maternal exposure than paternal exposure.We find some evidence that household resources, neighborhood quality, and assortative mating may explain a portion of our results. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the long-run and multigenerational benefits when evaluating the costs and benefits of social interventions in a middle-income country.

Long‐term health effects of a school construction program

“…Our findings contribute new evidence on the effects of education on chronic disease risk factors in low‐resource settings. It also adds to the broader literature that has explored the effect of the Indonesian school expansion program on other outcomes, such as labor market outcomes (Duflo, 2001; Karachiwalla & Palloni, 2019; Pettersson, 2012), marriage market (Akresh et al., 2021; Mazumder et al., 2021; Zha, 2019), living standards and intergenerational impacts (Akresh et al., 2021; Mazumder et al., 2019, 2021), religious education and ideology (Bazzi et al., 2020), and economic preferences (Jung et al., 2021). The closest study to ours is Mazumder et al.…”

“…The closest study to ours is Mazumder et al. (2021) who analyze the long‐term and intergenerational effects of SD INPRES. Most relevant is their supplementary analysis of objective outcomes—BMI and high blood pressure—collected from around 2800 men and 3000 women participating in the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS).…”

“…Previous studies also suggest that the SD INPRES has led to higher earnings (Duflo, 2001, 2004; Pettersson, 2012), potentially due to the shift toward more formal employment and to the non‐agricultural sector (Akresh et al., 2021; Karachiwalla & Palloni, 2019). Subsequently, the program is also found to improve living standards as measured by higher per capita expenditure on food and better housing characteristics, particularly among women (Akresh et al., 2021; Mazumder et al., 2021). Some effects on the marriage market have also been observed.…”

“…Some effects on the marriage market have also been observed. For example, the program has led to having a more educated spouse (Akresh et al., 2021), with a more pronounced impact for women (Mazumder et al., 2021), and a slightly younger age of first marriage for women born in densely populated areas (Zha, 2019). In addition, Martinez‐Bravo (2017) finds that SD INPRES leads to the village having more educated leaders that, in turn, improves healthcare access by increasing the number of doctors and healthcare centers.…”

'What's the worth of a promise? Evaluating the longer-term indirect effects of a programme to reduce early marriage in India'

“…Further, if higher educational attainment leads to better relative bargaining power in the household, women may prefer leisure or home production over going out to work. This could further lead to intergenerational spill-overs through an improvement in welfare outcomes among their children (Lundberg et al, 1997;Mazumder et al, 2021). Moreover, there may be discernible non-market returns to education as well (Schultz, 1988).…”