In this research note, we show that heritable fertility is not sufficient for positive long-term population growth, for empirical and theoretical reasons. This paper has been accepted at Demography.
Research by Sangita Vyas
Research by Sangita Vyas
Social disadvantage, economic inequality, and life expectancy in nine Indian states
This study estimates and decomposes life expectancy differentials along lines of caste, religion, and indigenous identity in India, home to some of the largest populations of marginalized social groups in the world. This paper has been published in PNAS.
Child health impacts of coal: Evidence from India's Coal Expansion
What are the child health and human capital consequences of India’s large coal power expansion? Using variation in local coal capacity within place across cohorts, I find that exposure to a median-sized coal plant at birth is associated with a 0.1 standard deviation child height deficit. This paper has been accepted at Journal of Human Resources.
Gender and LPG use after government intervention in rural north India
We examine why households are slow to adopt clean fuels in rural north India, and find that patriarchal gender norms and attitudes encourage the use of solid fuels in this region.
Persistence of solid fuel use in rural north India
We present survey evidence from rural north India showing persistent solid fuel use despite increases in liquefied petroleum gas ownership.
Measuring open defecation in India using survey questions: evidence from a randomised survey experiment
We provide the first evidence that individual-level questions find more open defecation than household-level questions.
Revisiting open defecation: Evidence from a panel survey in rural north India, 2014–18
Although rural latrine ownership increased considerably over this period, open defecation remains very common.
The association of early-life exposure to ambient PM2.5 and later-childhood height-for-age in India: An observational study
After controlling for potential confounders, we find that children born in a month with higher ambient air pollution are shorter.
Sanitation and religion in South Asia: What accounts for differences across countries?
This paper estimates how much the rate of open defecation would be reduced if rural households in regions that have a higher fraction of Hindus, where open defecation is still common, altered their behaviour to reflect that of non-Hindu households in regions that are predominantly non-Hindu, where the rate of open defecation is much lower.
Switching to sanitation: Understanding latrine adoption in a representative panel of rural Indian households
We find that households that are richer or better educated, that have certain demographic properties, or that improved their homes between 2005 and 2012 were more likely to switch to using a latrine or toilet. However, each of these effect sizes is small.
Understanding open defecation in rural India: Pollution, latrine pits, and untouchability
We link widespread open defecation in rural north India to beliefs, values, and norms about purity, pollution, caste, and untouchability that cause people to reject affordable latrines.
An experiment with air purifiers in Delhi during winter 2015-2016
We find that indoor air quality while using an air purifier in New Delhi is frequently worse than in cities with moderate pollution, and often worse than levels observed even in polluted cities.
Disease externalities and net nutrition: Evidence from changes in sanitation and child height in Cambodia, 2005-2010
The reduction in children’s exposure to open defecation over this period can statistically account for much or all of the increase in average child height between 2005 and 2010.
Revealed preference for open defecation: Evidence from a new survey in rural north India
Based on new survey data collected in Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, we find that over 40% of households with a working latrine have at least one member who defecates in the open.