Three essays on development economics

• Main Author: Deng, Ruotong
• Other Authors: Tang Cheng Keat
• Format: Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Social Sciences
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/174175
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This thesis consists of three essays on development economics. The first chapter studies the role of human capital in reducing poverty. Poverty has been a focal point in economic development, and China is one of the countries that make the most effort to eradicate poverty. This essay investigates how human capital helps poverty alleviation by exploiting the “College Graduates serving as Village Officials (CGVO)” program. In the CGVO program, the central government would recruit excellent college graduates each year to work in rural areas. Using data from a unique county-level dataset about the stock of CGVO in each county that is manually collected, and the data from various statistical yearbooks, the results show that CGVO have significant positive effects on rural income, savings, and GDP. On average, the increase in total rural income of a county exposed to one additional CGVO equals the annual income of 114 rural residents. In addition, the impacts of CGVO on poverty reduction are more profound in counties with higher rural income and education levels. In the mechanism analysis, we find that CGVO contribute to poverty alleviation through promoting the industrial switch of rural laborers, technological adoption, and human capital formation. The second chapter investigates how adverse events have an impact on an individual’s non-cognitive skills. The destruction caused by wars and conflicts extends beyond its physical domain and has a drastic impact on mental health which can impair cognitive and non- cognitive skills in individuals. This essay studies how conflicts affect individuals’ locus of control. Locus of control describes the extent to which a person believes that an outcome is dependent on his own behavior or that of outside causes, and is one of the most that attracts economists’ attention among all non-cognitive skills. Using individual-level data from the World Values Survey and the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, we find that greater exposure to conflicts leads to higher levels of internal locus of control in adults. We also explore the impact of severe conflicts experienced before adulthood on the locus of control. The findings show that a higher exposure to severe conflicts in childhood and adolescence can lead to a higher external locus of control. The essay contributes to the literature on the impact of wars and the effect of negative shocks on the locus of control. Mental health problems have become a pressing issue in the public health area, and to examine their determinants, the third chapter explores the impact of internet use on individuals’ mental health among Chinese adults. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies, we find a significant and negative effect of internet use on mental health. Specifically, engaging in online studying, working, and commercial activities is associated with poorer mental health outcomes. The negative impact is more pronounced among the rural population, females, individuals with a middle education level, and young people. Additionally, we identify physical health deterioration, disconnected family relationships, and a lower self-rated social status as potential mechanisms through which internet use has an adverse impact on mental health. Our findings contribute to the understanding of this relationship and have implications for policymaking regarding internet use to safeguard mental well-being in the digital age.