A Decade Long Maoist Insurgency and the Loss of Child Health in Nepal
Description
This paper studies the impact of Nepal’s 1996-2006 Maoist insurgency on the nutritional status of the children. The data on child health and household characteristics are from Nepal Demography and Health Survey (NDHS). We use NDHS datasets from the year-round 1996 and 2006. For the data on conflict, we use dataset from Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC). INSEC has record of killing of people during Maoist insurgency. We employ difference-in-difference (DID) econometric model because the datasets from NDHS before and after the insurgency makes it feasible to use the model. In our DID model, killings per 1000 population is the variable which is the proxy for conflict intensity in a region. We have the issue of endogeneity with the conflict variable. To address this issue, we use instrument variable (IV). The IV for our identification strategy is the distance of a region from Rolpa district. This district was the epicenter of Maoist insurgency. We employ Geographic Information System (GIS) to calculate distance variable. The finding of our study is that the marginal increase in killing per 1000 population in a region decreases height-for-age (HAZ) of the children by 0.252. The policy implication of the finding is that the intervention programs on child health could be designed targeted to the most affected regions by the Maoist insurgency. Although the insurgency occurred more than a decade before, the stunting in children could still be prevailing through intergenerational transmission mechanism of negative health shock.
A Decade Long Maoist Insurgency and the Loss of Child Health in Nepal
This paper studies the impact of Nepal’s 1996-2006 Maoist insurgency on the nutritional status of the children. The data on child health and household characteristics are from Nepal Demography and Health Survey (NDHS). We use NDHS datasets from the year-round 1996 and 2006. For the data on conflict, we use dataset from Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC). INSEC has record of killing of people during Maoist insurgency. We employ difference-in-difference (DID) econometric model because the datasets from NDHS before and after the insurgency makes it feasible to use the model. In our DID model, killings per 1000 population is the variable which is the proxy for conflict intensity in a region. We have the issue of endogeneity with the conflict variable. To address this issue, we use instrument variable (IV). The IV for our identification strategy is the distance of a region from Rolpa district. This district was the epicenter of Maoist insurgency. We employ Geographic Information System (GIS) to calculate distance variable. The finding of our study is that the marginal increase in killing per 1000 population in a region decreases height-for-age (HAZ) of the children by 0.252. The policy implication of the finding is that the intervention programs on child health could be designed targeted to the most affected regions by the Maoist insurgency. Although the insurgency occurred more than a decade before, the stunting in children could still be prevailing through intergenerational transmission mechanism of negative health shock.