Does maternal migration affect spousal labour market decisions? Evidence from Sri Lanka (with Vengadeshvaran Sarma), Singapore Economic Review, 71(1), 83-105, 2026. Download; Working paper; Abstract This paper examines Sri Lankan men’s labor market outcomes when their wives emigrate to work, leaving the husbands and their children at home in Sri Lanka — the effects of maternal migration on the husbands’ labor market decisions. We used nationally representative cross-sectional data and historical migration rates at the community level as an instrument for maternal migration in two-stage least squares estimations. We find that maternal migration reduces the husbands’ labor supply. Husbands are more likely to exit the labor market and become unemployed; the employed are less likely to moonlight and have lower wages, and those that exit the labor market are more likely to become stay-at-home dads. Using a second instrument, an indicator of whether a community has foreign-employment agencies, we also confirmed our main results. Our findings indicate that policies that aim to promote female migration as an exogenous income source may fall short if they do not address the effects of the husbands’ labor market decisions.
The effects of social health insurance on women’s healthcare Use: Evidence from Indonesia (with Shanika Samarakoon), Singapore Economic Review, 69(3), 1265–1288, 2025. Download; Working paper; Abstract To increase the use of healthcare services in Indonesia, the government of Indonesia introduced Askeskin, a subsidized social health insurance for the poor, in 2005. We examine the effects of this social health insurance on women’s healthcare use. Using propensity score matching, we find Askeskin induces women to use public healthcare facilities for birth delivery and antenatal checkup, discourages them from getting help from midwives for birth delivery, and makes them more likely to use contraceptives. The insurance seems to increase delivery care expenditure, however. We do not find evidence it increases women’s preventive and curative healthcare use.
Does education increase political participation? Evidence from Indonesia, Education Economics, 27(6), 645-657, 2019. Download; Working paper; Abstract Studies show educated citizens are more likely to vote in elections but few papers look at the relationship in developing countries and even fewer analyze whether the relationship is causal. I examine whether education increases voter turnout and makes better-informed voters in Indonesia using an exogenous variation in education induced by an extension of Indonesia’s school term length, which fits a fuzzy regression discontinuity design. The longer school year increases education, but I do not find education increases voter turnout; it does not seem to affect voters’ views of political candidates’ religion, ethnicity, or gender when they vote either.
The effects of bigger rewards in individual tournaments on efforts and risk taking: Evidence from chess (with Lee Yoong Hon and Kung Ming Tiong), Oxford Economic Papers, 71(4), 979–995, 2019. Download; Working paper; Abstract We examine the effects of bigger rewards in individual multi-stage tournaments on efforts and risk taking using the three-point rule in chess. Most chess tournaments use the standard rule while some tournaments use the Bilbao rule, which is identical to the three-point rule in soccer: We observe the same pairs of chess players playing under both rules, a research design that fits fixed-effect models. We find the Bilbao rule makes games 33 percent more decisive, mostly to white players’ advantage who win 50 percent more games. We identify two mechanisms why the Bilbao rule works: It encourages players to play longer and discourages them from using drawish openings. These results suggest incentive schemes that provide bigger rewards for better performances work in individual multi-stage tournaments in which efforts and financial rewards are directly linked and strategic interactions among teammates and with competitors are less complex.
Does education improve health? Evidence from Indonesia, Journal of Development Studies, 53(9), 1358-1375, 2017. Download; Working paper; Abstract I examine the effects of education on health in Indonesia using an exogenous variation in education induced by an extension of Indonesia’s school term length in 1978-1979, a natural experiment that fits a regression discontinuity design. I find the longer school year increases educational attainment and wages, but I do not find evidence that education improves health. I explore some mechanisms through which education may affect health, but education does not seem to promote healthy lifestyles, increase the use of modern healthcare services, or improve access to health insurance; if anything, education improves only cognitive capacity.
Do Islamic banks shift from mark-up to equity financing when their contracting environments are improved? (with Nafis Alam), Applied Economics Letters, 24(8), 545-548, 2017. Download; Working Paper; Abstract
What happen to children’s education when their parents emigrate? Evidence from Sri Lanka (with Vengadeshvaran Sarma), International Journal of Educational Development, 46, 94-102, 2016. Download; Working Paper; Abstract
Does the three-point rule make soccer more exciting? Evidence from a regression discontinuity design (with Lee Yoong Hon), Journal of Sports Economics, 17(4), 377-395, 2016. Download (open access); Working Paper; Abstract
Children and maternal migration: Evidence from exogenous variations in family size (with Vengadeshvaran Sarma), Applied Economics Letters, 22(15), 1184-1187, 2015. Download; Working Paper; Abstract
The effects of the intensity, timing, and persistence of personal history of mobility on support for redistribution (with Andrew Dabalen and Saumik Paul), Economics of Transition, 23(3), 565-595, 2015. Download; Working Paper; Abstract
Does education empower women? Evidence from Indonesia (with Shanika Samarakoon), World Development, 66, 428-442, 2015. Download (open access); Working Paper; Abstract
Do children spend too much time in schools? Evidence from a longer school year in Indonesia, Economics of Education Review, 41, 89-104, 2014. Download (open access); Working Paper; Abstract
Family hardship and the growth of micro and small firms in Indonesia, Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 50(1), 53-73, 2014. Download (open access); Working Paper; Abstract
Bank ownership and efficiency in the aftermath of financial crises: Evidence from Indonesia (with Yohanes E. Riyanto), Review of Development Economics, 18(1), 93-106, 2014. Download (open access); Working Paper; Abstract
Trade liberalization, FTAs and the value of firms: Stock market evidence from Singapore (with Shandre M. Thangavelu), Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, 22(6), 924-941, 2013. Download; Working Paper; Abstract
The effect of publishing hospital charges on healthcare costs: Evidence from Singapore, Empirical Economics Letters, 12(5), 521-526, 2013. Download; Working Paper; Abstract
The impact of the strategic sale of restructured banks: Evidence from Indonesia (with Yohanes E. Riyanto), World Development, 40(3), 446–457, 2012. Download; Working Paper; Abstract
Cross-border M&A inflows and quality of country governance: Developing vs. developed countries (with Jung Hur and Yohanes E. Riyanto), Pacific Economic Review, 16(3), 638–655, 2011. Download; Working Paper; Abstract
Do banks respond to capital requirements? Evidence from Indonesia (with Yohanes E. Riyanto), Applied Financial Economics, 21(9), 651-663, 2011. Download; Working Paper; Abstract
