This paper uses a quasi-experimental framework to analyse the impact of India's largest public works programme, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), on schooling enrolment, grade progression, reading comprehension test scores, writing test scores, math test scores and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) scores. The availability of pre- and two rounds of post-intervention initiation data from the three rounds of the Young Lives Panel Study allow us to measure both the short- and medium-run intent-to-treat effects of the programme.

This paper identifies the effect of neighborhood peer groups on childhood skill acquisition using observational data.We incorporate spatial peer interaction, defined as a child's nearest geographical neighbors, into a production function of child cognitive development in Andhra Pradesh, India. Our peer group definition takes the form of networks, whose structure allows us to identify endogenous peer effects and contextual effects separately.We exploit variation over time to avoid confounding correlated with social effects.

There is national and international concern about the effects of corporal punishment upon children, and its implications for their capacity to benefit from school, yet corporal punishment is still widely used in schools all over the world, despite being banned in national legislation in most countries. Nevertheless, the topic is under-researched in developing countries. This working paper discusses the experiences of children aged between 8 and 16 in Andhra Pradesh, India.