Essays in development economics

Helmsmüller, Simona

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URL:	https://madoc.bib.uni-mannheim.de/57240
URN:	urn:nbn:de:bsz:180-madoc-572402
Document Type:	Doctoral dissertation
Year of publication:	2020
Place of publication:	Mannheim
University:	Universität Mannheim
Evaluator:	Frölich, Markus
Date of oral examination:	7 October 2020
Publication language:	English
Institution:	School of Law and Economics > VWL, Ökonometrie (Frölich 2008-)
Subject:	330 Economics
Keywords (English):	impact evaluation , health insurance , entrepreneurship training
Abstract:	This thesis asks the question: How can we design public policies or individual programs that alleviate some of the many plights associated with poverty in development countries? I evaluate three different interventions in three self-contained chapters. The first two chapters analyze the effects of two health insurance schemes in Northern Pakistan, one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one in Gilgit Baltistan. In the third chapter, we evaluate a training program for owners of micro and small enterprises in Indonesia. All three programs failed to achieve the intended effects and I hence focus on discussing program inhibitors. As such, my thesis shows the potential of the private sector to overcome capacity constrains in the public sector (Chapter 1), the importance of carefully considering cultural factors such as religious segregation which may lead to favoritism (Chapter 2), and the differential effects across types of partner institutions used as program mitigators (Chapter 3).