Author
Catherine Porter
Other affiliations: Heriot-Watt University, University of Oxford
Bio: Catherine Porter is an academic researcher from Lancaster University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Poverty & Food prices. The author has an hindex of 11, co-authored 44 publications receiving 630 citations. Previous affiliations of Catherine Porter include Heriot-Watt University & University of Oxford.
Topics: Poverty, Food prices, Vulnerability, Mental health, Cohort study
Papers
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provided the first estimate of the long-term impact of the famine twenty years later, on the height of young adults aged 17-25 who experienced this severe shock in-utero and as infants during the crisis.
Abstract: In 1984, the world was shocked at the scale of a famine in Ethiopia that caused over half a million deaths, making it one of the worst in recent history. The mortality impacts are clearly significant. But what of the survivors? This paper provides the first estimates the long-term impact of the famine twenty years later, on the height of young adults aged 17–25 who experienced this severe shock in-utero and as infants during the crisis. Improving methodologically on other studies, famine intensity is measured at the household level, while impacts are assessed using a difference-indifferences comparison across siblings. We find that by adulthood, affected children who were under the age of 36 months at the peak of the crisis are significantly shorter than the older cohort, by at least 3cm. They are also less likely to have completed primary school, and more likely to have experienced recent illness. Indicative calculations show that this may lead to income losses of between 3% and 8% per year over their lifetime. The evidence also suggests that the relief operations at the time made little difference.
153 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a field experiment aimed at increasing the percentage of women majoring in economics was conducted, where students enrolled in introductory classes were exposed to successful and charismatic women who majored in economics at the same university.
Abstract: We conducted a field experiment aimed at increasing the percentage of women majoring in economics. We exposed students enrolled in introductory classes to successful and charismatic women who majored in economics at the same university. The intervention significantly impacted female students’ enrolment in further economics classes, increasing their likelihood to major in economics by 8 percentage points. This is a large effect, given that only 9 percent of women were majoring in economics at baseline. Since the impacted women were previously planning to major in lower-earning fields, our low-cost intervention may have a positive effect on their future incomes.
133 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present new evidence that households are unable to protect themselves from rainfall failure that occurs on average every five years in rural Ethiopia and that other less extreme rainfall variat...
Abstract: We present new evidence that households are unable to protect themselves from rainfall failure that occurs on average every five years in rural Ethiopia. However, other less extreme rainfall variat...
113 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors combine nationally representative household data with objective drought and price information to quantify the causes of vulnerability to poverty in Ethiopia, showing that many Ethiopians are unable to protect their consumption against lack of rainfall and sudden increases in food prices.
64 citations
TL;DR: The findings suggest that household wealth, and in particular access to services, can lead to substantial catch-up growth early on in life, however, for the sample of poor Ethiopian children, the window of opportunity to catch up appears to close as early as the age of five.
Abstract: We examine the nutritional status of a cohort of poor Ethiopian children and their patterns of catch-up growth in height-for-age between three key development stages: age one, five and eight. We use ordinary least squares (within community) and instrumental variables analysis. During the earliest period, we find that nutritional catch-up patterns vary substantially across socioeconomic groups: average catch-up growth in height-for-age is almost perfect among children in relatively better-off households, while among the poorer children, relative height is more persistent. Between five and eight years of age, however, we find near-perfect persistence and no evidence of heterogeneity in catch-up growth. Our findings suggest that household wealth, and in particular access to services, can lead to substantial catch-up growth early on in life. However, for our sample, the window of opportunity to catch up appears to close as early as the age of five.
59 citations
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6,977 citations
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TL;DR: F fuzzy sets allow a far richer dialogue between ideas and evidence in social research than previously possible, and can be carefully tailored to fit evolving theoretical concepts, sharpening quantitative tools with in-depth knowledge gained through qualitative, case-oriented inquiry.
Abstract: In this innovative approach to the practice of social science, Charles Ragin explores the use of fuzzy sets to bridge the divide between quantitative and qualitative methods. Paradoxically, the fuzzy set is a powerful tool because it replaces an unwieldy, "fuzzy" instrument—the variable, which establishes only the positions of cases relative to each other, with a precise one—degree of membership in a well-defined set. Ragin argues that fuzzy sets allow a far richer dialogue between ideas and evidence in social research than previously possible. They let quantitative researchers abandon "homogenizing assumptions" about cases and causes, they extend diversity-oriented research strategies, and they provide a powerful connection between theory and data analysis. Most important, fuzzy sets can be carefully tailored to fit evolving theoretical concepts, sharpening quantitative tools with in-depth knowledge gained through qualitative, case-oriented inquiry. This book will revolutionize research methods not only in sociology, political science, and anthropology but in any field of inquiry dealing with complex patterns of causation.
1,828 citations
18 Nov 2013
TL;DR: The book describes experiments in Strategic Interaction using game theory as a guide to solving social problems.
Abstract: หนงสอ Behavioral Game Theory: Experiments in Strategic Interaction เขยนโดย Colin F. Camerer มวตถประสงคเพอนำเสนอหลกฐานเชงประจกษจากผลการวจยจำนวนมากมายทยนยนอทธพลของปจจยทางจตวทยาทมผลตอการตดสนใจตามทฤษฎเกม หนงสอ เลมนไดนำเสนอแนวคดทฤษฎทเพมความสามารถในการอธบายพฤตกรรมการตดสนใจตามทฤษฎเกม (Game theory) ซง von Neumann; & Morgenstern ไดเสนอไวในป ค.ศ. 1944 โดยชใหเหนวา ปจจยทางจตวทยามอทธพลทำใหการตดสนใจทเกดขนจรงคลาดเคลอนจากการคาดการณของทฤษฎเกม
903 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effect of weather conditions around the time of birth on the health, education, and socioeconomic outcomes of Indonesian adults born between 1953 and 1974, and found that higher early-life rainfall has large positive effects on the adult outcomes of women, but not of men.
Abstract: How sensitive is long-run individual well-being to environmental conditions early in life? This paper examines the effect of weather conditions around the time of birth on the health, education, and socioeconomic outcomes of Indonesian adults born between 1953 and 1974. We link historical rainfall for each individual's birth-year and birth-location with current adult outcomes from the 2000 wave of the Indonesia Family Life Survey. Higher early-life rainfall has large positive effects on the adult outcomes of women, but not of men. Women with 20% higher rainfall (relative to normal local rainfall) in their year and location of birth are 3.8 percentage points less likely to self-report poor or very poor health, attain 0.57 centimeters greater height, complete 0.22 more grades of schooling, and live in households that score 0.12 standard deviations higher on an asset index. These patterns most plausibly reflect a positive impact of rainfall on agricultural output, leading to higher household incomes and food availability and better health for infant girls. We present suggestive evidence that eventual benefits for adult women's socioeconomic status are most strongly mediated by improved schooling attainment, which in turn improves socioeconomic status in adulthood.
774 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effect of weather shocks around the time of birth on the adult health, education, and socioeconomic outcomes of Indonesian women and men born between 1953 and 1974.
Abstract: Life in rural areas of developing countries is prone to many kinds of risk, such as illness or mortality of household members, crop or other income loss due to natural phenomena (weather, insect infestations, or fire, for example), and civil conflict In addition to their contemporaneous effects, the effects of certain types of shocks may still be felt many years or even decades later From a public policy standpoint, it is particularly important to identify shocks that have large long-run effects Moreover, the mechanics underlying the persistence of shocks may be of con siderable interest For example, a health shock may have a long-run effect simply because the health shock itself persists over time Alternately, the health shock may not directly affect long run outcomes, but it could affect some other outcome?such as educational attainment?that helps determine long-run well-being In this paper, we focus on shocks that occur at the very beginning of life We ask how sensi tive long-run individual well-being is to environmental conditions around the time of birth In particular, we examine the effect of weather shocks around the time of birth on the adult health, education, and socioeconomic outcomes of Indonesian women and men born between 1953 and 1974 In addition, we attempt to shed light on the intervening pathways connecting early-life rainfall to adult outcomes, illuminating the roles of health and educational attainment in deter mining adult socioeconomic status This investigation has considerable data requirements It necessitates information on weather shocks experienced by individuals several decades earlier, as well as detailed current informa tion on adult outcomes We use information in the Indonesian Family Life Surveys (IFLS) on an individual's year and location of birth, and link each individual in that survey to locality specific rainfall data for their birth year For individuals born in rural areas (on whom we focus), rainfall variation across space and time should generate corresponding variation in agricultural output and thus household income To deal with measurement error in the rainfall data, we run instrumental variables regressions where variables for rainfall measured at slightly more distant rainfall stations serve as instruments for rainfall in the individual's birthplace and birth year We examine the impact of early-life rainfall on a range of adult outcomes observed in 2000 We find that higher early-life rainfall leads to improved health, schooling, and socioeconomic status for women Women with 20 percent higher rainfall (relative to normal local rainfall) in their year and location of birth are 38 percentage points less likely to self-report poor or very poor health They attain 057 centimeters greater height, attain 022 more completed grades of
703 citations