26.02.2020 New Working Papers

New working papers by Mohammad Reza Farzanegan and colleagues are now available online:

• Socio-Economic Determinants of Child Marriage: Evidence from the Iranian Provinces

Asna-ashary, Mozhgan / Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza / Feizi, Mehdi / Gholipour, Hassan F.
CESifo, Munich, 2020
CESifo Working Paper No. 8073

We study the socio-economic determinants of child (girls below age of 19 years) marriage using a panel data of thirty Iranian provinces from 2007 to 2015. Our panel fixed effects and generalized method of moments (GMM) estimations show that the level of income per capita (with negative effect), inflation and income inequality (both with positive effect) are the significant determinants of child marriage. Our results which control for province fixed effects (e.g. local cultural norms or geographical conditions) do not show a significant effect of religiosity captured by a household’s spending on religious products and services. To reduce child marriage, which has long-run negative effects on the development of children, policymakers need to focus on economic issues and distribution of income, thus reducing the economic incentives or necessities of families to accept the practice of child marriage. Child marriage is more rooted in economic deprivation than in religiosity of households.

CESifo Category
Social Protection
Behavioural Economics
Keywords: child marriage, Iran, poverty, panel regression
JEL Classification: J120, J130, P460

 

• Air Pollution and Internal Migration: Evidence from Iranian Household Survey

Gholipour, Hassan F. / Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza / Javadian, Mostafa
CESifo, Munich, 2020
CESifo Working Paper No. 8107

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of air pollution (measured by satellite data of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD)) on net outmigration. Using data from the 2011 and 2016 National Population and Housing Censuses for 31 provinces of Iran and applying a panel fixed effects estimation method, our results show that AOD has a positive and significant impact on net outmigration. We also find that higher levels of economic activities in provinces discourage outmigration.

CESifo Category
Resources and Environment
Energy and Climate Economics
Keywords: air pollution, migration, Iran
JEL Classification: Q530, R230