Essays: Regression Analysis and Robust Poverty Profile
ESSAYS ON POVERTY, MICROFINANCE AND LABOR ECONOMICS by SANDARADURA INDUNIL UDAYANGA DE SILVA, B.Sc., M.A. A DISSERTATION IN ECONOMICS Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Masha Rahnama
Chairperson of the Committee
Thomas Steinmeier Robert McComb
Accepted John Borrelli
Dean of the Graduate School
August, 2006
Copyright 2006, Sandaradura Indunil Udayanga De Silva
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my gratitude and thanks to my dissertation committee chair, Dr. Masha Rahnama, for his guidance throughout my work. I also wish to extend my sincere gratitude to other members of my committee, Dr. Thomas Steinmeier and Dr. Robert McComb for their helpful comments, discussion and guidance. Deep appreciation goes to my parents. Without their encouragement, devotion and sacrifices, my education would not have reached this level. Finally, I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Joseph King, Chairman of the Department of Economics at Texas Tech University, for providing continuous encouragement during my Ph.D. studies.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………… ii LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………... LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………….. CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………... …… 2. A ROBUST POVERTY PROFILE FOR SRI LANKA IN A MULTIVARIATE FRAMEWORK……………………… 2.1 Introduction…………………………………………….. 4 4 1 v vii
2.2 Data and Methodology………………………………….. 5 2.3 Unconditional Poverty Profile: Cross Tabulations……… 6 2.4 Conditional Poverty Profile: Marginal Effects………….. 14 2.5 Conclusion………………………………………………. 24 3. EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF MICROFINANCE ON SAVINGS AND INCOME: QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH USING PROPENSITY SCORE MATCHING…… 34 3.1 Introduction………………………………………………. 34 3.2 Microfinance Institutions and Impact Studies……………. 37 3.3 Econometric Methodology and Data……………………... 53 3.4 Results…………………………………………………….. 66
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Chairperson of the Committee
Thomas Steinmeier Robert McComb
Accepted John Borrelli
Dean of the Graduate School
August, 2006
Copyright 2006, Sandaradura Indunil Udayanga De Silva
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my gratitude and thanks to my dissertation committee chair, Dr. Masha Rahnama, for his guidance throughout my work. I also wish to extend my sincere gratitude to other members of my committee, Dr. Thomas Steinmeier and Dr. Robert McComb for their helpful comments, discussion and guidance. Deep appreciation goes to my parents. Without their encouragement, devotion and sacrifices, my education would not have reached this level. Finally, I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Joseph King, Chairman of the Department of Economics at Texas Tech University, for providing continuous encouragement during my Ph.D. studies.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………… ii LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………... LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………….. CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………... …… 2. A ROBUST POVERTY PROFILE FOR SRI LANKA IN A MULTIVARIATE FRAMEWORK……………………… 2.1 Introduction…………………………………………….. 4 4 1 v vii
2.2 Data and Methodology………………………………….. 5 2.3 Unconditional Poverty Profile: Cross Tabulations……… 6 2.4 Conditional Poverty Profile: Marginal Effects………….. 14 2.5 Conclusion………………………………………………. 24 3. EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF MICROFINANCE ON SAVINGS AND INCOME: QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH USING PROPENSITY SCORE MATCHING…… 34 3.1 Introduction………………………………………………. 34 3.2 Microfinance Institutions and Impact Studies……………. 37 3.3 Econometric Methodology and Data……………………... 53 3.4 Results…………………………………………………….. 66
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3.5
References: 137 Jenkins, Stephen P, and Peter J Lambert (1997) 140 Siddhisena, K.A.P, and Jayathilaka, M.D.R.K (2004)