Family planning campaigns on television and contraceptive use in India.

Objective: The paper examines the association between viewing family planning campaigns on television and being aware, improved intention to use, and current usage of modern contraceptives in India.

Data: The study uses detailed data of the currently married women from the current round of the National Family Health Survey.

Methods: We use the instrumental variable approach, propensity score matching method, besides the ordinary least square regression technique to estimate the association between viewing family planning campaigns on television and knowledge, intention to use, and current usage among the currently married women.

Stigma and misconceptions in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic: A field experiment in India.

A hidden cost of the COVID-19 pandemic is the stigma associated with the disease for those infected and groups that are considered as more likely to be infected. This paper examines whether the provision of accurate and focused information about COVID-19 from a reliable source can reduce stigmatization. We carry out a randomized field experiment in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, in which we provide an information brief about COVID-19 by phone to a random subsample of participants to address stigma and misconceptions.

Determinants and dynamics of food insecurity during COVID-19 in rural Bangladesh.

COVID-19 has threatened food security of the poor due to the lockdown of markets amidst poor institutions and lack of social safety nets in the developing world. To provide rapid evidence on the determinants and dynamics of food insecurity and to understand the coping strategies adopted by rural households during the pandemic, we carried out a telephone survey of roughly 10,000 rural households in Bangladesh, three weeks after the country went into lockdown. We found that roughly 90% of households reported experiencing a negative income shock after the countrywide lockdown was implemented.

Roommate effects in health outcomes.

We use randomized roommate assignment in dormitories in a college in Kolkata in India to examine peer effects in weight gains among roommates. We use administrative data on weight, height, and test scores of students at the time of college admission and then survey these students at the end of their first and second years in college. We do not find any significant roommate specific peer effect in weight gain.

Do All Activities "Weigh" Equally? How Different Physical Activities Differ as Predictors of Weight.

In Britain, it is recommended that, to stay healthy, adults should do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity every week. The recommendations provided by the U.K.