Malaki Ronald Mandela

Abstract: In high-unemployment settings, the link between poor health and economic opportunity is clear. However, a key issue for policymakers is how health interacts with social support systems, particularly cash transfers. This study uses dynamic models and South African panel data to examine how returns to health on hours worked and labor force participation (LFP) differ by gender and race, and interact with the Child Support Grant (CSG). I find that being healthier than average improves both outcomes, but gains are unequal. Compared to men, women are less likely to participate in labor force, and hours worked respond less to health variations for women, though not LFP decisions. For White and Asian individuals, moving above average health significantly boosts both margins, with particularly large LFP effects. Coloured individuals show health effects concentrated on LFP rather than hours. The CSG increases hours worked but reduces participation for men, with this negative effect fully offset for women who are the majority of recipients. Overall these heterogeneous effects suggest combining health investments with targeted income support may be more effective than pursuing either separately.

With Christine Eckert, Mehdi Hosseinkouchack, Natalina Zlatevskac

Abstract: Do voluntary nutrition policies improve dietary quality, and for whom? We evaluate Australia’s 2014 voluntary Health Star Rating (HSR) using five waves of HILDA data (2007–2021). We construct Healthy Eating Index (HEI) measures and implement an in- dividual fixed-effects difference-in-differences design, stratified by locus-of-control (LoC) tertiles to assess treatment heterogeneity. Exposure is defined by baseline diet quality (unhealthy eaters), comparing outcomes before and after policy implementation. We find no significant average treatment effect on HEI, alongside a broad post-2014 improvement common to all individuals. By contrast, post-policy gains are concentrated among par- ents with lower LoC, with smaller or null effects for parents with higher LoC. Our results show that voluntary information policies can shift consumption patterns when aligned with household context and psychological orientation, while average effects remain muted under voluntary uptake. Our results indicate that policy effectiveness depends on both design features and behavioural heterogeneity, with the greatest benefits accruing to par- ents facing tighter cognitive and self-regulatory constraints.

Evaluating the impact of tax policies in Kenya.