Thank you!

#EconSky

10/ 🔍Future research:
I plan to explore whether fostering networks among NGOs enables them to deliver services more effectively and meet local needs better than working in isolation.

Link to the paper: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pe7oz...

More info on my website: www.sarahshaukat.com/home

9/ 📢Takeaways for policymakers:
- NGOs are essential for development, especially in bridging gender gaps.
- Strengthening NGO-government collaboration can amplify this impact.
- Fair accountability measures are crucial to avoid over-regulation that hinders NGO operations.

8/ We also find that social stability declines:
😡 Areas with higher NGO exits see more demonstrations and riots over time.
🚨 Violence against women rises, especially during and just after COVID-19 lockdown.

7/ When examining the broader effects, we find that aggregate economic activity decreases:
💡 Night lights, a proxy for economic activity, show:
- A 0.09 SD drop in intensity 5 years after NGO deregistration.
- This is equivalent to an ~8% decline in economic activity.

6/ Do governments step in? Yes -- but only partially. We find that:
📚 Some students switch to govt schools, but not at the secondary level.
🏥 Govt opens more health centers in affected areas initially, but this boost fades after a year.

5/ Human capital takes a hit:
🚸 Children in regions with higher NGO deregistration attend fewer NGO-run schools, with girls hit hardest.
🤰Rural women are less likely to get prenatal care, even a year later.
💉Immunization rates drop, especially for girls in rural areas.

4/ Our analysis relies on digitized admin data on registered and deregistered NGOs in Punjab. By geocoding NGO locations and calculating the proportion deregistered in each tehsil, we identify regions most and least affected by the policy.

Here’s what we find: 👇👇

3/ We exploit quasi-random variation in NGO presence across Punjab's tehsils to estimate their impact on development outcomes. Using a generalized diff-in-diff approach, we compare more- and less-affected tehsils before and after the deregistration.

2/ We leverage a natural experiment in Punjab, Pakistan: 25% drop in NGOs after FATF grey-listed Pakistan in 2018.

Concerns about NGO misuse for money laundering and terrorist financing led the govt to require financial records. Many NGOs, unaware or unprepared, were deregistered.

1/ In my JMP (joint with @Attique_10) we explore:
❓How does reduced NGO presence impact household investments in educ and healthcare?
❓Can government services step in to fill the gap NGOs leave behind?
❓What are the broader effects on economic activity and social stability?