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Banks Protecting Children: Agricultural Income Shocks, Child Health, and Financial Development in Rural India

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  • Dimitrios Argyros

Abstract

This study examines the role of financial infrastructure in shaping child health outcomes in rural India, with a particular focus on whether access to rural banking mitigates the adverse effects of agricultural income shocks. Using data from the National Family and Health Surveys (NFHS), I combine child-level health outcomes with exogenous variation in local agricultural income driven by the interaction of global crop price fluctuations and location-specific agricultural conditions, alongside measures of local financial development. The results show that proximity to rural banks substantially attenuates the negative effects of income shocks on child health. These findings challenge the conventional view that rural areas with limited engagement in the formal financial sector benefit littlefrom financial development. Instead, the evidence highlights the indirect yet economically meaningful role of expanded financial access in protecting children’s health during periods of economic volatility.

Suggested Citation

  • Dimitrios Argyros, 2026. "Banks Protecting Children: Agricultural Income Shocks, Child Health, and Financial Development in Rural India," Working Papers 202602, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucn:wpaper:202602
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10197/31901
    File Function: First version, 2026
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    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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