Switches into and out of NREGS — A panel data analysis for Rajasthan

India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has been hailed as one of
the country’s most creative social initiatives. Since the program was begun only recently (in
2004-05) there is a need to assess its impact on households not just in one year but over time.
To the best of our knowledge there are no studies of the latter kind. Using a unique panel data
set for 2007-08 and 2009-10 for the Indian state of Rajasthan this paper analyzes the
transitions into and out of the National Rural Employment Guarantee. It models the impact
of such transitions on earnings of workers as well the determinants of such transitions.
Several policy conclusions are also advanced.