From numbers to impact: Learning from effective data management in Rajasthan
Access to good data is critical for evidence-based decision-making in policy. In this note, Santhosh and Kapur discuss insights from a study of Rajasthan’s experience with collecting, sharing and using data pertaining to developmental challenges. They make recommendations for improving interoperab...
-
Avani Kapur
Sidharth Santhosh
31 May, 2024
- Notes from the Field
Content Type: Notes from the Field
Topic: Governance
Year: 2024
Determining how many Indians are poor today
Poverty debates in India have seen a revival since the release of a fact sheet from the 2022-23 household consumption expenditure survey. In this post, Ghatak and Kumar note that the general consensus among researchers is that extreme poverty is under 5%. However, they contest this by digging deeper...
-
Maitreesh Ghatak
Rishabh Kumar
29 May, 2024
- Perspectives
Content Type: Perspectives
Topic: Poverty & Inequality
Year: 2024
What does Mission Antyodaya data say about rural deprivation?
Public provisioning of basic facilities such as health and education, remains crucial for marginalised populations. In the context of the decentralised structure of governance and fund allocation in India, Guha, Jyotishi and Hatekar assess public provisioning at the disaggregated levels, and the gap...
-
Amalendu Jyotishi
Neeraj Hatekar
Puja Guha
27 May, 2024
- Perspectives
Content Type: Perspectives
Topic: Governance
Year: 2024
Bringing work home: Flexible work arrangements as ‘gateway jobs’ for women
Millions of women stay out of the workforce despite having a desire for paid work, often because available opportunities are incompatible with traditional norms of household roles. Based on an experiment in West Bengal, this article shows that flexible work arrangements significantly raise women’s...
-
Anahita Karandikar
Lisa Ho
Suhani Jalota
24 May, 2024
- Articles
Content Type: Articles
Topic: Productivity & Innovation
Year: 2024
Does rural electrification cause economic development?
The last unelectrified Indian village is now connected to the grid. Given the large investments required for these infrastructure projects, value-for-money is an important consideration. Examining the impact of the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Programme, which expanded electricity access in 40...
-
Fiona Burlig
Louis Preonas
22 May, 2024
- Articles
Content Type: Articles
Topic: Macroeconomics
Year: 2024
The silent reshaping of India’s credit landscape
India’s credit landscape has been undergoing major changes in recent years. In this post, Sengupta and Vardhan discuss five key trends – consumerisation of bank credit, decline in bank deposits, growth of credit from the bond market, NBFCs re-emerging as important credit institutions, and relati...
-
Harsh Vardhan
Rajeswari Sengupta
20 May, 2024
- Perspectives
Content Type: Perspectives
Topic: Money & Finance
Year: 2024
Policy Roundup: Voting, wealth redistribution, state of health
This post presents our monthly curation of recent developments in the Indian policy landscape – highlighting I4I content pertaining to issues ranging from electronic voting machines, vote-buying, and political dynasties, to the rise of metabolic diseases in the country. We also take a look at the ...
-
Nalini Gulati
17 May, 2024
- Perspectives
Content Type: Perspectives
Topic: Miscellany
Year: 2024
Water water everywhere, not a drop to drink? Information and enabling access to clean water
Over 50 million people in India are exposed to arsenic-contaminated water, leading to adverse health outcomes – especially for children. Yet, the demand for private, safe drinking water remains low in the affected areas. Based on an experiment in Assam, this article demonstrates how combining wate...
-
Deboshmita Brahma
Prarthna Agarwal Goel
Rashmi Barua
15 May, 2024
- Articles
Content Type: Articles
Topic: Human Development
Year: 2023
Can shared social identity minimise corporate frictions?
A separation between owners and managers of firms gives rise to various problems known as ‘agency conflicts’. This article explores whether having a shared social identity between managers and board members can help reduce frictions and improve firm performance. Analysing data from Indian firms,...
-
Jitendra Aswani
13 May, 2024
- Articles
Content Type: Articles
Topic: Productivity & Innovation
Year: 2024
Forced male sterilisation and violence against women: Evidence from ‘Emergency India’
During 1975-1977, the Government of India introduced a programme involving forced sterilisation of men, in order to achieve population control as a poverty alleviation measure. Leveraging the varying degree of coercion employed under the programme across districts in the country, this article finds ...
-
Aditi Singh
Sarah Vincent
08 May, 2024
- Articles
Content Type: Articles
Topic: Social Identity
Year: 2024
How teachers’ beliefs can shape motivation and student learning
While teacher effort is crucial for student learning, evidence suggests that this is not what teachers themselves believe. This article presents findings from a randomised experiment involving a psycho-social intervention targeted at teachers. It shows that teachers exposed to the intervention exhib...
-
Jalnidh Kaur
06 May, 2024
- Articles
Content Type: Articles
Topic: Human Development
Year: 2024
Creating good jobs for young Indians: Insights from recent research
Young Indians – who are often more educated and have greater aspiration than their previous generations –are seeking ‘good jobs’. Yet, such jobs are not available to the majority. To mark International Workers’ Day, I4I Deputy Managing Editor Nikita Mujumdar summarises some recent research...
-
Nikita Mujumdar
03 May, 2024
- Perspectives
Content Type: Perspectives
Topic: Productivity & Innovation
Year: 2024