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Tag Search: “affirmative action”

Is OBC reservation good for development?

The affirmative action debate has always been riddled by the question of merit versus social justice, and discussions around having a caste census have once again reignited the controversy around rese...

  • Articles

Do quotas in public sector employment for disadvantaged groups enhance their welfare?

Affirmative action policies remain controversial with many arguing that benefits come at the expense of those excluded, and accrue disproportionately to the elite in disadvantaged groups. Analysing na...

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Leaders and citizens: Women’s political participation in India

Women’s political participation has emerged as a key element of the discourse around the upcoming state elections in India. In this post, Nalini Gulati and Ella Spencer explore the evidence on various...

  • Perspectives

Caste gaps in behaviour and personality traits: A study of university students

While numerous studies have examined gaps in health and educational outcomes across castes, there is little evidence on caste gaps in behavioural preferences and personality traits. Based on incentivi...

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A permanent cordon-sanitaire: Dalits and Muslims in urban India

Near-perfect segregation and hierarchical ordering of residential space, based on caste or religious identity, is a well-known feature of rural India. Studies have also documented the persistence of s...

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Does political reservation work, and for whom?

Does political reservation undermine or promote development, and for whom? This article presents an analysis of India’s Scheduled Areas, which reserve political office for the historically disadvantag...

  • Articles

When electoral quotas reduce caste-based discrimination

While affirmative action policies are widely used to tackle the underrepresentation of certain groups, their efficiency is fiercely debated. This article uses novel data from India to explore how quot...

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Political reservation and the quality of governance

Existing evidence suggests that while political reservation for traditionally marginalised groups tilts governance outcomes in favour of those groups, there are non-discernable or negative effects on ...

  • Articles

Quota policies and career advancement: Evidence from Indian politics

Can quotas for women in politics induce institutional change in the long run? This column examines whether affirmative action for women in Indian local government had spillovers into state and nation...

  • Articles