Main Banner Image

Grain subsidies and junk food purchases among low-income individuals

While governments rely on expensive food subsidy programmes to address malnutrition among low-income communities, their impact is unclear as only self-reported data on food purchase decisions are avai...

  • Articles

The problem of India’s stagnant real wages

New data from the Labour Bureau and the National Sample Survey Office point to a virtual stagnation of real wages in India over the past decade. In this post, Das and Drèze argue that this trend poin...

  • Perspectives

Rethinking social safety nets in a changing society

This paper was coauthored by Debasis Barik, Pallavi Choudhuri, Bijay Chouhan, Om Prakash Sharma, Dinesh Kumar Tiwari (NCAER) and Sharan Sharma (University of Maryland College Park and NCAER). Histori...

  • Articles
Refine list by:
--Please Select--
--Please Select--

DUET: Creating a resilient ecosystem for vulnerable populations

Providing their perspective on Drèze’s DUET proposal for an urban work programme, the authors contend that its objective should not just be financial support but the creation of a wider ecosystem t...

  • Perspectives

Examining the macro effects of MNREGA

While numerous micro-founded studies examine the household-level effects of MNREGA, little is known about its aggregate macro effects and long-term benefits to output, if any. Analysing district-level...

  • Articles

Balancing corruption and exclusion: A response

The role of Aadhaar in reducing corruption in PDS has been highly controversial. In a recent I4I article, Muralidharan et al. summarised the results of their study in Jharkhand, which confirmed the 'p...

  • Perspectives

DUET: Expand to include social protection for informal workers

Commenting on Jean Drèze’s DUET proposal, Rakshita Swamy and Amit Basole highlight its simple design as its strength and propose a more comprehensive approach that also includes social protection f...

  • Perspectives

DUET: Some practical concerns

Providing her perspective on Jean Drèze’s DUET proposal for an urban work programme, Ashwini Kulkarni raises pertinent questions about the implementation process. She outlines the role of ‘labour...

  • Perspectives

DUET: The industrial policy angle

Providing her perspective on Drèze’s DUET proposal for an urban work programme, Swati Dhingra contends that addressing the immediate, monumental problem of joblessness arising from the Covid-19 pan...

  • Perspectives

DUET: Flexible implementation is key

Commenting on Drèze’s DUET proposal for an urban work programme, Yamini Aiyar contends that it is a welcome opportunity to reclaim the importance of robust social protection for urban India, while ...

  • Perspectives

Why are MNREGA wages so low?

The widespread disruption of economic activity caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has forced many to turn to MNREGA work in rural India. In this post, Agarwal and Paikrashow that current wages under thee...

  • Perspectives

CPR-I4I webinar video: A new economic imagination?

Centre for Policy Research and Ideas for India jointly held a webinar on 16 September 2020, to discuss domestic demand specifically in rural India. It built on a recent I4I post by three of the speake...

  • Videos

Balancing corruption and exclusion: A rejoinder

The role of Aadhaar in reducing corruption in the PDS has been highly controversial. In a recent I4I article, Muralidharan et al. summarised the insights of their study of Aadhaar-based biometric auth...

  • Perspectives

DUET: Need to keep open mind, pilot cautiously

Commenting on Drèze’s DUET proposal for an urban work programme, Sandip Sukhtankar contends that given the potential promise but obvious issues that need to be addressed, the proposal is indeed rip...

  • Perspectives

DUET: Weighing the costs and benefits

Presenting her perspective on Drèze’s DUET proposal, Farzana Afridi contends that in the net, we need to evaluate the relative cost and benefit of having a potentially administratively complex urb...

  • Perspectives

Recent Contributors

Jonathan

Jonathan Morduch

New York University

Joshua

Joshua Merfeld

KDI School of Public Policy and Management

Samreen

Samreen Malik

New York University, Abu Dhabi

Nishtha

Nishtha Sharma

New York University, Abu Dhabi

Sagar

Sagar Wadhwa

Technology sector

Anshuman

Anshuman Kamila

Government of India

Bharat

Bharat Ramaswami

Ashoka University

Lata

Lata Gangadharan

Monash University

View all Contributors

Most Popular Poverty & Inequality Posts

Wealth inequality, class, and caste in India: 1961-2012

The level of wealth inequality in India is close to that of some highly unequal countries in the world. This article assesses the long-term evolution of wealth inequality in the country for the period...

  • Articles

Covid-19: What can be done immediately to help vulnerable population

With over 80% of India’s workforce employed in the informal sector and one-third working as casual labour, Covid-19's spread and subsequent unplanned lockdowns, have created economic havoc in the li...

  • Perspectives

EWS reservation in higher education: Affirmative action or vote bank politics?

The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019, provides for 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in higher educational institutions within the general category. In this post, Devi...

  • Perspectives