:: Ideas for India ::

The International Growth Centre (IGC) invites researchers to submit proposals for high-calibre research projects relevant to growth policies in developing countries. The deadline for submission is 11:59pm, 31 May 2014, GMT time. For further details, please click here.

Ashok Kotwal

I4I turns 1!
Posted on: 06 Aug 2013

It has been a year since the voice of ‘Ideas for India’ was first heard. Our mission was t ... read on »

For the New Year
Posted on: 21 Dec 2012

Five months ago we launched this portal to start new conversations on issues of vital impo ... read on »

On ideology
Posted on: 12 Sep 2012

Ideology plays a big role in the way we judge policies, politicians and even the people we ... read on »

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The puzzle of declining labour intensity in organised Indian manufacturing
Kunal Sen
Posted on: 25 Apr 2014

Topics: Jobs

Tags: manufacturing

It is surprising to note that labour intensity in the organised manufacturing sector in India, particularly in industries with greater labour requirements, has shown a sustained decline over the past three decades. This column finds that the key explanation is trade reforms that targeted capital goods and brought their prices down over time. This inadvertently incentivised firms to invest in machines and employ fewer workers
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Open defecation in cities: A faltering India story
Meera Mehta , Dinesh Mehta
Posted on: 23 Apr 2014

Topics: Health , Urbanisation

Tags: water and sanitation , cities , Maharashtra

Despite significant public investment in urban sanitation, over 37 million people in Indian cities resort to open defecation. This column examines the existing information on open defecation in urban India, and finds that the most important determinant is access to on-premise toilets. Local government leadership, targeted and smart subsidies, stakeholder collaboration and innovative financing options can help increase such access and accelerate elimination of the problem.
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Losing one half of India’s demographic dividend
Jayan Jose Thomas
Posted on: 21 Apr 2014

Topics: Economic Growth , Gender , Jobs

Tags: demographic dividend

The working-age population in India is set to increase by more than 200 million over the next two decades. This column contends that India may fail to reap the benefits of this demographic dividend because of the extremely low rates of female participation in the workforce. There is a need for growth in job opportunities in high productivity sectors such as industry and services, particularly for women.
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Why food inflation has been high in India
Rudrani Bhattacharya , Narhari Rao , Abhijit Sen Gupta
Posted on: 16 Apr 2014

Topics: Macroeconomic Policy

Tags: inflation

The persistently high food inflation witnessed in India over the past few years has been a cause for concern. This column seeks to identify the major drivers of food inflation in India, and to evaluate the extent to which food inflation has had an impact on non-food and overall inflation.
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Giving up too early on malnourished children? Catch-up growth and Midday Meals
Abhijeet Singh
Posted on: 14 Apr 2014

Topics: Health

Tags: child health , malnutrition , Andhra Pradesh , Midday Meals

It is widely believed that malnourishment in the first few years of childhood adversely affects cognition and adult economic outcomes. This column presents new research which shows that full recovery from early malnourishment is possible. Based on data from the state of Andhra Pradesh, it is found that the Midday Meals programme of the Government of India has been successful in compensating for early nutritional deprivation.
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Can MNREGA improve credit worthiness of participating households?
Subhasish Dey
Posted on: 11 Apr 2014

Topics: Jobs , Poverty & Inequality

Tags: consumption , credit , MNREGA , West Bengal

Based on household survey data from West Bengal, this column analyses the impact of MNREGA on economic outcomes of participating households. It finds that the ‘local’, ‘guaranteed’ and ‘government-related’ nature of MNREGA work helps improve credibility of workers with potential lenders such as grocery store owners, if they participate in the programme in a sustained manner. Access to informal credit helps improve consumption.
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An Indian trade paradox
Arvind Subramanian
Posted on: 09 Apr 2014

Topics: Trade

Tags: services , exports , imports

India’s trading partners often complain about the restrictiveness of India’s trade regime. This column argues that they are both right and wrong. While India's economy is ‘closed’ in terms of trade policy, it is ‘open’ in terms of trade outcomes. Tariff barriers in the services sector are among the highest in the world; but given its size, India trades more than a typical country does.
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The perplexing case of Gujarat
Ashok Kotwal , Arka Roy Chaudhuri
Posted on: 07 Apr 2014

Topics: Economic Growth

Tags: Gujarat

The common perception is that Gujarat has performed a lot better than the rest of India in terms of development, particularly in the past decade. This column demonstrates that while Gujarat has been among the top performing states in terms of output growth, the fast growth has not translated into meaningful development in the state.
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Quotas and schooling decisions
Gaurav Khanna
Posted on: 03 Apr 2014

Topics: Caste , Education

Tags: schooling , affirmative action , Haryana

Affirmative action, as an instrument for bridging inequalities across social groups, has been a contentious issue for decades. This column analyses the impact of reservation in public sector jobs and colleges for ‘Other Backward Classes’, implemented in India in the 1990s. It finds that the policy did incentivise beneficiaries to stay in school longer so that they could take advantage of quotas.
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How exchange rate changes impact Indian manufacturing firms
Anubha Dhasmana
Posted on: 02 Apr 2014

Topics: Macroeconomic Policy

Tags: exchange rates

After falling to its lifetime low of 68.85 against the dollar in August last year, the Rupee has now appreciated to breach the 60-per-dollar mark. This column explores the impact of currency movements on the performance of Indian manufacturing firms. It finds that in the short run, real exchange rate movements have a significant impact on firm performance through changes in import costs, rather than changes in export competitiveness.
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