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The costs of employment protection

Restrictive labour laws govern the formal sector in India, whereas the informal sector is virtually unregulated. This column analyses the impact of reforms pertaining to employment protection legisla...

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The nutrition puzzles: Need for more holistic solutions

In this column, the author critiques the approach of only focusing on nutrition and health sector-related solutions for achieving food security. She calls for more holistic approaches that take into a...

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The puzzle of declining labour intensity in organised Indian 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...

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Open defecation in cities: A faltering India story

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...

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Losing one half of India's 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 b...

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Why food inflation has been high in India

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 evalua...

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Giving up too early on malnourished children? Catch-up growth and 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...

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Can MNREGA improve credit worthiness of participating households?

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-re...

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An Indian trade paradox

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 po...

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Quotas and schooling decisions

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...

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How exchange rate changes impact Indian manufacturing firms

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 movement...

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Pricey diesel

India was recently ranked 174th out of 178 countries, on air pollution. A key contributing factor is diesel vehicles. This column shows that diesel subsidies benefit the rich more than the poor, and ...

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