19 December, 2018Like father, like son? The economic impacts of political dynasties in India
Political dynasties remain ubiquitous in democratic countries even though many societies democratised to end hereditary rule. This article studies how dynastic politics affects economic development in...
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Siddharth George 
19 December, 2018
- Articles
(Un)ease of doing business: How congested courts hinder firm productivity
The strength of contract enforcement determines how firms source inputs and organise production, and hence influences productivity. Using microdata on Indian manufacturing, this article quantifies the...
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Johannes Boehm Ezra Oberfield
- 01 March, 2019
- Articles
How leader identity impacts group coordination
In principle, leaders can facilitate group coordination towards a common goal but in diverse societies, their effectiveness may depend upon their social identity, and how citizens react to leader iden...
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Irma Clots-Figueras Sonia Bhalotra Lakshmi Iyer Joseph Vecci
- 22 October, 2018
- Articles
Is the MNREGA fund crunch making the programme clientelistic?
Fund allocation for MNREGA has seen a steady decline in real terms over the last few years. Analysing official MNREGA data along with survey data from Rajasthan, this column shows that in the face of...
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Upasak Das Diego Maiorano
- 02 September, 2015
- Articles
The political economy of data
Recent experiences, especially from Scandinavian countries, show that opening administrative data sources can substantially improve public policymaking. In this article, Pande and Blum contend that w...
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Florian Blum Rohini Pande
- 21 August, 2015
- Perspectives
The significance of local power structures in Bihar's coupon-based PDS
In 2007, Bihar introduced the coupon system in PDS to curb leakages at fair price shops. This column argues that even though the administrative logic of the coupon system is fundamentally sound, such...
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Chetan Choithani Bill Pritchard
- 17 August, 2015
- Articles
Charting a course for the Indian economy
Karthik Muralidharan (Associate Professor of Economics, University of California, San Diego) speaks with Arvind Subramanian (Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India) on a broad set of issues rang...
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Karthik Muralidharan Arvind Subramanian
- 05 August, 2015
- Videos
He is a criminal but he is our criminal: Criminally-accused politicians in India
The recent increase in the number of criminally-accused politicians elected to state assemblies has caused much furore in India. Despite the potentially important consequences and the widely divergent...
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Nishith Prakash Marc Rockmore Yogesh Uppal
- 01 August, 2015
- IGC Research on India
Elucidating avenues for corruption: Micronutrient fortification strategies in India’s Midday Meals Programme
Globally, iron deficiency is a leading cause of anaemia, a condition that is particularly harmful during early childhood, causing fatigue and slower physical and cognitive development with potentially...
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James Berry Saurabh Mehta Priya Mukherjee Gauri Kartini Shastry
- 30 July, 2015
- IGC Research on India
Why numbers matter
The delayed and partial release of data from the ‘Rapid Survey on Children’ by the Indian government has given rise to questions and speculation. In this article, former bureaucrat V. Ramani disc...
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V. Ramani
- 23 July, 2015
- Perspectives
PDS computerisation: What other states can learn from Kerala
Given the leakage in the Public Distribution System, Indian states are being encouraged to computerise their PDS. This column analyses Kerala’s experience with PDS computerisation and highlights me...
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Silvia Masiero
- 06 July, 2015
- Articles
Do ruling coalition-affiliated MLAs bring more development to their constituencies?
Despite the dismantling of the License Raj in the 1990s, interaction with government officials remains an important impediment to doing business in India. This column analyses the role of politics in...
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Samuel Asher Paul Novosad
- 22 June, 2015
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Citizens' trust in local politicians and implications for good governance
The new state of Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in June 2014, after a prolonged movement by the people of Telangana region for a separate state. Based on field experiments among citizens ...
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Lata Gangadharan Tarun Jain Pushkar Maitra Joseph Vecci
- 10 June, 2015
- Articles
How effective are gram sabhas?
Village panchayats across India are mandated to organise local public meetings called gram sabhas several times a year, wherein villagers discuss issues such as local public good provision. This colu...
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Sabyasachi Das
- 06 May, 2015
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14th Finance Commission: A trust-based approach towards local governments
The 14th Finance Commission has been hailed as ‘path-breaking’ for recommending larger fund allocations to state governments and giving them more autonomy in spending these funds. In this article...
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Meera Mehta Dinesh Mehta
- 27 April, 2015
- Perspectives
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Caste dominance in rural India: Cause and effect
Rural India remains a caste-based society. This column explores why caste continues to play such an important role and what the effects are. It argues that trade and agricultural productivity suffer, ...
- Siwan Anderson
- 16 August, 2012
- Articles
Rural development programmes: Implementation challenges and solutions
With a majority of the population living in rural areas in India, rural development is key to the development of the country. Based on his experience of working closely with the district administratio...
- Pushkar Pahwa
- 17 March, 2017
- Perspectives
Charting a course for the Indian economy
Karthik Muralidharan (Associate Professor of Economics, University of California, San Diego) speaks with Arvind Subramanian (Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India) on a broad set of issues rang...
- Karthik Muralidharan Arvind Subramanian
- 05 August, 2015
- Videos