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Synchronised elections, voter behaviour, and governance outcomes

An active policy proposal of the Government of India is to hold national elections at the same time as the assembly elections of all the states. This article examines whether holding national and stat...

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Political determinants of newspaper markets in India

Newspapers are an important source of political information for Indian voters. This article looks at how political factors influence the newspaper market. Using the announcement of delimitation in the...

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A proposal for public funding of elections and political parties in India

The Finance Minister of India recently introduced measures aimed at cleaning up political party funding in the country. In this article, Gowda and Santhosh highlight the limitations of these measures,...

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Three barriers that make it hard for policymakers to use the evidence that development researchers produce

There has been a surge in policy research globally over the past two decades that is geared to promote evidence-based policymaking. But can policymakers put this evidence to use? Based on a survey of...

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Drawing the line: The short- and long-term consequences of partitioning India

Colonial rule in India culminated in the birth of two nations, forcing the displacement of millions. This column analyses the economic and political consequences of the Partition in 1947. It finds tha...

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Political decentralisation, female leadership, and health in rural Bihar

Political decentralisation and female representation in governance are known to improve social welfare by influencing policy decisions in favour of women and children. Analysing data from rural Bihar,...

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Governance and public service delivery in India

The International Growth Centre recently produced a synthesis paper (Afridi 2017) bringing together insights from its research on governance and public service delivery in India, over the past seven y...

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Midday meals scheme: Are corruption claims exaggerated?

Soon after Aadhaar was made compulsory for availing midday meals in schools, the government claimed that the move had helped expose several instances of schools siphoning off funds under the scheme by...

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Why 'free' speech is not always 'costless'

A recent CBI raid at the premises of the owners of NDTV has sparked off yet another round of debates about freedom of the media, the spectre of authoritarianism, and freedom of expression in India. In...

  • Perspectives

Juvenile delinquency and income disparity across Indian states

The gravity and frequency of juvenile crime incidents in recent years point towards the urgent need for rigorous analysis of the issue. Based on data from Indian states, this column shows that juvenil...

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The development disconnect: MNREGA in Bihar's Jamui district

In this note, Amrita Dhiman describes her team’s visit to Jamui district in Bihar – the district that is supposed to have generated the highest number of person-days under MNREGA in its division i...

  • Notes from the Field

Aadhaar: It's not black and white

Amidst the emerging privacy concerns surrounding the success of Aadhaar and its integration in our day-to-day lives, Outline India conducted a survey in Delhi to understand people's reception of Aadh...

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The state of the economy and mass perception

In this article, Ashwini Kulkarni of NGO Pragati Abhiyan contends that the media should tap into the knowledge of practitioners that are familiar with the ground realities of social sector schemes –...

  • Perspectives

A proposal for public funding of elections and political parties in India

The Finance Minister of India recently introduced measures aimed at cleaning up political party funding in the country. In this article, Gowda and Santhosh highlight the limitations of these measures,...

  • Perspectives

Consumption spikes and election delays

There is ample anecdotal evidence on political parties bribing voters with cash or consumption goods prior to elections, in India and other developing countries. However, there is an expected lack of ...

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Recent Contributors

Ejaz

Ejaz Ghani

Pune International Center

Rahul

Rahul De

Azim Premji University

Guilhem

Guilhem Cassan

University of Namur

Francesca R.

Francesca R. Jensenius

University of Oslo

Julia

Julia Cagé

Sciences Po Paris

Lakshmi

Lakshmi Iyer

University of Notre Dame

Sarmistha

Sarmistha Pal

University of Surrey

Jean-Paul

Jean-Paul Faguet

London School of Economics

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Most Popular Governance Posts

Unique Health Identification and Aadhaar: A case for mandatory linkage

As part of the Digital India initiative, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) issues a Unique Health Identification (UHID) number to each patient, which documents their entire journey in th...

  • Perspectives

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, ...

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Why did the Indian economy stagnate under the colonial rule?

How did the Indian economy fare under the colonial rule? Is the average Indian significantly better off after Independence? This column examines trends in GDP per capita in order to determine the stan...

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