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Governance

2021 West Bengal Assembly election: Did the Covid-19 surge matter?

  • Perspectives

Regionalist party representation and tribal insecurity

Observers have long been ambivalent about regionalism as a principle underlying the organisation of politics. Analysing data from India, this article shows that when regionalist parties win elections,...

  • Articles

2021 West Bengal Assembly election: Did the Covid-19 surge matter?

In the recent Assembly elections in the state of West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress bucked an anti-incumbency headwind to secure victory. Using electoral data from 2016, 2019, and 2021, Ghata...

  • Perspectives

When criminality begets crime: The role of elected politicians

The criminalisation of politics has become a massive threat to society. While the impact of criminally accused leaders on economic outcomes has been studied in the literature, little is known about th...

  • Perspectives
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Election by community consensus: Effects on political selection and governance

Multiple states in India incentivise village communities to elect their political representatives by community consensus, doing away with the need for state governments to organise official secret bal...

  • Articles

New ideas for fighting corruption in India

Even as technological innovations have reduced petty bribery, it is clear that bigger forms of corruption are flourishing in India. In this post, Avinash Dixit and Ritika Mankar propose the formation ...

  • Perspectives

Parikshit Ghosh speaks with Karl Ove Moene

There is a view that upsurge in inequality due to globalisation is leading to rising appeal of political platforms that promote inward-looking policies. In this podcast, Parikshit Ghosh (Member of the...

  • Podcasts

Do political parties matter for ethnic violence? The Congress and Hindu-Muslim riots in India

India has seen frequent violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims since independence. This column analyses an important yet largely overlooked driver of ethnic violence: the ruling political party at...

  • Articles

Social Networks, Property Rights and Public Services in the Slums of Patna and Jaipur

This project provides important original insight into the factors that condition the capacity of the urban poor to achieve formal recognition of slums, private property rights, and better public servi...

  • IGC Research on India

Why is Assam left behind in India's economic boom? A behavioural perspective on the effect of conflict

In addition to having deep, persistent socioeconomic costs, civil conflict can profoundly change individual beliefs, values, and preferences. This project seeks to analyse why Assam – a state where ...

  • IGC Research on India

Why governments across the globe are cracking down on civic organisations

Dupuy, Ron and Prakash content that NGOs need to generate resources from the communities they serve. This will make them accountable to these communities and enhance their legitimacy, and incentivise ...

  • Perspectives

Breaking the clientelist trap: Can reform create demand for good governance in Bihar?

How has over a decade of rapid and programmatic policy reform in Bihar affected voters? Based on a household survey comparing political attitudes of residents on either side of the Bihar-Jharkhand bor...

  • Articles

Doing Business in India: Myths and realities

Ahead of the global release of the 2018 edition of the World Bank Doing Business rankings, this column compares data from firm-level surveys conducted by the Bank and the IDFC Institute-NITI Aayog wi...

  • Articles

The power of enforcement: State capacity and child marriage in India

In an attempt to deter child marriage, a recent Supreme Court verdict has criminalised sexual relations between a man and minor wife. Worldwide, more than 700 million women alive today were married be...

  • Articles

Political Change and Crime Reduction in Bihar

The aim of this project was to understand the mechanisms through which the political changes in 2005 contributed to the dramatic subsequent reduction in violent crimes. This project is an extension of...

  • IGC Research on India

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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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, ...

  • Articles

Rethinking cadre allocation procedures in civil services

The allocation procedure of All-India Services’ officers to states is an important aspect of personnel administration in the public sector. This article shows that a change in allocation policy in 2...

  • Articles