Grain subsidies and junk food purchases among low-income individuals
While governments rely on expensive food subsidy programmes to address malnutrition among low-income communities, their impact is unclear as only self-reported data on food purchase decisions are avai...
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Ali Aouad
Kamalini Ramdas
Alp Sungu
23 September, 2024
- Articles
The problem of India’s stagnant real wages
New data from the Labour Bureau and the National Sample Survey Office point to a virtual stagnation of real wages in India over the past decade. In this post, Das and Drèze argue that this trend poin...
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Arindam Das
Jean Drèze
26 July, 2024
- Perspectives
Rethinking social safety nets in a changing society
This paper was coauthored by Debasis Barik, Pallavi Choudhuri, Bijay Chouhan, Om Prakash Sharma, Dinesh Kumar Tiwari (NCAER) and Sharan Sharma (University of Maryland College Park and NCAER). Histori...
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Sonalde Desai
15 July, 2024
- Articles
Can Rahul Gandhi’s minimum income guarantee proposal work?
Congress president Rahul Gandhi has promised a minimum income guarantee scheme for the poor if the party is voted to power in the upcoming elections. Discussing the proposal and associated concerns, P...
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Maitreesh Ghatak
07 February, 2019
- Perspectives
Cash transfers and adult labour outcomes in developing countries
The basic economic model of labour supply predicts that when an adult receives an unexpected cash windfall they should work less and earn less. This underlies concerns that cash transfers will undermi...
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Sarah Baird
David McKenzie
Berk Özler
07 December, 2018
- Articles
In which countries do children have the best chances to surpass their parents' education?
Intergenerational mobility contributes to social stability and cohesion, and is associated with higher, more inclusive economic growth in the long-term. This article presents global trends in absolute...
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Ambar Narayan
Roy Van der Weide
28 November, 2018
- Articles
Intergenerational mobility across the world: Where socioeconomic status of parents matters the most (and least)
Intergenerational mobility is important for fairness and economic efficiency in a society. This article uses data from a new global study spanning five decades to show that average relative mobility i...
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Ambar Narayan
Roy Van der Weide
28 September, 2018
- Articles
How income gains from globalisation are distributed
Globalisation stirs a diverse range of sentiments and views: some credit globalisation for boosting economic well-being while others blame it for worsening inequality. This article examines the effect...
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Valentin Lang
Marina Mendes Tavares
08 June, 2018
- Articles
Enhancing nutrition among the poor: UBI vs. welfare programmes
Some proponents of universal basic income (UBI) for India believe that the unconditional cash transfer should replace existing welfare programmes. Based on analysis of National Sample Survey data, thi...
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Ranjan Ray
Kompal Sinha
28 May, 2018
- Articles
Who does not get caught by social safety nets?
While implementation failure is an oft-cited reason for low coverage rates of welfare programmes, even relatively well-implemented programmes can fail to reach intended recipients. Based on an experim...
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Sarika Gupta
14 May, 2018
- Articles
Can India make a universal basic income work?
According to the Economic Survey 2016-17, universal basic income may prove to be a more effective antipoverty intervention than India’s largest welfare schemes. Discussing the Survey’s proposal, S...
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Saksham Khosla
16 April, 2018
- Perspectives
Aadhaar that doesn’t exclude
Aadhaar is in the news today partly because of security concerns and partly because of reports that the poor are unable to receive PDS rations because of failures in Aadhaar authentication. In this ar...
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Ashok Kotwal
Bharat Ramaswami
11 April, 2018
- Perspectives
Parikshit Ghosh speaks with Avinash Dixit
In this podcast, Parikshit Ghosh (Member of the I4I Editorial Board & Associate Professor, Delhi School of Economics) speaks with Avinash Dixit (John J. F. Sherrerd '52 University Professor of Economi...
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Avinash Dixit
Parikshit Ghosh
15 January, 2018
- Podcasts
Aadhaar, biometrics, and the PDS in Jharkhand
Aadhaar-based biometric authentication was made mandatory for obtaining rations under the Public Distribution System in Ranchi district in Jharkhand in August 2016. In this article, Nazar Khalid demon...
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Nazar Khalid
10 January, 2018
- Perspectives
Rags to riches? Understanding social mobility in India
To what extent is an individual’s status in society determined by the position of his or her parents? Analysing data from the Indian Human Development Survey, 2011-2012, this column finds that the p...
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Vegard Iversen
Anirudh Krishna
Kunal Sen
13 November, 2017
- Articles
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Tweets by Ideas4IndiaMost Popular Poverty & Inequality Posts
Wealth inequality, class, and caste in India: 1961-2012
The level of wealth inequality in India is close to that of some highly unequal countries in the world. This article assesses the long-term evolution of wealth inequality in the country for the period...
Nitin Kumar Bharti
28 June, 2019
- Articles
Covid-19: What can be done immediately to help vulnerable population
With over 80% of India’s workforce employed in the informal sector and one-third working as casual labour, Covid-19's spread and subsequent unplanned lockdowns, have created economic havoc in the li...
Reetika Khera
25 March, 2020
- Perspectives
EWS reservation in higher education: Affirmative action or vote bank politics?
The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019, provides for 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in higher educational institutions within the general category. In this post, Devi...
Devika Malhotra Sharma
11 September, 2019
- Perspectives