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Poverty & Inequality

Why are canteens important when 800 million people get free grains?

  • Notes from the Field

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...

  • 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...

  • Articles

Determining how many Indians are poor today

Poverty debates in India have seen a revival since the release of a fact sheet from the 2022-23 household consumption expenditure survey. In this post, Ghatak and Kumar note that the general consensus...

  • Perspectives
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NYAY e-Symposium: Crucial to look into taxes for financing

Prof. S. Subramanian (National Fellow, Indian Council of Social Science Research) emphasises the importance of dealing directly with the question of enhanced taxation and some estimate of the likely o...

  • Articles

NYAY e-Symposium: The potential macroeconomic impact of NYAY

Niranjan Rajadhyaksha (Research Director and Senior Fellow at IDFC Institute) contends that the estimated cost of NYAY is substantial and there is ample reason to worry about the fiscal burden of the ...

  • Perspectives

NYAY e-Symposium: Getting targeting right

Karthik Muralidharan (Tata Chancellor's Professor of Economics, University of California, San Diego) recommends targeting the 20% of poorest blocks in the country under NYAY, and making the cash trans...

  • Perspectives

NYAY e-Symposium: Not long-term solution to poverty but useful ‘first-aid’

Maitreesh Ghatak (Professor of Economics, London School of Economics) contends that a cash transfer, as envisaged by NYAY, will provide some relief and a safety net to the poor living on the margins o...

  • Perspectives

Introduction to e-Symposium: Decoding Congress’ NYAY

A major announcement in the Congress manifesto, in the ongoing parliamentary election, is the minimum income guarantee proposal – Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY). In this symposium, Bharat Ramaswami (Asho...

  • Symposium

NYAY e-Symposium: Four concerns around cash transfer policies

Bharat Ramswami (Professor of Economics, Ashoka University) discusses four sets of caveats in implementing NYAY as an add-on cash transfer. He contends that the emergence of cash transfers as a sustai...

  • Perspectives

NYAY e-Symposium: Doing justice to NYAY

Jean Drèze (Visiting Professor, Ranchi University) discusses the role of NYAY in the larger context of social security in India, and proposes some tentative principles for the scheme

  • Perspectives

NYAY e-Symposium: The case for a universal basic income supplement

Pranab Bardhan (Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley) argues in favour of an income supplement, albeit one that is universal.

  • Perspectives

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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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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Recent Contributors

Reetika

Reetika Khera

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

Ali

Ali Aouad

MIT Sloan School of Management

Kamalini

Kamalini Ramdas

London Business School

Alp

Alp Sungu

Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Jean

Jean Drèze

Ranchi University; Delhi School of Economics

Arindam

Arindam Das

Foundation for Agrarian Studies, Bangalore

Sonalde

Sonalde Desai

University of Maryland

Maitreesh

Maitreesh Ghatak

London School of Economics

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Most 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Perspectives