How social norms hold women back: A look at recent evidence
In light of India’s low female labour force participation rate, as a follow up to International Women’s Day, I4I Deputy Managing Editor Nikita Mujumdar highlights a selection of economic research ...
- Nikita Mujumdar
- 15 March, 2024
- Perspectives
The distributional consequences of political reservations
This article identifies and attempts to fill in the gaps in understanding the effects of reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs) in Panchayats. Using data from a state-wide census, multiple administra...
- Chinmaya Kumar M.R. Sharan
- 28 November, 2023
- Articles
Caste-based differences in self-help groups: Evidence from a rural livelihood programme
The National Rural Livelihood Mission aims to increase income and improve wellbeing for rural households. Using survey data from nine states in India, this article analyses the existence of caste-base...
- Chandan Jain Krishna Kejriwal Ritwik Sarkar Pooja Sengupta
- 05 August, 2022
- Articles
Urbanisation, gender, and social change: Women’s mobility in north India
Although India has experienced structural and social changes that promote gender equality in many respects, women’s physical mobility remains very low. Analysing primary data from three urban cluste...
- Vidisha Mehta Harish Sai
- 08 December, 2021
- Articles
Urbanisation, gender, and social change: Why is female labour force participation so low in India?
India’s low female labour force participation is a complex social phenomenon, resulting from – among other things – patriarchal norms, rural-urban transitions, and a mismatch of supply and deman...
- Deepaboli Chatterjee Neelanjan Sircar
- 06 December, 2021
- Articles
Introduction to e-Symposium: Urbanisation, gender, and social change in north India
Urbanisation in India is reshaping established social and economic patterns of behaviour, in ways that scholars are yet to fully comprehend. India’s rapid urbanisation invites several pressing quest...
- Devesh Kapur Neelanjan Sircar Milan Vaishnav
- 06 December, 2021
- Symposium
Empowering women through participatory theatre
Twenty-nine percent of women in India report having suffered intimate-partner violence. Based on a field study involving 92 villages in the state of West Bengal, this article shows that community-base...
- Karla Hoff Jyotsna Jalan Sattwik Santra
- 25 November, 2021
- Articles
Inter-gender and intra-gender gaps in land ownership in India
While women’s landownership is recognised as a key indicator of their economic empowerment, there are no detailed estimates of how many and which women own land in India. Analysing longitudinal data...
- Bina Agarwal Pervesh Anthwal Malvika Mahesh
- 24 November, 2021
- Articles
Do promises work? Assessing long-term benefits of ‘Apni Beti Apna Dhan’ programme
During 1994-1998, the state government of Haryana ran a conditional cash transfer programme to address the issue of child marriage: at the time of a daughter’s birth, parents from marginalised secti...
- Shreya Biswas Upasak Das
- 03 November, 2021
- Articles
Is OBC reservation good for development?
The affirmative action debate has always been riddled by the question of merit versus social justice, and discussions around having a caste census have once again reignited the controversy around rese...
- Poulomi Chakrabarti
- 20 October, 2021
- Articles
Does access liberalise gender norms around phone use for rural women?
Despite improved connectivity, deep-rooted gender norms continue to shape access to and use of mobile technologies by women in India. This note discusses preliminary findings from a study, which sugge...
- Giorgia Barboni Natalia Rigol Simone Schaner Natalie Theys
- 13 October, 2021
- Notes from the Field
Measuring caste inequality across Indian states
Although recent research on inequality shows that upper castes have the highest levels of material well-being, there is a wide variation in caste inequality across India. Measuring three forms of cast...
- Poulomi Chakrabarti
- 13 September, 2021
- Articles
Do quotas in public sector employment for disadvantaged groups enhance their welfare?
Affirmative action policies remain controversial with many arguing that benefits come at the expense of those excluded, and accrue disproportionately to the elite in disadvantaged groups. Analysing na...
- Nishith Prakash
- 10 September, 2021
- Articles
Is it safe? Threat of sexual violence and women’s decision to work
Despite significant improvements in women's educational attainment and reduced fertility rates, India’s female labour force participation (FLFP) remains among the lowest globally. Using nationally r...
- Tanika Chakraborty Nafisa Lohawala
- 06 September, 2021
- Articles
Countering violence against women with awareness creation and self-defence training
The 2019 National Crime Records Bureau report shows a 7.3% increase, compared to 2018, in violence against women, with one in three women being subject to physical, emotional, or sexual violence. In t...
- Chitwan Lalji Debayan Pakrashi Sarani Saha Soubhagya Sahoo
- 20 August, 2021
- Perspectives
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A division of labourers: Caste identity and efficiency in India
Castes in India are closely associated with certain occupations and determine the jobs done by millions. This study uses a new dataset to show that a large proportion of workers still work in their ca...
- Guilhem Cassan Daniel Keniston Tatjana Kleineberg
- 18 November, 2022
- Articles
Sex ratios and religion in India and South Asia
In South Asia, low child sex ratios are increasingly an isolated Indian phenomenon. Within India, child sex ratios are ‘normal’ among Christians and Muslims but much lower among Hindus, Sikhs, and...
- Swati Narayan
- 03 April, 2019
- Articles
Measuring caste inequality across Indian states
Although recent research on inequality shows that upper castes have the highest levels of material well-being, there is a wide variation in caste inequality across India. Measuring three forms of cast...
- Poulomi Chakrabarti
- 13 September, 2021
- Articles