20 February, 2019The macroeconomic benefits of gender diversity
The persistent gap between female and male labour force participation comes at a significant economic cost. This article argues that because women and men complement each other in the production proce...
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Christine Lagarde Jonathan D. Ostry 
04 January, 2019
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Whose education matters? An analysis of inter-caste marriages in India
The rate of inter-caste marriages in India was as low as 5.82% in 2011 and there has been no upward trend over the past four decades. This article examines the relationship between inter-caste marriag...
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Arka Roy Chaudhuri Tridip Ray Komal Sahai
- 30 November, 2018
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Taking other religions seriously: A comparative survey of Hindus in India
While the study of religion in political science has re-emerged as a growing field of inquiry in the past few decades, most research still focuses on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. What religion is...
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Ajay Verghese
- 21 December, 2018
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Religion, minority status, and trust
A key factor that drives segmentation in societies is group identities along various dimensions. This column seeks to understand the effects of identity on individual behaviour. Based on an artefactu...
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Minhaj Mahmud Pushkar Maitra Ananta Neelim
- 14 May, 2014
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Quotas and schooling decisions
Affirmative action, as an instrument for bridging inequalities across social groups, has been a contentious issue for decades. This column analyses the impact of reservation in public sector jobs and...
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Gaurav Khanna
- 03 April, 2014
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Do wives care more about household welfare than husbands?
Social science literature shows that women promote household welfare more than men. This column examines if consumption choices of husbands and wives change, depending on whether they have to work to...
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Utteeyo Dasgupta Subha Mani
- 24 February, 2014
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Rape: The shame of a nation
The proliferating number of rape incidents in India is chilling. This column discusses the various perspectives on the causes of rape, and the economic, social and legal factors that play a role in t...
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Chandan Kumar Jha Sudipta Sarangi
- 21 February, 2014
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Why so few women in politics in India?
Women are severely under-represented in political positions across the world. This column analyses constituency-level election data from Indian states to explore why this is so. It finds that while w...
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Mudit Kapoor Shamika Ravi
- 02 January, 2014
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How backward are 'Other Backward Classes' in India?
Since reservations were provided in government bodies for lower castes in the early 90s, ‘Other Backward Classes’ have been an important force in Indian politics at all levels. Has there been a c...
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Ashwini Deshpande Rajesh Ramachandran
- 04 December, 2013
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What explains the stagnation of female labour force participation in urban India?
Over the past two decades, urban India has experienced expansion in women’s education, fertility decline and growth in white-collared jobs. Then why is it that female labour force participation has ...
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Stephan Klasen Janneke Pieters
- 27 September, 2013
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Entrepreneurship or survival? Caste and gender of small business in India
Can entrepreneurship be a vehicle for social mobility in India? This column analyses data from micro, small and medium enterprises, and finds clear and persistent caste and gender disparities in virtu...
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Ashwini Deshpande Smriti Sharma
- 23 September, 2013
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Caste and entrepreneurship in India
It is now widely accepted that the lower castes have risen in Indian politics. Has there been a corresponding change in their entrepreneurial activity? This column seeks to answer this question by ana...
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Lakshmi Iyer Tarun Khanna Ashutosh Varshney
- 26 August, 2013
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Combating gender imbalance through legislation
The rapid decline in the sex ratio in India over the past few decades is an artefact of the historically strong preference for sons over daughters. To address the problem, the Indian government passe...
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Anil Deolalikar Arindam Nandi
- 16 August, 2013
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The power of women's political voice
With more women in power, can India’s women expect to see a fall in violent crime committed against them? This column looks at the effect of a law to mandate minimum numbers for women in public off...
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Lakshmi Iyer Anandi Mani
- 17 June, 2013
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Does caste influence access to agricultural loans in rural India?
Increasing access to agricultural credit in rural India is a major policy priority. This column examines whether farmers’ access to formal agricultural loans depends on their caste. It is found tha...
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Sunil Mitra Kumar
- 03 June, 2013
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Impact of the two-child limit for local politicians
Some Indian states debar individuals with more than two children from contesting local elections. This column finds that while the law has significantly reduced fertility among the general population...
- S. Anukriti Abhishek Chakravarty
- 02 March, 2015
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Political reservation in India: The effect on poverty
Over the last 60 years, India’s Constitution has set aside seats in parliament for people from historically discriminated groups, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. This column documents one...
- Nishith Prakash
- 10 December, 2012
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Unity in cricket: Integrated leagues and caste divisions
A growing body of evidence supports the idea that intergroup contact can reduce discrimination. However, different types of contact – collaborative or adversarial – may have different effects. Bas...
- Matt Lowe
- 23 May, 2018
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