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Street vending: Understanding emotional markups and market interactions
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Urbanisation
The Growth of Cities in India, 1870-2020
The aim of this project is to understand the determinants of city growth in India in the short run and over the long period. By analysing data on cities from every decennial Census conducted in India between 1872 and 2011 and economic, demographic, social and geographic data obtained from other sources, the project seeks to address the following research questions:
Data-jam: Could data reduce road congestion in Dhaka?
While urbanisation is key to economic growth, failure to address the downsides of the process - such as congestion - may deter the ability of cities to achieve their full growth potential. This column examines the challenges of road congestion in Dhaka, and explores the potential for traffic data to uncover evidenced-based policy designs that can effectively mitigate the problem.
The Changing Face of Circular Migration in Bihar
The aim of this project is to investigate the changing patterns of circular migration from rural Bihar, the place of origin for many of India's labour/seasonal migrants. The study focuses specifically on ways to develop better support policies for internal migrants, which officials at the Urban Development Department have been discussing with the IGC.
One step forward, one step back? Ahmedabad's evolving urban policy
India’s urbanisation process has come to be characterised by haphazard growth of cities, the costs of which are borne disproportionately by the poor. This column analyses Ahmedabad’s urban policy over the past two decades and the impact on slum dwellers. While the city’s urbanisation process has traditionally been a rewarding collaboration between the local government and civil society, recent changes present a challenge to this legacy.
India on the move: The commuting worker
About 25 million workers in India commute daily for work, from rural to urban areas or vice versa, or have no fixed place of work. This column finds that rural households with at least one rural-to-urban commuting worker are better off than those with no commuting workers. It makes a case for shifting the focus of labour mobility discussions from migration to commuting.
Growing through cities in India
Do cities grow through specialisation or diversity? This column measures specialisation and diversity for the manufacturing and services sectors in India. It finds that Indian districts with a broader set of industries exhibit greater employment growth. This is particularly true for low population densities, rural areas and unorganised sector, reflecting knowledge flow and the inclusive nature of employment growth due to diversity.
A unique, informal banking system of rickshaw drivers in cities
Seasonal, rural migrants that drive rickshaws in cities have little or no access to formal financial institutions. Based on a survey of over 100 rickshaw drivers in Delhi, this article highlights a unique mechanism used by the drivers for remitting earnings to their families back in villages, obtaining short-term loans, and managing their savings.
What makes cities more competitive in India?
Policymakers in both developed and developing countries want to make cities more competitive, attract new entrepreneurs, boost economic growth, and promote job creation. This column shows that the two most consistent factors that bring entrepreneurs in manufacturing and services to a district in India are its education and quality of local physical infrastructure.
India's spatial disparities: Have big cities become too congested?
A key driver of the Indian economy is its rapidly growing service sector. This column compares the spatial growth pattern of the sector in India and other countries. It is found that while in US and Europe, the service sector is becoming increasing concentrated in medium-sized locations, high-density locations in India such as Mumbai and Chennai continue to attract more service sector jobs, causing congestion.
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