Publications
List of all publications: [Download here]
Gendered vulnerabilities in climate shocks: the role of social protection interventions, Environmental Research: Climate, 2024 [Link to Publication]
Effect of Kanyashree Programme on Child Marriage and Fertility Outcomes, Economic & Political Weekly (Special issue on National Family Health Survey),
2024, [Link to Publication]
Gendered Time Use and its Heterogeneities: The Role of Region, Religion and Caste (with Ashokankur Datta) , Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy (Special issue on Gender & Religion-based Disparities in South Asia), 2024 [Link to Publication]
Religious Institutions and Gendered Time Use: Evidence from Ramadan Festivities in India (with Ashokankur Datta),Journal of Population Economics, 2024 [Link to Publication]
Road Access, Fertility and Child Health in Rural India (with Anahita Karandikar and Devvrat Raghav), Population and Development Review, 2024 [Link to Publication] [Link to VOXEU article]
How does a ban on sex-selective abortions affect child health? (with Anisha Sharma), Health Economics, 2023, [Link to Publication]
Shifting gendered social norms: Impact of a mass media campaign on child health in India (with Anisha Sharma), The Journal of Development Studies, 2023 [Link to Publication] [Download PDF]
The nutritional cost of beef bans in India (with Farhan Majid and Wafa Hakim Orman), Journal of Development Economics, 2023 [Link to Publication] [Download PDF]
Infections Averted by a Comprehensive HIV Prevention Intervention and its Cost-effectiveness: A Prospective Cohort Study of Persons Who Inject Drugs in Delhi, India (with Lopamudra Ray Saraswati, Indrani Gupta, Julie Pulerwitz, Avina Sarna),Journal of Development Effectiveness, 2023 [Link to Publication]
Missing Women: A Review of Underlying Causes and Policy Responses (with Anisha Sharma), Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance, 2022, Oxford University Press [Link to Publication]
Disease Eradication, Infant Mortality, and Fertility Response: Evidence from Malaria Eradication in India (with Shampa Bhattacharjee),The Journal of Development Studies, 2022 [Link to Publication] [Download PDF]
Gender-Based Discrimination in Health: Evidence From Cross-Country, Handbook of Economics of Discrimination and Affirmative Action, Springer, 2022 [Link to Publication] [Download PDF]
Unintended Consequences of Indian Groundwater Preservation Law on Crop Residue Burning (with Meghna Agarwala and Shampa Bhattacharjee), Economics Letters, 2022 [Link to Publication] [Download PDF]
Preferences or expectations: Understanding the gender gap in major choice (with Anisha Sharma),Oxford Economic Papers, 2022 [Link to Publication] [Download PDF]
Identity and Learning: a study on the effect of student teacher gender interaction on student's learning outcomes (with Sukanta Bhattacharya, Kumarjit Mandal and Anirban Mukherjee), Research in Economics, 2021 [Link to Publication] [Download PDF]
Class or caste? A study on the role of caste and wealth status in school choice decision (with Sukanta Bhattacharya, Kumarjit Mandal and Anirban Mukherjee),Review of Development Economics, 2020 [Link to Publication] [Download PDF]
Systematic measurement error in self-reported health: is anchoring vignettes the way out?, IZA Journal of Development and Migration, 2018 [Link to Publication] [Download PDF]
Can the Major Public Works Program in India Serve as Buffer against Negative Shocks? Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, India, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2017 [Link to Publication] [Download PDF]
Service utilization and cost of implementing a comprehensive HIV prevention and care program among people who inject drugs in Delhi, India (with Mary Philip Sebastian, Lopamudra Ray Saraswati, Asha Singh, Vartika Sharma, Ira Madan, Waimar Tun, Julie Pulerwitz, Ibou Thior, and Avina Sarna), Harm Reduction Journal, 2017 [Link to Publication]
Understanding the Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital: Evidence from a Quasi Natural Experiment in China (with Dong Zhou), Review of Development Economics, 2016 [Link to Publication] [Download PDF]
Working papers with Abstracts
Gender-Gap in Learning Outcomes under Rainfall Shocks: The Role of Gender Norms (with Anahita Karandikar) [Revise & Resubmit, Economica]
[Abstract] There is mixed evidence in the literature on the effect of rainfall shocks on educational outcomes for children in rural areas, with a limited understanding of how the gender-gap in education evolves in the face of such a shock. We posit that the vulnerability to climatic shocks can vary by the gender institutions of the setting which can have a bearing on the gender-gap in educational outcomes. On one hand, a negative productivity shock can lead to a disproportionate reduction in human capital outcomes for girls, as investments for girls may be more sensitive to income constraints. On the other hand, as the opportunity cost of schooling goes down in the face of a negative shock, it can translate into gains in educational outcomes, which are higher for female children in areas that favour female labour force participation. Leveraging the variation in cropping patterns that guide norms around female labor force participation (FLFP) in rural India, we examine how exposure to contemporaneous and past rainfall shocks affects learning outcomes for girls and boys. We find the widest gaps in outcomes in positive versus negative rainfall shock years for female children in regions that favour FLFP. We provide suggestive evidence that this is driven by increased participation in paid employment and full time domestic work during a positive rainfall shock.
Gendered Transport Subsidy and its Short Run Effect on Female Employment: Evidence from Delhi's Pink Pass Scheme (with Ashokankur Datta) [Under Review] [Download working paper]
[Abstract] How does gender-specific transport subsidy for urban women affect their participation in the labour force? To answer this question, we study the Government of Delhi's pink pass scheme that made bus travel free for women since October 2019. Using the Time Use Survey of 2019 and employing two alternative difference-in-difference (DID) strategies and a triple difference (DDD) approach, we find weak evidence that the policy increased paid work and employment of women at the intensive margin by 30 to 50 minutes. Strikingly, we find that women from economically marginalized households experience large and statistically significant increases in paid work and employment, both at the extensive and intensive margins. The pink pass scheme increases employment of women from economically marginalized group by 24 percentage points at the extensive margin and by 150 minutes at the intensive margin. Our study has important insights for policies addressing supply-side bottlenecks in improving female participation in paid work.
The Effect of COVID-19 on Fertility in India: Evidence from the National Family Health Survey (with Gby Atee and Sneha Lamba) [Under Review] [Download working paper]
[Abstract] How fertility responds to the changes in the disease environment has been an important question for understanding the dynamics of demographic transition. We investigate this question in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. We harmonise district-wise lockdown intensity data in the country with detailed records on fertility and child health outcomes from the latest rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) which were conducted between 2015-16 and 2019-2021. We leverage the intensity of the nation-wide mobility restrictions in a difference-in-difference framework to estimate the impact of the pandemic on fertility behaviour. Strikingly, we find a significant increase in the probability of higher order births while a decline in the probability of first order births in the country, with the highest reduction in the most restrictive zone. We find the rise in fertility for higher order births is prominent in the economically poorer households from rural locations in states with higher fertility in the baseline. We explore potential mechanisms and a significant decrease in Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), post pandemic, which aligns with our main finding. Our results have important implications for understanding fertility behaviour and human capital investments in the face of shocks.
Are Gender Norms Systematic to Caste Institutions? Examining Preferences around Female Work Participation in North Indian Villages (with Ashokankur Datta) [Working paper link]
[Abstract] In this paper we examine how traditional institutions like caste interact with socio-economic status to mediate the perception of gender roles and attitudes around female labour force participation. We use third party vignettes to directly test the validity of the hypothesis that lower castes have more egalitarian gender norms and lower acceptance of restrictions on female autonomy. We find that the relationship between conservative gender norms and caste are in turn influenced by the class status of households, measured by land or asset ownership. Lastly, we conduct a simple social experiment to test for 'pluralistic ignorance' and confirm the presence of systematic overestimation of conservative attitude that varies by caste and class identities.
Rural Roads, Climate Change, and the Dynamics of Structural Transformation: Evidence from India (with Devvrat Raghav)
[Abstract] How does access to infrastructure mediate the processes of structural transformation in a developing country setting in the presence of climate shocks? By exploiting a large-scale rural road construction program in India, we ask whether rural road connectivity can preserve the gains from structural transformation in emerging markets. In comparison to the existing literature, we provide a newer framework to study the effects of road infrastructure access in mitigating the impact of climate shocks on structural transformation. The program roll out criteria allows us to employing a fuzzy difference-in-discontinuity design to provide the first line of causal evidence in this area. Data on roads comes from the Socioeconomic High-resolution Rural-Urban Geographic (SHRUG) Platform for India. In addition, we use the Population Census (2001, 2011) and the Economic Census(1998, 2013). Furthermore, by supplementing our analysis with household survey data(India Human Development Survey), we are able to investigate the underlying mechanisms, such as labour reallocation and changes in farm inputs, and also study their downstream welfare impacts.The research question that we answer in this project has first order policy relevance in the context of designing policy instruments to tackle long-term climate change, not just within the country but for all rural regions across the developing world.
Electoral Cycles in Crop Residue Burning: Evidence from India (with Meghna Agarwala and Shampa Bhattacharjee)
[Abstract] Open burning of crop residue (straw) is a common practice in many developing countries and leads to air pollution which has many adverse effects on health. Crop residue burning (CRB) is widely held responsible for the air pollution problem in India, particularly in North India. However, there is scant evidence on the determinants of CRB. In this paper, we look at the political economy of CRB; in particular, whether CRB incidence is related to electoral cycles in India. Using the fact that state elections in India are not perfectly synchronized, we test whether temporal proximity to the year-month of state legislative assembly elections influences the extent of crop residue burning. For our analysis, we put together a unique dataset on CRB using 1-km resolution disaggregated daily data from NASA’s remote sensing products. We aggregate this dataset at the state electoral constituency level and match it with election data to form an all-India dataset. We find that the incidence of CRB significantly increases before elections. Our findings suggest that political incentives are at work behind the continued open burning of crop residue. We also provide evidence that the pre-electoral increase in crop burning is unlikely to be driven by possible increases in crop production before the elections. Thus, the mechanism appears to be a more relaxed implementation of laws before elections for political gain.
Gendered Effect of Temperature on Time Use in India (with Ashokankur Datta and Anushree Khatri)
[Abstract] Using nationally representative time-use data from India, this paper investigates the impact of daily temperature on intra-household gender-specific time allocation across broad activity groups in India. Analyzing individual-level time-use information merged with districtlevel daily temperature data, we find that men spend more time on economic work during higher temperature bins compared to moderate temperature bins. In contrast, women reduce their time allocation to economic work under higher temperature conditions. This results in a 22-minute widening of the gender gap in economic work, thereby intensifying the preexisting disparity. Additionally, women increase their self-care time by 11 minutes at higher temperature bins compared to moderate temperature bins. Furthermore, we identify an amplified gender gap in favor of females for learning activities at higher temperature bins, contributing to a reduction in the gender gap in learning. Heterogeneity analysis indicates a widening gender gap in economic work for married individuals, urban residents, and indoor workers at higher temperatures. Gender differentials for married increase for self-care during higher temperatures, while unmarried females bear a greater household burden in warmer conditions.
Effect of Teacher Transfers on Student Learning: Evidence from Haryana (with Akanksha Aggarwal and Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay)
[Abstract] In this paper, we study the impact of policy induced teacher transfers in government primary schools in India on student learning outcomes. We utilize a government policy implemented in an Indian state in 2016 providing us with an exogenous variation in teacher transfers. We leverage the variation in the intensity of the program to employ a difference-in differences estimation framework using a rich panel data on primary schools and find a significant negative impact of the teacher transfers program on student learning outcomes. In terms of mechanisms, we find that schools with larger transfers lose greater number of teachers, making pupil teacher ratio worse and also losing more qualified teachers.
Selected Ongoing Projects
Labour saving agricultural mechanisation and its impact of the ‘non-labour’ time allocation of Indian women (with Ashokankur Datta)
Impact of Public Works Program on Crop Residue Burning: Evidence from India (with Meghna Agarwala and Shampa Bhattacharjee)
Popular press and other writing
The impact of road connectivity on fertility and child health in rural India, VOX EU, August 2024
How does a ban on sex-selective abortions affect child health? (with Anisha Sharma), Ideas for India, July 2023
How class and caste influence school choice (with Sukanta Bhattacharya, Kumarjit Mandal and Anirban Mukherjee), July 2023
Teacher-student gender matching and learning outcomes (with Sukanta Bhattacharya, Kumarjit Mandal and Anirban Mukherjee), March 2021
The perils of tackling skewed sex ratios through a crackdown on sex-selective abortions - CEDA Data Narrative, Centre for Economic Data and Policy Jan 2021(with Anisha Sharma)
INDIA: Surmounting the economic challenges of COVID-19. Counterpoint, Arthur D. Little’s Report. May 2020. with Ashwini Deshpande and Anisha Sharma
The Coronavirus Pandemic: Are we ready for the long haul? Ashoka University Policy Brief No. 1. Also published in Ideas for India, The Wire and Scroll. April 2020. With Abhinash Borah, Sabyasachi Das, Ashwini Deshpande, Kanika Mahajan, Bharat Ramaswami, Anuradha Saha, Anisha Sharma
Child health, fertility, and sex ratio: India vs. Bangladesh,Ideas for India,November, 2018
So that Mothers Can Work,The Indian Express, September, 2016
Self-reported health data: Issues and solutions ,Ideas for India, March, 2016
Nutrition for kids:Why Early Investment Matters, The Indian Express, October, 2015
Can MNREGA Buffer Negative Shocks in Early Childhood?,Ideas for India, August, 2014
Research Grants
Department of Economics Grant, Ashoka University, Minimum support policy and nutritional diversity (2024)
Department of Economics Grant, Ashoka University, “Labour saving agricultural mechanisation and its impact of the ‘non-labour’ time allocation of Indian women" (2021)
Azim Premji University research grant on The Puzzle of Declining Female Labour Force Participation in India(2018)
Azim Premji University research grant on Crop Residue Burning(CRB) and child health (2018)
CMGGA, Ashoka University on Examining Teacher transfer drive in Haryana on Pupil Teacher Ratio and Learning Outcomes Grant
The Centre for Social and Behaviour Change Research Grant (CSBC) on Understanding declining child sex-ratio and the role of communication programs in India(2017)
Privatisation in Education Research Initiative, University of Oxford research grant on School Quality, School Choice and Educational Outcome, External consultant May 2014-March 2015