CV

Upasak Das

Senior Lecturer (Development Economics)

Global Development Institute, University of Manchester

Manchester, M13 9PL

United Kingdom

Email id: upasak.das@manchester.ac.uk

upasak.das@gmail.com

Webpage: https://sites.google.com/site/upasakdas/home

Personal Profile

(a) Date of Birth: March 7, 1986

(b) Citizenship: Indian

(d) Permanent Address: C/o. Partha Pratim Das, 61, C.R. Das Sarani, East Vivekananda Pally, House Name: Milan, Siliguri, West Bengal, India. Pin code: 734006.

(e) Work Address: Global Development Institute, Arthur Lewis Building, Oxford Road, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom, Pin: M13 9PL.

Educational Qualifications

(a) Ph.D. from Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai, India, awarded on July 2015.

Thesis title: Evaluation of the 100-Days Work Programme in West Bengal.

(b) M.Sc in Economics (2009), IGIDR, Mumbai, India

Current affiliations

(a) Senior Lecturer in Development Economics, Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester

(b) Affiliate at the Centre for Social Norms and Behavioral Dynamics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States of America (https://normsandbehavior.sas.upenn.edu/)

Previous positions

(a) Presidential Fellow (Academic) (equivalent to tenure track Assistant Professor position) in the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester from February 2020. (https://www.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/)

(b) Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) Program at the University of Pennsylvania with the Penn Social Norms Group (PennSONG) (starting from January 16, 2017 to February, 2020)

(d) Researcher at Libtech, which designs civic technology for public service delivery.

(e) Assistant Professor (tenured) at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Trivandrum, India (from December 19 2014 to January 13, 2017).

(f) Research Assistant to Dr. Srijit Mishra, Associate Professor, IGIDR, Mumbai, India (from August 2014 to November, 2014)

(g) Research Assistant to Dr. Sudhakara Reddy, Professor, IGIDR, Mumbai, India (from August 2013 to July 2014)

(h) Research Assistant to Dr. V.K. Sharma, Professor, IGIDR, Mumbai, India (from August 2012 to July 2013)

(i) Teaching Assistant for the course ‘Mathematics for Economists’, offered in M.Sc (Economics) course for Dr. G. Mythili, Professor, IGIDR, Mumbai, India (August 2011 to December 2011 )

() Research Assistant to Dr. G. Mythili, Professor, IGIDR, India (January 2011 to July 2012)

(k) Business Analyst, Genpact India Pvt. Ltd. (October, 2009 to December, 2010)

Research Interests

Development Economics, Social Norms, Health and Sanitation, Education, Poverty and Inequality, Labour Economics, Political Economy, Public Policy

Research as Post Doctoral Fellow

As a post doctoral fellow, I worked on a project that aims to measure the social networks relevant for and the social drivers behind behavior related to sanitation and open defecation in the states of Bihar and Tamil Nadu (both rural and urban). The project is supported by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The principal investigator of the project was Prof. Cristina Bicchieri, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) Program at the University of Pennsylvania and Prof. H.P. Kohler, Professor of Demography, University of Pennsylvania. Website: https://normsandbehavior.sas.upenn.edu/

Other ongoing projects

(a) Currently working on a project titled “Has the COVID-19 pandemic worsened multidimensional poverty and vulnerability? Evidence from a unique national longitudinal household survey dataset in Bangladesh.” at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester as Co-Investigator. This project is under the Covid-19 Learning, Evidence and Research Programme in Bangladesh (CLEAR), which is a programme funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The project aims to identify both the short-term and medium-term effects on poverty and vulnerability of exposure to infection and lockdown policies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. The principal investigator is Prof. David Fielding. Amount: £99,752.20

(b) Currently working on a project titled “Women in Leadership in Economics Initiative (IEA-WE)” at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester as Co-Investigator. The project is funded by the Association Internationale de Sciences Economiques (International Economic Association). Amount: $20,000

(c) Awarded workshop funding for ““Interdisciplinary workshop on Transboundary River Basins and Environmental Sustainability in South Asia (TRANSCAPE)” at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester as Co-Investigator. The project is funded by the Manchester-Indian Institute of Science Research Fund. Amount: £5000

(d) Currently working on a project titled “District level Heat threshold and heat wave vulnerability assessment in India” at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester as Principle Investigator. The project is funded by the SEED New Horizons Research & Scholarship Fund. Amount: £4000

(e) Also commissioned by Government of Uttar Pradesh, India in 2023-24 to work on district-level heat-wave vulnerability

Completed projects

(a) Currently working on a project titled “Social Norms, Behavioral Change and Sanitation: Initiating a Large-scale Sociocentric Network Study to understand the Open Defecation "Puzzle" in India.” at the Centre for Social Norms and Behavioral Dynamics, University of Pennsylvania. This project involves examining and mapping full social network and reassessing the social norms surrounding open defecation and latrine use using the collected social network data. The principal investigator is Prof. Cristina Bicchieri.

(b) Completed a project titled “Evaluation of e-health and e-governance initiatives in Kerala” as a principal investigator. The project is funded by Administrative Reforms Commission, Government of Kerala.

(c) Completed a project titled “Combating Corruption with Mobile Phones”, as a co-investigator with CORD. This project involves evaluation of the scaling up of designing and testing tools for last mile accountability in social welfare programmes through randomized experimental tools. Evaluation would be conducted in the state of Telangana. It is funded by Tata Trust.

(d) Worked on a project titled “Study on the social norms related to child marriage and eating habits (nutrition) in Sikasso and Kayes, Mali” as a consultant. This project involves analysis of social norms and expectations revolving around child marriage and breast feeding in parts of Mali. The principal investigator is Prof. Cristina Bicchieri. It is funded by United Nations International Children Emergency Funds (UNICEF). Website: https://pennsong.sas.upenn.edu/

(e) Completed a project titled “How effective are public works programme in stimulating local economic transformation in low and middle income countries (LMICs)” funded by Department for International Development (DFID), U.K., through the South Asia Research Hub (SARH) as co-investigator (with researchers from Public Health Evidence South Asia, Manipal University, Manipal)

(f) Was involved in a project titled “Assessment of Backwardness in Indian States” funded by Kerala State Planning Board (with Amit Shovan Ray, Manmohan Agarwal, Udaya S. Mishra and M. Parameshwaran).

(g) Completed a project titled “Quality and Productivity of Social Science Research in India” funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) as co-investigator (with Amit Shovan Ray, Manmohan Agarwal, Vinoj Abraham, Udaya S. Mishra, M. Parameshwaran and Sunandan Ghosh)

(h) Was involved in a project titled “Impact Evaluation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in India”. The study is a collaborative effort of researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, D.C., Cornell University, Ithaca and IGIDR, Mumbai and funded by the International Initiative on Impact Evaluation (3ie) (with Sudha Narayanan, Christopher Barrett and Yanyan Liu).

(Website: http://dev.onesquarepixel.com/igidr/public/)

(i) Was involved in a research project as a consultant titled “Combating Corruption with Mobile Phones” as co-investigator in a collaborative project using with the Libtech, India and CORD, New Delhi as consultant (with Sudha Narayanan, Vivek Srinivasan and Anuradha De).

(Brief description: http://www.cordindia.com/ata.html)

(j) Was involved in a project titled “Rapid Assessment of MGNREGA Assets and their Impacts in Maharashtra”. A collaborative project with Pragati Abhiyan, Nashik, funded by the Government of Maharashtra as co-investigator (with Sudha Narayanan, Krushna Ranaware and Ashwini Kulkarni) (Since December 2013)

(k) Was involved in a research project titled “Impact Assessment Study of PRADAN’s Interventions at the Grassroots” under Srijit Mishra.

Teaching

Research Skills for Economic Development (Applied Quantitative Methods)

Public Policy Evaluation (Impact Evaluation)

Economic Development

Mathematical Methods

India’s Rural Development: Selected Issues

I took lectures on "Poverty and Development"; "Global Health Inequalities"; "Work and Employment in Global Economy" and "Gender Inequality: Theory and Evidence"

I am currently offering a full course on "Economic Analysis of social norms and development" primarily for the students pursuing M.Sc in Development Economics and Policy and "Skills for Global Development (Quantitative)" for students pursuing B.Sc (Global Development)

Published Papers:

Journals (Peer reviewed)

Publications

(1) "Duration of exposure to inheritance law in India: Examining the heterogeneous effects on empowerment". Review of Development Economics, Volume 37, Issue 3 November 2023 (Shreya Biswas, Upasak Das, and Prasenjit Sarkhel)

(2) "Unlocking the Role of Social Norms: How They Shape Women’s Public Toilet Usage in India". The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, November 2023 (Karan Babbar, Upasak Das, Sania Ashraf, Alex Shpenev and C. Bicchieri) https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.23-0220

(3) "Fuelling down after a lockdown: Effects of the first COVID wave on clean fuel usage in India". Energy Economics. (Upasak Das, Shreya Biswas and Samarul Islam) doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2023.106940

(4) “Missing’ Women in Economics Academia: Evidence from India” Feminist Economics (Ambrish Dongre, Karan Singhal, Upasak Das) (forthcoming)

(5) "Does More Schooling Imply Improved Learning? Evidence from the Kanyashree Prakalpa in India", Economics of Education Review, Volume 94, June 2023 (Upasak Das, Prasenjit Sarkhel) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2023.102406

(6) "Reducing delay in payments in welfare programs: Experimental evidence from an information dissemination intervention", World Bank Economic Review, Volume 37, Issue 3, August 2023 (Upasak Das, Amartya Paul, Mohit Sharma) https://doi.org/10.1093/wber/lhad011

(7) "Solving it correctly: Prevalence and Persistence of Gender Gap in Basic Mathematics in rural India", International Journal of Educational Development Volume 96, January 2023 (Upasak Das, Karan Singhal) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2022.102703

(8) "Women as pioneers: Examining their role in decision making on toilet construction in India", Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Volume 24, Issue 1, August 2022 (Upasak Das, Jinyi Kuang, Sania Ashraf, Alex Shpenev, Cristina Bicchieri) https://doi.org/10.1080/19452829.2022.2111410

(9) "Are High-Altitude Residents More Susceptible to Covid-19 in India? Findings and Potential Implications for Research and Policy", International Journal of Health Services, Volume 52, Issue 4, June 2022 (Sushmita Chakraborty, Upasak Das, Udayan Rathore, Prasenjit Sarkhel), https://doi.org/10.1177%2F00207314221104887

(10) "Examining norms and social expectations surrounding exclusive breastfeeding: Evidence from Mali", World Development, Volume 153, May 2022 (Cristina Bicchieri, Upasak Das, Samuel Gant, Rachel Sander), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.105824

(11) "Social beliefs and women’s role in sanitation decision making in Bihar, India: An exploratory mixed method study", PLoS ONE, Volume 17, Issue 1 January 2022 (Sania Ashraf, Jinyi Kuang, Upasak Das, Alex Sphenev, Eric Thulin, Cristina Bicchieri), 17(1): e0262643. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0262643

(12) "Adding fuel to human capital: Exploring the educational effects of cooking fuel choice from rural India", Energy Economics, Volume 105, January 2022 (Shreya Biswas and Upasak Das) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2021.105744

(13) "Love Thy Neighbour? Perceived Community Abidance and Private Compliance to COVID-19 Norms in India", South Asia Economic Journal, Volume 3, Issue 1, November 2021 (Upasak Das, Prasenjit Sarkhel and Sania Ashraf) https://doi.org/10.1177/13915614211053928

(14) "On willingness to pay for Covid-19 vaccines: a case study from India", Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, Volume 17, Issue 12, November 2021 (Upasak Das, Udayan Rathore and Rupayan Pal) https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2021.1989918

(15) "Health consequences of patriarchal kinship system for the elderly: Evidence from India", Journal of Development Studies, Journal of Development Studies, Volume 58, July 2021 (Udayan Rathore an Upasak Das), https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2021.1939863

(16) "Evidence of Low Willingness to Pay for COVID Vaccines", Economic and Political Weekly, Volume 56, Issue 8, July 2021 (Upasak Das, Rupayan Pal and Udayan Rathore) https://www.epw.in/journal/2021/28/commentary/evidence-low-willingness-pay-covid-19-vaccines.html

(17) "Norms and Social Network–Centric Behavior Change Intervention (Nam Nalavazhvu) for Improved Toilet Usage in Peri-Urban Communities of Tamil Nadu", JMIR Research Protocols, Volume 10, Issue 5, May 2021 (with S. Ashraf, C. Bicchieri, M.G. Delea, K. Chauhan, J. Kuang, A. Sphenev, E. Thulin) 10.2196/24407

(18) "Rural employment guarantee programme in India and its impact on household educational decisions: A focus on private coaching", Journal of International Development, Volume 33, Issue 6, August 2021 (single authored), https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3546

(19) "Women are more likely to expect social sanctions for open defecation: evidence from Tamil Nadu India:, PLoS ONE, Volume 15, Issue 10, October 2020 (with J. Kuang, E. Thulin, S. Ashraf, A. Sphenev, M.G. Delea, P. McNally, C. Bicchieri), 15(10) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240477

(20) "Awareness, Risk Perception, and Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Communities of Tamil Nadu, India", International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Volume 17, Issue 19, September 2020 (with J. Kuang, S. Ashraf and C. Bicchieri), https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197177

(21) "Sanitation Practices during Early Phases of COVID-19 Lockdown in Peri-Urban Communities in Tamil Nadu, India", The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Volume 103, Issue 5, November 2020 (with S. Ashraf, J. Kuang and C. Bicchieri), https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-0830

(22) "Bias in the perceived prevalence of open defecation: Evidence from Bihar, India", PLoS ONE, Volume 15, Issue 9, September 2020 (with J. Kuang, E. Thulin, S. Ashraf, A. Sphenev, M.G. Delea, P. McNally, C. Bicchieri), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238627

(23) "COVID-19 and the case for global development", World Development, Volume 15, Issue 9, September 2020 (with colleagues from GDI) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105044

(24) “Towards conceptualization of a household educational indicator: Incorporating externalities”, Social Indicators Research, Volume 150, July 2020 (Upasak Das and Udaya S. Mishra) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-020-02301-2

(25) “Revisiting the Role of Private Schooling on Children Learning Outcomes: Evidence from Rural India”, South Asia Economic Journal, Volume 20, Issue 2, July 2019 (Karan Singhal and Upasak Das) https://doi.org/10.1177/1391561419853678

(26) “Post-Clientelistic Initiatives in a Patronage Democracy: the distributive politics of India's MGNREGA”, World Development, 117, Volume 117, May 2019 (Upasak Das and Diego Maiorano) (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X19300178?dgcid=author)

(27) “Explaining the Superior Education Outcomes of Kerala: The Role of State Activism and Historical Endowment”, Oxford Development Studies, Volume 47, Issue 2, July 2019 (Udayan Rathore and Upasak Das)(https://doi.org/10.1080/13600818.2018.1539471)

(28) “Accuracy of Targeting under the Rural Employment Guarantee Programme: Comparison between West Bengal and Rest of India”, Journal of International Development, 31(2), Volume 31, Issue 2, March 2019 (single authored)(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jid.3400)

(29) “Decentralisation, clientelism and social protection programmes: a study of India’s MGNREGA”, Oxford Development Studies, 46(4), Volume 31, Issue 2, March 2019 (Diego Maiorano, Upasak Das and Silvia Masiero),(https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13600818.2018.1467391?journalCode=cods20)

(30) “The “Discouraged Worker Effect” in Public Works Programs: Evidence from the MGNREGA in India” World Development, 100, Volume 100, December 2017 (Sudha Narayanan, Upasak Das, Chris Barrett and Yanyan Liu) (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X17302528)

(31) “Dynamics of Marriage and Female Labour Participation: The Case of India”, Artha Vijnana, Volume 57, Issue 2, 2015 (Rajnish Singh and Upasak Das)(http://dspace.gipe.ac.in/xmlui/handle/10973/40932)

(32) “Does Political Activity and Affiliation Affect Allocation of Benefits in the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: Evidence from West Bengal, India”, Volume 67, March 2015 (single authored) (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X14003039)

(33) “Can the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme Reduce Short-Term Migration: Evidence from West Bengal, India”, Journal of Development Studies, Volume 43, Issue 3, March 2015 (single authored) (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220388.2014.989997?journalCode=fjds20)

(34) “Rationing and its Implication on Accuracy of Targeting in India: The Case of the Rural Employment Guarantee Act”, Oxford Development Studies, Volume 43, Issue 3, May 2015 (single authored) (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13600818.2015.1042445)

(35) “Increasing Compulsion to Work for Wages: Old Age Labor Participation and Supply in India over the Past Two Decades”, Journal of Population Ageing, Volume 8, June 2015 (Ashish Singh and Upasak Das) (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12062-015-9121-3)

(36) “MGNREGA Works and their Impacts: A Study of Maharashtra”, Economic and Political Weekly, Volume 50, Issue 13, March 2015, special article (Krushna Ranaware, Upasak Das, Sudha Narayanan and Ashwini Kulkarni) (http://www.epw.in/journal/2015/13/special-articles/mgnrega-works-and-their-impacts.html)

(37) “Employment Guarantee for Women in India: Evidence on Participation and Rationing in the MGNREGA from the National Sample Survey”, Economic and Political Weekly, Volume 49, Issue, 46, November 2014, special article (Sudha Narayanan and Upasak Das) (http://www.epw.in/journal/2014/46/special-articles/women-participation-and-rationing-employment-guarantee-scheme.html)

(38) “Household Headship and Academic Skills of Indian Children: A Special Focus on Gender Disparities”, European Journal of Population, Volume 29; April 2013 (Ashish Singh, Sarthak Gaurav and Upasak Das) (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10680-013-9288-3)

(39) “How Inclusive has Regular Employment been in India? A Dynamic View”, European Journal of Development Research, Volume 25, April, 2013 (Ashish Singh, Upasak Das and Tushar Agarwal) (http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ejdr/journal/v25/n3/abs/ejdr201317a.html)

(40) “Awareness about Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: some evidences from West Bengal, India”, Economics Bulletin, 32(1), Volume 32, Issue 1, January, 2012 (Upasak Das, Ashish Singh and Nitay Mahanto) (http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2012/Volume32/EB-12-V32-I1-P50.pdf)

Edited chapters in books

(1) “MGNREGA Works and their Impacts: A Study of Maharashtra” (Krushna Ranaware, Upasak Das, S. Narayanan and Ashwini Kulkarni), In Jean Drèze (Eds.) Social Policy, Orient Black Swan, New Delhi.

(2) “Quality of Social Science Research in India” (with A.S. Ray, M. Parameshwaran, M. Agarwal, S. Ghosh, U.S. Mishra, Upasak Das and V. Abraham) In S. Thorat and S. Verma (Eds.) Social Science Research in India: Status, Issues and Policies, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

(3) “Inclusiveness of Information Access in Agriculture: Evidence from India” (Upasak Das and A. Chakraborty), In Manmohan Agarwal, Jing Wang and John Whalley (Eds.) Economic growth, Employment and Inclusivity: The International Environment, World Scientific, Singapore

(4) “Public works programme in India: An evaluation of the rural employment guarantee programme in West Bengal” (Upasak Das and I. Kumar), In Manmohan Agarwal, Jing Wang and John Whalley (Eds.) Economics of China and India, Cooperation and Conflict, World Scientific, Singapore

(5) “Accuracy of Targeting and Implications of Rationing in Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: Evidence from West Bengal, India”, In A. Moktan (Eds.) Contemporary Issues in Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development in India, Volume I, Department of Economics and Politics, Visva-Bharati, New Delhi Publishers (single-authored).

(6) “Shift of Rural Work Force from Farm to Non-Farm Employment: Some Determinants” (Upasak Das and U. Rathore) In M.P. Bezbaruah, B. Goswami and Mandal, R. (Eds.) in Indian Agriculture after Green Revolution: Changes and Challenges, Routledge.

Newspaper and other forums

(1) "Phasing out the line, ‘math is not for a girl’", The Hindu, March 2, 2023 (with Karan Singhal) (Available at https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/phasing-out-the-line-math-is-not-for-a-girl/article66568747.ece)

(2) "Gender difference in mathematics learning in rural India", Ideas for India, January 24, 2022 (with Karan Singhal) (Available at https://www.ideasforindia.in/topics/human-development/gender-difference-in-mathematics-learning-in-rural-india.html)

(3) "Do promises work? Assessing long-term benefits of ‘Apni Beti Apna Dhan’ programme", Ideas for India, November 3, 2021 (with Shreya Biswas)

(Available at https://www.ideasforindia.in/topics/social-identity/do-promises-work-assessing-long-term-benefits-of-apni-beti-apna-dhan-programme.html)

(4) "Can states bring down vaccine prices? Yes, by coming together as a single buyer", Indian Express editorial page, May 14, 2021 (with Rupayan Pal and Udayan Rathore)

(Available at https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/covid-19-second-wave-vaccination-price-shortage-7314175/)

(5) "Health messaging in the vaccine rollout: the role of the community", University of Manchester Blog, March 31, 2021 (with Prasenjit Sarkhel)

(Available at http://blog.policy.manchester.ac.uk/posts/2021/03/health-messaging-in-the-vaccine-rollout-the-role-of-the-community/)

(6) "‘Missing’ women in economics academia in India", Ideas for India, March 5, 2021 (with Ambrish Dongre and Karan Singhal)

(Available at https://www.ideasforindia.in/topics/social-identity/missing-women-in-economics-academia-in-india.html)

(7) "Covid-19 spread: Does social and economic diversity matter?", Ideas for India, January 15, 2021 (with Udayan Rathore and Prasenjit Sarkhel)

(Available at https://www.ideasforindia.in/topics/social-identity/covid-19-spread-does-social-and-economic-diversity-matter.html)

(8) "Stepping out of the shadow of India’s malnutrition", The Hindu editorial page, November 28, 2020 (with Amartya Paul)

(Available at https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/stepping-out-of-the-shadow-of-indias-malnutrition/article33195963.ece)

(9) "Afghanistan er cheye pichiye", Anandabazar Patrika editorial page, November 5, 2020 (with Amartya Paul)

(Available at https://www.anandabazar.com/editorial/india-lags-behind-afghanistan-in-terms-of-hunger-1.1224498)

(10) "School e asche, shikche naa", Anandabazar Patrika editorial page, November 5, 2020 (with Prasenjit Sarkhel)

(Available at https://www.anandabazar.com/editorial/more-number-of-students-are-enrolling-under-kanyashree-scheme-every-year-but-question-remains-1.1122881)

(11) "Targeting and the impacts of India’s MGNREGS", International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Project Paper, (with Yanyan Liu, Christopher B. Barrett, Nancy H. Chau, Klaus Deininger, Sara Gustafson, Sudha Narayanan, Megan Sheahan, Vidhya Soundararajan)

(Available at https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133768)

(12) “Where women stand in Economics academia”, The Hindu Business Line, November 9, 2019 (with Ambrish Dongre and Karan Singhal)

(Available at https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/where-women-stand-in-economics-academia/article29930440.ece)

(13) “Sarbajanin Shreebriddhi”, Anandabazar Patrika editorial page, March 16, 2019 (with Amartya Paul) (in Bengali)

(Available at https://www.anandabazar.com/editorial/after-the-success-of-kanyashree-does-government-planning-any-scheme-for-boys-1.966480)

(14) “Compelled to work for wages: The story of old age wage labour participation in India” (Ashish Singh and Upasak Das), OpenPop.org, an Oxford University-based blog on global population issues (Available at: http://www.openpop.org/?p=1343)

(15) “Is the MNREGA fund crunch making the programme clientelistic?” (Upasak Das and D. Maiorano), Ideas for India, Sept 2, 2015 (Available at: http://www.ideasforindia.in/article.aspx?article_id=1497)

(16) “Assessing the quality and usefulness of MNREGA assets in Maharashtra” (Upasak Das, A. Kulkarni, S. Narayanan and K. Ranaware), Ideas for India, Dec 5, 2014. (Available at: http://ideasforindia.in/article.aspx?article_id=383)

(17) “How gender inclusive is MNREGA in practice”, Ideas for India, Nov 21, 2014. (single-authored) (Available at: http://ideasforindia.in/article.aspx?article_id=376)

(18) “Political Clientelism in MNREGA: Evidence from West Bengal”, (single-authored), Ideas for India, June 25, 2014

(Available at: http://ideasforindia.in/article.aspx?article_id=303)

(19) “Survey shows discrepancy in NREGS”, The Asian Age, Kolkata, September 25, 2009 (single-authored).

Working Papers and Discussion Papers

(1) "'What's the worth of a promise? Evaluating the longer-term indirect effects of a programme to reduce early marriage in India'", (Shreya Biswas, Upasak Das), GDI Working Paper 2020-055, The University of Manchester, (https://www.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/research/publications/gdi-working-papers/2020-055/)

(2) "Birds of a feather flock together? Diversity and the spread of Covid-19 cases in India", (Udayan Rathore, Upasak Das and Prasenjit Sarkhel), GDI Working Paper 2020-053, The University of Manchester, (https://www.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/research/publications/gdi-working-papers/2020-053/)

(3) "Can information campaigns reduce last mile payment delays in public works programme? Evidence from a field experiment in India (Upasak Das, Amartya Paul and Mohit Sharma), UNU WIDER Working Paper 21/2021 https://doi.org/10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2021/955-6

(4) "Using information and technology to improve the efficacy of welfare programmes: evidence from a field experiment in India" (Upasak Das, Amartya Paul and Mohit Sharma), GDI Working Paper 2020-049, The University of Manchester (https://www.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/research/publications/gdi-working-papers/2020-049/)

(5) “Using information and technology to improve the efficacy of welfare programmes: evidence from a field experiment in India”. CDS Working Paper 497. Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, India (Upasak Das, Amartya Paul and Mohit Sharma)

(https://cdswebsitecoin.files.wordpress.com/2020/11/wp497.pdf)

(6) "Does more schooling imply improved learning? Evidence from a Conditional Cash Transfer programme in India", (Upasak Das and Prasenjit Sarkhel), GDI working paper 2020-045, The University of Manchester (https://www.gdi.manchester.ac.uk/research/publications/gdi-working-papers/2020-045/)

(7) “Using Information and Technology to Improve Efficacy of Welfare Programs: Evidence From a Field Experiment in India” (Upasak Das, Amartya Paul and Mohit Sharma), CORD working paper 2, Collaborative Research and Dissemination, August 2019 (https://www.cordindia.com/almora_img/paper-2019.pdf).

(8) “The “Discouraged Worker Effect” in Public Works Programs: Evidence from the MGNREGA in India” (Sudha Narayanan, Upasak Das, Chris Barrett and Yanyan Liu), 1633. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). (http://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131152)

(9) “The “Discouraged Worker Effect” in Public Works Programs: Evidence from the MGNREGA in India” (with Sudha Narayanan, Upasak Das, Chris Barrett and Yanyan Liu), IGIDR working paper WP-2016-027, November, 2016. (http://www.igidr.ac.in/pdf/publication/WP-2016-027.pdf)

(10) “Quality of Social Science Research in India” (with Amit S. Ray, M. Parameshwaran, M. Agarwal, S. Ghosh, U.S. Mishra, Upasak Das and V. Abraham), CDS Working Paper 470, April 2016 (http://cds.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/WP470.pdf)

(11) “MGNREGA Works and their Impacts: A Rapid Assessment in Maharashtra” (Krushna Ranaware, Upasak Das, Sudha Narayanan and Ashwini Kulkarni), IGIDR Working Paper WP-2014-042, October 2014. (http://www.igidr.ac.in/pdf/publication/WP-2014-042.pdf)

(12) “Employment Guarantee for Women in India: Evidence on Participation and Rationing in the MGNREGA from the National Sample Survey” (S. Narayanan and Upasak Das), IGIDR Working Paper WP-2014-017, June 2014. (ttp://www.igidr.ac.in/pdf/publication/WP-2014-017.pdf)

(13) “Child Disability and Maternal Work Participation: New Evidence from India”, (P. Gupta, Upasak Das and A. Singh), Economics Discussion Papers, No 2013-6, Kiel Institute for the World Economy, January 2013. (http://www.economicsejournal.org/economics/discussionpapers/2013-6)

Project Reports

(a) “Combating Corruption through Mobile Phones in Telangana”, Endline report submitted to Tata Trust, July 2019 (with Anuradha De, Mohit Sharma and Amartya Paul)

(b) “Social Norms and Sanitation in India”, Phase 2 project report submitted to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), 2018 (with C.Bicchieri, H.P. Kohler, Delea, M., S. Ashraf, A.Shpenev, E.Thulin, P.Mcnally and J.Kuang)

(Available at https://repository.upenn.edu/pennsong/17/)

(c) “Combating Corruption through Mobile Phones in Telangana”, Baseline report submitted to Tata Trust, June 2018 (with Anuradha De, Mohit Sharma and Amartya Paul)

(d) “Social Norms and Sanitation in India”, Phase 1 project report submitted to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), 2018 (with C.Bicchieri, H.P. Kohler, S. Ashraf, A.Shpenev, E.Thulin, P.Mcnally and J.Kuang)

(Available at https://repository.upenn.edu/pennsong/16/)

(e) “Quality of Social Science Research in India”. The report has been submitted to Indian Council for Social Science Research (with Amit S. Ray; M. Agarwal, M. Parameshwaran, S. Ghosh, U.S. Mishra and V. Abraham), 2016.

(f) “MGNREGA Works and their Impacts: A Rapid Assessment in Maharashtra”, Report submitted to the Government of Maharashtra in September 2014 (with Krushna Ranaware, Sudha Narayanan and Ashwini Kulkarni).

(g) “Combating Corruption through Mobile Phones”, Baseline report submitted to Liberation Technology Program, Stanford University (with Sudha Narayanan, Krushna Ranaware and Anuradha De), 2015

(h) “Combating Corruption through Mobile Phones”, Midline report submitted to Liberation Technology Program, Stanford University (with Sudha Narayanan, Krushna Ranaware and Anuradha De), 2016

Invited Talks/ Lectures

(1) Invited for delivering a talk on “Behavioral Economics” at the Department of Economics, Hansraj College, University of Delhi, April 2022.

(2) Invited for delivering a technical session on “How firms and institutions react to global shocks: Risk, Resilience and Recovery” by Lincoln Business School, University of Lincoln, February 2022.

(3) Invited for delivering a technical session on “Disruptions in Business and Economy: Challenges and Opportunities to a Sustainable Future” by St. Josephs' College of Commerce, Bangaluru, November 2021

(4) Invited for two lecture sessions on "An Overview and Application of Randomized Control Trial in Social Science" at the Online Workshop on Advanced Empirical Economics and Econometrics at the Xavier University, Bhubaneswar, May 29, 2021

(5) Invited for a lecture on "Applying program evaluation techniques in Social Science" at the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata (Radio Sofia) on May 9, 2021

(6) Invited for a seminar on "What's the worth of a promise? Evaluating the indirect effects of a program to reduce child marriage in India" organized by the Economics and Finance for Society Initiative by the Jindal School of Banking and Finance, O.P. Jindal Global University on April 21, 2021

(7) Invited for a seminar on "Improving last mile efficacy in welfare programs: Experimental evidence from an information dissemination intervention" organized by the he Department of Economics, St. Xavier's University on February 27, 2021

(8) Classroom lecture cum discussion session on “Development: Concepts, theories and approaches” and “India’s growth and development after 1990's” at the School for International Training (SIT), Jaipur from February 26, 2018 to February 28, 2018.

(9) Conducted a full certificate course on “Methods for Impact Evaluation” (11 sessions each for 90 minutes) at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, from February 9, 2018, to February 20, 2018.

(10) Invited for a lecture on “Sampling and Field Survey” in a National Workshop on Research Methodology organised by the Department of Economics, Government College, Ambalapuzha, Kerala, on October 27, 2016.

(11) Classroom lecture cum discussion session on “Development: Concepts, theories and approaches” and “India’s growth and development after 1990's” at the School for International Training (SIT), Jaipur, from September 22, 2016, to September 24, 2016.

Awards

(a) Received the “Sanjay Lall Best Student Paper Award” for 2015-16 by the journal, Oxford Development Studies.

(b) Received the “Science Meritorious Award” for the year 2004-05 from Hansraj College, University of Delhi

Summer Schools, workshops and visiting positions

(a) Second Milestone Workshop on Social Norms and Sanitation organized by Penn Social Norms Group, University of Pennsylvania, April 22 and April 23, 2019, New Delhi.

(b) Visiting scholar at the School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham, from March 10, 2018, to March 20, 2018.

(c) Participated in the 2017 WSH MEDS Partner Convening organized by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at Patna, India from November 5, 2017 to November 10, 2017.

(d) Participated in APU-INET Summer School on Development in Azim Premji University, Bangalore, from 5th July 2013 to 12th July 2013.

(e) Participated in BREAD-IGC-ISI Summer School on Development Economics in Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi, from 21st July 2012 to 25th July 2012.

Journal Reviewer

American Sociological Review, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, World Development, Economica, Journal of Development Studies, Economic Modelling, Review of Development Economics, Agricultural Water Management, PLoS One, B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, Social Indicators Research, Population Research and Policy Review, Journal of Economic Issues, Health Promotion International, International Journal of Gender Studies in Developing Societies, Acta Politica, Journal of Behavioral Finance, Forum for Development Studies, European Journal of Development Research, Economics Bulletin, Indian Economic Review, Journal of Population Research, British Food Journal, Journal of Rural Studies, Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development, Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, SAGE Open, Effective States and Inclusive Development Research Centre, Institute of Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester (ESID) Working Papers, International Journal of Gender Studies in Developing Societies, Contemporary South Asia, Sage Open (Article Editor)

External Ph.D. Reviewer

Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India

Supervision Role

(a) PhD lead supervisor of Natalia Galvis Arias working on "Effects of cash transfers on the adaptive and resilience capacity of households exposed to climate shocks. Evidence from Colombia" at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester (with Dr. Johan Oldekop and Prof. Ralitza Dimova)

(b) PhD co-supervisor of Sandy Nofyanza working on "Essays on reforestation in Indonesia" at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester (with Dr. Johan Oldekop and Dr. Polyanna Bispo)

(c) PhD co-supervisor of Shuyu Pan working on "The effectiveness of Brazil's BPC policy in addressing old age poverty and mortality after Covid19" at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester (with Prof. David Fielding and Dr. Vidya Unnikrishnan)

(d) PhD co-supervisor of Yanlu Huang working on "Climate change and Labour market in China" at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester (with Dr. Yin-Fang Zhang)

(e) PhD co-supervisor of Nabila Hasan working on "Impact of Natural Disasters on Poverty, Education Outcomes, Health Status and Women of Rural Households in Bangladesh" at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester (with Dr. Johan Oldekop)

(f) PhD co-supervisor of Isaac Lopez Moreno working on "Aspects related to Female Labour Participation in Mexico" at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester (with Prof. David Fielding)

(g) Doctoral Advisory Committee: Bevin Kumar working on “The process of ‘Othering’ and discrimination in health care services in Karnataka” at Sree Chitra Institute for Medical Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram (degree awarded)

(h) M.Phil.: Indrajeet Kumar working on “An Assessment of the feasibility and opportunities of JAM-Number Trinity Solution in rural Bihar” (co-supervisor with Prof. Udaya S. Mishra) (degree awarded)

Administrative Roles:

(a) Editor, GDI Working Paper Series

(b) Lead, Decolonizing Development in GDI

(d) Organizer of Brown Bag Seminar Series at GDI, University of Manchester

(e) Convener of the Academic Committee at CDS, Trivandrum Hostel Warden at CDS, Trivandrum

(f) Ex-officio member of the Canteen Committee CDS, Trivandrum

(g) Member of the Institutional Ethics Review Board at CDS, Trivandrum

(h) Member of the committee on seed grant for faculty at CDS, Trivandrum

Conferences Organized

(a) Part of the organization team for the Conference on The MGNREGA in India: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead held at IGIDR, Mumbai from 26th to 28th March, 2014.

(b) Part of the organization team of the second Milestone workshop on Social Norms and Sanitation held at New Delhi from April 22 and 23, 2019