RESEARCH

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 postdoctoral 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). I am still working on the project. 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://pennsong.sas.upenn.edu/

Other research

In addition I am working on effective ways to improve student learning and delivering 21st century skills. My other works include analyzing the social and political constructs of health-seeking behavior and environmental issues. The geographical area of interest is primarily India with some focus on other South Asian countries like Bangladesh and African countries, including Mali, Ethiopia and Guinea among others.

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)