Working Papers
Affirmative action and private education expenditure by disadvantaged groups: evidence from India , Under Review
Under India's Right to Education Act (2009), private schools were required to reserve 25% of primary school seats for socioeconomically disadvantaged children. This paper examines the policy’s indirect effect on private schooling costs. Using household survey data and a difference-in-differences approach, it compares private school fees for disadvantaged children across two age cohorts and survey rounds. The results show a post-policy decline in fees ranging from ₹223 to ₹844 (0.05–0.25 SD). These effects are driven not by direct admissions under the policy, but by a supply-side response—specifically, the expansion of low-fee private schools that made private education more affordable for disadvantaged families.
From quotas to classrooms: the impact of minority representatives on development and education in India (with Trudy Owens and Richard Upward), Under Review
We provide new evidence on the effect of minority elected state representatives on economic development and schooling in India. Using data on candidates in all state assembly elections from 1974 to 2017, we exploit two discontinuities in the reservation of constituencies for Scheduled Castes (SCs). As economic indicators, we use development outcomes from census data in 2001 and 2011, some 27 and 37 years after the reservation process was implemented. Consistent with Jensenius (2015), we find that the economic development of reserved constituencies continues to keep pace with that of unreserved constituencies. Importantly, we find evidence that SC reservation after 2008 had an effect on schooling outcomes by increasing the impact of the Right to Education Act, a policy that varied widely in its implementation across India. We also find that the reservation process after 2008 significantly increased female representation and increased affiliation with political parties.
Stratifier or Equaliser? Heterogeneity in Private Premium in India Over Two Decades (with Shriyam Gupta)
This paper evaluates the heterogeneous returns to learning from private schooling in India by analyzing data from three rounds of the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) over two decades (2004–2024). Using a stratification method, the study accounts for both selection bias and heterogeneity in estimating the effects of private schooling on learning outcomes. We find that learning gains vary with a child's likelihood of attending private schools. Between 2004 and 2011, children least likely to attend private schools—typically from disadvantaged groups—experienced the largest gains. However, by 2022–24, the benefits were similarly distributed across all likelihoods of attending private schools. This paper contributes to understanding the dynamics of private schooling and its changing role on learning inequality in India.
Using longitudinal school data from India, this paper examines enrolment trends of socially disadvantaged children post the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which mandated the reservation of 25% of private school places for such children. Post-RTE, a significant increase is observed in disadvantaged children attending private schools. Difference-in-differences analysis reveals greater increases in schools previously below the 25% quota, especially those participating in the reservation policy. The results are however driven by a 'substitution' of places, where private schools are replacing free places under the policy with fee-paying disadvantaged children.
Work in Progress
Dry years, lost schooling: evidence from Indian villages (with Shweta Gupta)
Hot days and empty desks: heat stress and school attendance (with Shweta Gupta)