Chhavi Rastogi
Economist at International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group
Email: chhavir@gmail.com
Research interests:
Corporate finance and development
Entrepreneurship and innovation
Private equity and venture capital
Supply chains
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About me
I am an Economist at the Research department of IFC, World Bank Group. Before this, I was a post-doctoral researcher at University of Bonn and completed my PhD in finance from HEC Paris in 2022. My research focuses on corporate finance and its intersection with development, entrepreneurship and innovation. Before starting my doctoral studies, I worked in corporate and investment banking.
Working papers
Presentations: PEDL Early Career Researchers Workshop - Firms, Trade and Development Conference 2025, Econometric Society World Congress 2025, IFC-PEDL-STEG Workshop on Targeting Development Finance 2025, WEFIDEV-RFS-CEPR conference 2025, European Finance Association (EFA Poster) 2023, Private Sector Finance and Development (STEG) workshop 2023, American Finance Association (AFA) 2023, The North East Universities Development Consortium (NEUDC) 2022, Financial Management Association (FMA) 2022, Entrepreneurial Finance (ENTFIN) Association 2022, CEPR WEFIDEV Workshop in Finance and Development 2022, Transatlantic Doctoral Conference 2021
This paper studies the importance of high-quality domestic intermediate inputs as a barrier to investment for downstream firms. I show that the staggered repeal of size-based restrictions in product markets in India increases production of high-quality domestic intermediate inputs, stimulating investment among downstream firms. The investment response is explained by easing of financial constraints and lack of close substitutes in import markets. Downstream incumbents upgrade, shift their product mix toward higher-quality ladder products and reduce reliance on imported inputs. In addition, entry into downstream markets increases. Policies to protect small firms may unintentionally constrain firms along the supply chain.
Can Limited Partners mitigate negative externalities in Private equity? (with Teodor Duevski and Tianhao Yao)
Presentations: Financial Intermediation Research Society - FIRS 2025, Midwest Finance Association - MFA 2025, Australasian Finance and Banking conference 2024, HEC-HKUST Sustainable Finance Webinar, FMA 2024, Oxford Sustainable Private Market Conference 2024, GRASFI 2024, Private Market Research conference in Lausanne 2024, Inquire Europe “Investing in Private assets” 2024, Risk forum by Institut Louis Bachelier, HEC Paris S&O day
Media Coverage: Institutional Investor
We show how Limited Partners’ (LPs) environmental and social (E&S) concerns transmit to private equity (PE) firms through capital supply. E&S incidents in portfolio companies reduce PE fundraising, as E&S-concerned relationship LPs refrain from recommitting and are not easily substituted. Using a legal reform that expands E&S-concerned public pension capital to PE, we causally show that PE firms internalise LPs' E&S concerns, reducing dirty sector portfolio allocation and increasing ESG hiring. Additionally, PE firms with E&S-concerned relationship LPs engage with portfolio companies to manage E&S risks. Limited capital substitutability enables LPs to delegate E&S preferences, shaping PE allocation and engagement.
Creative destruction: Do incumbents continue to innovative?
Presentations: FMA New Ideas session 2022, AFFECT New Ideas session 2022
I study the process of creative destruction to understand how firms respond to being potentially displaced by new technologies. Specifically, I ask whether these firms continue to innovate. Theory predicts that more intense competition induces firms closer to the frontier to catch up but may discourage innovation in firms further away from the frontier. I employ measures of patent text similarity to construct a measure of creative destruction to study this question. The project further aims to understand how firms regain their innovation edge and the stock market implications of displacement risk.
Policy publications and work-in-progress
Innovation in Green Technologies: An opportunity for businesses in low and middle income countries, led by Ralf Martin
The Cost of Capital: Scaling up Private Finance in EMDEs, led by Cesaire Meh
Education (CV)
PhD in Finance, HEC Paris, Supervisor: Johan Hombert (2016-2022)
Masters in Economics, University Paris Saclay (ENSAE-HEC Paris) (2015-16)
Masters in European Business, ESCP Europe (2008-10)
MBA, MDI Gurgaon (dual degree) (2008-10)
B.A. Hons. Economics, Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University (2004-07)
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