Research on developing countries comes with its own challenges, such as the unavailability of conventional economic data at higher levels of granularity and spatial disaggregation (e.g., district, sub-district, village, grid). In my research, I address these challenges using innovative proxies constructed using high resolution spatial data (e.g. satellite nighttime and daytime lights data), government administrative data (e.g., PMGSY), election data (e.g., TCPD), and survey data (e.g., Census, IHDS, NSS, ASI). I also rely on GIS data and techniques for measures on physical infrastructure, geographical characteristics, and climatic conditions.
My recently published papers study the role of colonial institutions (direct British rule and land tenure systems) as well as the heterogeneous exposure to trade liberalization in explaining the disparity in regional economic performance across India. I am currently investigating how state capacity shapes economic development using the creation of Chhattisgarh from Madhya Pradesh in India in 2000 as a natural experiment. The paper documents a significant divergence in the economic performance of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh after the creation of Chhattisgarh and argues that this divergence is driven by differences in state capacities of the two states after bifurcation. The paper presents evidence that suggests that the divergence in state capacities is driven by differences in proximity to state administration, which influenced bureaucratic reach, electoral competition, and accountability.
Below is a list of my publications, current research, and future projects.
Impact of Colonial Institutions on Economic Growth and Development in India: Evidence from Night Lights Data (with Priyaranjan Jha), Economic Development and Cultural Change, 72 (4), July 2024.
Trade Liberalization and Local Development in India: Evidence from Nighttime Lights (with Priyaranjan Jha), Indian Economic Review, 58 (Suppl 1), March, 2023.
Impact of Colonial Institutions on Economic Growth and Development in India: Evidence from Night Lights Data (with Priyaranjan Jha), Research Briefs in Economic Policy No. 269, Cato Institute, September, 2021.
State Capacity and Economic Development: Evidence from Madhya Pradesh – Chhattisgarh Split in India (with Priyaranjan Jha), July, 2025.
Discontinuities in Economic Growth and Development Levels along State-borders in India: Evidence from village-level spatial data, June, 2022.
Digital Trade Regulations and Global E-Commerce Trade: Evidence from High-Frequency E-Commerce Parcel Data (with Elaine Tan, Daniel Boller, Jose Anson, and Peter Rosenkranz).
Criminally Accused Politicians and Local Institutions in India.
Females Over Males in Politics? Evidence from Local Elections in India (with Manasvi Sharma and Rekha Sharma).