Research

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 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 the impact of sub-national institutions, specifically State administrations, on local economic growth and development in India. In this paper, I examine the role of increased quality and efficacy of governance, driven by effective policy formulation and implementation, enhanced delivery of public goods, higher State capacity, greater political accountability and responsiveness, and closer physical proximity to State capital, in explaining the main results. I am also collaborating with ADB (Asian Development Bank) and UPU (Universal Postal Union) on a project that investigates the effect of digital trade policies on e-commerce trade. 

Below is a list of my publications, current research, and future projects. 

Sub-National Institutions and Local Economic Growth and Development: Evidence from India, September, 2023.

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).

Colonial Institutions and Corruption in India.