Research

Forthcoming

• Thirsty Intelligence: Data Centres, AI, and India's Water Crisis, Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) | Accepted, 2026

While digital policy focuses on energy, the water footprint of AI infrastructure remains poorly understood. This article argues that data centres are water-intensive industrial assets expanding amid worsening resource stress. Using comparative analysis with Nordic countries and cases like the Yotta Data Centre, I demonstrate how regulatory gaps and urban location choices risk displacing water scarcity burdens onto informal settlements and households.

Revise & Resubmit

• Gender budgeting, school infrastructure, and girls' schooling participation: Evidence from the Indian states (with Dr. Sohini Sahu and Dr. Neelanjan Datta), Revise & Resubmit, Economics of Education Review

We leverage a staggered difference-in-differences design using four education-focused datasets (2004-2017) to identify the causal effects of gender budgeting. We find that policy adoption significantly improves infrastructure like girls' toilets and classrooms. These improvements led to a 2.92 percentage point increase in primary enrollment and a 3.21 percentage point decline in dropout rates among girls, with effects increasing over time.

• Fiscal decentralization and social sector spending: The moderating role of women’s political representation and gender quotas, Revise & Resubmit, Public Finance Review

This study examines how women in policymaking and gender quotas moderate the relationship between decentralization and social spending. Analyzing 54 countries (2000-2019), I find that the positive association between fiscal decentralization and social spending is strengthened by a higher share of women in parliament. Results indicate that gender-inclusive decision-making is a prerequisite for decentralization to effectively enhance public health outcomes.

Working Papers

• Does financial development have a heterogeneous impact on income inequality? Evidence from panel quantile regression (with Dr. Shobhana Sikhawal)

Using data from 151 countries (1980-2021), we find that financial deepening’s impact on inequality is contingent on a country’s existing distribution. It significantly widens gaps in more equal societies but reduces them in more unequal contexts. The study further highlights that stronger democratic institutions and corruption control are essential to prevent elite capture and ensure financial growth remains inclusive.

• Public health in a decentralized world: The role of democracy and democratic transition

Using a panel of 68 nations (1972-2019), this study reveals that while fiscal decentralization can have a negative association with health outcomes, this effect is significantly attenuated in countries with higher degrees of democracy. The results are most pronounced in post-communist countries, suggesting that democratic accountability is vital for the effective delivery of public goods in decentralized systems.

Books Chapter

• “Economics of Kumbh” in A Holistic Assessment of Maha Kumbh 2025, A Report by IIT Kanpur | July 2025

Public Scholarship

• Waste Pickers Built the Recycling Economy. Now They’re Being Cast Aside, The India Forum | April 2026

An analysis of the "Clean City Paradox" in India. This piece explores how modern waste management frameworks, like Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), often prioritize the aesthetics of modernity while systematically excluding the millions of informal workers who built the recycling economy. [Read Article]