Research

Gender budgeting, school infrastructure, and girls' schooling participation: Evidence from the Indian states

Abstract: We investigate the impact of gender budgeting on educational infrastructure and girls' educational participation in India. Our study leverages variations in the adoption of state-level gender budgeting policies to identify the causal effects of this fiscal policy approach, which integrates gender considerations into public spending to promote gender equality. Using four education-focused datasets spanning 2004-2017 and employing a staggered difference-in-differences design, we find that gender budgeting implementation significantly improves school infrastructure, including girls' toilets, drinking water, and classrooms. These infrastructure improvements translate into educational gains for girls, with effects increasing in magnitude with more prolonged exposure. Girls' enrollment per 100 boys at the primary level increased by 2.92 percentage points after two years of exposure to treatment, while dropout rates among girls aged 6-14 declined by 3.21 percentage points immediately following the policy adoption.

Fiscal decentralization and social sector spending: The moderating role of women’s political representation and gender quotas 

Abstract: This study examines how the presence of women in policymaking and gender quotas in political representation affect the otherwise mixed relationship between fiscal decentralization and social sector spending. I analyze a sample of 54 developed and developing countries from 2000 to 2019 by employing panel methodologies, including those that address endogeneity concerns. The study finds a positive association between fiscal decentralization and social sector spending, which is further strengthened by a higher share of women in the national parliament. Additionally, I use a staggered difference-in-differences design to investigate if the adoption of gender quotas in the national parliament impacts social sector spending. Results indicate that the presence of women policymakers and the implementation of gender quotas in the parliament enhance social sector spending, especially in areas like public health, through the process of fiscal decentralization. My findings highlight that the impact of fiscal decentralization on social sector spending depends on gender-inclusive decision-making processes and a higher representation of women in parliament.

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

Abstract: The literature on the relationship between fiscal decentralization and public health outcomes offers contradictory findings. In this context, we explore how the level of democracy influences the relationship above using a panel study of 68 developed and developing nations spanning 1972 to 2019, emphasizing countries experiencing a democratic transition during this period. Employing econometric techniques including feasible generalized least squares and system generalized method of moments, our study reveals a negative association between fiscal decentralization and public health outcomes. However, this association is attenuated in countries with higher degrees of democracy. Our results remain robust across different measures of democracy, public health indicators, econometric models, and control variables. Additionally, utilizing difference-in-differences analyses, we find that the combined effect of decentralization and democracy in mitigating the decline in public health indicators during the transition period is more pronounced in post-communist countries. These findings support existing findings that enhanced government accountability to citizens under democratic systems leads to more effective decision-making in the provision and delivery of public goods by augmenting the efficacy of decentralized governance.

Does financial development have a heterogeneous impact on income inequality? Evidence from panel quantile regression

Abstract: This study takes a fresh look at how financial development affects income inequality by showing that its impact depends on a country’s level of inequality. Using data from 151 countries between 1980 and 2021, we apply panel quantile regression to capture effects across the entire income distribution. Remarkably, we find that financial deepening significantly widens gaps in more equal societies but substantially reduces them in more unequal contexts. This means financial policies should be tailored to where a country stands on the inequality spectrum. We also explore how governance shapes these outcomes through democracy and corruption control. Stronger democratic institutions consistently make financial growth more inclusive, benefiting all income groups. While corruption control alone initially drives up inequality, combining it with financial development dramatically improves distributional outcomes by preventing elite capture of financial gains. These findings fundamentally reshape our understanding of financial development's distributional effects and provide compelling empirical justification for tailoring financial sector reforms to country-specific inequality contexts while strengthening democratic governance and anti-corruption frameworks to ensure broad-based, equitable outcomes.

Thirsty Intelligence: Data Centres, AI, and India's Water Crisis (EPW-Accepted)

Abstract: India's rapid expansion of data centres and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure is reshaping its digital economy; yet, the environmental costs of this transformation remain poorly understood. While policy discussions focus largely on energy demand and carbon emissions, the water footprint of data centres has received far less attention. This article argues that data centres constitute a form of water-intensive industrial infrastructure whose expansion is unfolding amid worsening water stress and rising temperatures. Drawing on government reports, climate assessments, industry disclosures, investigative journalism, and comparative analysis, the article demonstrates how cooling requirements, urban location choices, and regulatory gaps intensify competition over scarce water resources. A comparison with Nordic countries reveals that the environmental footprint of AI infrastructure is not technologically predetermined, but rather politically structured through governance capacity and the context of resource allocation. Cases such as the Yotta Data Centre in groundwater-stressed Greater Noida illustrate how the prioritisation of digital infrastructure in urban governance risks displacing water scarcity burdens onto households and informal settlements. Without integrating water governance into digital and AI policy, India risks undermining both ecological sustainability and distributive equity. Recognising data centres as resource-intensive infrastructure is essential for building a genuinely sustainable digital future.

• Book Chapter

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