Sunny Bhushan - Research

Ph.D. Thesis

Topic: "Three Essays in Economics of Conflict: An Institutional Perspective"

Abstract

The intersection of law and economics and institutional studies provide a space for exploring several questions, both in theory and practice. The broader question in this domain considers the role of institutions in shaping the rule of law in a nation. The subject offers practical insights into the process of addressing conflicts within and outside the geographical boundaries of a nation. Following these broad themes, the thesis presents three essays dealing with:

1. The impact of geopolitical uncertainty in advanced and emerging economies.

2. The effect of public law enforcement in mitigating internal conflicts.

3. The role of private law enforcement in tackling economically motivated crimes.

In the first essay, we employ the Geopolitical Risk Index to measure external conflicts and analyze their impact on economic growth. In our analysis, geopolitical risk positively impacts advanced economies, whereas emerging economies experience a negative impact of geopolitical risk. We also find that the democratic level acts as a stimulus to the nation's economic growth in the presence of geopolitical risk. The second and third essays address the issue of internal conflicts and estimate the effect of the rule of law in mitigating such conflicts. In comparison, the second essay addresses internal conflicts through the lens of public law enforcement, and the third essay analyses the role of private law enforcement through the information-seeking behavior of an individual in dealing with economically motivated crimes in India. We find that public and private law enforcement negatively impact financially motivated crimes. Further, as a crime deterrent mechanism, public law enforcement is most effective in socially high progressive states, whereas private measures such as target hardening are effective in socially less progressive states.

Publications

Journal Articles

"Do searches on Google help in deterring property crimes? Evidence from Indian states" (with Saakshi Jha) [Qual Quant (2023)] https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-023-01694-9

Abstract

Crime is a major social problem in most developed and developing countries. It induces a social, economic, and psychological impact on the victim. Over the last few decades, India has also witnessed an increasing trend in crime rates. The majority of these crimes are property-related. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of online searches on Google on deterring property crime in the states of India. We use Poisson quasi-maximum likelihood estimation to analyze the panel dataset for four states on monthly frequency for the period 2017 to 2020. Our results suggest that crime prevention searches on Google significantly reduce property crimes like Burglary, Robbery, and Theft. A one percent increase in preventive Google searches reduces property crimes by 0.37 percent to 0.60 percent. Preventative searches pertaining to “Target Hardening” and “Formal Social Control” seem most effective, and those that relate to “Surveillance” are least effective. Our findings suggest that personal precautions are much more effective in deterring property crime than those taken at the community level. Our result remains robust for both the socially less progressive and highly progressive states. This study contributes to policy discussions by taking a new perspective, providing novel empirical evidence, and contributing to academia through its quantitative approach.

Book Chapters

"Understanding Justice Delay" in Economic Analysis of Law and Governance, Centre for Law and Economics, GNLU, Eastern Book Company, India, 2022. ISBN-13: 978-939-43644-4-8
“A Future Perspective for Agri-Business Cooperatives: Lessons from Gandevi Taluka in Gujarat, India” (with Samar K. Datta et al.) in Management of Agri-Business Contracts and Organisations, Allied Publishers, India, 2014. ISBN-13: 978-818-42494-5-3

Other Publications

“Standard Form Contracts and the Housing Market in India from the Perspective of Efficient Breach of Contract” (with Praveen Kulshreshtha and P. M. Prasad); Proceedings Book, International Conference on Economic Research, Alanya, Turkey; 2018. ISBN-13: 978-605-81058-0-5
“Lessons from Short Field Trips to the States of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala” (with Samar K Datta and Anirudh More), Sustainability of Self-help and Joint-liability Group Institutions under Micro-finance; Centre for Management in Agriculture, IIMA, 2017. DOI: https://www.iima.ac.in/c/document_library/Sustainability-Final_Report.pdf

SSRN Working Papers

Jha, Saakshi and Bhushan, Sunny and Nirola, Nupur, "Does Geopolitical Risk Matter for Economic Growth? A Cross-Country Evidence", (November 2022).

Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4383520

Bhushan, Sunny and Jha, Saakshi, "Do Searches on Google Help in Deterring Property Crime? Evidence from Indian States", (2022).

Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4154477

Working Papers

“Judicial Efficiency and Crimes in India”. (with Saakshi Jha)
“Economic of Contracts and the Market for Houses: The Role of Liability System in India”. (with Praveen Kulshreshtha and P. M. Prasad)

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