Collective Loan-Use and Agency 

We examine the network effects of microcredit groups serving rural women from low-income households. The focus is to understand if women who use their loans collectively behave differently to individual loan-users and the implication for women's agency. Identifying sources of heterogeneity in outcomes for clients will help understand microcredit's empowering potential

Minimum Digital Living Standard
A Nuffield Foundation funded multi-partner project, seeks to develop a minimum digital living standard and determine this for urban households with children. The team uses similar methods as for minimum living standards and geo-statistical techniques to identify regions of deprivation to inform social policy and corporate social responsibility. Project website: Developing a minimum digital living standard for households with children - Nuffield Foundation. (Key Collaborator: Prof Simeon Yates, University of Liverpool)  

Gender and Governance 

Drawing on the lens of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,  we examine if gender of national leaders matters for how they respond to crises, especially in terms of what they said and their policies. We also examine the outcomes in terms of cases and deaths. Using rigorous statistical methods, this project contributes to the age old debate regarding gender differences in leadership (Collaborator: Prof Uma Kambhampati, University of Reading)  

Menstrual Practices: Implications for Health and Well-Being
Using methods developed in 'practice theory', we take a deep dive into the day-to-day menstrual practices among poor urban women migrants. We examine the role of contextual institutions in shaping menstrual practices, especially on how these institutions are perceived and negotiated by women. We seek to understand if routine practices around procurement, use, storage and disposal matter for health and well-being outcomes. (Key Collaborator: Prof Liz Parsons, University of Liverpool)