21st Century India Center Seminar Series on the Indian Economy
The goal of the 21st Century India Center Seminar Series is to showcase new research on the Indian economy by junior scholars from around the world.
The virtual seminar series is organized around three thematic areas that align with our center’s research pillars: global competitiveness, inclusive growth and climate change and sustainability.
Each academic year, we will invite around 10 scholars to present their recent working papers on India. A discussant is assigned to each speaker to provide feedback on the main points of the paper.
The virtual seminars, scheduled throughout the academic year, are held on Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time and will last for an hour. Each seminar consists of a 45-minute presentation, followed by 15 minutes of discussion and Q&A.
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Organizers
- Manaswini Rao, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Delaware
manasrao@udel.edu | X: @manaswini_rao - Sayahnika Basu, Assistant Professor of Economics, James Madison University
basusx@jmu.edu | X: @sayahnika
Upcoming Events
Date | Speaker / Discussant / Paper Details |
Sept. 25, 2024 |
Speaker: Tejaswi Velayudhan, UC Irvine Discussant: Pablo Garriga, the World Bank Paper Title: Value-added Taxes: Do People Pay If the Government Isn’t Watching? Authors: Bhanu Gupta, Tejaswi Velayudhan, Prince Dhawan, Ankur Garg Abstract: The Value-Added Tax (VAT) has become a powerful tool for raising tax revenue in contexts with low state capacity. Many countries rely on technology and automation to further strengthen self-enforcement and reduce the burden on tax officers. In this paper, we show that such increased reliance on self-enforcement can perversely reduce compliance. Strategic complementarity increases non-compliance among firms that remain connected to non-compliant suppliers. We experimentally increase perceived enforcement of tax filing among Goods and Services Tax (GST) taxpayers in New Delhi, India, which increases compliance by 10 percent on average. However, only taxpayers with above median levels of compliance in their supplier network respond to enforcement at all. Buyers in networks with more non-compliant suppliers are also less likely to shift away from these suppliers. |
Oct. 30, 2024 |
Speaker: Suanna Oh, Paris School of Economics Paper Title: Worker Absences and Demand for Flexible Contracts Authors: Sampreet Goraya, Suanna Oh, Yogita Shamdasani Abstract: Worker absenteeism and high turnover remain common problems in developing labor markets, even while the unemployment rate is high (Allen 1981, Leigh 1983, Benavides et al. 2000). In India, the absence rate stands at 8% of worker-days among permanent manufacturing employees, and a majority of unskilled workers continue to be employed in informal casual labor. We hypothesize that worker demand for flexibility affects labor supply decisions, both in terms of absence and selection into informal work arrangements. We test for the existence of a demand for flexible work among unskilled casual laborers in Odisha, India, and investigate the underlying motivations. We use an incentive-compatible choice experiment, which elicits preferences over pairs of contracts which vary in levels of flexibility, attendance bonus, and distance to local network. This allows us to empirically document workers’ willingness to pay for flexibility in terms of forgone wage earnings, when they are proximate (or not) to the network. We combine this with attendance data from random implementation of contracts and collect detailed survey data on the causes of absences, social network and practices, as well as risk and time preferences. We plan to: 1) estimate the share of workers who have demand for flexibility that exceeds what is permitted in a typical formal contract; 2) distinguish the main reasons why workers demand flexibility, including the role of social duties; and 3) examine consequences for contract selection and earnings. |
Nov. 20, 2024 |
Speaker: Zhanhan Yu, University of Glasgow Discussant: Danae Hernandez-Cortes, Arizona State University Paper Title: Carbon Footprint of Place-Based Economic Policies Author: Zhanhan Yu Abstract: We assess the environmental impact of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), a place-based policy aimed at promoting economic development in India. Specifically, we examine the unintended effects of the policy on firms' energy consumption and carbon emissions. Using extensive firm-level data and a spatial RD-DiD design, we find that SEZs result in a significant 30% reduction in firms' carbon emissions, primarily driven by a shift from conventional energy to lower-carbon renewable alternatives. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that this substantial decline is largely driven by larger firms and those in regions with better access to cleaner energy. |
Dec. 11, 2024 |
Speaker: Kartik Srivastava, Harvard University Discussant: Carolina Lopez, The World Bank, DECRG Paper Title: Long-run Effects of a School System Targeted Towards Historically Disadvantaged Communities Author: Kartik Srivastava Abstract: We use admissions lotteries to estimate the long-run effects of a residential middle school system targeted toward historically disadvantaged communities in India. We designed a socio-economic survey to collect data on a range of outcomes for lottery applicants from the 2010-11 cohort, detailing their educational, labor market and networks outcomes 12 years after their entry into the lottery. Using the lottery as an instrument for enrollment in treatment schools, we find that those who attend treated schools have more years of schooling, better senior secondary school grades, a higher likelihood of attending college, and higher labor force participation. Importantly, we find effects on the size and composition of social networks: treated students have smaller and more caste-homogenous social networks. Differential exposure to peers from their own social groups during formative years of schooling is likely to frame their attitudes and beliefs, and affect their exposure to labor market opportunities. We are currently working on expanding this data collection to study mechanisms behind these effects, to build a deeper understanding of the role of networks in this context, and to study whether treated students can leverage their higher educational attainment into better labor market outcomes through support that mitigates network-based disadvantages. |
2023-24 Series
Date | Speaker / Discussant / Paper |
Sept. 27, 2023 | Speaker: Radhika Jain, University College London Discussant: Yashna Nandan, UC San Diego Paper: "Private Hospital Behavior Under Government Insurance: Evidence from Reimbursement Changes in India" |
Oct. 18, 2023 | Speaker: Bharti Nandwani, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research Discussant: Gaurav Chiplunkar, UVA Paper: "Female representation in school management and school quality" |
Nov. 1, 2023 | Speaker: M.R. Sharan, University of Maryland, College Park Discussant: Saad Gulzar, Princeton University Paper: "Who Becomes A Local Politician? Evidence from India" |
Dec. 6, 2023 | Speaker: Raahil Madhok, University of Minnesota Discussant: Francisco Costa, University of Delaware Paper: "Internal Migration and the Re-organization of Agriculture" |
Jan. 24, 2024 | Speaker: Yusuf Neggers, University of Michigan Paper: "Updating the State: Does Easier Access to Program Information Improve Bureaucrat Performance?" |
Feb. 14, 2024 | Speaker: Rajat Kochhar, University of Chicago Discussant: Anubhab Gupta, Virginia Tech Paper: "Does Market Power in Agricultural Markets Hinder Farmer Climate Change Adaptation?" |
March 13, 2024 | Speaker: Shilpa Aggarwal, ISB Discussant: Kyle Emerick, Tufts University Paper: "Minimum Support Prices in Indian Agriculture: Supporting Whom and at What Price?" |
April 3, 2024 | Speaker: Sanghamitra Warrier Mukherjee, IMF Paper: "Digital Technology Adoption: Subsidizing Learning Costs for Firms in India" |
May 1, 2024 | Speaker: Madeline McKelway, Dartmouth College Discussant: Eeshani Kandpal, Center for Global Development Paper: "Women’s Self-Efficacy and Economic Outcomes: Experimental Evidence from India" |
June 5, 2024 | Speaker: Anand Chopra, University of Liverpool Management School Discussant: Minki Kim, University of Mannheim Paper: "The Equilibrium Impact of Agricultural Support Prices and Input Subsidies" |