Research Projects

Working Papers

From Reservation to Transformation: The Socioeconomic Impact of Political Quotas
    [PDF]

The role of affirmative action policies in promoting socio-economic mobility remains a subject of intense global debate, with countries implementing varying strategies to address historical inequalities. This study leverages India’s 2008 delimitation exercise as a natural experiment to assess the impact of political quotas for Scheduled Castes (SCs) on local socio-economic outcomes, focusing specifically on SC outcomes within villages rather than solely village-level metrics. We find that SC reservations substantially increase SC student enrollment, particularly in prestigious schools, and foster entrepreneurial activity, as evidenced by growth in both the number and size of SC-owned firms. Additionally, quotas facilitate SCs’ entry into higher-status occupations, helping to erode entrenched caste-based occupational barriers. These effects are driven by greater access to formal institutional funding for SC-owned firms and improvements in the quality of politicians elected under the quota system. Improvements at the village level, including infrastructure enhancements and increased economic activity, further support these outcomes. Notably, the observed gains persist even after villages lose reserved status, underscoring the long-term benefits of these policies. Our findings contribute to global discourse on affirmative action, suggesting that targeted, well-implemented quotas can yield sustained social and economic mobility for marginalized groups. With India’s next delimitation scheduled post-2026, this research provides critical insights for policymakers worldwide who are seeking effective strategies to address inequality and social stratification.

Ancient Epics in the Television Age: Mass Media, Identity, and the Rise of Hindu Nationalism in India, (with Paul Brimble, Akhila Kovvuri, Alessandro Saia and Dean Yang) NBER WP 33417
    Press: The Hindu

The growing prominence of Hindu nationalism, known as “Hindutva,” in India has garnered significant attention for its impact on politics and society, particularly its adverse effects on minority communities. However, the Hindu identity was not always a monolithic and political one. This study explores the potential role of a Hindu mythological show, “Ramayana,” which aired on the solely available TV channel in India during 1987-88, in shaping the Hindutva identity primarily on the increasing salience of religious identity in people’s political, social, and personal lives. We proxy for exposure to this show using location and television transmitters obtained from archival data and use signal propagation modelling based on irregular terrain to measure signal strength. Examining political and social manifestations of identity, we find that exposure to the TV show is associated with increased electoral success for right-wing Hindu nationalist parties, heightened tensions between Hindus and Muslims, and a decrease in the number of schools affiliated with the significant far-right Hindu nationalist organization. Our next steps involve investigating the impact on personal expressions of identity, such as child naming practices and dietary choices influenced by religious taboos.

The Promise and Limits of Leader-Driven Grassroots Campaigns, (with Feyaad Allie )
    Press: Hindustan Times

Opposition parties across contexts have struggled against populist parties at the ballot box. Populist parties often brand the opposition as elite and out of touch with citizens. Over time, as populists amass power, they can further tilt electoral politics in their direction. How can the opposition respond? We examine the opposition’s use of leader-driven grassroots campaigns as an electoral strategy against populists. These campaigns directly address the unique weaknesses that the opposition faces against populists by reaching voters directly and improving the party’s image. We analyze the electoral impact of these efforts by studying the Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s 150-day grassroots march, the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Using newly collected state and national election data and a difference-in-differences design, we find that the yatra improved Congress’s electoral performance; however, in a spatially and temporally limited way. Interview and descriptive evidence explains how these campaigns help the opposition party change their narrative against populists and an original phone survey of 3500 voters reveals that those who directly participated in the grassroots campaign experienced longer-term positive impacts. Taken together, the findings highlight both the potential and the constraints of leader-driven grassroots campaigns as a strategy for opposition parties facing powerful populist incumbents.

Work in Progress

Digitizing Justice and Task Optimization: Evidence from E-Courts Reform in Indonesia, (with Sultan Mehmood and Thomas Fujiwara)

This paper examines the transformative impact of technological reform in the Indonesian justice system. Our analysis exploits the timing of the subdistrict-level reform, combined with detailed case-level microdata, to examine how this change reshaped court efficiency, enhanced decision quality, and influenced the functioning of the broader judicial system. The reform introduced e-filing, e-payments, and virtual hearings for civil cases but not for criminal cases. This distinction creates a natural experiment that enables us to implement a triple-difference empirical strategy, leveraging variation across case types, within courts, and over time. Our results show that the reform led to a significant six-day or 10%, reduction in case delays without compromising the quality of judicial deliberations. Indicators of decision quality, including the appeals and reversals in higher courts, show significant improvement. A textual analysis of judgments suggests no increase in procedural shortcuts and a 10% increase in factual references per page, indicating a potential improvement in decision-making quality. Efficiency gains extended to untreated higher courts. An analysis of mechanisms suggests how the reform reallocated judicial effort: low-complexity cases involving straightforward documentation changes are now processed more efficiently, freeing judges to dedicate greater attention to more complex disputes, such as marital disputes. Our findings, utilizing the universe of court records from Indonesia, the fourth most populous nation globally, underscore the potential of digital reforms—a lesson relevant to judicial systems worldwide—in reducing systemic case delays and enabling judges to optimize their efforts across cases of varying complexity.

Ancestral origins, social conflict and cooperation, (with Ricardo Ghidoni, Mariapia Mendola, Stefano Piasenti and Alessandro Saia)

Power-sharing, Segregation and Conflict

Who Watches the Watchmen? Exploring Bias in Policing in India, (with Priyadarshi Amar and Varun KR )

Voting by the Vedas: The Influence of Hindu Sects on Political Choices and Gender Dynamics