Ongoing

Use of Data for Improved Uptake of Services and Provisions

Research Team: Mudit Kapoor, Deepayan Sarkar and Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay Funded by: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Description: The project analyzes household food consumption trends, micronutrient intake, and their implications for nutrition policy, including dietary diversity and anemia. It led to the report “Changes in India’s Food Consumption and Policy Implications,” now a Working Paper of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. Papers / Articles: Click Here

Reassessment of National Parameters for Appraisal of Public Investment Programmes/Projects in India

Research Team: E. Somanathan, Raavi Aggarwal & Monisankar Bishnu Funded by: NITI Aayog Description: ISI Delhi is working with NITI Aayog to support public spending decisions on social projects by estimating climate change damages using the social cost of carbon. The goal is to turn academic research into practical policy action. This study provides updated estimates of five key parameters for economic appraisal of public-sector projects in India: (i) The Social Discount Rate (SDR), which measures society’s preference for present versus future consumption (ii) The Standard Conversion Factor (SCF), which adjusts traded goods prices from market to economic values (iii) The Shadow Exchange Rate Factor (SERF), which reflects the true economic cost of foreign exchange (iv) The Shadow Wage Rate Factor (SWRF), which corrects discrepancies between statutory and market wages for unskilled labor (v) The Social Cost of Carbon (SCC), which measures economic damages from rising carbon dioxide emissions.

Human casualties and wildlife conservation in India

Research Team: E. Somanathan & Sumeet Gulati Description: The study explores two key questions: the causes of deaths and injuries from Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC), and the effectiveness of programs or interventions in reducing them. The long-term goal is to guide and implement measures to lower such casualties. Collaboration with: Partnership development fund awarded to UBC

Study on the institutional uptake of electric cooking through a program led by the Energy Management Centre of the Kerala Government, facilitating the transition to electric cooking in Anganwadis (public child care centres)

Research Team: E. Somanathan, Eshita Gupta, Praveen Kumar, et al Description: The project promotes e-cooking using solar power in Anganwadis and studies its impact on cooking time, fuel costs, convenience, safety, carbon emissions, and indoor air pollution in these settings. Collaboration with: Energy Management Centre, Govt. of Kerala

Electric cooking, household air pollution, women’s time use, and health (Pilot study)

Research Team: E. Somanathan, Tanu Gupta, Michael Kremer & Anant Sudarshan Funded by: King Climate Action Initiative (K-CAI) at J-PAL & MIT Description: The study evaluates how subsidies for electric induction stoves impact their adoption, usage, pollution levels, women’s time use, and health. It focuses on the potential of shifting from solid fuels to electric cooking to reduce household air pollution in India.

Digital Platforms and Women’s Economic Empowerment

Digital Platforms and Women’s Economic Empowerment

Research Team: Farzana Afridi, Kanika Mahajan, Nikita Sangwan, Soubhagya Sahoo & Tanu Gupta Funded by: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Description: The overall objective is to study how harnessing technology through job search platforms and the gig economy can improve women’s labor force participation. As work opportunities in agriculture shrink, the future lies in improving women’s access to manufacturing and services sector jobs in India. If we want to enhance women’s economic opportunities, then we must address both the demand and supply side factors that determine their participation in these sectors which has been stagnating. The rise of job matching platforms and the gig economy has the potential to address multiple constraints faced by women in engaging with the labor market. Collaboration with: LEAD at Krea University, IFMR Project Website: https://digitalplatformsandwomen.ifmrlead.org/

Optimal Emissions Pricing in Low and Middle-Income Countries

Research Team: E. Somanathan, Jan Steckel, Raavi Aggarwal, Thomas Sterner, Tamay Raj Bhatt & Leonard Missbach Funded by: EfD Description: This study assesses local health costs against global climate benefits from increased biomass burning driven by carbon pricing, highlighting the importance of context-specific policy discussions due to varying net impacts across countries. Papers / Articles: Click Here

Electricity reliability and electric cooking: What can we learn from cross-national comparisons?

Research Team: E. Somanathan, Eshita Gupta, Praveen Kumar, Abebe Damte Beyene, Mary Karumba, Nnaemeka Chukwuone, Pham Khanh Nam, Marc Jeuland Funded by: EfD Description: The study analyzes household surveys from various African and Asian countries to explore how factors like electricity reliability, cost, gender dynamics, and more influence the adoption of electric cooking and the shift away from polluting solid fuels.

Environmental and Distributional Impacts of COVID-19 Lockdowns in India

Research Team: Rohini Somanathan, Rajiv Sethi & Siva Athreya Funded by: EfD Description: A phone survey was conducted to assess the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown and government welfare measures on the wellbeing and coping strategies of urban poor households. Collaboration with: Seva Mandir (Udaipur), Vidya Bhawan (Udaipur) and Srijan (Delhi)

The Causes and Consequences of Traffic Congestion in India

Principle Investigator: Kanishka Kacker, Jorge Bonilla, Jie-Sheng Tan-Soo, Ping Qin Funded by: Efd Description: The study explores the impact of traffic congestion on air pollution and how public investment in urban infrastructure can support a transition to net-zero cities. Collaboration with:Efd

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