1 December 2012: National Seminar on Financial Law & Policy: An Inter-Disciplinary Approach

Organised by:
National Law University, Delhi

In collaboration with
National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi
[Link]

Date: December 1, 2012
Time: 10:00 A.M.

Venue:
Conference Room,
5th Floor, Academic Block,
National Law University,
Sector 14, Dwarka,
New Delhi- 110078 (INDIA)

Location:

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4 December 2012: Covered Bonds: An Alternative Source of Financing Mortgage Lending in India

Mira Tamboli

Abstract:
This paper examines the potential of building and promoting a Covered Bond market in India and puts forth guidelines and considerations for the development of best practices and legislation. It gives an overview of the instrument and examines merits of Covered Bonds through comparison with Mortgage Backed Securities. A brief discussion on benefits to the issuers, investors and the government follows. In the absence of legislation, consideration for a suitable structure for Covered Bond issuance as an interim solution is presented. By making a case for adopting legislation with broad policy considerations on key issues, this paper provides a starting point for discussion on the issuance of Covered Bonds in India.

Date: December 4, 2012
Time: 03:30 P.M.

Venue:
ICRIER Conference Room,
Core 6A, 4th Floor,
India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road,
New Delhi – 110 003(INDIA)

Location:

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29 November 2012: The Merits of Money and “Muscle”: Criminality, Elections and Democracy in India

Milan Vaishnav
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Abstract:
This presentation will review the author’s recent research which tries to understand how democratic elections can coexist with a significant number of politicians implicated in criminal wrongdoing. Specifically, it explores three questions. Why do parties nominate candidates with criminal backgrounds? Why do voters vote for them? And what does their proliferation mean for democratic accountability? To address these questions, the author draws on a wide body of quantitative and qualitative evidence from India.

Date: November 29, 2012
Time: 12:30 P.M.

Venue:
Conference Hall-II
Centre for Policy Research,
Dharma Marg, Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi–110021(INDIA)

Location:

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27 November 2012: Growth and Citizenship in Indian Cities: A Comparative Perspective

Patrick Heller
Brown University

Abstract:
Are growth and inclusion compatible in the mega-cities of the Global South? Can democratic urban governance make the difference? Under what conditions can cities be effectively coordinated? This talk develops a preliminary view of growth and citizenship in India by exploring Indian cities through Brazilian and South African lenses. Extending insights from urban regime theory, Prof. Heller argues that the South African city has become a quintessential “growth machine”; that the Brazilian city can be usefully categorized as a “social city” in which participatory structures have secured a basic “right to the city”; and that viewed through these lenses the Indian city appears as a “growth cabal”. The difference, he argues, can only be understood by examining the relationship between political power and civil society in each country.

Date: November 27, 2012
Time: 03:45 P.M.

Venue:
Conference Hall
Centre for Policy Research,
Dharma Marg, Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi–110021(INDIA)

Location:

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12 November 2012: NIPFP Macro-DSGE Workshop

Organised by:
Macro/Finance Group

Conference Program

Date: November 12, 2012
Time: 09:30 A.M.

Venue:
Conference Hall, Ground Floor, New Building
National Institute of Public Finance and Policy,
18/2 Satsang Vihar Marg, Special Institutional Area,
New Delhi-110067(INDIA)

Location:

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8 November 2012: Household Entrepreneurship and Social Networks: Panel Data Evidence from Vietnam

Christophe Jalil Nordman
DIAL, University Paris-Dauphine and IRD

Abstract:
Using a panel of non-farm household businesses for Vietnam, this paper sheds light on the links between households’ and entrepreneurs’ social networks and household business performance. We address three related questions. One first question is whether we can find evidence of a differentiated effect of employment of members of the extended family versus hired workers on the business performance. Then we examine the extent, intensity and determinants of potential redistributive pressure exerted by the extended family, and borne by households running household businesses, notably under the form of inter-household transfers received and given. Finally, we identify the potential effects of redistributive pressure (from family and kinship ties, the social network capital, and the community) on the household businesses’ technical efficiency. A cross-cutting issue is that all these analyses are performed separately for formal and informal businesses so as to ask whether social network support is more critical in the informal economy. We find evidence of a productivity differential between family and hired labour in the informal sector. In addition, the data do not support the hypothesis of substitutability between family and hired labour, which seems consistent with the idea that managerial and supervisory tasks may be mainly performed by family members. The results of transfer equations confirm the high propensity of households to transfer given their available resources and are consistent with the idea that family, kinship but also community level features exert an effect on the size and type of transfers to and from households. Finally, using information on the entrepreneurs’ social capital and looking at firm efficiency, we confirm the importance of unlocking financial constraints and improving access to professional support for successful household entrepreneurship.

Date: November 8, 2012
Time: 03:00 P.M.

Venue:
AMEX Conference Room (Second Floor)
Department of Economics,
Delhi School of Economics,
New Delhi-110007(INDIA)

Location:

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6 November 2012: Improving Health Through Decentralization

Jeffrey Hammer
Princeton University

Date: November 6, 2012
Time: 04:00 P.M.

Venue:
Conference Hall - 2
Centre for Policy Research,
Dharma Marg, Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi–110021(INDIA)

Location:

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8 November 2012: Health policy in India: It’s Broken

Jeffrey S. Hammer
NCAER and Princeton University

Abstract:
Why is good quality health care so hard to deliver? While universal primary medical care has been a stated priority of government since before independence, the track record of the public system is not one of great success. Public sector medical care is free yet a large majority of people prefer to use the private sector, even though they know that it, too, is of questionable quality. This preview of a forthcoming book presents data on the quality of medical care in both public and private sectors and asks what can be done to improve performance. It also raises the question: “if the goal of government is to improve the health and well-being of the Indian people, is the expansion of public medical care and the underlying expenditures really the most important step government can take?"

Date: November 8, 2012
Time: 03:30 P.M.

Venue:
NCAER Auditorium
National Council of Applied Economic Research
Parisila Bhawan, 11, Indraprastha Estate
New Delhi-110002(INDIA)

Location:

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Note:
Please join us for high tea after the lecture. For queries, please contact Ms Sudesh Bala at sbala@ncaer.org or on 011-2345-2669.

12 November 2012: The Differential Effects of Financial Development on India's Industrial Performance

Nitin Gupta
The Australian National University

Abstract:
The paper aims to investigate the differential impact of increased financial development on industrial output, across state and industry categories. Using an unbalanced panel of 15 Indian states, 22 industries at the 2-digit level, and an 11-year period spanning 1992-2002, the paper’s most novel contribution comes from hypothesising and testing for operating channels though which increased financial development benefits output. It is concluded that financial depth facilitates increased use of contract labour by industries, which in turn mitigates the effects of industrial disputes and increases output. This beneficial impact is uniformly felt across the country, regardless of state-level labour regulations. However, financial depth has failed to directly benefit industries with the greatest need for external financing, i.e. those with moderate and high dependence on external sources of finance. Overall, increased financial depth alleviated the working capital constraints of firms, but not their investment constraints. The negative effects of the latter outweigh the positive effects of the former, and help explain the sharp deceleration of growth across industries categories. Finally, the paper makes the dual case for comprehensive labour reforms and for policies to improve quality of intermediation in Indian financial markets. 

Date: November 12, 2012
Time: 03:00 P.M.

Venue:
ICRIER Conference Room,
Core 6A, 4th Floor,
India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road,
New Delhi – 110 003(INDIA)

Location:

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