27 July 2016: The Role of Historical Resource Scarcity in Modern Gender Inequality

Chandan Kumar Jha
Le Moyne College

Abstract:
This study detects a curious correlation between historical resource scarcity and modern gender inequality: current economic circumstances held constant, there tends to be more gender inequality in regions less endowed with agro-ecological resources, considered historical given the stability of geographical conditions. The proportion of national land area that is potentially arable, and the proportion of national ancestral land suited to agriculture, are each negatively related to the UNDPs Gender Inequality Index, and positively related to both the UNDPs Gender Development Index and females less males life expectancy at birth. Such a connection holds at the subnational level as well. Indian districts better endowed with rainfall and cultivable land have, on average, proportionately fewer missing women, that is, higher population sex-ratios. Further, respondents of the World Values Survey residing in sub-national regions with ancestral lands better suited to agriculture are less likely to hold the opinions that men ought to have more right to scarce jobs and that men make better political leaders than women. We consider these findings consistent with historical resource scarcity having played a role in the evolution of gender norms biased against women that prevail to this day.

Date: July 27, 2016
Time: 03:30 P.M.

Venue:
Auditorium Hall
Indian Statistical Institute Delhi Centre,
7, S. J. S. Sansanwal Marg,
New Delhi-110016 (INDIA)

Location:

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26 July 2016: Workshop on Geographies of care and intimacy: Early insights from oral histories of informal sector migrants in Delhi and Hyderabad

Vinay Gidwani, Priti Ramamurthy, Sunil Kumar and Lokesh

Abstract:
A key insight of recent social science scholarship on India is the paucity of reliable formal sector employment, compelling a very large portion of India’s workforce to find uncertain livelihoods in an assortment of rural and urban informal sector work, the latter consisting of construction, street vending, petty retail, transportation, waste picking, sex work, and domestic service labor to name but a few venues. This vast population has been variously characterized as a “wasteland of the dispossessed” (Sanyal 2007), a state of “wageless life” (Denning 2010), a “surplus population” (Smith 2011), a “precariat” (Standing 2011), and a “floating reserve army” (Breman 2013). Possibly because the employment challenge that confronts countries like India with its vast youth demographic is so humbling, the existing scholarship in fields like labor studies, urban geography, rural sociology, and feminist studies has been resolutely economistic. With few exceptions, it has had little to say on the experiences, life-making activities and desires of the men and women, who toil in India’s cities even as they remain enmeshed with ongoing lives in their villages. While there is every reason to be perturbed by the looming employment challenge that confronts nations like India what is conspicuously scarce in this litany of gloom are humanizing accounts that plumb how denizens of the informal economy experience and narrate their life-worlds: their longings, desires, and indignities; their practices of care and violence; their loneliness, friendships, and found intimacies; and their conflicted attitudes to love, marriage, kinship, sex, and patriarchy.

In this seminar, we will present preliminary insights on the intimate lives of first- and second- generation rural-to-urban migrants in Delhi and Hyderabad, based on the first phase of ongoing oral historical research. Our research strives to bring humanistic insights to existing political economy scholarship on migration and employment; while it is not policy-oriented, we hope it can indirectly inform policy initiatives on informal sector work and urbanization.


Date: July 26, 2016
Time: 03:45 P.M.

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

Location:

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4 August 2016: National Agriculture Market and the Political Economy of Agriculture Marketing

Pravesh Sharma, ICRIER

Abstract:
The launch of the National Agriculture Market (NAM) in April 2016 by the Prime Minister signaled the first serious resolve of the NDA government to address the challenge of creating a unified national market for agri produce. It was expected that the launch of the e-marketing portal seeking to virtually integrate physical mandis would be vigorously followed up by the government to create an alternative buying option for farmers by the time the kharif marketing season came up in October this year. However, the early progress of e-NAM suggests a familiar lapse into hesitation and confusion, as the roll out remains sluggish and legacy players in agriculture trade prepare to reap the real harvest of a (so far) bountiful monsoon. This talk seeks to throw light on the fate of NAM in the larger political economy of agriculture marketing, especially at the State level, and uses past experiences of similar reform initiatives to predict some likely outcome scenarios.

Date: August 4, 2016
Time: 04:30 P.M.

Venue:
Conference Hall, Ground Floor
R&T 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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Note:
Those who are interested may please confirm your participation at bins.sebastian@nipfp.org.in

20 July 2016: Session on Alternative Energy & Smart Transportation Lessons from Israel

Eyal Rosner
Chairman and Director of Administration, Fuel Choices Initiative, Prime Minister's Office, Israel

Abstract:
For the last few decades Israel is considered to be the "Start Up Nation". Several developments led the Israel high tech to lead several sectors in the global high tech scene, among them – Agricultural, ICT, water tech. defense, Internet etc.

Over the last few years, the Startup nation phenomena grew substantially to a new phase with 1200 new startups establishing every year.

One of the fastest growing area is alternative energy and smart mobility with ~ 500 new companies established over the last five years.

The lecture will try to explain the startup nation phenomena, why alternate energy and smart mobility and how Indian business sector can try to leverage the Israeli capabilities.

Date: July 20, 2016
Time: 04:00 P.M.

Venue:
Multipurpose Hall, 
India International Centre,
40, Max Mueller Marg,
New Delhi - 110003(INDIA)

Location:

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22nd July 2016: Disguised Corruption: Evidence from Consumer Credit in China

Sumit Agarwal
National University of Singapore

Abstract:
The paper uncovers a disguised form of corruption using a unique and comprehensive sample of credit card data in China. Bureaucrats—defined as those working in the government—receive 14 percent higher credit lines than non-bureaucrats with similar income and demographics, but their accounts experience a significantly higher delinquency rate and subsequently a higher likelihood of debt forgiveness by the bank. These patterns are concentrated among bureaucrats with greater power and in regions that can be classified ex ante as more corrupt. As a “quid pro quo”, bank branches associated with greater credit provision to bureaucrats receive more deposits from the local government. Consumers in regions with greater credit provision to bureaucrats receive significantly lower credit lines relative to similar consumers in other regions. Using staggered crackdowns of provincial-level political officials as exogenous shocks to the risk of corruption investigation, we find that the new credit cards originated to bureaucrats do not enjoy a credit line premium, and bureaucrats’ delinquency and reinstatement rates are no higher than those of non-bureaucrats in the treated provinces during the post-crackdown period. The paper uses estimates to infer the size of credit extended for corruption related reasons in China.

Date: July 22, 2016
Time: 04:00 P.M.

Venue:
Lecture Theatre
Brookings India
No. 6, 2nd Floor,
Dr. Jose P Rizal Marg,
Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi-110021

Location:


Note:
Please confirm your participation at shamika.ravi@brookingsindia.org

14 July 2016: Fate of Medical Malpractice around Legally Defined Code of Conduct for Medical Professionals

R. K. Sharma, Medico-legal Consultant

Abstract:
Media reports are horded with cases of medical malpractices across India. A lot of violence is also reported against doctors and other health care professionals. Why do these all happen? Are doctors alone responsible or consumerism and unrealistic expectations from doctors, and spiraling healthcare costs responsible too?

The profession of medical practice is changing its shape. From being an art, it has become one dependent on machines. The cost of setting hospitals has gone through roof. An MRI machine costs 5 crores. As govt has failed to provide health care to masses, private sector has come in a big way in providing healthcare facilities and they are obviously not on charitable mission; they want to make money as fast as others are making in other business. So how do they go about it? They do it through the doctors forcing them into malpractice and violation code of conduct. The common medical malpractices are referrals, fee sharing, commission from diagnostic labs and favours from pharma companies. Consent is also a concern which needs to be addressed.

Date: July 14, 2016
Time: 04:30 P.M.

Venue:
Conference Hall, Ground Floor
R&T 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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Note:
Those who are interested may please confirm your participation at bins.sebastian@nipfp.org.in