28 July 2017: America's Economic Anxiety

Jonathan Morduch
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service

Discussant:
Shamika Ravi, Brookings India & Brookings Institution

Abstract:
The traditional narrative about financial success in America is that hard work, steady saving, and a little bit of luck will ensure financial security, a comfortable retirement, and a better future for one’s children. But, as the 2016 elections demonstrated, large numbers of Americans feel that the “American Dream” is increasingly out of reach. Their insecurity is so pronounced that when asked by Pew Charitable Trusts if they would rather be a little richer or have a more stable financial life, 92 percent of Americans chose stability. In The Financial Diaries: How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty, Jonathan Morduch and Rachel Schneider explain why this is happening – and what needs to change – based on the results of their ground- breaking study, the U.S. Financial Diaries (USFD). Further details about the book can be found here.

Organised by:
Brookings India

Date: July 28, 2017
Time: 03:00 P.M.

Venue:
Kamalnayan Bajaj Auditorium
Brookings India
No. 6, Second Floor,
Dr. Jose P. Rizal Marg,
Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi-110021

Location:


Note:
Please RSVP to sgupta@brookingsindia.org

21 July 2017: Launch: Brookings India Health Monitor and panel discussion

Event Agenda:
Introductory remarks: Dr. Harsha Vardhana Singh, Brookings India
Presentation: Dr. Shamika Ravi, Brookings India
Keynote Address: Shri. CK. Mishra, Secretary MoHFW, Government of India

Panel Discussion: Better Health Data for Better Health Policy
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan (DG, ICMR & Secretary, Health Research, Govt of India)
Mr. Alok Kumar (Advisor - Health and Nutrition, NITI Aayog, Govt of India)
Dr. Naresh Trehan (Chairman and MD, Medanta)
Mr. Swaminathan Aiyar (Prominent Indian Journalist)

Moderator:
Dr. Shamika Ravi, Brookings India

Abstract:
The Brookings India Health Monitor brings together real time data, research and powerful analytics of India’s healthcare sector on a common platform. This is created using publicly available data from across all states and Union Territories of India. It enables policy makers, corporates and researchers to access, monitor and analyse real time health measures at a highly disaggregated district level. We have developed health indexes at state and district levels for Quality and Quantity of health infrastructure which will be updated on a real time basis. We also propose to develop indexes for Maternal health, Child health, Communicable Diseases and Non-communicable Diseases for all states of India.

Our aim is to democratize health data by making it publicly available through easy-to-understand, real time indexes at highly disaggregated level (district of India). We believe that having access to this information can be helpful for local level policy makers as well as to the health industry for core business or corporate social responsibility (CSR). Our informatics is already being used by the NITI Aayog and the Uttar Pradesh health ministry.

Organised by:
Brookings India

Date: July 21, 2017
Time: 03:00 P.M.

Venue:
Brookings India
No. 6, Second Floor,
Dr. Jose P. Rizal Marg,
Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi-110021

Location:

Note:
Please RSVP sgupta@brookingsindia.org, to reserve seat for you.

25 July 2017: The Risk Premium on Balance Sheet Capacity

Anusar Farooqui
Indian Institute of Management, Udaipur

Abstract:
We show that exposure to shocks to the balance sheet capacity of US securities broker-dealers carries a significant risk premium. We construct a novel measure of dealer risk appetite and show that it is priced in the cross-section of expected stock excess returns; even after controlling for benchmark risk factors (MKT, SMB, HML, RMW, CMA, MOM and VOL). We document that risk appetite, median book-to-market ratio, the term spread and the difference in market and average excess returns are, independently and jointly, statistically significant predictors of future market excess returns. Armed with these four return-forecasting factors, we estimate dynamic pricing models with constant betas and time-varying prices of risk. We document significant time-variation in the intermediary risk premium and show that it has a natural macro-financial interpretation. In particular, we show that, unlike the premiums on benchmark factors, it is highly procyclical and gets extraordinarily compressed during periods of stock market exuberance such as that of the late-1990s. We find significant macroeconomic information embedded in the intermediary risk premium. Specifically, we show that the intermediary risk premium is both a significant contemporaneous correlate and a significant predictor of quarterly innovations in the US growth rate. We further show that the time-varying intermediary risk premium dwarfs the premiums on benchmark factors. Finally, we construct a factor mimicking portfolio for risk appetite and show that it sports a Sharpe ratio at least twice as large as benchmark factor portfolios.

Date: July 25, 2017
Time: 03:00 P.M.

Venue:
Seminar Room (First Floor) 
Department of Economics,
Delhi School of Economics,
New Delhi-110007(INDIA)

Location:

21 July 2017: State of the police forces: Some insights on expenditure, personnel, infrastructure, and accountability

Mandira Kala and Anviti Chaturvedi
PRS Legislative Research

Abstract:
Policing and law order issues come primarily under the states. However, the centre also maintains its police forces to provide states with assistance for matters that have wider internal security implications. This talk will address expenditure on police, and compare spending by various states and centre. It will provide an overview of how police is organised, and discuss issues faced by the police personnel. This will include an analysis of vacancies across centre and states, working conditions of police, and issues with crime investigation. We will also discuss findings of CAG audits and Bureau of Police Research and Development, with regard to availability of weaponry, vehicles, communication equipment, and funds for infrastructure modernisation. Lastly, the session will analyse the efforts being made by states to set up institutions for police accountability, and institution to protect police from political interference, in light of directions of the Supreme Court.

Date: July 21, 2017
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

18 July 2017: Emerging infectious diseases in a city: dengue and chikungunya in Delhi

Olivier Telle
Centre for Policy Research (CPR)

Abstract:
This presentation will focus on the dengue and chikungunya viruses, which are two of the most common vector borne diseases affecting urban areas around the world. In India and Delhi, these two viruses are spreading rapidly, infecting lakhs of individuals every year. The aim of this study is to underline 1) the geography of these diseases over several years in Delhi 2) the factors that lead to continuous spread within endemic cities –from urban complexity to political organization of urban/epidemic responses. After presenting some short term solutions that can help in controlling disease diffusion, this presentation will be an opportunity to re-evaluate the links between evolution of cities, intra-urban environmental disparities and the issue of sanitation within urban areas.

Date: July 18, 2017
Time: 03:30 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

28 July 2017: Behavioural insights for policy interventions: exploring the how and why?

Bhuvanesh Awasthi
Epistemic Consultants and Neuroscience Outreach

Abstract:
Human perception, emotion and decision making underlies all policy-making and implementation. In recent years, several organizations across the globe, such as the World bank, the European Commission, the OECD, governments in Australia, the UK, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Denmark, and the USA, are increasingly incorporating behavioural sciences in policy-making.

With the overarching goal of guiding the policy design, implementation and re-assessments that achieve their objectives at minimum cost, cognitive and behavioural insights has been crucial in legislation, regulatory and consumer protection interventions. In the proposed session, with examples from several countries, we shall explore the role of behavioural interventions in reshaping public policy in a wide range of domains, in particular employment, consumer protection, health and taxation.

Date: July 28, 2017
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

25 July 2017: Cognitive and neural foundations of human decision making: implications for policy

Bhuvanesh Awasthi
Epistemic Consultants and Neuroscience Outreach

Abstract:
How do humans make choices? What are the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying risky decision making? What can public policy and administration learn from research on neuroscience of cognition and behaviour? Here, we shall explore insights from cognitive science of social perception, social conformity, empathy training and ethical behaviour with implications for public policy.

Date: July 25, 2017
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

12 July 2017: 2017 India Policy Forum Lecture - "Avoiding the morning-after blues: Building state capability while times are good"

Lant Pritchett
Harvard Kennedy School

Date: July 12, 2017
Time: 06:30 P.M.

Venue:
The Royal Ballroom,
Imperial Hotel
Janpath Lane, Connaught Place,
New Delhi-110 001(India)

Location:


Note:
RSVP: Ms Sudesh Bala at sbala@ncaer.org or on +91-11-2345-2722.

14 July 2017: Book launch for "Where India Goes: Abandoned Toilets, Stunted Development, and the Costs of Caste"

Diane Coffey
and
Dean Spears
Research Institute for Compassionate Economics (RICE)

Abstract:
Where India Goes is a new book about an old problem. The majority of rural Indians do not use a toilet or latrine. Open defecation kills thousands of children in India each year, stunts the physical and cognitive development of those who survive, and has consequences for everyone in India. With the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission in 2014, sanitation is not merely a human development emergency -- it is now also a policy priority. Yet, the history of sanitation policy proves that latrine construction is not enough to address the reasons why rural Indians reject the kind of affordable latrines provided by the government, and which have greatly reduced open defecation in other countries. Where India Goes challenges us to consider how health and human development can be advanced while social inequality remains so profound.

Date: July 14, 2017
Time: 07:20 P.M.

Venue:
Juniper Room,
India Habitat Centre,
Lodi Road,
New Delhi – 110 003(INDIA)

Location:

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Note:
For details: Please contact Ms. Sangita Vyas at sangita@riceinstitute.org

14 July 2017: Place-based Preferential Tax Policy and its Spatial Effects: Evidence from India’s Program on Industrially Backward Districts

Yi Jiang and Rana Hasan
Asian Development Bank

Abstract:
Indian government initiated a program in 1994 to promote manufacturing in districts designated “backwards”. The way the backwards districts were identified enables us to employ a regression discontinuity design to evaluate the impacts of the program. We find that the program’s 5-year tax exemption to manufacturers led to a significant increase in firm entry and employment in relatively better-off backward districts, particularly in light manufacturing industries. However, the program also resulted in negative spillover effects on districts which were neighbouring these backward districts and relatively weaker in economic activity. The findings emphasise that the spatial effects of place-based policies deserve greater attention from policy makers.

Date: July 14, 2017
Time: 03:30 P.M.

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

Location:

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Note:
RSVP at partha@cprindia.org

5 July 2017: Dinner conversation and Q&A with Rob Sherman

Rob Sherman
Facebook

Moderator:
Arun Sukumar, Observer Research Foundation 

Abstract:
The conversation will highlight global trends in privacy and data protection regimes, and the role of companies like Facebook in contributing – both through its platforms as well as policy interventions – to these trends. Facebook has over 184 million monthly users in India with 95% accessing the website through their mobile phones. WhatsApp has more than 200 million users in India, making the country its largest market in the world. Facebook will be a crucial interlocutor as India’s digital economy grows rapidly over the next few years -- with the growth in connectivity, the rolling out of public hotspots by Facebook across the country, and the government’s push for adoption of digital payments, privacy and data protection will need special attention. With Facebook and other online service providers expanding its user base and services in India, privacy and security features of their platforms will assume centre stage and even influence its future growth in the Indian market.

Date: July 5, 2017
Time: 07:00 P.M.

Venue:
Villa Medici
Taj Mahal Hotel,
1, Mansingh Road,
New Delhi-110 011(India)

Location:


Note:
Please RSVP to madhulika.srikumar@orfonline.org to reserve a seat for you.

Cancelled due to unforeseen reasons: 6 July 2017: Elements of Effective Macroprudential Policy: Lessons from International Experience

Dong He
International Monetary Fund

Abstract:
Experience with macroprudential policy is growing. A large number of countries have put in place dedicated institutional arrangements. Progress is being made also with the design and implementation of macroprudential tools, and an increasing body of empirical research is available that evaluates the effectiveness of macroprudential policy. Responding to a G20 mandate, a recent joint IMF-FSB-BIS paper takes stock of the experiences gained so far regarding elements and practices that can be useful for effective macroprudential policy making. The seminar will introduce the paper, covering institutional arrangements, including mandates and governance, powers, and arrangements for domestic cooperation, and review operational considerations, such as the selection of policy tools and how they are employed. It will also touch upon issues related to international consistency of macroprudential policy.

Date: July 6, 2017
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