7 March 2019: Talk on 'The Nitrogen Legacy: Long-Term Effects of Water Pollution on Human Capital'

Esha Zaveri
World Bank, Washington DC

Organised by
Centre for Policy Research and Central Water Commission (CWC)

Abstract:
The five-fold rise in the use of nitrogenous fertilizers since the mid-1960s resulted in profound changes to the nitrogen cycle and exacted a toll on India’s waters— runoff of excess nitrogen from fields increased concentrations of nitrate and nitrite in the rivers to harmful levels. Despite ecological evidence of too much nitrogen on the environment, much less is known about its toll on humans. In this paper, we provide new evidence of the legacy effects of nitrogen pollution and contribute to a growing literature on the persistent effects of early-life exposure on later life health outcomes. We compile a rich dataset of water quality along 145 rivers between the years 1970-2016 and exploit the direction of river flow and the upstream-downstream geographic relationship, coupled with cohort variation in exposure to estimate a pollution-health dose-response function. Preliminary findings show that women exposed to nitrate-nitrite pollution in their earliest years of life are shorter on average and more likely to experience a stillbirth in adulthood than women of similar circumstances who were not exposed to such pollution. Early-life exposure to nitrate-nitrite pollution also lowers later-life labor productivity and depresses adult wages decreasing overall welfare.

Date: March 7, 2019
Time: 03:00 P.M.

Venue:
Conference Hall, First Floor,
Central Board for Irrigation and Power (CBIP),
Malcha Marg, Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi-110021 (India)

Note:
Please RSVP at treads@cprindia.org.

Location:

28 February 2019: Roundtable discussion: China’s Economic Reforms: What is Xi’s Gameplan?

Evan Feigenbaum
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Organised by:
Carnegie India

Moderator:
Rudra Chaudhuri, Carnegie India

Abstract:
In 2011 and 2013, China made commitments to market reforms. However, since then there has been considerable debate over the extent to which these reforms have been successfully implemented. As talk of letting the market play a greater role in the economy grows, what role do Chinese state-backed institutions play in the Chinese economy? What is the greatest reform challenge that China faces? How will Chinese market reforms impact the global economy?

Feigenbaum’s remarks, and the subsequent discussion, will examine the key challenges that lie ahead as China seeks to undertake economic reforms. The roundtable will also explore related economic and geopolitical concerns, including Chinese industrial policies and the impact of emerging technology.

Date: February 28, 2019
Time: 01:30 P.M. to 03:00 P.M.

Venue:
Conference Room,5th Floor,
Carnegie India,
C5, Edenpark,
Shaheed Jeet Singh Marg,
New Delhi-110016 (India)

Note:
Please note that this private roundtable discussion will be held according to Chatham House rules.

Please confirm your participation to Shreyas Shende at shreyas.shende@ceip.org.

Location:

6 March 2019: Book Launch and Discussion - Titans of the Climate: Explaining Policy Process in United States and China

Kelly Sims Gallagher
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

Organised by
Centre for Policy Research

Discussants:
Shivshankar Menon, Former NSA of India, and Ashoka University
Ambuj Sagar, School of Public Policy, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

Moderated by:
Navroz K. Dubash, Centre for Policy Research

Abstract:
The United States and China together account for a disproportionate 45 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. In 2014, then-President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced complementary efforts to limit emissions, paving the way for the Paris Agreement. And yet, with President Trump’s planned withdrawal from the Paris accords and Xi’s consolidation of power—as well as mutual mistrust fueled by misunderstanding—the climate future is uncertain. In Titans of the Climate, Kelly Sims Gallagher and Xiaowei Xuan examine how the planet’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters develop and implement climate policy. Through dispassionate analysis, the authors aim to help readers understand the challenges, constraints, and opportunities in each country. They make the case that if each country understands more about the other’s goals and constraints, climate policy cooperation is more likely to succeed.

Date: March 6, 2019
Time: 06:00 P.M.

Venue:
Lecture Room 2,
India International Centre (Annexe)
Max Mueller Marg,
New Delhi - 110003(INDIA)

Location:

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26 February 2019: Workshop on "The Geography of Jobs: Explaining Employment Growth in India (2005-2013)"

Samuel Asher
The World Bank

Organised by
Centre for Policy Research and Centre for Science and Humanities (CSH)

Abstract:
The paper (written jointly with Rinku Murgai and Sutirtha Sinha Roy) provides new evidence on the micro-geography of job growth in India. Policymakers in India are concerned that there is insufficient new job creation to absorb the millions of people joining the labor force each year, yet there is little evidence on the conditions in which local economies across the country are adding jobs. In this talk use use data from a village- and town-level panel built around four waves of the Economic Census (1990-2013), with a particular focus on the most recent data. We begin by comparing job numbers in the Economic Census to concurrent rounds of the NSS, concluding that while they appear to measure employment differently, the Economic Census is a valuable tool for investigating the spatial factors that help to explain job growth. We document how much of the variation in employment growth is within states and districts, a phenomenon impossible to study without such spatially disaggregated data. This motivates our investigation into the many factors that explain the patterns of job growth across India: state policies, density/ urbanisation, natural advantage, and agglomeration economies. We then do a deeper analysis of two particularly important types of employment: female employment and jobs in large firms. We conclude with a discussion of next steps to make the transition from descriptive to causal work.

Date: February 26, 2019
Time: 03:45 P.M.

Venue:
Centre for Science and Humanities (CSH),
2, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road,
New Delhi - 110 011

Note:
Please confirm participation to neeru.gohar@csh-delhi.com and carry valid photo ID.

Location:

7 March 2019: Exploring the Domains of Identity and Emerging Open standards for Decentralized Identity

Kaliya Young
India-U.S. Fellow at New America

Abstract:
Enforcement of data protection regulations present some unique challenges, like a market-wide enforcement perimeter and difficulty in identifying contraventions of laws or regulations and harm caused by such contraventions. Taking these factors into consideration, we propose a model of enforcement based on risk-based supervision and the use of a range of responsive enforcement tools. This model attempts to move away from a focus on post-data breach sanctions and considers how the regulatory community might act to minimize contraventions of the data protection regime. As part of this model, we propose a methodology to identify those entities which potentially pose a higher level of risk, to both individuals and the system, when personal data held by them is breached. We also have set out a range of enforcement tools that the regulator may utilize to both prevent and mitigate the effects of a compromise of individuals personal data, as well as some features of institutional design and intersectoral co-ordination required for effective enforcement

Date: March 7, 2019
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 latha.balasubramanian@nipfp.org.in

26 February 2019: The Technology Tsunami: Challenges for Indian and American Security

Richard Danzig
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

Abstract:
Using examples and data from a wide variety of technologies, this talk identifies characteristics of the 21st-century technology environment that require rethinking of national security strategies, processes and investments. Implications discussed include changes warranted in personnel systems, expectations of surprise, and the prospects of loss of control as a result of the complexity and unpredictable interactive effects. The discussion focuses on Indian, American and Chinese options in this context.

Date: February 26, 2019
Time: 11:30 A.M.

Venue:
Conference Hall
Observer Research Foundation
20 Rouse Avenue Institutional Area
New Delhi-110002(INDIA)

Location:


Note:
Kindly RSVP to astha.kaul@orfonline.org

28 February 2019: Release of the Report “Exports to Jobs: Boosting the Gains from Trade in South Asia”

Gladys Lopez-Acevedo
World Bank and
Daniel Samaan
International Labour Organization

Date: February 28, 2019
Time: 09:30 A.M.

Venue:
Tamarind Hall,
India Habitat Centre,
Lodi Road,
New Delhi 110003

Location:

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26 February 2019: The future of Global Energy in-between Oil, Gas and Renewables

Karin Kneissl
Foreign Minister of Austria

Organised by:
Observer Research Foundation

Abstract:
Questions about the future of global energy are dominated by two topics: the strong rise in energy demand, especially in Asia, and the combat against climate change. The energy sector is the principal source of global greenhouse gas emissions. That makes energy transition the energy topic of our time and a must if we want to keep our planet habitable for future generations. But striking a balance between fighting pollution and decarbonising the economy, while at the same time upholding economic growth, is an extremely hard task. Furthermore, we cannot afford to overlook social questions concerning affordability. Without affordability, there will not be public acceptance, without public acceptance the energy transition will practically be impossible.

Date: February 26, 2019
Time: 04:00 P.M.

Venue:
The Claridges Hotel,
12, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Road,
New Delhi-110011(INDIA)

Note:
For more details Click
Kindly RSVP to brittapetersen@orfonline.org

Location:

15 February 2019: Out-of-merit costs and blackouts: Evidence from the Indian electricity market

Louis Preonas
University of Chicago

Abstract:
In the United States, demand for electricity among utilities in the wholesale spot market is assumed to be perfectly inelastic. Consumers therefore face power outages only as a result of infrastructure failure – never because a utility does not purchase enough electricity to satisfy demand. This also implies that inefficiencies on the generation side of the market which raise price do not impact quantity consumed by retail customers. In this paper, we provide evidence that utilities participating in the Indian wholesale market are extremely price elastic: as prices rise, they purchase less power on the wholesale market, meaning that load shedding increases. Using data on plant-specific marginal costs, we document substantial deviations from first-best electricity generation, half of which can be explained by plant outages. These inefficiencies increase the wholesale price, and therefore contribute substantially to rampant blackouts.

Date: February 15, 2019
Time: 11:30 A.M.

Venue:
Seminar Room 2,
Indian Statistical Institute Delhi Centre,
7, S. J. S. Sansanwal Marg,
New Delhi-110016 (INDIA)

Location:

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14 February 2019: India's Municipal Finance Systems: Current Issues

Matthew Glasser
Centre for Urban Law and Finance, Africa

Moderator:
Anirudh Burman, Carnegie India

Organised by:
Carnegie India

Date: February 14, 2019
Time: 03:00 P.M. to 05:00 P.M.

Venue:
Conference Room,
Carnegie India,
5th Floor, C5, Edenpark,
Shaheed Jeet Singh Marg,
New Delhi-110016 (India)

Note:
Please note that this private roundtable discussion will be held according to Chatham House rules.
Please confirm your participation to Sharanya Rajiv at srajiv@ceip.org.

Location:

7 February 2019: Public seminar on "Monetary policy in a low-interest rate environment"

Thomas Laubach

Abstract:
Thomas Laubach will be giving an overview of the current framework of the FOMC with emphasis on the conduct of monetary policy in a low-rate environment. Using his recent work, Thomas will talk about the prevalence of low interest rates across many economies. He will also talk about the tools used by the Federal Reserve in a low interest rate scenario.

India has recently adopted an inflation targeting framework. This is a great opportunity for intellectuals in India to get together and discuss the burning issues in monetary policy with some of the best minds in the field of Monetary Economics.

Date: February 7, 2019
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 latha.balasubramanian@nipfp.org.in