5 February 2020: The effects of air pollution on health and productivity

Alex Tabarrok
George Mason University

Moderator:
Prachi Singh, Brookings India

Organised by
Brookings India

Abstract:
Globally, the last two decades have seen a phenomenal increase in the level of air pollution. Air pollution is responsible for 72% of the 9 million deaths per year from all types of pollution. Southeast Asia has the highest number of pollution-related deaths. In this talk, Prof. Tabarrok will present an overview of recent studies on air pollution, emphasising more credible research designs and the wide variety of ways in which it has subtler and worse effects than previously thought.

Date: February 5, 2020
Time: 04:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP amenokee@brookings.edu, and contact zkazmi@brookings.edu for media inquiries.

Location:

13 December 2019: Panel Discussion on "Housing, Externalities, Technology and the Long Run for Global Real Estate"

Richard K. Green
Brookings India

Chair:
Shamika Ravi, Brookings India

Organised by
Brookings India

Abstract:
This presentation discusses the macroeconomic impact of housing construction and house prices, the interrelationship between housing and agglomeration economies, the balance between positive and negative externalities arising from rapid urban growth, and how technology is changing industrial, office and retail space.

Date: December 13, 2019
Time: 11:00 A.M.

Venue:
Diwan-i-Khas,
The Taj Mahal Hotel,
1 Mansingh Road,
New Delhi-110001

Note:
Please confirm your participation to Ms. Shaonlee Patranabis at spatranabis@brookings.edu.

Location:

11 December 2019: Round-table on “Mobility and Tenure Choice”

Richard K. Green
Brookings India

Organised by
Brookings India

Abstract:
India’s rental market is evolving. Throughout the world, renting has been chosen by the young, the single and, more generally, the mobile over renting, even taking into account issues of affordability. To the best of our knowledge, there has been one previous empirical paper on the determinants of renting in India-a paper that was focused on Bangalore (Manaj, Verma and Nayyatha 2015). In this paper, we use district level data to draw inferences about the determinants of mobility and tenure choice throughout India, and whether these determinants are stable across time. We do find that those who have demonstrated mobility are more likely to be renters, but, unlike other countries, do not find that marital status generally influences tenure behavior (although widows are more likely to be owners, even after controlling for age).We also find that the determinants of renting are in flux, as a model fitted to 2001 data does not forecast 2011 outcomes well.

Date: December 11, 2019
Time: 12:00 Noon

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

Note:
Please confirm your participation to Ms. Shaonlee Patranabis at spatranabis@brookings.edu.

Location:

17 October 2019: Economic openness across India: the opportunities, challenges and risks

Stephen Brien
Legatum Institute

Discussants:
Harsha Vardhana Singh, Council on Emerging Market Enterprises at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

Organised by
Brookings India

Abstract:
Prosperity entails much more than financial and material wealth. It reaches into the political, the judicial, the well-being and the character of a nation. For societies to flourish and people to prosper, we need economic prosperity and social well-being working hand-in-hand. But that requires open, competitive economies, where individuals, communities and businesses are truly empowered to realise their full potential. The Legatum Institute has created a Global Index of Economic Openness (GIEO) to rank 157 countries’ openness to commerce, assessing the environment that enables or hinders their ability to trade both domestically and internationally. It can serve as a unique and valuable tool for governments across the world to assess the economic impact of their policy choices, understand the vast potential for wealth creation from their improvement, and create pathways from poverty to prosperity for some of the world’s most disadvantaged people.

Date: October 17, 2019
Time: 04:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP ngupta@brookingsindia.org and contact and zkazmi@brookingsindia.org for media inquiries.

Location:

15 April 2019: Smallpox Eradication: Inclusive histories as meaningful roadmaps for Global Health

Sanjoy Bhattacharya
Centre for Global Health Histories and WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Health Histories, University of York

Discussants:
Devendra Khandait, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (India)
Anjali Nayyar, Global Health Strategies (GHS)

Abstract:
How was smallpox eradicated worldwide? National experiences of the development of the smallpox vaccine and eradication campaigns varied widely in structure and impact. These were brought together with the help of local actors to create an international fight against the disease. That battle was won, step-by-step with the help of relevant strategic knowledge that was collected and used to create a range of different qualitative projects. Through this endeavour, what emerged was that the knowledge of the political, social, economic and cultural factors was as important as science and technology. These learnings could have resulted in an eradication programme that could have provided democratic models for future global health initiatives. Instead, narrow sets of institutional histories that honoured the voices and actions of a small number of people were created and advocated, which distorted the past and were used as working models for the future. This presentation discusses why it is important to question and challenge these trends.

Date: April 15, 2019
Time: 04:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP ngupta@brookingsindia.org and contact and zkazmi@brookingsindia.org for media inquiries.

Location:

14 December 2018: Is Housing an Intractable Problem?

Richard K. Green
USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California

Discussant:
Sameer Sharma, DG & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA)

Abstract:
All over the world, in rich countries and poor, housing is a problem. In rich countries it is too expensive, in the absence of subsidy, for those at the bottom of the income distribution. In poor countries, vast numbers lack access to infrastructure that makes housing healthy and accessible: electricity, sewer systems, clean water, and transport. The countries that best house their people—Singapore, Norway, New Zealand and Switzerland—are affluent and have small populations. This talk will look at the strengths and weaknesses of housing policy across a number of countries. It will look at the role of formal property rights, land use regulation, building permit processes, supply and demand side subsidies, and housing finance. It will also discuss value capture as a technique for at once encouraging the construction of new housing while financing the infrastructure necessary to allow dwellers of that housing to be healthy and to have access to employment. While there are policies that do improve housing outcomes, one possibly intractable problem facing successful cities is latent demand. In principle, one could build enough housing to meet demand for any growing city (such as Shanghai or Bangalore), but as a physical, rather than a policy matter, this can be difficult. This implies that very successful cities will need subsidies in order to have the heterogeneous labor force necessary for an economy to thrive. The talk will end by discussing what those subsidies might look like.

Date: December 14, 2018
Time: 04:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP psharma@brookingsindia.org and contact and zkazmi@brookingsindia.org for media inquiries.

Location:

3 December 2018: Tiffin Talk - Does beef availability early in life affect anaemia decades later? Evidence from cattle slaughter bans in India

Aparjita Dasgupta,
Ashoka University

Abstract:
This paper uses the rollout of cattle slaughter bans in India as a natural experiment in beef availability around birth. We compile rich historical data on cattle slaughter ban legislation and harmonize it with household and individual level data on beef consumption and biomarkers from independent data sources for this purpose. Using a triple differences-in-difference strategy along with an event study design, we show that cattle slaughter bans reduce the availability of beef for the poor. In the long –term we find that early life exposure to cow slaughter bans leads to lower levels of haemoglobin (Hb)for poor women in communities that traditionally eat beef, who are up to 10% more likely to be anaemic in their prime reproductive ages.

Date: December 3, 2018
Time: 11:30 A.M.

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

Location:

28 September 2018: Feminist Engagement with Post-Colonial Developments

Devaki Jain, Economist & Writer

Abstract:
In the seminar, Devaki Jain will present research that forms the core of her two recent volumes and questions given categories in the social sciences, economics and statistics. The essays and lectures in the volumes draw upon Jain's dialogue with academia, governments and international bodies such as the United Nations, over the course of several years. Jain's work traverses territories such as errors in data collection coming out of false perceptions of women's location in the economy to criticisms of how governments understand reality. She points out deep flaws not only in the counting of women and their work but also in the presentation of GDP- a crucial statistic in both assessing a nations progress as well as its components. She argues that GDP is a misleading figure and when it is broken down to unmeasured items, it emerges that 90% or more of India's GDP comes from small-scale, handmade and household industries whereas public investment and financing of institutions and government goes to corporates who actually provide a much smaller percentage of GDP.

Date: September 28, 2018
Time: 04:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP: psharma@brookingsindia.org and contact zkazmi@brookingsindia.org for media inquiries.

Location:

31 July 2018: Indian Monetary Policy in the time of Inflation Targeting and Demonetisation

Rakesh Mohan
Brookings India and
Partha Ray
Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta

Abstract:
The period from 2009 to 2013 was dominated by a joint monetary and fiscal stimuli by the Indian authorities prompted by the North Atlantic Financial Crisis (NAFC) in mid-2008. Did these, along with other structural shocks and a hands-off attitude in forex market intervention, play a role in rising inflation and external account instability?

Date: July 31, 2018
Time: 04:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP: rlaik@brookingsindia.org and contact zkazmi@brookingsindia.org for media inquiries.

Location:

27 July 2018: No Free Lunch: Using Technology to Improve the Efficacy of School Feeding Programmes

Sisir Debnath
Indian School of Business, Hyderabad

Abstract:
Malnutrition among vulnerable children is often targeted using free school feeding programmes in developing countries. Prof. Debnath studies the role of technology in improving the delivery of school feeding programmes. Using the rollout of a mobile-based monitoring mechanism (Interactive Voice Response System or IVRS) that aids in cross-tallying the number of beneficiaries in the delivery chain, he finds that increase in resulting accountability reduces leakages in school lunch provision in Bihar. He contrasts the provision of meals in districts of Bihar and its contiguous neighbouring states from an independent survey with the official state records. Independently collected data reveals that the technology reform increases the likelihood of lunch provision in a school by 20 percentage points and finds that the increase in take-up is also accompanied by an improvement in the quality and quantity of meals.

Date: July 27, 2018
Time: 04:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP: psharma@brookingsindia.org and contact nmehta@brookingsindia.org for media inquiries.

Location:

4 July 2018: When Should We Trust Artificial Intelligence

Vasant Dhar
Stern School of Business, New York University

Discussant:
Anna Roy, NITI Aayog, Government of India

Abstract:
Modern day artificial intelligence machines learn and improve themselves based on ever-increasing amounts of data that humans and machines generate with each passing day. This happens largely through supervised learning which is a major branch of Artificial Intelligence. But such machines also make mistakes.

In the Seminar, speaker will walk us through various situations in our everyday lives – investing, playing sports, riding in driverless cars, using social media platforms – to encourage us to question the faith we put in technology. He proposes methods to inform executive and policy makers in evaluating the risks associated with data infrastructure initiatives, such as those proposed in his recent Hindustan Times editorial.

Date: July 4, 2018
Time: 04:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP: psharma@brookingsindia.org and contact nmehta@brookingsindia.org for media inquiries.

Location:

20 April 2018: Regulating a Digital Economy

Joshua P. Meltzer
Brookings Institution, Washington D.C.

Discussants:
Avik Sarkar, NITI Aayog
Mudit Kapoor, Indian Statistical Institute
Amb. Asoke Mukerji, former Indian diplomat

Moderator:
Harsha Vardhana Singh, Brookings India

Abstract:
The world is experiencing unprecedented increases in connectivity and global data flows, much of it centred in the Asia-Pacific region. Internet access and maximising cross-border data flows is leading to increased productivity, economic growth and new opportunities for international trade. The economic opportunities from technologies such as cloud computing, big data and the internet of things are also not limited to the IT sector but are economy-wide, including in sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture. India stands to gain from going digital – with scope to create 1.5-2 million more jobs this year and to contribute to $550 billion-$1 trillion to its GDP by 2025. However, governments across Asia are adopting data localisation requirements that restrict cross-border data flows. In many cases, however, there remain ways to achieve these goals with less impact on data flows, economic growth and trade.

Date: April 20, 2018
Time: 04:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP: psharma@brookingsindia.org

Location:

13 April 2018: The Brave New World of Low Inflation

Surjit S. Bhalla
Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council and Oxus Research & Investments

Discussant: Sajjid Chinoy, JP Morgan

Abstract:
This talk attempts an answer to the puzzle of low inflation in the Advanced Economies (AE), a phenomenon observed over the last 20 years. Part of the answer is provided by the fact that global supply of college graduates, especially the supply of the rest of the world relative to the supply in advanced economies, has been expanding at a fast rate. This globalisation phenomena helps explain the trend in real wages of college educated labor in the US since the 1980s. The talk will also document the reality that oil prices have ceased to have an impact on inflation, and that the gap between developing economies inflation and AE inflation is close to a historical low, and less than 200 basis points. Bhalla will also discuss the determinants of inflation in India and forecast future trends.

Date: April 13, 2018
Time: 04:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP: psharma@brookingsindia.org and contact nmehta@brookingsindia.org for media inquiries.

Location:

23 March 2018: Digital India Sounds Lovely, But Do you Trust the Digital Planet?

Bhaskar Chakravorti
Brookings India

Abstract:
The world’s digital economy stands at a threshold where opportunity and risk stand in balance. Our digital evolution and productive use of new technologies rests on how well we can build digital trust. India, with many policy-led pushes for digitalization, including a Digital India campaign and initiatives, such as demonetization, to give a boost to digital payments, warrants the need for systemic changes to boost digital evolution in this type of environment. Bhaskar Chakravorti in this seminar will explore the privacy, security, and accountability aspects of the digital environments, as users’ expectations and interests change, so does public sentiment and regulatory pressure. While it will be up to digital companies to keep up and innovate in this new frontier for competitiveness what does the definition of digital trust mean in the Indian context?

Date: March 23, 2018
Time: 03:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP psharma@brookingsindia.org

Location:

15 February 2018: Aspiring for the future: Drivers and consequences of women’s aspirations in rural India

Kalyani Raghunathan
International Food Policy Research Institute

Organised by:
Brookings India

Abstract:
Kalyani Raghunathan examines the drivers of the aspirations of rural women around income, asset ownership, social status and the education of their children. Using data from five states in Northern India, she studies what role the average levels of outcomes in geographical and caste-based reference groups have to play in the formation of aspirations. She then investigates how the gaps between current and aspired-to status influence individual investments in financial, social status-related, and educational dimensions.

Date: February 15, 2018
Time: 11:00 A.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP psharma@brookingsindia.org

Location:

30 January 2018: Investment Opportunities and Economic Outcomes: Who Benefits from College and the Stock Market?

Urvi Neelakantan
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, U.S.A.

Organised by:
Brookings India

Abstract:
Two investments stand out for their power to improve economic outcomes: higher education and stocks. In the absence public funding, though, both are seen as the preserve of the wealthy. As a result, higher education in particular is, in many countries, heavily subsidized with the explicit aim of promoting equality of opportunity. An important point, however, is that differences in learning ability, preparedness, and wealth are likely to affect individuals’ capacity to take advantage of investment opportunities and improve their economic well-being. This seminar will examine and present the effect of access to college and the stock market on individual earnings, wealth, and mobility. Does the power of college to increase well-being exceed that of stocks, as large subsidies to the former suggest?

Date: January 30, 2018
Time: 03:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP psharma@brookingsindia.org and contact nmehta@brookingsindia.org for media inquiries.

Location:

24 January 2018: Indian Migration to the United States of America

Neil Ruiz
Pew Research Center, Washington D.C., USA

Organised by:
Brookings India

Abstract:
Indian migrants in the United States remain unique compared to the majority of U.S. immigrants. Indians in the U.S. are high-skilled, highly-educated, and have high incomes compared to the general U.S. population and other immigrant groups. Neil Ruiz will present and examine the main sources for Indian migration to the U.S., particularly those entering the U.S. via the H-1B visa programme and the foreign student F-1 visa programme. He will also present the demographic profiles of Indians in the U.S. such as income and educational attainment.

Date: January 24, 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

Note:
Please RSVP psharma@brookingsindia.org and contact nmehta@brookingsindia.org for media inquiries.

Location:

3 November 2017: Book launch - Reaching for the sky: Empowering girls through education

Urvashi Sahni
Study Hall Educational Foundation and Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C.,

Keynote Remarks:
Vrinda Sarup, former Secretary, School Education and Literacy, Ministry for Human Resource Development

Organised by:
Brookings India

Abstract:
How can gender equality can be achieved in a patriarchal society through education? How can girls learn to be equal and autonomous persons in school as part of their official curriculum? And, how can they use this learning to transform their lives and those of their families?

Reaching for the Sky illustrates how education can be truly transformative when it addresses the everyday reality of girls’ lives and responds to their special needs and challenges with respect and care. The insights and lessons from this book have important implications for wider policy-making.

Date: November 3, 2017
Time: 04:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP rlaik@brookingsindia.org to confirm your presence.

Location:

29-30 October 2017: Conference - Improving public healthcare through fiscal federalism

Organised by:
Brookings India in partnership with the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, the Forum of Federations (Canada) and the Inter-State Council.

Abstract:
This conference seeks to provide an opportunity to deliberate over the critical issues of public health in India and to discuss how we relate to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for improved healthcare.

Date: October 29-30, 2017
Time: 09:30 A.M.

Venue:
Nehru Memorial Museum and Library
Teen Murthi Bhavan
New Delhi-110011(INDIA)

Note:
Kindly RSVP dgupta@brookingsindia.org to confirm your presence.

Location:

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8 September 2017: Whatever it takes: The Real Effects of Unconventional Monetary Policy

Viral Acharya
Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India.

Abstract:
Launched in Summer 2012, the European Central Bank (ECB)’s Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) program indirectly recapitalized European banks through its positive impact on periphery sovereign bonds. However, the stability re-established in the banking sector did not fully translate into economic growth. We document zombie lending by banks that remained undercapitalized even post-OMT. In turn, firms receiving loans used these funds not to undertake real economic activity such as employment and investment but to build up cash reserves. Creditworthy firms in industries with a high zombie firm prevalence suffered significantly from this credit misallocation, which further slowed down the economic recovery.

Date: September 8, 2017
Time: 06:00 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 dgupta@brookingsindia.org