13 December 2019: Discussion on 'Blackout: The Political Dynamics of Power Outages'

Discussants:
Brian Min
Department of Political Science, University of Michigan
Neelanjan Sircar and Ashwini K. Swain
Centre for Policy Research

Moderator:
Gilles Verniers, Trivedi Centre for Political Data, Ashoka University

Organised by
Centre for Policy Research & Trivedi Centre for Political Data, Ashoka University

Abstract:
Access to electricity in India has increased dramatically in recent decades. On the other hand, the quality of electricity remains uneven in some areas, characterized by blackouts, load shedding, and reliability problems. Brian Min introduce new data on power outages derived from satellite imagery captured nightly over each village since the 1990s. The data suggest that the rapid implementation of village electrification projects has often coincided with a decline in the quality of electricity service. The worst outages are in areas which most aggressively pursued new electrification efforts. The patterns are consistent with an electoral strategy that prioritizes more visible, short-term accomplishments over less visible longer-term investments jn service quality. The results support an electoral explanation for the quality deficit that characterizes the delivery of many public services in democracies across the world.

Date: December 13, 2019
Time: 02:00 P.M.

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

Note:
Please RSVP at president.cpr@cprindia.org. The seating at the venue can accommodate up to 60 people on a first come first serve basis.

Location:

View Larger Map

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:

9 December 2019: Global Economic Outlook

Luis Breuer
International Monetary Fund

Organised by
National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi

Abstract:
After slowing sharply in the last three quarters of 2018, the pace of global economic activity remains weak. Rising trade and geopolitical tensions have increased uncertainty about the future of the global trading system and international cooperation more generally, taking a toll on business confidence, investment decisions, and global trade. The talk shall provide an overview of the latest release of World Economic Outlook in October 2019 by the IMF which analysis the world economy and issues affecting industrial countries, developing countries, and economies in transition to market; and address topics of pressing current interest and implications for India.

Date: December 9, 2019
Time: 02:00 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:

View Larger Map

13 December 2019: Corporate Social Responsibility: Perspectives and Field Experiences

Priyanka Chhaparia
Centre for Responsible Business

Organised by
National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi

Abstract:
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has evolved as an interdisciplinary concept, cross-cutting into fields of management, economics, law, sociology, and also social work. In India, with the introduction of Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013, expenditure on socially responsible activities has been made mandatory. This evolution and journey of CSR from a philanthropic activity to a mandatory multi-stakeholder concept is one full of debates and conflict. The talk aims to give an overview of the CSR landscape in India and present field experiences of some of the CSR activities that are undertaken by foundations managed by corporate entities.

Date: December 13, 2019
Time: 02:00 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:

View Larger Map

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:

13 December 2019: Do Electronic Health Records systems inflate insurance costs?: A study of Medicare Reimbursements

Kartik Ganju
McGill University, Canada

Organised by
National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi

Abstract:
Electronic health record (EHR) systems allow physicians to automate the process of entering patient data relative to manual entry in traditional paper-based records. However, such automated data entry may be exploited by hospitals to inflate reimbursement requests from Medicare by overstating the true complexity of patients’ diagnoses (termed “upcoding”). The primary EHR module that has been alleged to facilitate upcoding is the computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system, which populates patient charts with default templates and allows physicians to copy and paste data from other patients’ records. To combat upcoding, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services implemented the Recovery Audit Program, first as a pilot program in six states between 2005 and 2009, and then nationwide in the entire United States in 2010. We examine whether the adoption of CPOE systems by hospitals is associated with a proliferation in reported patient complexity to Medicare, and if the Recovery Audit Program helped to attenuate this relationship. We find that the adoption of CPOE systems significantly increased patient complexity reported by hospitals, corresponding to an estimate of $2 Billion inflation in Medicare reimbursements per year, until they were regulated by the Recovery Audit Program that helped to mitigate upcoding. Notably, those auditors who developed the ability to identify the use of default templates, copied-and-pasted data, and cloned records were the most effective in reducing upcoding. This implies that these IT auditors likely use the same data created by the CPOE systems to identify and combat upcoding. These findings have implications how to combat inflated Medicare reimbursements paid by taxpayer dollars with the Recovery Audit Program and how IT audit can prevent the misuse of information systems to create artificial business value from IT. Contributions to Information Systems and Healthcare research, practice, and public policy are discussed.

Date: December 13, 2019
Time: 03:30 P.M.

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

Note:
Those who are interested may please confirm your participation at latha.balasubramanian@nipfp.org.in

Location:

View Larger Map

3 December 2019: Learning about learning from learning about learning

Lant Pritchett
Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford

Organised by:
International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie)

Chair:
Emmanuel Jimenez, 3ie

Discussant:
Ronald Abraham, IDinsight

Date: December 3, 2019
Time: 03:30 P.M.

Venue:
Lecture Hall 1, Annexe,
India International Centre,
New Delhi – 110001 (India)

Location: