India

Political connections helped firms secure scarce credit, delay payments, boost investments, and grow faster following the major economic crisis in India due to demonetisation.

Carbon offset programmes allow polluters to pay others to reduce emissions on their behalf. In theory, this can achieve the same emissions reductions at a lower cost, but only if the payment actually incentivises the recipient to cut emissions. If of...

A governmental employment-guarantee programme designed to provide economic security to rural households in India has unintentionally reduced women’s labour force participation—deepening gender disparities within households. By guaranteeing employment...

In Bihar, India and in rural Zambia, the government introduced programmes to address gender gaps in education by providing adolescent girls with bicycles for their commute to school. Discussing the immediate and long-term impacts of these initiatives...

In India, over 30% of reported rape cases involve victims under 18, with girls particularly at-risk. Legal reforms and cultural shifts are essential, but slow to implement. Could school toilets provide a short-term solution to the problem?

Infrastructure expansion into forests substantially degrades biodiversity. Yet, institutions that centre the voices of forest-dependent communities during project planning can help mitigate species loss.

Home visitation and group meeting parenting programmes have improved child development in low- and middle-income countries, but are too expensive to be delivered at large scale. Evidence from India shows that a programme using automated phone calls w...

Despite fears that devolving control over forest resources to local communities may accelerate deforestation and worsen the climate crisis, the large-scale transfer of political power to India’s historically marginalised Scheduled Tribes significantl...

The construction of rural roads improved women's empowerment by reducing mobility restrictions, fostering progressive norms, increasing girls' educational enrolment and enhancing female agency. However, challenges remain in finding ways to enhance wo...