An autonomous research institute under the Ministry of Finance

 

Concerns with Delhi Metro

19/12/2018

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(Coauthored with Ajay Shah)

 

The primary input that goes into an infrastructure project is money. In the case of the Delhi Metro, cost estimates run to Rs.5.52 Billion per km for the underground stretches and Rs.2 Billion per km for the over-ground stretches. The construction cost ...

Ensuring Budget Transparency & Accountability

04/12/2018

When the estimate itself is questionable, should we be unduly concerned about slippages of one or two decimal points?
 
Over the years, the various “innovations” made to contain deficits have cast serious questions of credibility. While the credit rating agencies and economists rant about the slippage of a few ...

“Parental Leave” as Fiscal policy: The Empirical Evidences from Sweden

03/12/2018

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If the fastest and smartest path towards economic growth is to increase the female labour force participation, one policy which can bring radical change is “parental leave” policy for child care. Making eligibility to paid parental leave “gender neutral” is an urgent policy reform to eliminate the distorted debates in ...

The Calculus of Consent: Why do we vote?

29/11/2018

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(Co-authored with Lekha Chakraborty)
 
Does democracy determine public expenditure decisions? With Nobel laureate Hurwicz’s revelation that it is impossible to have simultaneously a balanced budget, Pareto optimality (“you are better off without making anyone worse off”) and an incentive compatibility between Government and the citizens, we turn to pose ...

Making fiscal transfers gender specific is important. Here’s why

26/11/2018

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(Co-authored with Lekha Chakraborty)
 
The Terms of Reference of Finance Commissions have expanded over the years, but concerns arising out of gender inequality have never been a part of ToR. This has happened in spite of the growing realisation that it is necessary to deal with gender inequality issues ...