The pathway from domestic remittances to food security in India: is agriculture a mediator? Reshma Roshania Regine Haardörfer

Remittances sent from migrants to agricultural origin households can improve food security through market purchases as result of increased income, improved production and consumption of home-produced food enabled by agricultural investments, or a combination of both. These mechanisms have thus far only been hypothesized. Using...   Read More

Changes in the household expenditure basket in India during COVID-19 Pallavi Choudhuri Sonalde Desai

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc across countries, causing an unprecedented healthcare crisis and supply chain disruptions. Our paper focuses on how households coped and the role of expanded Indian government food subsidies in mitigating food insecurity. Objective: We use panel data from two rounds...   Read More

The Trinity of Support: Negotiating Space and Care for Older Adults in a Transitioning Society Debasis Barik Neerad Deshmukh Sharan Sharma Sonalde Desai

Drawing on nationally representative data from two waves of the India Human Development Survey, this paper examines how family structures, functional health, work participation, and state support interact to shape the well-being of Indians aged 60 and above. We document a gradual decline in intergenerational...   Read More

What Did They Say? Respondent Identity, Question Framing and the Measurement of Employment  Rosa Abraham Nishat Anjum Rahul Lahoti Hema Swaminathan

Using data from a primary survey conducted in rural India, this paper examines how two key survey design features—respondent identity and question framing—affect employment estimates. First, it estimates the causal impact of (a) replacing a single weekly employment question with a set of detailed activity-specific questions,...   Read More

Obesity, Socioeconomic Transitions, and the Evolving Social Gradient of Non-Communicable Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Debasis Barik

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are now the leading cause of premature mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), accounting for more than 80% of early NCD deaths worldwide. As LMICs undergo rapid demographic, nutritional, and epidemiological transitions, obesity has emerged as a central driver of cardiometabolic...   Read More