Research areas: Development Economics, Economic History, Health Economics, Political Economy, Behavioural Economics

I am an applied microeconomist working at the intersection of development, economic history, behavioral economics, and political economy. My research focuses on the topics of health, gender, and caste dynamics.

In my job market paper, I explore the potential causes of the rising disease burden in India, with a particular emphasis on the role of the Green Revolution.

Expected date of graduation- July, 2025

From Blessing to Burden: The Long-Run Effects of India’s Green Revolution (Job Market Paper)

Abstract: India continues to face a high burden of chronic diseases and persistent malnutrition, with the underlying causes not fully understood. I examine the unanticipated effects of Green Revolution technologies, particularly the introduction of high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of rice and wheat in 1966, on crop diversity, nutrition, and long-term health outcomes. I use a difference-in-differences framework by leveraging time variation from the Green Revolution’s introduction and district-level variation in potential productivity gains from transitioning to HYVs, based on climatic characteristics. My findings show that districts with higher potential productivity gains for wheat and rice experienced greater HYV adoption, reduced crop diversity, lower lentil and millet production, and decreased availability of protein and micronutrients in the post-Green Revolution period. Individuals exposed to the Green Revolution in early childhood tend to be shorter and have higher rates of metabolic syndrome. These results suggest that early childhood nutritional declines can diminish the long-term health benefits of concurrent income gains.

Male Sterilization and the Persistence of Violence: Evidence from the Emergency in India (with Sarah Vincent)

Abstract: Can forced sterilization programs targeting men lead to male-perpetrated violence? This paper investigates the impact of a government-mandated male sterilization program introduced in India on the rise of violence. Launched in April 1976, the program predominantly targeted men and saw heterogeneous implementation across India over 10 months. Using various household surveys and newly digitized historical data sources, we study whether the program triggered unintended effects on violence, measured by crime rates. Using a difference-indifferences strategy by exploiting geographical variation in coercion intensity, we find that an increase in exposure to the program led to an increase in violent crime rates of 7% for the average district, which persisted over time. Violent crimes against women primarily drive the increase in crime rates, as rapes are increasing by 22% for the average district. We find that the program was ineffective in reducing fertility, so we hypothesize that a forced sterilization program targeting men may increase violence against women through two main channels: the program inducing trauma and impacting perceptions of masculinity. In line with those channels, we see that districts with high coercion intensity correlate with more harmful gender norms: higher levels and acceptance of Intimate Partner Violence, lower bargaining power of women and lower contraception adoption.

Role of Caste-Based Political Parties in Financial Inclusion in India

Abstract: Does minority representation in state legislative bodies improve the financial access of minorities? To answer this question, I examine the impact of political parties dedicated to the welfare of ethnic minorities on household access to credit. Exploiting the outcomes of close elections between minority-favoring parties and mainstream parties as a source of quasi-random variation, I show that a 1 percentage-point increase in representation from a caste-based party increases the likelihood of having a formal loan by 0.94 percentage points and the amount of formal loans by 10 percent for low-caste households. The analysis of the channels reveals that improvements in low-caste party representation in a district increase the rollout of bank credit from government-owned banks.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Productivity Consequences of Reversing a Social Hierarchy in a Firm (with Sampreet Goroya and Suanna Oh)

The Green Revolution and Rural Indebtedness in India

• President’s Academic Excellence Initiative, UBC 2019-2024
• International Student Tuition Award, UBC 2019-2024
• Four Year (4YF) Doctor Fellowship, UBC 2019-2023
• Four Year (4YF) Tuition Fellowship, UBC 2019-2023
• CIDER Small Grant, UBC 2022-2023
• Balveer & Ranjana Singh Memorial Scholarship, Delhi University 2015-2016

• ECON 101: Undergraduate Microeconomics Sep. 2024-Today
• ECON 594: Applied Economics May 2024-Aug. 2024
• ECON 102: Undergraduate Macroeconomics Jan. 2024-Apr, 2024
• ECON 101: Undergraduate Microeconomics Sep. 2023-Dec. 2023
• ECON 101/102: Undergraduate Microeconomics/Macroeconomics May 2023-Jun. 2023
• ECON 432: Introduction to Game Theory Jan. 2023-Apr. 2023
• ECON 335: Fertilities, Families and Human Migration Jan. 2022-Apr. 2022
• ECON 101: Undergraduate Microeconomics Sep. 2021-Dec. 2021