Globalization and Rural Poverty

absolute poverty, self-employed, wage-employed, trade liberalization

A global agenda for labour

The share of workers belonging to unions has declined in many countries, and new patterns of employment, such as the rise of the so called 'gig economy', are making unorganised labour the norm in a large number of industries. For Pranab Bardhan, this weakening of labour organisations has been a factor in enabling the growth of inequality and the rise of right-wing populism. He outlines some suggested steps for reversing this trend

Political Competition in Economic Perspective

It is sometimes argued that political competition yields benefits to the citizens just as competition in economic markets yields benefits to consumers. We consider the economic costs and benefits of political competition and find that the story is somewhat more complicated. We first review the limited existing literature on this topic, and in the process, identify a number of distinct interpretations of what constitutes political competition. We then turn our attention to two forms of political competition based on what we refer to as accountability for incumbents and electoral politics. We find that, while political competition can yield allocative benefits for the public, it can also generate aggregate welfare costs by constricting the set of politically feasible public investments.

Inequality, Coalitions and Collective Action

In a model where cooperation is beneficial, but subject to cheating, and is supported by trigger strategy punishments in a repeated game, we explore the relationship between the nature of cooperation (size and composition of coalitions) and underlying inequality in the distribution of private productive assets.

“Experimental evidence shows that when people are given unconditional cash they will by and large spend it on worthwhile things” – Pranab Bardhan

Professor Pranab Bardhan recently participated in the Ideas for India Symposium on Universal Basic Income for India with academics from LSE and other leading institutions. During Professor Bardhan’s recent visit to LSE, Sonali Campion asked him to elaborate on how he envisions basic income interacting with existing welfare provisions

“Inequality harms cooperative efforts. In India we see the problems this creates at local, state and national level” – Pranab Bardhan

Professor Pranab Bardhan recently visited LSE’s Economic History Department to speak about research gaps in the interface between history and development. While he was on campus, Sonali Campion interviewed him about the value of interdisciplinary approaches to social science questions, and the insights that his research sheds on key debates in India today

Artfilms, Handicrafts and Other Cultural Goods: The Case for Subsidy

Though widespread, the practice of public subsidies for cultural activity lacks a rigorous and consistent economic rationale. We analyze a canonical market structure that characterizes much cultural activity: the competition of mass-produced goods with heterogeneous non- standardized goods that are imperfect substitutes. We analyze several types of market failure: uncertainty about preferences (we do not know what we like, and we do not know what we might like in the future); endogeneity of preferences (we like what our neighbors talk about, and we like what we're accustomed to); and externalities associated with production (future production costs are determined by current production). The model provides a basis for cultural subsidies to promote social welfare and economic development.

Changing Voting Patterns in Rural West Bengal Role of Clientelism and Local Public Goods

This paper uses two successive rounds of voter surveys in rural West Bengal in a household panel to find reasons for the recent decline in the Left Front's political popularity. It does not find evidence of any significant role of changes in voter age distribution, media exposure, private benefits received from development and welfare programmes administered by local governments, or the vote-generating effectiveness of such programmes. A more important role was played by voter dissatisfaction with local leaders on corruption and lack of involvement in the provision of education services, and with non-local leaders on attitudes towards women, the poor, and local communities