There has been a major expansion of social security programs in India during the last 15
years or so, along with wider recognition of economic and social rights. This paper …

The paper critically reviews the arguments for and against both employment guarantees and
income guarantees when viewed as rights-based policy instruments for poverty reduction in …

There are fewer people living in extreme poverty in the world today than 30 years ago. While
that is an achievement, continuing progress for poor people is far from assured. Inequalities …

Can e-governance reforms improve government policy? By making information available on
a real-time basis, information technologies may reduce the theft of public funds. We analyze …

We estimate the effect of a large rural workfare program in India on private employment and
wages by comparing trends in districts that received the program earlier relative to those that …

Public employment programs may affect poverty both directly through the income they
provide and indirectly through general equilibrium effects. We estimate both effects …

Citizens around the world look to the state for social welfare provision, but often struggle to
access essential services in health, education, and social security. This book investigates …

An analysis of the National Sample Survey data for 2009-10 confirms expectations that
poorer states of India have more demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National …

In the ten years since the rollout of India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(NREGS), there has been much research on its implementation and impact. This paper …

We estimate the impact of the world's largest public works program, India's National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), on agricultural wages. NREGS was rolled out …