Abstract: Microinsurance is one of the key instruments in addressing the risk and vulnerability of economic shocks for the low-income households in the Global South. However, microinsurance take-up globally is puzzlingly low. The question is why. Using primary panel data with incentivised lab-in-the-field experiments conducted in five rural villages in India, the paper first examines the nature of risk and time preferences of the individuals and then examines the association of risk and time preferences and prior shocks on microinsurance take-up. The findings highlight a few key insights. First, I find that the majority of the individuals are not only risk averse, but they are loss averse and underweight large probability events. Second, I find that the majority of the subjects are present biased. Third, I find that impatience is associated with a lower probability to purchase any insurance while risk-seeking individuals and individuals who experienced a prior shock such as a death in the family are associated with a higher probability to purchase any insurance. Finally, I find that individuals who are loss averse and underweight large probability incidents are associated with a lower probability to purchase any microinsurance.

Abstract: We examine how village-level social group dominance affects the educational and occupational mobility of minority and other social groups in rural India across multiple generations. We distinguish between upper caste and own-group dominance and examine the mechanisms underpinning inequality in mobility outcomes. We find inequality in upward educational mobility to have significantly narrowed over time, with Scheduled Castes doing better in upper caste- and own-dominated villages, while Scheduled Tribes and Muslims do worse in own-dominated villages. In contrast, for occupational mobility we find no evidence of minority groups catching up with upper castes; Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are particularly disadvantaged, but Scheduled Castes, again, do comparatively better in their own-dominated villages. Exploring the mechanisms that explain the relationships between land dominance regimes and mobility, we find that a combination of agroecological and natural resource base and social cohesion of villages underpins the differences observed more than public goods provision. Our findings suggest a new pattern of inequality where historically disadvantaged groups appear less able to convert educational gains into labour market and occupational progress.

Abstract: The proclamation in general economic theory is that preferences are stable. However, recent empirical literature using experiments has questioned this claim. In light of this ongoing discussion, the current research provides empirical evidence from India. The current work draws from three waves of primary surveys supplemented with incentivised lab-in-the-field experiments conducted between 2016 and 2020 in five rural villages in India to examine the temporal stability of risk and time preferences and possible determinants for changes in risk and time preferences. The findings highlight key insights. First, I find a positive association between responses across time for risk preference but none for time preference. Second, below-the-poverty-line households are risk seeking in comparison to households above the line. Third, various household-level shocks such as illness, injury, death of a family member, job loss, and marriage are associated with risk aversion while crop failure and loss of employment are linked with more patience.

Abstract: A growing body of research shows that COVID-19 both reflects and exacerbates existing inequalities. However, there are significant gaps in this research area with respect to ‘horizontal’ or group-based inequalities in Global South countries. Lack of group-disaggregated data often contributes. In this paper, we use available data to explore how horizontal inequality in India may influence COVID-19’s impact through the differential impact of lockdown policies across caste and religious groups, as well as across states and urban-rural areas. In so doing, we build upon Egger et al. (2020)’s lockdown readiness index. India, the second most populous country in the world, is a relevant case for such analysis not only because it has pronounced horizontal inequality, but also because it adopted an especially stringent lockdown policy. Our analysis illustrates stark differences in lockdown readiness across groups, which in turn could exacerbate existing horizontal inequalities.

”COVID-19, Lockdown Readiness, and Horizontal Inequality: Evidence from India” (With Rachel M. Gisselquist), in ” Pandemic Inequality: Citizens, States, and Covid-19 in India.” edited by Gabrielle Kruks-Wisner and Poulami Roychowdhury. (Forthcoming)