In this episode, Shruti spoke with Vatsal Khandelwal , who is a junior research fellow at Merton College and an associate member of the Department of Economics at University of Oxford. His main research interest are development and behavioral economics, with a focus on social and economic networks. They discussed his job market paper titled " Silent Networks: The Role of Inaccurate Beliefs in Reducing Useful Social Interactions ," (coauthored with Ronak Jain ). They spoke about pessimistic belie...
Nov 02, 2023•38 min•Ep. 92
Shruti spoke with Sarath Pillai, who is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for the Advanced Study of India at University of Pennsylvania. He holds a PhD in History from the University of Chicago , a Master of Studies in Law from Yale Law School , a MA in history from the University of Delhi , and a Postgraduate Diploma in archives and records management from the National Archives of India , Delhi. They discussed his job market paper titled " German Lessons: Comparative Constitutionalis...
Oct 19, 2023•42 min•Ep. 91
Shruti spoke with Rithika Kumar, who is a Postdoctoral Visiting Fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. She received her PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania in August 2023. Her research lies at the intersection of gender, urbanization and politics in India. Shruti and Rithika discussed her job market paper titled " Left Behind or Left Ahead? " and the feminization of politics, political and social impact of migration, no...
Oct 05, 2023•32 min•Ep. 90
Shruti spoke with Vanisha Sharma who is a Ph.D. candidate at the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. She earned her BA in economics with a double minor in psychology and sociology at the University of Hong Kong. She is also the co-editor-in-chief for the blog Economics That Really Matters , which encourages early researchers to share development economics research. Vanisha's research involves estimating effects of internet expansion in developing, rural commun...
Sep 21, 2023•29 min•Ep. 89
Duncan Webb is a Ph.D. candidate in economics at the Paris School of Economics. He received his B.A. in PPE at Oxford University and his masters in economics at Paris School of Economics. His research lies at the intersection of development and behavioral economics. We spoke about his job market paper titled, " Silence to Solidarity: Using Group Dynamics to Reduce Anti-Transgender Discrimination in India ." Shruti and Duncan talked about deep-rooted prejudice versus marginal prejudice, preferenc...
Sep 07, 2023•37 min•Ep. 88
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Amit Ahuja, Associate Professor of Political Science at UC Santa Barbara, and Devesh Kapur, Starr Foundation Professor of South Asian Studies at SAIS at Johns Hopkins University, about their latest volume, Internal Security in India: Violence, Order, and the State. Learn more about their latest volume and their other work here . Recorded August 24th, 2023. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Follow us on X Follow Shruti on X Follow Amit on X Cl...
Aug 31, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 87
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Shreyas Narla and Kadambari Shah about women missing from the 1991 reforms high table decision making, trends in female labor force participation, how women in economics are finding their seats in various economic institutions across India, and more. To learn more about Shreyas and Kadambari's research, oral history interviews, and their work on the 1991 Project, visit the1991Project.com . Recorded July 7th, 2023. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful l...
Aug 17, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 86
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Saurabh Kirpal about the constitutional roots of marriage equality, fundamental rights, the role of the state, problems and challenges of the Indian courts and much more. Kirpal is a senior advocate at the Delhi High Court, the author of " Fifteen Judgments: Cases That Shaped India's Financial Landscape " and the editor of the anthology " Sex and the Supreme Court: How the Law Is Upholding the Dignity of the Indian Citizen ." Recorded June 26th, 2023. Read a f...
Aug 03, 2023•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 85
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Peter J. Boettke about the writings of F.A. Hayek, why artificial intelligence will not solve the knowledge problem, what many economists throughout history misunderstood about the market process, mainline vs. mainstream economics and much more. Boettke is a Distinguished University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University, the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism and the director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study i...
Jul 19, 2023•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 84
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Aditi Mittal about how to build a comedy career, why she curses and makes jokes about sex, the logistical difficulties of being a woman in comedy, male vs. female spaces and much more. Mittal is a comedian, writer and actor. She has two Netflix specials, " Things They Wouldn't Let Me Say " and "Girl Meets Mic," which is part of the Comedians of the World series. Her third show, "Mother of Invention ," is on Amazon Prime U.K. and AUS and on NextUp Comedy. She's...
Jul 06, 2023•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 83
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Rohini Nilekani about civil society's role in the state, public infrastructure, building state capacity, democratizing access to credit and much more. Nilekani is a journalist, children's book author, activist and philanthropist. She is the founder of Arghyam , a foundation for sustainable water and sanitation, and the co-founder of Pratham Books . She is also the chairperson of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and the co-founder and director of EkStep , a nonpr...
Jun 22, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 82
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Amit Varma about being alert to changing technologies, building online communities, creating for love vs. validation, how to use ChatGPT productively and much more. Varma is a writer, journalist and podcaster based in Mumbai. He hosts the weekly podcast The Seen and the Unseen and is a columnist at the Times of India. He is also the author of the blog India Uncut , which was active from 2004 to 2008. He won the Bastiat Prize for Journalism in 2007 and 2015, th...
Jun 08, 2023•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 81
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Rahul Sagar about East India Company rule vs. crown rule, public finance constitutionalism, effects of technology on India's intellectual history, historic preservation and much more. Sagar is the Global Network Associate Professor of Political Science at NYU Abu Dhabi. His primary research interests are in political theory, political ethics and public policy, and he has written on a range of topics including executive power, moderation and political realism. ...
May 25, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 80
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Montek Singh Ahluwalia about how policy reforms happen, civil servants vs. technocratic experts, the importance of expert committees, good and bad lobbying, economic growth and much more. Ahluwalia is an Indian economist and civil servant who was the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of India, a position which carried the rank of cabinet minister. He was previously the first director of the Independent Evaluation Office at the International Monetary F...
May 11, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 79
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Sajith Pai about the various sectors of the Indian market, unique payment systems, public versus private investment, the role of artificial intelligence and much more. Pai is a long-time media executive turned venture capitalist. After working in media and entertainment, much of it in The Times of India Group, across strategy and corporate development roles, he moved to Blume Ventures, one of India's leading early-stage venture firms, in 2018. At Blume, he act...
Apr 27, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 78
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Chakravarthi Rangarajan about currency crises, how the post-liberalization reforms built on earlier reforms, fiscal dominance, capital mobility and much more. Rangarajan is an Indian economist, a former member of parliament and 19th governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He formerly chaired the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council. He is also the chair of the Madras School of Economics; a former president of the Indian Statistical Institute; the founding...
Apr 13, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 77
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Pranay Kotasthane and Raghu S. Jaitley about the intersections of markets, society and the state. They discuss the importance of individual decision-making, self-governance versus good governance, why economic growth is a moral imperative, the persuasive power of Indian cinema and much more. Kotasthane is the deputy director of the Takshashila Institution and chairs the High Tech Geopolitics Programme . Jaitley is a public policy and political economy enthusia...
Mar 30, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 76
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Nitin Pai about storytelling through the lens of his book, " The Nitopadesha ." They discuss the lessons of Indian folktales for citizens and bureaucrats, the importance of civic education, when democracy does and doesn't work, the effects of economic growth on individual prosperity and much more. Pai is the co-founder and director of the Takshashila Institution , an independent think tank and school of public policy based in Bangalore, whose goal is to champi...
Mar 16, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 75
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Alain Bertaud about how Indian cities have evolved, utilities pricing, land use restrictions such as floor area ratio and floor space index, slums, charter cities, urbanization in Africa and much more. Bertaud is an urbanist, distinguished visiting scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and senior research scholar at New York University's Marron Institute of Urban Management. From 1980 to 1999, he was the principal urban planner at the Worl...
Mar 02, 2023•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 74
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Poornima Dore about using regions rather than states as the unit of analysis, the importance of the construction sector, diversification, balanced regional development planning and much more. Dore is the director of analytics, insights and impact at Tata Trusts. She teaches at some of India's premier management and technical institutes and is also an active musician. Her research covers macro-regional growth, smart cities and local economy insights. She co-aut...
Feb 16, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 73
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Nikhil Menon about the history of Indian socialism and central planning, government-artist relationships, economists who dissented from the central-planning orthodoxy, the legacy of P.C. Mahalanobis and much more. Menon is a historian of modern South Asia, specializing in the political and economic history of 20th-century India. His research explores the histories of democracy and development in independent India. His book, " Planning Democracy: Modern India's...
Feb 02, 2023•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 72
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Nirupama Menon Rao about the South Asian Symphony, Indian stories in opera, border tensions between India and China, the importance of Tibet, Taiwan and much more. Rao is a retired Indian diplomat, foreign secretary and ambassador. She was India's first woman spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi, the first woman high commissioner from her country to Sri Lanka and the first Indian woman ambassador to the People's Republic of China. She se...
Jan 19, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 71
In this episode, Shruti speaks with Janhavi Nilekani about India's high rate of C-sections compared with vaginal births, problems with maternal healthcare, the present and future of Indian midwifery and much more. Nilekani is the founder and chair of the Aastrika Foundation, which seeks to promote a future in which every woman is treated with respect and dignity during childbirth, and the right treatment is provided at the right time. She is a development economist by training and now works in t...
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 70
In a reversal of the podcast's usual format, producer Dallas Floer interviews Shruti about the guests who appeared and the issues that were discussed on the podcast in 2022. They discuss how to get good data on India, why it's important to learn more about India, what Shruti has learned from the job market series, and much more. They also answer listener questions and discuss the all-important topic of what Shruti is binge-watching. Recorded December 12th, 2022 Read a full transcript enhanced wi...
Dec 22, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 69
This episode is the seventh installment of a series in which Shruti speaks with doctoral candidates and postdoctoral scholars about their research as they enter the job market and the world of academia. In this episode, Shruti talks with Shweta Banerjee about Indian currency before the arrival of the East India Company, how the company changed India's monetary system, demonetization, free banking and more. Banerjee is a Vanier Doctoral Scholar at the University of Toronto. Her dissertation provi...
Dec 08, 2022•43 min•Ep. 68
This episode is the sixth installment of a series in which Shruti speaks with doctoral candidates and postdoctoral scholars about their research as they enter the job market and the world of academia. In this episode, Shruti talks with Mahima Vasishth about her job market paper, " Local Media Reports About Sexual Crimes and Judicial Outcomes in India ." They discuss the effects of media coverage on sexual harassment cases, what factors may be driving increased coverage, whether the gender of loc...
Nov 23, 2022•36 min•Ep. 67
This episode is the fifth installment of a series in which Shruti speaks with doctoral candidates and postdoctoral scholars about their research as they enter the job market and the world of academia. In this episode, Shruti talks with Khusdeep Malhotra about her dissertation, " Precarious Citizens, Excepted State: Sikh Rootedness in Kashmir After the Chittisinghpora Massacre ." They discuss commonalities between Sikhs and Muslims in Kashmir, the effects of land ownership on the Sikh community, ...
Nov 10, 2022•44 min•Ep. 66
This episode is the fourth installment of a series in which Shruti speaks with doctoral candidates and postdoctoral scholars about their research as they enter the job market and the world of academia. In this episode, Shruti talks with Anoop Jain about his paper, " 'Someone Should Be There To Take Care of It': A Case Study of Users' Views of Managed Shared Sanitation Facilities in Jharkhand, India ." They discuss whether toilets should be private or shared, who should build and maintain shared ...
Oct 27, 2022•34 min•Ep. 65
This episode is the third installment of a series in which Shruti speaks with doctoral candidates and postdoctoral scholars about their research as they enter the job market and the world of academia. In this episode, Shruti talks with Aliz Tóth about her job market paper, " My Way and the Highway: Embedded Bureaucrats and Bargaining over Land for Infrastructure ." They discuss the lack of trust between landowners and the state, the role of bureaucrats and politicians in land acquisition for inf...
Oct 13, 2022•42 min•Ep. 64
This episode is the second installment of a series in which Shruti speaks with doctoral candidates and postdoctoral scholars about their research as they enter the job market and the world of academia. In this episode, Shruti talks with Raahil Madhok about his job market paper, " The Development-Biodiversity Tradeoff in India's Forests ." They discuss the effects of different types of infrastructure projects, state capacity, the Forest Rights Act, bird-watching and much more. Madhok is a Ph.D. c...
Sep 29, 2022•29 min•Ep. 63
