Commissions-motivated agents have historically helped the development of many markets, but research suggests brokers motivated by commissions sometimes steer consumers towards inappropriate products. This issue is particularly important in household financial markets where consumers may be...

We evaluate a major Indian investor protection reform that attempted to reduce commissions tied to mutual fund sales by banning the distribution fees that mutual funds had previously earmarked for commissions. We identify the policy impact by comparing funds charging high versus low distribution...

Commissions-motivated agents have historically helped the development of many markets, but research suggests brokers motivated by commissions sometimes steer consumers towards inappropriate products. This issue is particularly important in household financial markets where consumers may be...

In response to the Second Micro Finance Crisis in Andhra Pradesh, which took place in October 2010, the Ministry of Finance has pro- posed a new Micro Finance Institutions (Development & Regulation) Bill. This paper undertakes a detailed analysis of the draft Bill in terms of both economic...

Financial distribution, where the distributor is the agent of both the product provider and the customer has been found to inherently work against the interests of customers, in the form of high service fees and perverse incentives in sales practices. This paper proposes segregation of financial...

Recent events in India have brought a fresh focus upon the problem of regulation in the field of micro-finance. This paper delineates the three distinct aspects where government needs to play a role. The first is to protect the rights of the micro-borrower, the consumer of micro-financial...

Traditionally sanitary services are provided by the State or State owned bodies. However, with the ever increasing population and waste generation rates coupled with lack of financial resources and infrastructure, poor community participation the municipalities are unable to provide a good...

Trade policy reforms which lead to changes in world prices of agricultural commodities or domestic policies aimed at affecting agricultural prices are often seen as causing a policy dilemma: a fall in agricultural prices benefits poor urban consumers but hurts poor rural producers, while a rise...

Cities are engrossed with response strategies for the control of local pollution from transport sector. However, as the transport sector has been growing as major GHG contributor, and there is an increasing scope for investment and support from the international financial institutions, cities...