While bans against child labor are a common policy tool, there is very little empirical evidence validating their effectiveness. In this paper, we examine the consequences of India's landmark legislation against child labor, the Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986. Using data...

Total energy expenditures for the Indian population between 1983 and 2012 are estimated to shed light on the debate concerning falling measured caloric intake during the period (A. Deaton and J. Drèze. 2009. “Food and Nutrition in India: Facts and Interpretations.” Economic and Political...

I examine the effect of in-kind staple transfers on agricultural production in a setting where transactions with markets are costly for households and result in interlinked consumption and production decisions. The expansion of India’s Public Distribution system between 1993-2009 led to large...

How much do calorie requirements vary across households and how do they affect food consumption patterns? Since caloric intake is a widely-used indicator of poverty and welfare, investigating changes in caloric requirements and food consumption patterns is important, especially for the poor....