CENTRE FOR

BANGLADESH
STUDIES IN SOCIAL
INSTITUTE OF
SCIENCES,
DEVELOPMENT
CALCUTTA
STUDIES

MARTIN RAVALLION SYMPOSIUM OF POVERTY AND INEQUALITY

9 – 10 November 2023
Venue: Hotel Hindustan International, Kolkata
PROGRAM – DAY 1
DAY 1: THURSDAY, 9 NOVEMBER
9.15am – 9.30am REGISTRATION
9.30am – 10.00am OPENING:
Gaurav Datt (Associate Professor, Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability, Monash University)
Binayak Sen (Director General, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies)
Jyotsna Jalan (Professor, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta)
10.00am – 11.00am Session 1: Inequality Across and Within Households
Chair: Sylvie Lambert (Paris School of Economics)
• Sandip Sarkar (BITS Pilani, Goa): “Role of Circumstance and Effort in Inequality of Learning Outcomes: A Study on India”
• Sylvie Lambert (Paris School of Economics): “Intra-household Engel Curves”
11.00am – 11.30am TEA / COFFEE
11.30am – 1.00pm Session 2: Social Dimensions of Economic Life and Women's Empowerment
Chair: Jyotsna Jalan (Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta)
• Niaz Asadullah (Monash University): “Limits to Growth? Understanding the Social Dimensions of Economic Life in Malaysia”
• Divya Pandey (International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie)): “The Effects of Communal Violence on Women’s Marital
Outcomes”
• Jyotsna Jalan (Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta): “Participatory Theater Empowers Women: Evidence from
India”
1.00pm – 2.00pm LUNCH
2.00pm – 3.00pm Session 3: Women, Children and Involuntary Migrants
Chair: Emanuela Galasso (The World Bank)
• Asad Islam (Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability, Monash University): “Forced Displacement, Mental Health,
and Child Development: Evidence from the Rohingya Refugees”
• Emanuela Galasso (The World Bank): “Women at work: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Urban Djibouti”
3.00pm – 3.30pm TEA / COFFEE
3.30pm – 4.30pm PANEL DISCUSSION – I: WORKFARE, DIRECT TRANSFERS AND TARGETING
Moderator: Peter Lanjouw (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam)
Panellists:
• Jean Drèze (Ranchi University)
• Emanuela Galasso (The World Bank)
• Binayak Sen (Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies)
• Sylvie Lambert (Paris School of Economics)
• Himanshu (Jawaharlal Nehru University)
• Achin Chakraborty (Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata)

1
 CENTRE FOR
BANGLADESH
STUDIES IN SOCIAL
INSTITUTE OF
SCIENCES,
DEVELOPMENT
CALCUTTA
STUDIES

MARTIN RAVALLION SYMPOSIUM OF POVERTY AND INEQUALITY

9 – 10 November 2023
Venue: Hotel Hindustan International, Kolkata

PROGRAM – DAY 2
DAY 2: FRIDAY, 10 NOVEMBER
10.00am – 11.00am Session 4: Transfers, Norms and Politics
Chair: Rohini Somanathan (Delhi School of Economics)
• Pushkar Maitra (Monash University): “The Role of Welfare Benefits and Declining Regional Clientelism in the Rise of a Right-
wing Nationalist Party in India”
• Rohini Somanathan (Delhi School of Economics): “Nudging Marriage Norms through Conditional Transfers”
11.00am – 11.30am TEA / COFFEE
11.30am – 1.00pm Session 5: Poverty and Inequality
Chair: Himanshu (Jawaharlal Nehru University)
• Peter Lanjouw (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam): “Poverty and Inequality in India: An Exploration of Undercurrents at the Village
Level”
• Dileni Gunewardena (University of Peradeniya): “Electricity Consumption as a Proxy for Poverty”
• Himanshu (Jawaharlal Nehru University): “What Do We Know About Poverty Estimates in India After 2011-12”
1.00pm – 2.00pm LUNCH
2.00pm – 3.00pm Session 6: Food Security
Chair: Dean Jolliffe (The World Bank)
• Caitlin Brown (University of Manchester): “Improving Street Food Safety: Are Better Infrastructure and Training Sufficient?”
• Dean Jolliffe (The World Bank): “Food Stamps and America’s Poorest”
3.00pm – 3.30pm TEA/COFFEE
3.30pm – 4.30pm PANEL DISCUSSION – II: EVIDENCE, UNDERSTANDING AND POLICY
Moderator: Gaurav Datt (Monash University)
Panellists:
• Jean Drèze (Ranchi University)
• Rinku Murgai (The World Bank)
• Shekhar Shah (Indian School of Public Policy)
• Shubham Chaudhuri (The World Bank)
• Peter Lanjouw (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam)
• Rohini Somanathan (Delhi School of Economics)
4.30pm – 4.45pm CLOSE: Vote of Thanks.
Jyotsna Jalan (Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta)
Please note that the paper presentation is allocated 30 minutes each. However, it would be good if the presenters could aim for a 20-minute presentation, so that
even if they go over by a couple of minutes, we have about eight minutes for Q&A

Conference participation (for attendees) is by registration (see http://ctrpfp.ac.in/seminarsconfs.html) or by

invitation only