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2752 items in total found

Working Papers | 2023

Gold in household portfolios during a pandemic: Evidence from an emerging economy

Oindrila Chatterjee, Balagopal Gopalakrishnan, and Sanket Mohapatra

This paper examines how Indian households allocate their savings portfolio across gold, financial assets, and cash during the COVID-19 crisis. Our study relies on an extensive household survey in 142 districts across 21 states in India conducted during the 2020-2021 financial year. We find that the portfolio allocation of households in districts with a higher incidence of COVID-19 shifted towards gold during the pandemic compared to households in other districts. The shift towards gold is accompanied by a shift away from financial assets and other assets (primarily cash). A similar shift towards gold is observed for districts that experienced the most adverse economic impact--as measured by lower night-time lights intensity--during the pandemic. Households in districts with greater banking access and better health infrastructure show a smaller shift towards gold. A panel estimation with normal and COVID-19 period surveys confirms the baseline results. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the role of economic crisis in shaping the financial decisions of households. 

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Working Papers | 2023

COVID-19 pandemic intensity, migration status, and household financial vulnerability: Evidence from India

Sanket Mohapatra, and Akshita Nigania

The COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted many households across the world. Recent studies on the pandemic have focused on its impact on income, consumption, and poverty of households, but not directly on their financial well-being. Building on the prior literature on measures of financial vulnerability, this paper analyses the heterogeneous effects of COVID-19 on household financial vulnerability based on the geographical variation in the intensity of the pandemic in India and households’ migration status. Using a difference-indifferences approach and coarsened exact matching, we find a larger increase in household financial vulnerability in Indian districts that are more exposed to COVID-19 and those that experience a greater decline in night-time lights (a proxy for economic activity) compared to households in other districts. We also find that households with an out-migrant, particularly those with a female head, experience lower financial vulnerability during the pandemic, likely due to the financial contribution of migrants. However, financial vulnerability during COVID-19 is substantially higher for households that had an out-migrant in the prior period but not during the pandemic, with a larger effect observed for female-headed households. The findings of this paper contribute to a better understanding of the varied effects of the pandemic on households.

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Working Papers | 2023

गाय आधारिक उन्नति (गौ)* : उन्नत तकनीक के इस्तेमाल से गाय आधारित अर्थव्यवस्था का आधुनिकीकरण

Gaurav Kumar Kapadia, Amit Garg, Pradeep Kumar Mishra, Nishank Krishna and Aparjita Mishra

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Working Papers | 2023

Gold in household portfolios during a pandemic: Evidence from an emerging economy

Oindrila Chatterjee, Balagopal Gopalakrishnan, and Sanket Mohapatra

This paper examines how Indian households allocate their savings portfolio across gold, financial assets, and cash during the COVID-19 crisis. Our study relies on an extensive household survey in 142 districts across 21 states in India conducted during the 2020-2021 financial year. We find that the portfolio allocation of households in districts with a higher incidence of COVID-19 shifted towards gold during the pandemic compared to households in other districts. The shift towards gold is accompanied by a shift away from financial assets and other assets (primarily cash). A similar shift towards gold is observed for districts that experienced the most adverse economic impact--as measured by lower night-time lights intensity--during the pandemic. Households in districts with greater banking access and better health infrastructure show a smaller shift towards gold. A panel estimation with normal and COVID-19 period surveys confirms the baseline results. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the role of economic crisis in shaping the financial decisions of households.

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Working Papers | 2023

Disciplining Orders Under the National Financial Reporting Authority Framework: Stepping into a Strict Liability Regime

M P Ram Mohan and Vishakha Raj

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) was established to fill a gap in the oversight of auditors by independent regulatory bodies. Prior to the establishment of the NFRA, only the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), a self-regulatory body could bar auditors from practicing in the event that they had engaged in professional misconduct. This regime began to change as auditors engaged with public firms, bringing the securities regulator into the mix as well. The decisions of ICAI and SEBI have not followed a consistent approach. A finding of misconduct is often accompanied by a finding of gross negligence and the latter does not have a uniform definition. The NFRA, being a nascent authority has only begun to issue orders against auditors over whom it has jurisdiction. Its orders are based on the same substantive law relating to professional misconduct of auditors as the ICAI, however, NFRA orders have shown more consistency in their approach and outcome. This paper examines the decisions of the NFRA from 2020 till December 2022 and posits that the consistency in its approach has been achieved by developing a no-fault regime for auditors.

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Working Papers | 2023

Tests to Determine Employer-Employee Relationships in India: Looking towards the Future?

M. P. Ram Mohan and Sai Muralidhar K.

The underpinning of an employee’s social security benefits is an employer-employee relationship. Workers are traditionally classified as employees (contract of service) or independent contractors (contract for service). Over the years, Indian courts relied on the control, integration and multifactor tests to determine the correct nature of employment contracts. The paper explores the evolution of these tests and examines whether the standards of the burden of proof in classification disputes require modification. The authors then dissect the efficacy of the current multifactor tests in emerging platforms and gig economies by looking at standard form contracts signed by a popular food delivery platform in India. Finally, the ability of newly enacted labour codes, particularly the Code on Social Security 2020, to address the classification conundrum and its consistency with precedents is explored.

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Working Papers | 2023

Unlocking the Power of Accelerators: The Crucial Role of Institutions in Boosting New Venture Performance

Pramendra Singh Tank

Accelerators are becoming popular in helping new ventures succeed. However, current research on their impact on new venture performance does not consider the role of institutional environment. This paper examines the importance of institutions and assesses the impact of accelerators on new venture performance using a generalized difference-in-differences technique on a worldwide accelerator database. The study finds that while accelerators positively impact revenue and equity funding, however the impact is higher in countries with strong institutions. The study highlights the significance of institutions in assessing the impact of accelerators on new ventures, contributing to nascent research in this area.

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Working Papers | 2023

Green Bonds and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)

Sanjay Kumar Jain

I study the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (2022) on the cost of green bonds in the USA. In this study, I employ a difference-in-difference methodology to compare the cost of green bonds issued by US firms in USD after the implementation of IRA by taking green bonds issued by Non-US firms as a counterfactual. I find that after the implementation of IRA, the cost of green bonds in the USA decreased compared to that in other countries. Findings indicate that Governments can mitigate constraints on the cost and supply of climate financing through fiscal policy interventions that improve business environments for firms and spur the demand for cleaner fuels and products from individuals

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Working Papers | 2023

Environmental Claims under Indian Insolvency Law: Concepts and Challenges

M. P. Ram Mohan and Sriram Prasad

The intersection between environmental liability claims and insolvency of the entity concerned have grown increasingly complex. Over the years, India has seen enactment of several laws and proactive judicial decisions to ensure liability from environmental harm are addressed through application of no-fault and absolute liability principles. A consequence of these principles is, if an entity harms the environment, they must bear the cost of clean-up. If the entity defaults on the compensation payment or is unable to pay, then, under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC) they may be able to declare themselves as insolvent. When admitted under insolvency, a moratorium on all claims is imposed. Once resolution has taken place, the corporate debtor is provided with a “fresh start”, relieving the debtor from all its previous debts and liabilities. If the debtor goes into liquidation, through the waterfall mechanism, financial creditors are given priority over environmental claimants who would mostly be categorised either as contingent claimants or decree holders. In these scenarios, insolvency law supersedes environmental law/policy by design, creating a visible human rights implication. While the IBC seems to be agnostic to social causes, there are other avenues to deal with social causes, such as the Public Liability Insurance Act which deals with hazardous environmental accidents in a limited way. In the paper, we argue, insurance provides a better framework to resolve environmental liabilities and that the insurance schemes should remain intact regardless of a fresh start.

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Working Papers | 2023

Social Token Economics for GAU Coin

Nishant Krishna, Amit Garg, Gaurav Kumar Kedia, and Aprajita Mishra

This paper discusses the Token Economics around the GAU Coin. All the aspects of Token Economics, including rewards system, incentivisation, ways to increase adoption, methods to measure social impact, strategies to bring the developer community into the ecosystem, commodity flows, and many others are discussed. Various GAU Coin Ecosystem Partners and Enablers and how they interact with the ecosystem are also identified. Later, GAU NFT for the participants of the GAU Coin network can also be thought of, along with creating the entire network of artists and infrastructure around it. GAU Coin is a Social Token and is not a Cryptocurrency. The GAU Coin represents the digital form of what a person owns as part of the GAU ecosystem and brings Social Credibility.

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