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Abstract

The first chapter investigates the unintended consequences of the Green Revolution on nutrition and long-term health in India. Leveraging quasi-experimental variation in districts’ agro-climatic suitability for high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of rice and wheat introduced in 1966, I show that areas with greater potential productivity gains adopted HYVs more rapidly. While this led to significant increases in caloric output, it also resulted in a sharp decline in crop diversity, particularly in nutrient-rich pulses and millets. These shifts in agricultural production contributed to reduced nutrient availability, suggesting that gains in food quantity may have come at the expense of food quality, with implications for long-term health. The second chapter examines the long-run effects of India’s 1976 male sterilization campaign during the Emergency. Using historical sterilization records and household survey data, we implement a difference-in-differences strategy exploiting geographic variation in the intensity of coercive sterilization. We find that districts with higher exposure experienced a persistent rise in violent crime, particularly crimes against women such as rape. These districts also exhibit more regressive gender norms, including greater acceptance of intimate partner violence and lower female bargaining power. Fertility levels in the early 1980s appear largely unchanged, suggesting that the observed social outcomes were not driven by changes in family size. Instead, the patterns are consistent with a mechanism of trauma resulting from coercive sterilization, potentially altering norms and social behavior in the decades that followed. The third chapter explores the role of caste-based political parties in advancing financial inclusion for marginalized communities. Focusing on electoral shifts in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during the 1980s and 1990s, I use a regression discontinuity design based on closely contested elections to identify the causal impact of minority party victories. I find that increased political representation by caste-based parties improves access to formal credit among low-caste households and raises average loan amounts. These changes are primarily driven by greater disbursement from government-owned banks, underscoring the role of de facto political power in expanding economic opportunities for disadvantaged groups.