Pallavi Prabhakar
Pallavi Prabhakar
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I am a PhD student in Economics, affiliated with FAIR at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), and with the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Dhaka.
Research Interests:
Development economics with a focus on political economy and economics of human capital (gender, health and welfare)
I will be on the Economics Job Market 2025/2026.
I study how financial, social, and informational constraints shape economic behaviour and limit opportunities for individuals living in India, Tanzania and Uganda.
In 2023, I was a Visiting Research Scholar at Department of Economics, University of Oxford, hosted by Abi Adams.
In 2020, I was a CEGA Fellow at Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley, hosted by Edward Miguel.
Previously, I worked with BRAC in Uganda and Oxford Policy Management in India. I hold a MSc. in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and B.A. (Hons) in Economics from University of Delhi.
Working Papers
Working Papers
Bottom up accountability?: Information, Expectations and Civic Action in India (Job Market Paper)
with Diwakar Kishore Bottom up accountability?: Information, Expectations and Civic Action in India (Job Market Paper)
Abstract: Why do transparency reforms yield inconsistent effects on civic engagement across low and middle income contexts? In this paper, we study how citizens’ prior beliefs about government performance shape their response to negative performance information. We conduct a large-scale randomized field experiment with 2,107 adults across 50 villages, in one of the India’s 112 poorest districts targeted by a national transparency initiative. We designed a seven-minute video benchmarking the district’s declining rank in health, education, and infrastructure against neighboring districts, and informing about formal grievance channels. Citizens randomly assigned to watch the video significantly updated beliefs about their district’s poor comparative performance and increased their civic engagement. They were 4 pp more likely to sign petitions and 8.4 pp more likely to attend grievance workshops in the short term. One month after the intervention, citizens in the treatment group were 4.7 pp more likely to meet civic officials and 6 pp more likely to voice views on social media. Participation gains concentrated entirely among citizens who initially overestimated their district’s rank, while the intervention left beliefs about individual ability to influence service delivery, unchanged. We develop a simple theoretical model with two belief components, performance gaps from aspirational level of public services and perceived influence over the government, demonstrating that closing the first gap alone can improve civic participation through an accountability channel. These findings illuminate how prior beliefs mediate transparency programs’ effectiveness, and have policy implications for 180 million Indian citizens living in India’s poor–performing districts.
with Giulia Greco, Selim Guelsci, Munshi Sulaiman (CEPR Discussion Paper No. 20261)
Media: Wee-Define Blog, VoxDev
Abstract: We present evidence from a randomized controlled trial in Uganda where married women were randomly provided unconditional cash transfers. Among treated women, we randomized the modality of payment (in cash or mobile money) and whether the beneficiary's spouse was informed about the transfer or not. We find that using mobile money for cash transfers is more effective in improving women's economic independence and decision-making power. In particular, women in the mobile money treatments have higher individual labor income and more of a say in household decisions. On the other hand, cash-based transfers are more effective in reducing intimate partner violence (IPV), especially when both partners are informed. This highlights a trade-off between improving the effectiveness of cash transfers on women's economic empowerment versus reducing IPV. While providing cash transfers digitally is more effective in improving women's control over resources, this may lower their effectiveness in addressing IPV.
Work in Progress
Work in Progress
with Ingvild Almås, Orazio Attanasio, Bet Caeyers, Pamela Jervis, Costas Meghir, Charlotte Ringdal
Media: Baseline report
Summary: Parenting interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) often rely on intensive training and close supervision of Community Health Workers (CHWs), making them challenging to scale. At the same time, cash transfers can ease financial constraints but may not be sufficient to shift parenting behaviours on their own. It remains unclear how to cost-effectively combine these approaches to support holistic child development. We conducted a large-scale Randomized Controlled Trial in Dodoma, Tanzania, to evaluate the relative effectiveness of three Early Childhood Development (ECD) intervention packages delivered during the child’s first 1,000 days—from conception to age two. The interventions included: (i) a parenting program delivered by CHWs supported by a digital app; (ii) an unconditional cash transfer (UCT) program; and (iii) a combination of both. This study addresses that gap by testing the individual and joint impacts of parenting support and cash transfers, helping identify scalable solutions for early childhood development in resource-limited settings.
with Diwakar Kishore
Media: IGC Project
Summary: Public service delivery in low- and middle-income countries is often constrained by weak state capacity and limited accountability. This study evaluates the Aspirational Districts Programme in India—one of the largest policy-monitoring initiatives globally—to examine whether improved administrative data systems and performance tracking can enhance governance outcomes. Leveraging administrative and satellite data, the study estimates the program’s impact on level of public service delivery. The study will shed light on whether better information systems about government performance can accelerate delivery, curb corruption, and close persistent development gaps across lagging regions.
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