This study estimates and decomposes life expectancy differentials along lines of caste, religion, and indigenous identity in India, home to some of the largest populations of marginalized social groups in the world. This paper has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

This study tests two questionnaires in measuring mental health in a mobile phone survey in population-representative samples in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra. Both questionnaires measured worse mental health in places with lower human development, but only the adapted SRQ The adapted SRQ identified women as having worse mental health than men in all three states. This study was published in Health Policy and Planning.

Using original data from a population representative mobile phone survey in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra in 2018, this study finds that gender discrimination in the form of women eating only after the men in the household have eaten, is associated with worse mental health, even after accounting for differences in socioeconomic status. This study has been published in PLOS One.

Using data from a mobile phone survey to ask about people’s knowledge of the existence and purpose of the 2014 Swacch Bharat Mission (SBM), India’s high-profile program to tackle open defecation, we find that, at the time of the survey (between 2016 and 2018), no more than one-third of adults in any state are aware that the SBM intends to promote toilet and latrine use. This study has been published in Waterlines.

Results from a mobile phone survey in India (Social Attitudes Research, India (SARI)) show the persistence of conservative gender and caste attitudes in Indian society that vary surprisingly little by respondent gender, caste, and religion.

Although rural latrine ownership increased considerably over this period, open defecation remains very common.

Through interviews and observations at public hospitals in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar, this study finds that deep caste prejudice against cleaners prevents the professionalization of their work, leaving them overburdened and under-equipped to maintain standards of hygiene. This study has been published in Economic and Political Weekly.

We present survey evidence from rural north India showing persistent solid fuel use despite increases in liquefied petroleum gas ownership.

This study demonstrates that respondents in India are willing to answer abortion-related questions via mobile phone survey. We find that in Bihar and Maharashtra, less than one-third of respondents said they had heard of medical abortion, and awareness was positively associated with education and women’s status in the household. Reported use of abortion medication was low. This study has been published in Contraception.

This study uses data from Social Attitudes Research, India (SARI), a mobile phone survey data in India. It finds high levels of explicit prejudice against both Dalits and women in Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

Using two approaches, one comparing across subnational regions globally and one comparing across local geographies within Bangladesh, this study finds that open defecation externalities are worse for child height and infant mortality where population density is higher. This study has been published in Demography.

We link widespread open defecation in rural north India to beliefs, values, and norms about purity, pollution, caste, and untouchability that cause people to reject affordable latrines.

This paper describes the depth of India’s maternal nutrition problem in light of the passage of the National Food Security Act, which legislates a universal maternity entitlement. In recommending that maternity entitlements should be used to encourage weight gain in pregnancy, this paper suggests ways of designing and administering a maternity entitlements program that would improve its chances for success. This study has been published in the Indian Journal of Human Development.

Using quantitative and qualitative analyses, this study finds that strict social hierarchies that continue to govern daily interactions in rural Indian life today obstruct the spirit of cooperation upon common community-led approaches to reducing open defecation rely. Additionally, caste-based notions of purity and pollution make the simple latrines used all over the developing world unattractive to rural Indians. This paper has been published in Waterlines.

Based on new survey data collected in Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, we find that over 40% of households with a working latrine have at least one member who defecates in the open.