Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research

Abstract: This paper tries to examine the Granger causality between electricity consumption per capita and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita for India using annual data covering the period 1950–51 to 1996–97. Phillips–Perron tests reveal that both the series, after logarithmic transformation, are non-stationary and individually integrated of order one. This study finds the absence of long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables but there exists unidirectional Granger causality running from economic growth to electricity consumption without any feedback effect. So, electricity conservation policies can be initiated without deteriorating economic side effects.

Abstract: Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an intrinsically complex multi-dimensional process, involving multiple criteria and multiple actors. Multi-criteria methods can serve as useful decision aids for carrying out the EIA. This paper proposes the use of a multi-criteria technique, namely the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), for the purpose. AHP has the flexibility to combine quantitative and qualitative factors, to handle different groups of actors, to combine the opinions expressed by many experts, and can help in stakeholder analysis. The main shortcomings of AHP and some modifications to it to overcome the shortcomings are briefly described. Finally, the use of AHP is illustrated for a case study involving socio-economic impact assessment. In this case study, AHP has been used for capturing the perceptions of stakeholders on the relative severity of different socio-economic impacts, which will help the authorities in prioritizing their environmental management plan, and can also help in allocating the budget available for mitigating adverse socio-economic impacts.

Abstract: Most of the existing evidence on the effectiveness of large shareholders in corporate governance has been restricted to a handful of developed countries, notably the UK, US, Germany and Japan. This paper provides evidence on the role of large shareholders in monitoring company value with respect to a developing and emerging economy, India, whose corporate governance system is a hybrid of the outsider-dominated market-based systems of the UK and the US, and the insider-dominated bank-based systems of Germany and Japan. The picture of large-shareholder monitoring that emerges from our case study of Indian corporates is a mixed one. Like many of the existing studies, while we find blockholdings by directors to increase company value after a certain level of holdings, we find no evidence that institutional investors, typically mutual funds, are active in governance. We find support for the efficiency of the German/Japanese bank-based model of governance; our results suggest that lending institutions start monitoring the company effectively once they have substantial equity holdings in the company and that this monitoring is reinforced by the extent of debt holdings by these institutions. Our analysis also highlights that foreign equity ownership has a beneficial effect on company value. In general, our analysis supports the view emerging from developed country studies that the identity of large shareholders matters in corporate governance.

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a survey administered to households, personnel belonging to industry and commercial establishments, and policy experts with the objective of eliciting their views on the barriers to the diffusion of renewable energy technologies (RETs). Taking the Maharashtra State, India, as a case study, the paper develops a systematic classification of barriers to the adoption of RETs (economic, technological, market and institutional) and ranking them based on the perceptions of various stakeholders. The results provide evidence of how the consumers receive RET information and make decisions using their limited analytical capabilities. The analysis is used to enhance the knowledge by introducing ideas based on behavioural theory. Not only do these ideas help understanding the consumer perspective, they also help develop policy interventions. The aim is to define each barrier and describe its mode of influence that will help to develop policy measures for the removal of each barrier.

Abstract: To date, the most widely adopted resource conserving technology in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of South Asia has been zero-tillage (ZT) wheat after rice, particularly in India. The paper reviews and synthesizes the experience with ZT in the Indian IGP. ZT wheat is particularly appropriate for rice–wheat systems in the IGP by alleviating system constraints by allowing earlier wheat planting, helping control the weed Phalaris minor , reducing production costs and saving water. ZT wheat after rice generates substantial benefits at the farm level (US$97 ha −1 ) through the combination of a ‘yield effect’ (a 5–7% yield increase, particularly due to more timely planting of wheat) and a ‘cost savings effect’ (US$52 ha −1 , particularly tillage savings). These benefits explain the widespread interest of farmers and the rapidity of the diffusion across the Indian IGP, further aided by the wide applicability of this mechanical innovation.