Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research

About: Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research is a facility organization based out in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Monetary policy & Inflation. The organization has 307 authors who have published 1021 publications receiving 18848 citations.

Effect of Conflict on Age at Marriage and Age at First Birth in Rwanda

Abstract: Using Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey 2005 data, we estimate a Cox proportional hazard model to identify the determinants of age at marriage and age at first birth and whether these decisions were affected by conflict. We find that women living in clusters accounting for a larger proportion of sibling deaths in 1994, the year of the genocide, were more likely to marry later and have children later compared with those living in clusters accounting for a lower proportion of sibling deaths. Women living in regions with higher levels of under-five mortality were more likely to have their first child earlier compared with women living in regions with lower infant mortality. The age at marriage was probably affected by two reasons: the change in age structure and sex ratio of the population following the genocide, and the breakdown of kinship in the case of women who lost their siblings.

The generalized linear complementarity problem revisited

Abstract: Given a vertical block matrixA, we consider in this paper the generalized linear complementarity problem VLCP(q, A) introduced by Cottle and Dantzig. We formulate this problem as a linear complementarity problem with a square matrixM, a formulation which is different from a similar formulation given earlier by Lemke. Our formulation helps in extending many well-known results in linear complementarity to the generalized linear complementarity problem. We also show that the class of vertical block matrices which Cottle and Dantzig's algorithm can process is the same as the class of equivalent square matrices which Lemke's algorithm can process. We also present some degree-theoretic results on a vertical block matrix.

Means-Tested Age Pensions and Homeownership: Is There a Link?

Abstract: Although several targeted welfare programs across the world have made owner-occupied housing exempt from the means test, relatively little is known about the impact of such exemption on portfolio choice and consumption. We study the Australian age pension scheme and argue that current uncapped exemption may lead to distortionary incentives for high levels of housing wealth to be sheltered from the means test. We set up a life-cycle model with explicit housing choice and borrowing constraints to match some key features of the Australian economy. We find that abolishing the exemption of owner-occupied housing in the assets test increases aggregate output, capital accumulation, and welfare, but decreases housing investment and homeownership. However, removing such distortions does not necessarily imply that all households would be better off. Lowering taxes to maintain fiscal balance would result in wealthy households experiencing a large welfare loss, whereas the majority of the population would benefit.

A Corporate Governance Index for Large Listed Companies in India

Abstract: In this paper we construct a Corporate Governance Index for 500 large listed firms in the Indian corporate sector for the period 2003 to 2008 using information on four important corporate governance mechanisms namely, the board of director, ownership structure, audit committee, and the external auditor. The construction of the index for six years allows us to examine the evolution of the state of corporate governance in India over a time period when a large number of corporate governance reforms took place and continue to do so. Our empirical analysis documents an increasing trend in the governance index of Indian companies. An examination of the relation of the Corporate Governance Index with the market performance of companies shows a strong association between the two with companies having better corporate governance structures earning substantially higher rates of return in the market. The empirical analysis shows that good governance practices are rewarded by the market which provides an added incentive to companies to carry out governance reforms. It provides an impetus to regulators as well as to push for further reforms.