March

25
2017

12:30 am IST - 2:00 am IST

Past Event

Development Seminar @ Brookings India | Using Technology to Strengthen Democracy

Saturday, March 25, 2017

12:30 am - 2:00 am IST

Brookings Institution India Center
Kamalnayan Bajaj Conference Room

Second Floor, 6, Dr. Jose P. Rizal Marg
New Delhi
110021

Content from the Brookings Institution India Center is now archived. After seven years of an impactful partnership, as of September 11, 2020, Brookings India is now the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, an independent public policy institution based in India.

Key speaker and Senior Fellow Shamika Ravi’s presentation during seminar

Free and fair elections are cornerstones of democracy. In India, electronic voting machines (EVMs) were introduced with the objective of reducing electoral fraud. We exploit the phased roll-out of the EVMs in state assembly elections to study its impact on electoral fraud, democracy, and development. Our main findings are: (i) Introductions of EVMs led to a significant decline in electoral frauds, particularly in politically sensitive states which were subjected to frequent re-polls due to electoral rigging. (ii) It strengthened the weaker and the vulnerable sections of the society (women and the scheduled castes and tribe) who were now more likely to cast their vote. (iii) It made the electoral process more competitive whereby the winning margin and the vote share of the winning party declined. (iv) Using the luminosity data, we find that EVMs led to an increase in the provision of electricity. (v) Lastly, we find evidence that EVMs resulted in significant decline in crimes, such as murder and rape (violence against women). The complete paper can be found here. This paper is co-authored with Dr. Sisir Debnath (ISB) and Dr. Mudit Kapoor (ISI).

Development Seminar Series Photographs

Distinguished Fellow Rakesh Mohan (former deputy governor of the RBI) and Shamika Ravi (Senior Fellow, Brookings India) at the 1st Development Seminar on “Transporting India to the 2030s” on July 1, 2016
Distinguished Fellow Rakesh Mohan at the 1st Development Seminar @ Brookings India
Rakesh Mohan (former Executive Director for India to the IMF) speaks to the audience during the Development Seminar “Transporting India to the 2030s by Dr. Rakesh Mohan” on July 1, 2016
Dr. Subir Gokarn (Executive Director, IMF, and founding research director of Brookings India) at the Development Seminar on “Dr D. Subbarao on leading the RBI through 5 turbulent years” on August 5, 2016
Dr. D. Subbarao (Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India)
Senior Fellow Shamika Ravi launches her report “Building Smart Cities in India” on August 19, 2016
Amitabh Kant (CEO, NITI Aayog, Government of India) launching Brookings India research paper “Building Smart Cities in India: Allahabad, Ajmer and Visakhapatnam” on August 19, 2016
Shri Amitabh Kant (CEO NITI Aayog, Government of India) during the Development Seminar on smart cities at Brookings India on August 19, 2016
Dr. Rinku Murgai (Lead Economist, World Bank) presents a paper on “Pathways to Reducing Poverty and Sharing Prosperity in India” on November 2, 2016
Panel including Shamika Ravi (Senior Fellow, Brookings India), during the Development Seminar “The Online Education Revolution and India” on February 17, 2017
R. Subrahmanyam (Additional Secretary, Technical Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development) speaks of the government’s SWAYAM initiative, during the Development Seminar on February 17, 2017
Dr. Alex T. Tabarrok (George Mason University, Virginia) gives his talk on Disruptions due to Online Education at a Brookings India Development Seminar
Dr. Alex T. Tabarrok (George Mason University, Virginia) gives his talk on Disruptions due to Online Education at a Brookings India Development Seminar
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The audience listening to the panel during the Development Seminar “Environmental Challenges in India” on January 20, 2017
Shamika Ravi (Senior Fellow, Brookings India) and Prof. Somanathan (Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi) listen to Dr. Ajay Mathur (Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute) during the Development Seminar “Environmental Challenges in India” on January 20, 2017
Dr. Ajay Mathur (Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute) speaks during the Development Seminar “Environmental Challenges in India” on January 20, 2017
Prof. E. Somanathan (Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi) engages with the audience during the Development Seminar “Environmental Challenges in India” on January 20, 2017
Prof. E. Somanathan (Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi) presents his work to the audience during the Development Seminar “Environmental Challenges in India” on January 20, 2017
Professor Shivaram Rajgopal (Columbia Business School) and Shamika Ravi (Senior Fellow, Brookings India), listen to Somasekhar Sundaresan (Advocate) during the Development Seminar “Corporate social responsibility in India: Law, implementation and evidence” on Dec 12, 2016
Sumit Agarwal (Vice-Dean of Research, National University of Singapore) during our Development Seminar on Disguised Corruption: Evidence from Consumer Credit in China on July 22, 2016
Shamika Ravi (Senior Fellow, Brookings India) and Sumit Agarwal (Vice-Dean of Research, National University of Singapore) engage with the audience in the Development Seminar “Disguised Corruption: Evidence from Consumer Credit in China” on July 22, 2016
Brookings India Senior Fellow Shamika Ravi with S.Y. Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner of India
Brookings India Senior Fellow Shamika Ravi introducing Prof. Jonathan Morduch, Professor of Public Policy and Economics, NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
Prof. Jonathan Morduch, Professor of Public Policy and Economics, NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, presenting his talk on "America's Economic Anxiety"
Executive Director Harsha Vardhana Singh, Ambassador Arun Kumar Singh and Senior Fellow Shamika Ravi listen to Prof. Jonathan Morduch's presentation
Dr. Neeraj Kaushal discusses immigration and its discontents
Dr. Neeraj Kaushal presents her work on Immigration and its Discontents
An audience member asks a question during the Q&A session of the "Immigration and its Discontents" Development Seminar
Viral Acharya answers to questions from the audience at the Development Seminar, "The Real Effects of Unconventional Monetary Policy"
Viral Acharya presents at the Development Seminar, "The Real Effects of Unconventional Monetary Policy"
Viral Acharya presents at the Development Seminar, "The Real Effects of Unconventional Monetary Policy"
Viral Acharya interacts with the audience at the Development Seminar, "The Real Effects of Unconventional Monetary Policy"

About Development Seminars Series @ Brookings India

The Development Seminars Series @ Brookings India is a platform for global scholars to present their work to a curated audience of senior government officials, politicians, journalists, academics and policy enthusiasts. The format of the seminars includes a senior researcher as a lead presenter and a government/industry expert to discuss the results and relevance within the Indian context. The fundamental focus of the seminar series is to draw research-based insights to shape and influence policy dialogues in India, through purposeful and pointed discussions.

Other Development Seminars

Former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi on EVMs at Brookings India