Rohini Somanathan
Biographic Data
| ID | 1132520 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rohini Somanathan |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rohini |
| FAMILY NAME | Somanathan |
| SIGNATURE | SOMANATHAN R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Centre for Development Economics |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3762-1594 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 164 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 14 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
The Cambridge Economic History of Modern South Asia
South Asia's economies, as well as the scholarship on their economic histories, have been transformed in recent decades. This landmark new reference history will guide economists and historians through these transformations in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Part I revisits the colonial period with fresh perspectives and updated scholarship, incorporating recent research on topics such as gender, caste, environment, and entrepreneurship. The cont…
The Impact of Temperature on Productivity and Labor Supply
Cross-country studies have found that hotter years are associated with lower output in poor countries. Using high-frequency micro-data from manufacturing firms in India, we show that worker heat stress can substantially explain this correlation. Ambient temperatures have non-linear e ffects on worker productivity, with declines on hot days of 4 to 9 percent per degree rise in temperature. Sustained heat also increases absenteeism. Similar tempera…
Child Labor and Schooling Decisions among Self-Help Group Members in Rural India
This paper investigates the impact of informal microfinance groups (self-help groups, or SHGs) on children’s education and work in rural India. In 2002, 24 eligible villages were randomly selected for opening SHGs, and 12 others were randomly selected as a control group. Households were surveyed three times over a 5-year period, allowing for the study of medium-term outcomes. We find a robust and strong increase in secondary school enrollment rat…
Difference without Domination
Socially Disadvantaged Groups and Microfinance in India
About two-thirds of microfinance clients in India are reported to be in self-help groups (SHGs). We study the survival of members and groups and their differential access to credit using a census of SHGs created between 1998 and 2006 in 386 villages in eastern India. Households without land and those from disadvantaged castes exhibit higher attrition rates and smaller loans, but the main predictor of differential outcomes is education. Members wi…
Improving learning outcomes through information provision
Aid and agency in Africa
Repayment incentives and the distribution of gains from group lending
Racial Inequality and Segregation Measures
How much of the observed segregation between black and white Americans can be attributed to income disparities between the two groups? We adopt an approach to the decomposition of segregation measures that combines the method of indirect standardization with the idea that some degree of segregation is the outcome of purely random processes. Using the dissimilarity index as a measure of segregation and data on race and income from US metropolitan …
La demande pour le « désavantage »
Rohini Somanathan examine les politiques de discrimination positive basées sur le système des castes en Inde. Elle analyse l’impact de la mise en place de quotas réservés au parlement ou d’accès préférentiel aux universités pour certaines populations classifiées comme « en retard » par les recensements. Les politiques de discrimination positive fondées sur les castes en Inde ont apporté des résultats mitigés. Face à l’inefficacité relative de ces…
The political economy of public goods
History, Social Divisions, and Public Goods in Rural India
We examine the influence of three historically important sources of social divisions on the availability of public goods in rural India: colonial power, landowner-peasant relations as determined by the land tenure system and social fragmentation based on the Hindu caste system and the presence of sizable religious minorities. Using data on public goods from 1991, we find that regions that were under British colonial power in the pre-independence …
History, Social Divisions, and Public Goods in Rural India
Inequality and Segregation
This paper explores the manner in which race and income interact to determine patterns of residential location in metropolitan areas. We use a framework in which individuals care about both the level of affluence and the racial composition of their communities, and in which there are differences in income both within and between groups. Three main findings emerge. First, conditional on income, black households experience lower neighborhood qualit…
The political economy of public goods
The Impact of Temperature on Productivity and Labor Supply
Cross-country studies have found that hotter years are associated with lower output in poor countries. Using high-frequency micro-data from manufacturing firms in India, we show that worker heat stress can substantially explain this correlation. Ambient temperatures have non-linear e ffects on worker productivity, with declines on hot days of 4 to 9 percent per degree rise in temperature. Sustained heat also increases absenteeism. Similar tempera…
Inequality and Segregation
This paper explores the manner in which race and income interact to determine patterns of residential location in metropolitan areas. We use a framework in which individuals care about both the level of affluence and the racial composition of their communities, and in which there are differences in income both within and between groups. Three main findings emerge. First, conditional on income, black households experience lower neighborhood qualit…
History, Social Divisions, and Public Goods in Rural India
Socially Disadvantaged Groups and Microfinance in India
About two-thirds of microfinance clients in India are reported to be in self-help groups (SHGs). We study the survival of members and groups and their differential access to credit using a census of SHGs created between 1998 and 2006 in 386 villages in eastern India. Households without land and those from disadvantaged castes exhibit higher attrition rates and smaller loans, but the main predictor of differential outcomes is education. Members wi…
Aid and agency in Africa
Racial Inequality and Segregation Measures
How much of the observed segregation between black and white Americans can be attributed to income disparities between the two groups? We adopt an approach to the decomposition of segregation measures that combines the method of indirect standardization with the idea that some degree of segregation is the outcome of purely random processes. Using the dissimilarity index as a measure of segregation and data on race and income from US metropolitan …
Repayment incentives and the distribution of gains from group lending
Child Labor and Schooling Decisions among Self-Help Group Members in Rural India
This paper investigates the impact of informal microfinance groups (self-help groups, or SHGs) on children’s education and work in rural India. In 2002, 24 eligible villages were randomly selected for opening SHGs, and 12 others were randomly selected as a control group. Households were surveyed three times over a 5-year period, allowing for the study of medium-term outcomes. We find a robust and strong increase in secondary school enrollment rat…
Improving learning outcomes through information provision
Inequality and Segregation
This paper explores the manner in which race and income interact to determine patterns of residential location in metropolitan areas. We use a framework in which individuals care about both the level of affluence and the racial composition of their communities, and in which there are differences in income both within and between groups. Three main findings emerge. First, conditional on income, black households experience lower neighborhood qualit…
History, Social Divisions, and Public Goods in Rural India
We examine the influence of three historically important sources of social divisions on the availability of public goods in rural India: colonial power, landowner-peasant relations as determined by the land tenure system and social fragmentation based on the Hindu caste system and the presence of sizable religious minorities. Using data on public goods from 1991, we find that regions that were under British colonial power in the pre-independence …
History, Social Divisions, and Public Goods in Rural India
The political economy of public goods
La demande pour le « désavantage »
Rohini Somanathan examine les politiques de discrimination positive basées sur le système des castes en Inde. Elle analyse l’impact de la mise en place de quotas réservés au parlement ou d’accès préférentiel aux universités pour certaines populations classifiées comme « en retard » par les recensements. Les politiques de discrimination positive fondées sur les castes en Inde ont apporté des résultats mitigés. Face à l’inefficacité relative de ces…
Racial Inequality and Segregation Measures
How much of the observed segregation between black and white Americans can be attributed to income disparities between the two groups? We adopt an approach to the decomposition of segregation measures that combines the method of indirect standardization with the idea that some degree of segregation is the outcome of purely random processes. Using the dissimilarity index as a measure of segregation and data on race and income from US metropolitan …
Repayment incentives and the distribution of gains from group lending
Aid and agency in Africa
Improving learning outcomes through information provision
Difference without Domination
Socially Disadvantaged Groups and Microfinance in India
About two-thirds of microfinance clients in India are reported to be in self-help groups (SHGs). We study the survival of members and groups and their differential access to credit using a census of SHGs created between 1998 and 2006 in 386 villages in eastern India. Households without land and those from disadvantaged castes exhibit higher attrition rates and smaller loans, but the main predictor of differential outcomes is education. Members wi…
Child Labor and Schooling Decisions among Self-Help Group Members in Rural India
This paper investigates the impact of informal microfinance groups (self-help groups, or SHGs) on children’s education and work in rural India. In 2002, 24 eligible villages were randomly selected for opening SHGs, and 12 others were randomly selected as a control group. Households were surveyed three times over a 5-year period, allowing for the study of medium-term outcomes. We find a robust and strong increase in secondary school enrollment rat…
The Impact of Temperature on Productivity and Labor Supply
Cross-country studies have found that hotter years are associated with lower output in poor countries. Using high-frequency micro-data from manufacturing firms in India, we show that worker heat stress can substantially explain this correlation. Ambient temperatures have non-linear e ffects on worker productivity, with declines on hot days of 4 to 9 percent per degree rise in temperature. Sustained heat also increases absenteeism. Similar tempera…
The Cambridge Economic History of Modern South Asia
South Asia's economies, as well as the scholarship on their economic histories, have been transformed in recent decades. This landmark new reference history will guide economists and historians through these transformations in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Part I revisits the colonial period with fresh perspectives and updated scholarship, incorporating recent research on topics such as gender, caste, environment, and entrepreneurship. The cont…
Economics (11 works) · Economic growth (7 works) · Demographic economics (6 works) · Geography (5 works) · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion (5 works) · Business (4 works) · Development economics (4 works) · Political science (4 works) · Sociology (4 works) · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies (3 works)