Ishita Chatterjee

The impact of piracy on innovation in the presence of technological and market uncertainty

This paper analyses the effect of piracy on innovation in the presence of R&D competition with technological and market uncertainty. With a single innovating firm facing technological uncertainty, piracy unambiguously retards innovation. However, with R&D competition where firms face market and technological uncertainties, we show that piracy may enhance overall innovation. We also show that if the difference between the probabilities of success of the innovating firms is relatively large then piracy enhances the R&D investment and profit of the less efficient firm.

Does the evidence on corruption depend on how it is measured? Results from a cross-country study on microdata sets

While much of the existing literature on corruption looks at the effect of corruption on macro variables such as growth rates and income distribution, this study provides a departure by focussing on victims of corruption by using microdata to compare civilian and business corruption. This study finds that businesses face a stronger incidence of bribe demands than individuals. Though there are several differences between the determinants of the two forms of bribe victimization, there are also some similarities. Policies to combat corruption need to take into account both the differences and the similarities.

Mothers-in-Law and Son Preference in India

In India, the mother-in-law is all powerful. At least they are often portrayed as such in Indian popular culture. Similarly, in the socio-economic literature, the influence of the Indian mother-in-law is often taken for granted. However, most of the empirical evidence relies on qualitative data or on small samples. Looking at stated son preference and using a nationally representative dataset (NFHS-3), we show that, indeed, mothers-in-law have an influence on their daughter-in-law, everything else constant. This influence comes mostly from socialization rather than from coercion and selection within the marriage market.

Sex-Selective Abortions and Infant Mortality in India: The Role of Parents' Stated Son Preference

Abstract In India, millions of female foetuses have been aborted since the 1980s alongside an abnormally high infant girl mortality rate; this has generated a vast literature exploring the root causes of son preference. The literature is sparse, however, on how the decisions to abort or neglect girls are made. This paper examines mothers’ and fathers’ respective roles behind those decisions. Using the third National Family and Health Survey (NFHS-3) data, we show that sex-selective abortions are most commonly used if both spouses or if only the fathers prefer sons, while sex-selective neglect is used if only the mothers prefer sons.