Manoj K. Pandey

Poverty and disability among Indian elderly: Evidence from household survey

This article analyzes the depth of poverty and examines the possible association between disability and poverty among Indian elderly. The analysis is based on the 58th round of the National Sample Survey Organisation data surveyed in 2002. The analysis finds high levels of poverty and income inequality among elderly persons with disabilities. It also finds that differences in the income levels vary significantly across different age groups, gender, social groups, and educational status. Furthermore, the estimation results confirm that the likelihood of disability among economically disadvantaged elderly persons is higher than those with average to above average incomes.

Two-dimensional C-V model of AlGaAs/GaAs modulation doped field effect transistor (MODFET) for high frequency applications

This paper reports a detailed two-dimensional (2-D) analytical capacitance-voltage (C-V) model for a modulation-doped field effect transistor. The contribution of various capacitances on the performance of the device is shown. The analysis includes the effect of design parameters on cutoff frequency, and the peak cutoff frequency obtained is 190 GHz. The excellent agreement with the simulated and experimental data proves the validity and applicability of the model to optimize the device at high frequencies.

On Hunger and Child Mortality in India

Despite accelerated growth there is pervasive hunger, child undernutrition and mortality in India. Our analysis focuses on their determinants. Raising living standards alone will not reduce hunger and undernutrition. Reduction of rural/urban disparities, income inequality, consumer price stabilization, and mothers’ literacy all have roles of varying importance in different nutrition indicators. Somewhat surprisingly, public distribution system (PDS) do not have a significant effect on any of them. Generally, child undernutrition and mortality rise with poverty. Our analysis confirms that media exposure triggers public action, and helps avert child undernutrition and mortality. Drastic reduction of economic inequality is in fact key to averting child mortality, conditional upon a drastic reordering of social and economic arrangements.

Widowhood and health of elderly in India: examining the role of economic factors using structural equation modeling

Evidence on the association between widowhood and health is widely available in the literature. However, there is a dearth of analysis on the mechanism through which widowhood affects the health status of an individual, particularly in old age, specifically whether widowhood among the elderly affects their health through their economic conditions. This paper purports to establish both the direct and indirect effects of widowhood on self-reported health status among aged Indians. We examine the mediating effect of economic factors such as income, labor force participation, extent of economic independence and other economic factors in the relationship between widowhood and health status. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is employed to test specific hypotheses. We use unit level 60th round data for the year 2004 surveyed by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO). The results confirm that poor economic conditions have a mediating effect on the relationship between widowhood and health and, therefore, any policy to reduce the effect of widowhood on health must be based on economic factors.

National rural employment guarantee scheme, poverty and prices in rural India

The objective of this analysis is mainly to construct an intuitive measure of the performance of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in India. The focus is on divergence between demand and supply at the district level. Some related issues addressed are: (i) whether the gap between demand and supply responds to poverty; and (ii) whether recent hikes in NREGS wages are inflationary. Our analysis confirms responsiveness of the positive gap between demand and supply to poverty. Also, apprehensions expressed about the inflationary potential of recent hikes in NREGS wages have been confirmed. More importantly, higher NREGS wages are likely to undermine self-selection of the poor in it.

Thermal characterization of a double-gate silicon-on-insulator MOSFET

A two-dimensional analytical model to study the behaviour of the device parameters in various temperature ranges is developed. The temperature dependences of the threshold voltage, drain current and channel transconductance are modelled using temperature-sensitive parameters. The effects of temperature on the cut-off frequency and channel-transit time are also discussed. The results so obtained are compared with the experimental data for a single-gate silicon-on-insulator MOSFET.

Temperature and aluminium composition dependent sheet carrier concentration at AlGaAs/GaAs interface

The sheet carrier concentration (two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), at the AlGaAs/GaAs interface is analytically modelled with its dependence on temperature (from liquid nitrogen temperature to room temperature and higher) and aluminium composition, at equilibrium and for charge control by the gate. The effect of deep-donor concentration is also taken into account and a decrease in the 2DEG is observed at higher concentrations of deep donors and at higher temperatures. The theoretical analysis, based on Fermi-Dirac statistics, shows that the thermal characterization of the 2DEG is essential. The results obtained are compared with experimental data.

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Targeted Public Distribution Scheme in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh: Complements or Substitutes?

The workfare scheme, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), and the direct food subsidy programme, the Targeted Public Distribution Scheme (TPDS), represent two social safety nets instituted in India as anti-poverty measures. This paper examines whether from the point of view of individual households the two programmes are substitutes or complements, as this will shed light on the appropriateness of the design of the two programmes. Based on primary household data collected for the Indian states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (MP), we show that, in Rajasthan, a large percentage of households consider TPDS and NREGS programmes to be substitutes for each other, while in MP the households often perceive the two programmes as complements. Thus it appears that the two programmes are better designed in MP since an incentive for participation in one programme has desirable side effects on participation in the other. Correlates of participation in the two states are identified and the paper advances several policy conclusions.

A quasi two-dimensional analytical model for threshold voltage of a modulation doped field effect transistor

A two-dimensional analytical model for the threshold voltage of a subquarter-micrometer-gate Modulation Doped Field Effect Transistor (MODFET) is reported. The threshold voltage variation is obtained in terms of different device parameters. A very small shift in threshold voltage was observed supporting that the model suffers less from severe short channel effects. The model agrees well with the experimental data.

Determinants of Employment in India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

Using household level data this paper provides systematic evidence on the employment impact of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in three Indian states: Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. We model this as a two stage Heckman procedure where we model selection for NREGS in the first phase and the determinants of hours worked in the second. A number of significant insights into the employment impact of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme are obtained.