Skip to content

Politics of Aspiration: Rights, Insurance & Social Mobility in South Asia

Reading list

Every reading this course assigns, module by module, with the best free copy we could find.

61 readings17 free to read17 on request27 books

A free copy is the published text, or the author's own manuscript held by a university repository, which has the same content without the journal's layout. A subscription reading opens at the publisher, where your library may give you access. If it does not, request a copy and we will reply by email. Books link to their publisher.

Module 1. Module 1: What is Aspiration?

  1. Ray, D. (1998). Development Economics, Chapters 1-3. Princeton University Press.Publisher pageBook
  2. Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom, Introduction and Chapter 1. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageBook
  3. Appadurai, A. (2004). The Capacity to Aspire: Culture and the Terms of Recognition. In V. Rao and M. Walton (eds.), Culture and Public Action, pp. 59-84. Stanford University Press.Publisher pageBook
  4. Ray, D. (2006). Aspirations, Poverty, and Economic Change. In A. V. Banerjee, R. Benabou and D. Mookherjee (eds.), Understanding Poverty, pp. 409-421. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageSubscription
  5. World Bank (2015). World Development Report 2015: Mind, Society, and Behavior. World Bank.Read it free
  6. Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S. and Robinson, J. A. (2001). The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation. American Economic Review, 91(5), 1369-1401.Publisher pageSubscription

Module 2. Module 2: Risk & Insurance for the Poor

  1. Dercon, S. (2002). Income Risk, Coping Strategies, and Safety Nets. World Bank Research Observer, 17(2), 141-166.Read it free
  2. Morduch, J. (1995). Income Smoothing and Consumption Smoothing. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 9(3), 103-114.Read it free
  3. Townsend, R. M. (1994). Risk and Insurance in Village India. Econometrica, 62(3), 539-591.Publisher pageSubscription
  4. Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageBook
  5. Nussbaum, M. C. (2011). Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 3. Module 3: India's Political Economy 1947-1991

  1. Drèze, J. and Sen, A. (2013). An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions, Chapters 1-3. Allen Lane.Publisher pageBook
  2. Kohli, A. (2012). Poverty amid Plenty in the New India. Cambridge University Press.Publisher pageBook
  3. Bardhan, P. (1998). The Political Economy of Development in India, expanded edition. Oxford University Press. First published 1984, Basil Blackwell.Publisher pageBook
  4. Deshpande, A. (2011). The Grammar of Caste: Economic Discrimination in Contemporary India. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageBook
  5. Jaffrelot, C. (2003). India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India. Hurst.Publisher pageBook

Module 4. Module 4: Right to Information (RTI)

  1. Jenkins, R. and Goetz, A. M. (1999). Accounts and Accountability: Theoretical Implications of the Right-to-Information Movement in India. Third World Quarterly, 20(3), 603-622.Publisher pageSubscription
  2. Government of India (2005). The Right to Information Act, 2005 (Act No. 22 of 2005).Read it free
  3. Drèze, J. and Sen, A. (2013). An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions, Chapter 5. Allen Lane.Publisher pageBook
  4. ASER Centre (2023). Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2022. ASER Centre.Read it free

Module 5. Module 5: NREGA – The Right to Work

  1. Drèze, J. and Khera, R. (2017). Recent Social Security Initiatives in India. World Development, 98, 555-572.Publisher pageSubscription
  2. Imbert, C. and Papp, J. (2015). Labor Market Effects of Social Programs: Evidence from India's Employment Guarantee. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7(2), 233-263.Publisher pageSubscription
  3. Klonner, S. and Oldiges, C. (2014). Safety Net for India's Poor or Waste of Public Funds? Poverty and Welfare in the Wake of the World's Largest Job Guarantee Program. Discussion Paper Series No. 564, Department of Economics, University of Heidelberg.Read it free
  4. Afridi, F., Mukhopadhyay, A. and Sahoo, S. (2016). Female Labor Force Participation and Child Education in India: Evidence from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. IZA Journal of Labor and Development, 5, article 7.Read it free
  5. Desai, S., Vashishtha, P. and Joshi, O. (2015). Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: A Catalyst for Rural Transformation. National Council of Applied Economic Research.Read it free
  6. Fetzer, T. (2020). Can Workfare Programs Moderate Conflict? Evidence from India. Journal of the European Economic Association, 18(6), 3337-3375.Publisher pageSubscription
  7. Deshpande, A. (2011). The Grammar of Caste: Economic Discrimination in Contemporary India, Chapters 4-6. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 6. Module 6: Land Rights & Food Security

  1. Drèze, J. and Khera, R. (2015). Understanding Leakages in the Public Distribution System. Economic and Political Weekly, 50(7).Publisher pageSubscription
  2. Kabeer, N. (1999). Resources, Agency, Achievements: Reflections on the Measurement of Women's Empowerment. Development and Change, 30(3), 435-464.Publisher pageSubscription
  3. Agarwal, B. (1994). A Field of One's Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia. Cambridge University Press.Publisher pageBook
  4. CFR-LA (2016). Promise and Performance: 10 Years of the Forest Rights Act in India. Citizens' Report.Read it free

Module 7. Module 7: Education, Learning & Human Capital

  1. ASER Centre (2023). Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2022. ASER Centre.Read it free
  2. Beaman, L., Duflo, E., Pande, R. and Topalova, P. (2012). Female Leadership Raises Aspirations and Educational Attainment for Girls: A Policy Experiment in India. Science, 335(6068), 582-586.Read it free
  3. Banerjee, A., Banerji, R., Berry, J., Duflo, E., Kannan, H., Mukerji, S., Shotland, M. and Walton, M. (2017). From Proof of Concept to Scalable Policies: Challenges and Solutions, with an Application. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(4), 73-102.Read it free
  4. Jensen, R. (2010). The (Perceived) Returns to Education and the Demand for Schooling. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 125(2), 515-548.Publisher pageSubscription
  5. World Bank (2019). Ending Learning Poverty: What Will It Take? World Bank.Read it free
  6. de Haan, A. (1999). Livelihoods and Poverty: The Role of Migration. A Critical Review of the Migration Literature. Journal of Development Studies, 36(2), 1-47.Publisher pageSubscription
  7. Breman, J. (1996). Footloose Labour: Working in India's Informal Economy. Cambridge University Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 8. Module 8: Gender, Caste & Social Stratification

  1. Hoff, K. and Pandey, P. (2006). Discrimination, Social Identity, and Durable Inequalities. American Economic Review, 96(2), 206-211.Publisher pageSubscription
  2. Deshpande, A. (2011). The Grammar of Caste: Economic Discrimination in Contemporary India. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageBook
  3. Beaman, L., Duflo, E., Pande, R. and Topalova, P. (2012). Female Leadership Raises Aspirations and Educational Attainment for Girls: A Policy Experiment in India. Science, 335(6068), 582-586.Read it free
  4. Drèze, J. and Sen, A. (2013). An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions, Chapter 8. Allen Lane.Publisher pageBook

Module 9. Module 9: Migration, Mobility & Aspirations

  1. Bryan, G., Chowdhury, S. and Mobarak, A. M. (2014). Underinvestment in a Profitable Technology: The Case of Seasonal Migration in Bangladesh. Econometrica, 82(5), 1671-1748.Publisher pageSubscription
  2. Deshingkar, P. and Akter, S. (2009). Migration and Human Development in India. Human Development Research Paper 2009/13. UNDP.Read it free
  3. Imbert, C. and Papp, J. (2020). Short-term Migration, Rural Public Works, and Urban Labor Markets: Evidence from India. Journal of the European Economic Association, 18(2), 927-963.Publisher pageSubscription
  4. UNDP (2009). Human Development Report 2009: Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development. United Nations Development Programme.Read it free
  5. Lukose, R. A. (2009). Liberalization's Children: Gender, Youth, and Consumer Citizenship in Globalizing India. Duke University Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 10. Module 10: South Asia Comparative Analysis

  1. Drèze, J. and Sen, A. (2013). An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions, Chapter 3. Allen Lane.Publisher pageBook
  2. Jaffrelot, C. (2003). India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India. Hurst.Publisher pageBook
  3. Yadav, Y. (1999). Electoral Politics in the Time of Change: India's Third Electoral System, 1989-99. Economic and Political Weekly, 34(34/35), 2393-2399.Publisher pageSubscription

Module 11. Module 11: Future Challenges & Emerging Issues

  1. Khera, R. (ed.) (2019). Dissent on Aadhaar: Big Data Meets Big Brother. Orient BlackSwan.Publisher pageBook
  2. Ghosh, A. (2016). The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable. University of Chicago Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 12. Module 12: Practitioner Synthesis

  1. World Bank (2015). World Development Report 2015: Mind, Society, and Behavior. World Bank.Read it free
  2. Pal, J. (2015). Banalities Turned Viral: Narendra Modi and the Political Tweet. Television and New Media, 16(4), 378-387.Publisher pageSubscription
  3. Toyama, K. (2015). Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology. PublicAffairs.Publisher pageBook
  4. Appadurai, A. (2004). The Capacity to Aspire: Culture and the Terms of Recognition. In V. Rao and M. Walton (eds.), Culture and Public Action, pp. 59-84. Stanford University Press.Publisher pageBook
  5. Ray, D. (2006). Aspirations, Poverty, and Economic Change. In A. V. Banerjee, R. Benabou and D. Mookherjee (eds.), Understanding Poverty, pp. 409-421. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageSubscription
  6. Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageBook
  7. Drèze, J. and Sen, A. (2013). An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions. Allen Lane.Publisher pageBook

Module 13. Module 13: Capstone Project

  1. Appadurai, A. (2004). The Capacity to Aspire: Culture and the Terms of Recognition. In V. Rao and M. Walton (eds.), Culture and Public Action, pp. 59-84. Stanford University Press.Publisher pageBook
  2. Drèze, J. and Sen, A. (2013). An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions. Allen Lane.Publisher pageBook

Request a copy

Tell us where to send it. We read every request and reply by email when we can share a copy.

We use these details only to answer this request. See the privacy policy.