Toolkits for Applied Economics Research:

The Toolkits for Applied Economics Research: A Workshop was orgnaized on 14th August 2025 at the Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi Centre as part of the Annual Capacity Building Workshop of the Digital Platforms and Women's Economic Empowerment (DP-WEE) project in collaboration with the Society for Economics Research in India (SERI), Inclusion Economics India Center at IFMR (IEIC), Yale Inclusion Economics (YIE) and Economics and Planning Unit, ISI Delhi Centre. The workshop, open to faculty and students, aimed to enhance research toolkits for advanced PhD students working on applied economic research and provide networking opportunities.

The workshop brought together leading scholars including Prof. Farzana Afridi (Professor of Economics at the Indian Statistical Institute (Delhi) & Project Head, DP&WEE Project), Prof. Erica Field (James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Economics and Director, DevLab, Duke University), Prof. Arielle Bernhardt (Assistant Professor, New York University), and Prof. Simone Schaner (Associate Professor (Research) of Economics, University of Southern California), and research presentations from scholars representing leading Indian institutions. With more than 124 attendees (57% woman participation) from academia, think tanks, and government institutions, the event fostered rich discussions and meaningful exchanges.

Project Head, Prof. Farzana Afridi, opened the workshop with remarks on the challenges of academic publishing in today’s environment. She emphasized that with soaring submissions and high rejection rates, it is essential for scholars to signal quality quickly through journal fit, precise titles and abstracts, and introductions that focus on the “what, why, how, and contribution.” She also highlighted the importance of networking early, engaging with cited authors, and seeking feedback during the writing process.

Keynote Lecture: “Gender Norms and Economic Development”
Prof. Erica Field revisited Claudia Goldin’s U-shaped relationship between female labor force participation and development, stressing the productivity losses from misallocated talent. She outlined approaches to identify the role of gender norms, including examining shocks to second-order beliefs, shifts in women’s bargaining power (e.g., direct control over income), changes in perceptions of job feasibility, and evidence of backlash. She also discussed experimental approaches such as media campaigns, school interventions, and awareness programs as strategies to shift norms.

Session: Archival Evidence from India
Prof. Arielle Bernhardt presented on India’s rich but underutilized archival network, which provides valuable low-cost historical data. While access often requires in-person visits, she illustrated through case studies how archives can be leveraged to construct treatment and outcome variables for research.

PhD Presentations

Paper 1: “Fostering Women’s Interest in Economics”
Presenter: Akanksha Aggarwal
Akanksha examined whether relatable role models encourage women to pursue economics. Six local women with Master’s degrees recorded short talks delivered over ~6 hours. Preliminary findings suggest that exposure to these role models increased women’s interest in the Economics track.

Paper 2: “Skilled but Invisible”
Presenter: Swati Singh
Using longitudinal data from DDU-GKY, Swati showed that skills training raises women’s likelihood of migrating for work or job search—an encouraging sign of agency. However, training has not yet translated into sustained employment, pointing to structural challenges in household bargaining, safety, and local job demand.

Paper 3: “Education Tracks and Support for Women’s Leadership”
Presenter: Shraddha Yadav
Through a fuzzy RDD exploiting Egypt’s secondary school exam cutoff (score 70), Shraddha found that attending general (vs. vocational) secondary school causally increases support for women’s leadership. The effect is heterogeneous by gender and age, and appears to operate through higher education access and workplace exposure.

Paper 4: “Weaving Well-being”
Presenter: Kirti Tater
Kirti analyzed the spatial–temporal expansion of Bangladesh’s RMG sector, finding that proximity to a garment factory (≤5 km) is associated with lower fertility and improved child health outcomes. She explored mechanisms related to women’s employment, intra-household decision-making, maternal healthcare, and income effects.

Session: Workshop on Crafting Impactful Presentations
Prof. Simone Schaner delivered a practical session on how to present research effectively. She advised presenters to define their objectives clearly, tailor talks to the audience, and construct a compelling narrative. She emphasized the importance of meaningful slide design—avoiding excess text, using titles that convey the main idea, and preparing thoroughly to maximize impact.