Planned efforts to relocate human populations often entail protracted struggles over the terms on which local populations may be compensated for the loss of land, assets and livelihoods. In many instances, compensation has been established on the basis of historical market value, which in effect...

Urban land governance is one of the central challenges not just for urban but also more broadly for global development in times of rapid urbanisation. This paper advances a fresh perspective to look at urban land by exploring to what extent it could be characterised as a resource curse problem....

With paroxysm of technology due to new invention and innovations, nation across the world are experiencing extreme developmental activity. Though these activities meant for betterment of society but on the contrary it is posing threat to natural environment. The damages could be water pollution,...

This paper incorporates interdisciplinary New Institutional Economics and suggests a holistic framework for assessing the forms and efficiency of environmental management in agriculture. First, it defines environmental management as a specific system of social order regulating behaviour and...

This paper discusses economic policies that have supported a particular kind of agricultural development in Punjab, as well as environment-specific policies that have sought to deal with various environmental problems aris- ing from that pattern of development. In doing so, we highlight some...

By improving access, without altering the underlying information, computerization of land registration provides a unique case to test for credit supply effects of improved land administration that have often been elusive in the literature. We exploit the variation in the timing of the shift from...

Delhi became an exemplary city by instituting radical environmental interventions to improve air quality between 2000 and 2002. This included introduction of compressed natural gas (CNG) and closure of polluting industries. However, areas outside Delhi (but adjacent to Delhi's border) did not...

Housing is key for well-being and for spatial and social mobility. In India, the housing market is characterised by excess demand for affordable dwellings, a small rental market and an oversupply of high-end housing, especially in urban areas.

Flooding is among the costliest natural disasters in the United States. Although the federal government provides floodplain boundary maps and subsidizes insurance, demand remains extremely low. This paper assembles the most comprehensive set of files ever compiled on flood risk and insurance to...

This chapter contrasts the process of urbanization in China and in India. It characterizes the differences in outcomes with regard to the provision of urban infrastructure and the development of informality in each country. The role of local autonomy and governance structures help to explain...