This paper finds that factors such as caste and religion influence food security at the regional level. Thus defining affirmative action within food security programs may be necessary as the current practice of designing food security programs around the poverty line is shown to deliver limited...

In this paper, we conduct the novel exercise of analyzing the relationship between overall wealth inequality and caste divisions in India using nationally representative surveys on household wealth conducted during 199192 and 200203. According to our findings, the groups in India that are...

In this paper, we conduct the novel exercise of analyzing the relationship between overall wealth inequality and caste divisions in India using nationally representative surveys on household wealth conducted during 1991-92 and 2002-03. According to our findings, the groups in India that are...

This paper proposes a stylised model to derive the effect of a sizeable middle class on average educational outcomes. Under reasonable assumptions, the model predicts that the spending share on education increases if the middle class becomes larger such that the size of the middle class has a...

We propose a new approach to develop vulnerability lines that are explicitly anchored to the idea of a sub-set of the population at risk of falling into poverty. We suggest that lines developed in this way can also be applied for the purpose of identifying the middle class (or “secure”). We...