We study the effects of a positive wealth shock due to a series of state and federal reforms that granted equal inheritance rights to Indian women on the quantity and quality of children and son preference. Using a difference-in-differences methodology, we find that women who were affected by...

This paper examines whether land use deregulation increases housing supply when there are additional institutional frictions, such as slow updation of ownership records and unclear titles. India's urban land ceiling (ULC) laws, which put ceiling limits on privately owned vacant land in the...

Affordable housing is a problem that many countries are taking stock of, world over. In India, the problem is much more stark with an estimated shortage of around 18 million houses, with 99% of this in the economically weaker sections of society. This paper sets out the definitions of affordable...

The city of Bangalore is encircled by a green belt area, instituted as an urban growth boundary to contain sprawl, ensuring equitable growth and preserving lung spaces. Urban growth boundaries world over are typically known to drive land prices higher in the inner city area. Bangalore has...

Housing satisfies investment and consumption needs for households - about 11% of Indian households purchase homes through home mortgages loan from Banks and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs). Lending norms by banks and HFCs for housing mortgage loans are largely determined by two factors:...

Circle rates are becoming the norm in most states so as to curb under-reporting of prices and also reduce the extent of unrecorded transactions in realty markets. However, to ensure that circle rates are updated and maintained in a fair manner government authorities must follow a scientific...

This paper discusses the importance of valuation information and draws on international experience to show how this rich data-set has been leveraged in other countries. It also sheds light on the current state of valuation and reporting in India and makes suggestions on how valuation data,...