Research
Publications
Creating Cohesive Communities: A Youth Camp Experiment in India (with Arkadev Ghosh, Gareth Nellis, Matt Lowe)
Abstract | Paper | Review of Economic Studies, 2025
Non-family-based institutions for socializing young people may play a vital role in creating close-knit, inclusive communities. We study the potential for youth camps—integrating rituals, sports, and civics training—to strengthen intergroup cohesion. We randomly assigned Hindu and Muslim adolescent boys, from West Bengal, India, to 2-week camps or to a pure control arm. To isolate mechanisms, we cross-randomized collective rituals (such as singing the national anthem, wearing uniforms, chanting support during matches, and synchronous dancing) and the intensity of intergroup contact. We find that camps reduce ingroup bias, increase willingness to interact with outgroup members, and enhance psychological well-being. Campers continue to have twice as many outgroup friends than control participants 1 year after the camps ended. Meanwhile, additional camp elements have heterogeneous effects: rituals have more positive impacts for the Hindu majority than the Muslim minority, while higher intergroup contact backfires among Hindus but not Muslims. Our findings demonstrate that inclusive youth camps may be a powerful tool for bridging deep social divides. Yet, we also highlight the conceptual challenges in crafting optimal integrative camps that help all groups.
Works in Progress
- Women’s Seclusion in Rural India: Mobility, Mental Health and Work
- Inheritance and Culture: Legal Reform and Women’s Land Ownership (with Sankalp Sharma)
- Culture, Trade, and Credit in Rural Land Markets (with Sankalp Sharma)
Other Writing
- Women, Academia, and Economics: A Five-Decade Perspective from India (with Kadambari Shah)
In preparation for "History of Gender and Feminist Economics in South Asia", Rajshree Bedamatta and Ritwika Patgiri (editors), Routledge .
- Can Information Lead to Better Voting Decisions? Evidence from Information Campaigns in India
Article | The Print, April 20th, 2020