Curriculum Vita (May 2008)

Vijayendra Rao

 

Address:

 

MSN MC 3-306

The World Bank

1818 H Street NW

Washington, DC 20433

 

Email: firstinitiallastname@worldbank.org

 

 

CITZENSHIP

 

India

United States Permanent Resident

 

CURRENT POSITION

 

Lead Economist, Development Research Group, The World Bank (1999 to present)

 

 

EDUCATION

 

Ph.D (Economics),  December 1990 (Title:  Birth, Marriage and Death: Essays in Demographic Economics)

The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Advisory Committee:  Jere Behrman, Andrew Foster, Robert Pollak and Paul Taubman

 

B.A. (Economics, with Statistics and Sociology), June 1984

St. Xavier's College, University of Bombay, Bombay, India

Aguiuar Award for best undergraduate in the Arts and Humanities

 

 

PREVIOUS APPOINTMENTS

 

9/94-12/98:   Williams College

Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, with Concurrent Appointments in the Center for Environmental Studies and the Asian Studies Department 

(On Leave from September 1997-December 1998)

 

9/97-1/99:  Brown University

Visiting Mellon Fellow, Population Studies and Training Center,

(On Sabbatical Leave from Williams College)

 

9/92-9/94:  University of Michigan

       Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and

       Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellow, Population Studies Center

 

10/90-9/92: University of Chicago

       Hewlett Post-Doctoral Fellow, Committee on Demographic Training and

       Associate, Committee on Southern Asian Studies.

 

9/85-9/87:  University of Pennsylvania

        Research Assistant to Anil Deolalikar and Jere Behrman, Nutrition and Health Projects, Center for the

        Analysis of Developing Economies

 

 

GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS

 

 

1)     Research Grant from Knowledge for Change Program: To prepare the Policy Research Report on Local Development (with Ghazala Mansuri)

2)     Research Grant from SIDA to study Village Governance in India

3)     Research Grant from DFID via the World Bank’s Communications and Development Unit to study Deliberative Democracy in India

4)     Research Grant from BNPP (Dutch Government) to study Village Governance in India

5)     Research Grant from World Bank Research Department and ASEM trust funds – (with Vivi Alatas, World Bank, Victoria Beard, Wisconsin, and Menno Pradhan, World Bank) To evaluate the impact of an urban CDD project (UPP2) in Indonesia using mixed-methods.

6)     Research Grants from World Bank Research Department and DFID – (with Tim Besley, LSE and Rohini Pande, Columbia University) To study the Impact of Village Decentralization (Panchayat Reforms) in India

7)     Research Grant from Norwegian Trust Fund To Evaluate Impact of Social Funds in Zambia, Nicaragua and Jamaica

8)     Research Grant from the Dutch Government – (With Mike Walton) To Edit Volume on Culture and Development

9)     World Bank Research Grant and Dutch Trust Fund Grant, 1999 (joint with Michael Woolcock) A multi-disciplinary analysis of the relationship between urban poverty, risk protection and kinship in Delhi, India.  Will also develop guidelines for qualitative and quantitative integrated methods in policy analysis.

10)  Robert Schalckebach Foundation, 1997. Grant to study the impact of property rights and cultural systems on inter and intra-household inequality in rural India.

11)  Rockefeller Foundation, 1995-96. Worked with Sonalde Desai on a grant to study fertility and household decision making in India.

12)  Mellon Foundation Fellowship, University of Michigan, 1993-94.  Fellowship to study women's status, decision making and demographic transitions in rural South India using economic, demographic and anthropological methods.

13)  Hewlett Foundation Fellowship, University of Chicago, 1990-92. Fellowship to undertake post-doctoral training in Economic Demography.

14)  Compton Foundation Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania, 1987-89.

 

 

 

 

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND HONORS

 

Associate Editor:  Economic Development and Cultural Change

Editorial Board: Journal of Development Studies

Editorial Board: Journal of Mixed-Methods Research (Sage)

Associate Editor: International Journal of Multiple-Methods Research

Life Member:  Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore- India

Invited Research Associate: Brooks World Poverty Institute, University of Manchester

Member: Social Development Board – World Bank, from 2002-present

Member:  Gender Board – World Bank, from 2002-2007

 

 

Referee:

American Economic Review, American Political Science Review, American Sociological Review, Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Demography, Development and Change, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Economic Journal, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Development Studies, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Feminist Economics, Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Population Economics, National Academy of Sciences, National Science Foundation, Oxford University Press, Population Development Review, Review of Economics and Statistics, Review of Income and Wealth, Social Science and Medicine, World Bank Economic Review

 

 

OTHER EMPLOYMENT

 

1)      Philadelphia Inquirer, India Currents, Philadelphia Welcomat (City Paper) 1986-1989

Free-Lance Writer on Indian Classical Music

 

2) Apparel – Trade Journal of the Indian Garment Industry, 1983-84

        Economics Correspondent

 

 

PUBLICATIONS

 

            Books

 

Development in Karnataka: Challenges of Equity, Governance and Empowerment, (edited by Gopal K. Kadekodi, Ravi Kanbur and Vijayendra Rao), Academic Foundation Press, New Delhi, 2008

 

Culture and Public Action (edited by Vijayendra Rao and Michael Walton), Stanford, Stanford University Press, 2004

Website: http://www.cultureandpublicaction.org

 

Reports

 

World Development Report 2006: Equity and Development (member of core team of authors), World Bank and Oxford University Press, 2005

 

The Political Economy of Gram Panchayats in South India (with Tim Besley and Rohini Pande), World Bank South Asia Rural Department, 2005

 

 

Articles in Refereed Journals

 

 

1.      Tokenism vs. Agency? The Impact of Women’s Reservations on Village Democracies in South India,” (with Radu Ban) Economic Development and Cultural Change, April 2008

 

2.      “Disciplinary Monopolies in Development Research,” (with Michael Woolcock), Global Governance, December 2007

 

3.      "PN Mari Bhat: An Intellectual Tribute," (with Monica Das Gupta, Samuel H. Preston, Vijayendra Rao, and TV Sekhar)," Economic and Political Weekly, September 8 2007, Pp: 3611-3615

 

4.      “Governance and the “Karnataka Model of Development’” (with Gopal K. Kadekodi and Ravi Kanbur), Economic and Political Weekly, February 24, 2007

 

5.      Book Review, Twenty-First Century India, by Tim Dyson, Robert Cassen and Leela Visaria, Oxford University Press, 2004, Population Development Review, June 2006.

 

6.      “The Political Economy of Gram Panchayats in South India,” (with Tim Besley and Rohini Pande), Economic and Political Weekly , February 24, 2007

 

7.      “Governance in the Gullies: Democratic Responsiveness and Community Leadership in Delhi’s Slums,” (with Saumitra Jha and Michael Woolcock),  World Development (forthcoming), 2006

 

8.      “Participatory Democracy in Action: Survey Evidence From Rural India,” (joint with Tim Besley and Rohini Pande), Journal of the European Economic Association, April/May 2005, Vol. 3, No. 2-3, Pages 648-657

9.      The Social Impact of Social Funds in Jamaica: A “Participatory Econometric” Analysis of Targeting, Collective Action, and Participation in Community-Driven Development,” (lead author with Ana Maria Ibanez) Journal of Development Studies, vol. 41, No. 5, Pp: 788-838, July 2005

 

10.   "The Determinants of Gender Equity in India: Examining Dyson and Moore's Thesis with New Data” (joint with Lupin Rahman), Population and Development Review,  30(2), Pp: 239-268, June 2004

 

11.   “The Politics of Public Good Provision: Evidence from Indian Local Governments,” (with Tim Besley, Rohini Pande and Lupin Rahman), Journal of the European Economic Association , Vol. 2-23, 2004

 

12.   “Community Based (and Driven) Development: A Critical Review,” (with Ghazala Mansuri), The World Bank Research Observer, vol. 19, no. 1 (2004), pp. 1-39

 

13.   “Wedding Celebrations as Conspicuous Consumption: Signaling Social Status in Rural India," (with Francis Bloch and Sonalde Desai), Journal of Human Resources, Volume XXXIX, Number 3, Summer 2004

 

14.   Sex Workers and The Cost of Safe Sex: The Compensating Differential for Condom Use in Calcutta," (Lead Author, with Indrani Gupta, Michael Lokshin and Smarajit Jana)," Journal of Development Economics, 71, Pp: 585-603, August 2003.

 

15.   "Experiments in Participatory Econometrics: Improving the Connection Between Economic Analysis and the Real World", Economic and Political Weekly May 18th, 2002, 22(20), 1887-91

 

16.   “Terror as a Bargaining Instrument: A Case Study of Dowry Violence in Rural India," (with Francis Bloch), American Economic Review, Vol 92, #4, September 2002, Pp: 1029-1043

 

17.   Statistical Discrimination and Social Assimilation,” (with Francis Bloch), Economics Bulletin, Vol. 10, #2 , 2001

 

18.   “Celebrations as Social Investments: Festival Expenditures, Unit Price Variation and Social Status in Rural India,” Journal of Development Studies , October 2001

 

19.   ”Poverty and Public Celebrations in Rural India,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,” Vol. 573, Pp: 85-104, 2001

 

20.   “The Marriage Squeeze Interpretation of Dowry Inflation – Response,” Journal of Political Economy, December, 2000

 

21.   "Price Heterogeneity and Real Inequality:  A Case-Study of Poverty and Prices in Rural South India"  Review of Income and Wealth, Series 46 #2, Pp: 201-212, June 2000

 

22.   "Can Economics Mediate the Link Between Anthropology and Demography?" Population and Development Review, Vol. 23 #4, Pp:833-38,  December 1997

 

23.   "Wife Beating in Rural South India: A Qualitative and Econometric Analysis,"  Social Science and  Medicine , Vol. 44, # 8, Pp. 1169-1180, April 1997

 

24.   "The Marriage Squeeze and the Rise in Informal Marriage in Brazil," (with Margaret E. Greene) Social Biology, Vol. 42 #1/2, Spring 1995 (Also published in an earlier version in Portugese as "A Compressao do Mercado Matrimonial e o Aumento das Unioes Consensuais no Brasil," Revista Brasileira De Estudos De Populâço , V.9 N.2, Jul/Dec. 1992)

 

25.   "The Rising Price of Husbands: A Hedonic Analysis of Dowry Increases in Rural India",  Journal of Political Economy  Vol. 101, #4 (August 1993).

 

26.   "Dowry Inflation in Rural India: A Statistical Investigation," Population Studies  Vol. 47 (July   1993).

 

27.   "Diet, Mortality and Life Expectancy: A Cross-National Analysis," Journal of Population  Economics, Volume 1, #3, 1988, Pp. 225-233

 

 

Contributions to Edited Volumes:

 

1.      Decentralization and Elite Capture: The Selection of Leaders and Beneficiaries in Community-Driven Projects in Indonesia.” (with Victoria Beard, Menno Pradhan, Randi Cartmill, Rivayani, and Yulia Herawati), in Planning and Decentralization: Contested Spaces for Public Action in the Global South edited by Victoria Beard, Faranak Miraftab & Christopher Silver, Routledge, 2008 (forthcoming)

 

2.      “Symbolic Public Goods and The Coordination of Collective Action: A Comparison of Local Development in India and Indonesia,” Chapter 10 in Pranab Bardhan and Isha Ray (editors) Contested Commons: Conversations Between Economists and Anthropologists, Wiley-Blackwell Publishers, 2008

 

3.      “Assessing the Karnataka Model of Development,” Chapter 1 in Challenges of Karnataka’s Development, edited by Gopal K. Kadekodi, Ravi Kanbur and Vijayendra Rao, Academic Foundation Press, New Delhi, 2007

 

4.      “Dowries” in Kaushik Basu (edited) Oxford Companion to Economics in India, Oxford University Press, Delhi (2006) 

 

5.      “Sex Work” in Kaushik Basu (edited), Oxford Companion to Economics in India, Oxford University Press, Delhi (2006)

 

6.      “Mixing Qualitative and Econometric Methods: Community-Level Applications,” Chapter 13 in Measuring Empowerment (Deepa Narayan, editor), The World Bank, Washington DC, 2005

 

7.      “Culture and Public Action: Relationality, Equality of Agency and Development,” (with Michael Walton), Chapter 1 in Culture and Public Action: A Cross-Disciplinary Dialogue on Development Policy, (Vijayendra Rao and Michael Walton, editors) Stanford, Stanford University Press, 2004

 

8.      “Conclusion,” (With Michael Walton), Chapter 16 in Culture and Public Action: A Cross-Disciplinary Dialogue on Development Policy, (Vijayendra Rao and Michael Walton, editors) Stanford, Stanford University Press, 2004

 

9.      “Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches in Program Evaluation,” (with Michael Woolcock), in Francois Bourgingnon and Luiz Pereira Da Silva (edited) Tool Kit for Evaluating the Poverty and Distributional Impact of Economic Policies, World Bank and Oxford University Press, 2003

 

10.   “Potters and Slums:  Two Qualitative and Quantitative Projects in India,”  in Ravi Kanbur (editor) Qual-Quant: Qualitative and Quantitative Poverty Appraisal--Complementarities, Tensions and The Way Forward, Permanent Black Publishers, 2003

 

11.   “Wife-Abuse, Its Causes and Its Impact on Intra-Household Resource Allocation in Rural Karnataka: A Participatory" Econometric Analysis," in Gender, Population, and Development, M.Krishnaraj, R.Sudarshan, A.Sharif (ed.), Oxford University Press, 1998

 

12.   "The Demand for Dowries and Bride Characteristics in Marriage: Empirical Estimates for Rural South-Central India," (with Anil Deolalikar, Univ. of Washington), in Gender, Population, and Development, M.Krishnaraj, R.Sudarshan, A.Sharif (ed.), Oxford University Press, 1998

 

 

WORKING PAPERS

 

 

1)      “Caste Mobility in an Indian Village 1866-2001,” (with Radu Ban and Babu N.S. Dasari), World Bank, November 2007

2)     “The Political Construction of Caste in South India,” (with Radu Ban) mimeo, World Bank, October 2007

3)      “Just Rewards: Local Politics and Public Resource Allocation in India,” (with Tim Besley and Rohini Pande), mimeo, October 2007 (submitted to the Journal of Political Economy)

4)     “Social Networks and Risk Management Strategies: What do we Know?  (with Jishnu Das and Michael Woolcock), February 2003

5)     “Is Community Driven Development Driven by the Community? An Case-Study of the Nicaragua Social Fund (FISE), with Ana Maria Ibanez and German Craemer, October 2001.

6)     Earnings and Incentives in Sex Work: An Analysis of the Sonagachi HIV/AIDS Intervention Project in Calcutta,” (with Indrani Gupta and Smarajit Jana), mimeo, World Bank, April 1999

7)     The Gift of a Virgin:  The Social Context of Child Marriage in Rural North India," (with Sonalde Desai and B.L. Joshi), mimeo, University of Maryland, July 1999

8)     "Does Prestige Matter? Compensating Differentials for Social Mobility in the Indian Caste System", Discussion Paper, 92-6 (PRC), Economics Research Center, University of Chicago, July 1992.

9)     “The Link Between Female Sterilization and Domestic Violence” (with Anne Waters), University of Michigan, mimeo (May 1994)

10)  Bargaining and Fertility in Brazil: A Qualitative and Econometric Analysis," (with Margaret Greene, Population Council), Williams College Research Memorandum Series, RM-153, February 1996. (Revised version of "Marital Instability, Inter-Spouse Bargaining and their Implications for Fertility in Brazil," Discussion Paper Series OSC (PRC) 91-3,  Population Research Center, University of Chicago, 1991).

 

 

ONGOING PROJECTS

 

1)     Policy Research Report on Local Governance and Community Development (with Ghazala Mansuri)

2)     Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of the impact of village democratization and decentralization processes in rural South India.  (with Radu Ban, Tim Besley, Rohini Pande and Paromita Sanyal).

3)     An Impact and Process Evaluation of Community Driven Development in urban Indonesia (with Vivi Alatas, Victoria Beard, and Menno Pradhan)

4)     Village Sanitation (with Monica Das Gupta)

5)     Social Change and Mobility in India

 

 

SELECTED OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

 

1.      World Bank – South Asia Social Development Department – Local Government Accountability in India, 2006-present

2.      World Bank, East Asia Urban Department (EASUR), Evaluation of the Urban Poverty Project II in Indonesia  (UPP2), 2002-present.

3.      World Bank, South Asia Rural Department (SASRD), Analysis of Panchayat Reform in India, 2002-present

4.      World Bank, Operations Evaluation Division (OED), Team on Evaluation of Social Funds, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Zambia, Malawi, 2000

5.      Mrichakatika (NGO specializing in income generation among women potters in rural India), field assessments, evaluations, feasibility studies, 1992-94.

 

FIELD EXPERIENCE

 

1.      1992-94: A total of 4 months of field work on domestic violence, economic inequality and marriage markets in 3 villages in Karnataka State in Southern India

2.      1996:  One month of field work on gender equity in 2 villages in UP state in North India and 2 villages in Karnataka.

3.      2000:  One month of field work property rights, risk, and urban governance in 4 slums in Delhi, India

4.      2001: One month of field work on community based development in Jamaica

5.      2002: Three weeks of field work on village government in 4 villages in Tamil Nadu and Kerala states in India.

6.      2003:  Two weeks of field Work in 3 poor urban areas in Central Java, Indonesia on community based development

7.      2006: Three weeks of field Work on village government in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala state in India.

8.      2006:  One week of field work in South Kalimantan, Indonesia on community based development

9.      2007:  One week of field work in Raichur District, Karnataka, India

 

 

SELECTED CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION AND PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS

 

 

Seminar presentations in 2005-08:  George Washington University, University of British Columbia, Yale University, University of California-Berkeley, World Bank, Harvard University, University of Wyoming, American University, George Washington University, SAIS – Johns Hopkins, Delhi School of Economics, Institute of Development Studies – Sussex, IGIDR – Mumbai, Center for Policy Research – Delhi, Indian Institute of Management – Bangalore, Institute for Advanced Study at the Indian Institute of Science– Bangalore, CESS – Hyderabad, Austrian Diplomatic Academy – Vienna

 

1)     Invited Speaker: Successful Societies Meeting, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Vancouver, January 2008

2)     Invited Speaker: Conference on Poverty, Inequality and the State, Duke University, January 2008

3)     Invited Speaker: Conference on Democracy in India, University of California, Berkeley, May 2007

4)     Invited Speaker: Conference on Panchayati Raj, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Govt. of India, 2006

5)     Co-Organizer (with Ravi Kanbur and Gopal Kadekodi), Conference on Development and Public Action In Karnataka, Bangalore-India, November 2005

6)     Invited Participant: Conversations between Economists and Anthropologists Part II – Goa, India, July 2003

7)     Invited Participant: Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics – Bangalore India, Discussant in session on Community Driven Development, May 2003

8)     Invited Participant: Conference on Global Poverty Measurement – Columbia University, March 31st-April 1, 2003

9)     Co-Organizer – Conference on Culture and Public Action – World Bank, June 30-July 1st, 2002

10)  Presented Paper, Annual Conference of the Society for Behavioral Economics, San Diego, June 2001

11)  Conference on Qualitative and Quantitative Methods at Cornell UniversityRavi Kanbur Organizer, May 2001

12)  Organizer and Discussant, Session on Community Driven Development, Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics, May 2001

13)  Chair, North American Universities Development Economics Conference, 2000

14)  Discussant and Chair, Population of America Annual Meetings, March 1999

15)  Chair and Organizer of Session on Domestic Violence, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 1998

16)  Panelist: Discussion on the use of Qualitative and Quantitative Data at the Population Association of  America Annual Meetings, April 1997.

17)  Invited Speaker: MacArthur-NCAER Conference on Gender Issues in Population Health and Development, New Delhi, January 1996, Presented two papers

18)  Invited Speaker: First International Conference on Dowry and Bride-Burning in India, Harvard University, November 1995, Chaired a Session and Presented a Paper.

19)  Invited Speaker: Conference on Anthropological Demography, Brown University, November 1994.

20)  Invited Speaker: Conference on Sexual Coercion and Women's Reproductive Health, Population Council, New York City, November 1993,  Session Chair and Discussant of Session on Research Methodologies

 

Several presentations at AEA Annual Meetings, Econometric Society, NEUDC (Development Economics) Conference.

 

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

 

Courses in 2004

 

1)     Spring Semester - Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service

Masters Course on Economic Development (co-taught with Garrance Gennicot)

 

2)     World Bank – World Bank Institute

Courses on Mixed-Methods Analysis for Poverty Reduction and Evaluation.  (with Michael Woolcock)

 

Courses in 2003

World Bank Institute

 

Mixed-Methods Analysis for Poverty Reduction.  (with Michael Woolcock)

 

Courses in 2002

World Bank Institute

 

Mixed Methods Analysis for Poverty Reduction (with Michael Woolcock)

The local measurement of governance effectiveness.

 

Courses in 2001

3rd Nordic Ph.D Workshop in Development Economics, University of Copenhagen, June 2001

 

Lectures on Culture, and Mixed Methods Analysis in Development

 

Courses in 1996-97

Williams College, Assistant Professor

 

Econ 511: Econometrics ( MA Students at the Center for Development Economics)