photo by Rakesh Nagula
ECONOMICS NIRVIKAR SINGH How developing economies promote financial inclusion is an issue Nirvikar Singh discusses in a report for the International Growth Centre, a research center based at the London School of Economics and Political Science in partnership with the University of Oxford. Singh lays out some of the basic concepts surrounding financial inclusion, including access to banking, digital payments and financial literacy, as well as markets for health insurance, crop insurance, agricultural credit, small firm finance, and the widely discussed microcredit/microfinance. Singh argues that financial inclusion is a complex and multidimensional concept. With a focus on India, Singh outlines several recent studies and draws lessons for policymaking and future research directions. “Important considerations that emerge from the overview are the significance of social and economic context, the need to consider behavioral biases connected to situations involving time and risk, the interaction of different dimensions of financial inclusion, the importance of details of policy design, and the limited understanding we still have of many of the factors underlying the functioning of financial markets,” writes Singh. -MDW Singh, Nirvikar. (2017) "Financial Inclusion: Concepts, Issues and Policies for India." International Growth Center.
Singh, who also holds the Aurora Chair in Sikh and Punjabi Studies, published an article that examines the difficulties of translating the Sikh sacred text into English. He also authored a chapter in Sikh Art from the Kapany Collection. -MDW Singh, Nirvikar (2017), "Portraits of the Sikh Gurus." The Sikh Foundation & Asian Cultural History Program, Smithsonian Institution).