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Gopinath Annadurai Wins L K Deshpande Young Labour Economist Award

PhD student Gopinath Annadurai from IIM Bangalore has been awarded the L K Deshpande Young Labour Economist Award at the 64th Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE). The event was held at the University of Hyderabad.

Gopinath, a third-year student in the Public Policy area, received this recognition for his co-authored paper with Prof. Soham Sahoo, titled “Improving First-generation College Student’s Education & Labour Market Outcomes: Impact Evaluation of an Inclusive Policy in India.”

The paper examines the First-Generation Graduate Scholarship (FGGS) scheme launched in Tamil Nadu in 2010. This policy aims to waive tuition fees for first-generation graduates (FGGs) in technical education fields. Using a Difference-in-Differences model and multiple rounds of the National Sample Survey, the study found a 3.6 percentage point increase in professional course enrollment among FGGs. Additionally, the policy led to a shift towards service-sector employment and reduced casual employment among beneficiaries.

PhD Student Shubham Singh’s Co-authored Paper Published in Prestigious Journal

Shubham Singh, a PhD student in the Production and Operations Management area at IIM Bangalore, has co-authored a paper with Prof. D Krishna Sundar and Ravi Srinivasan. Their paper, titled “Adoption of Cashless Payment Systems in the Bottom-of-the-Pyramid Retail Supply Chains in India: A Technology-Organization-Environment Framework Perspective,” has been published in the premier journal Electronic Commerce Research.

The study investigates how small retailers and their suppliers adopt cashless payment systems in India, using the Technology-Organization-Environment framework. Data collected from urban, semi-urban, and rural areas reveal that perceived barriers, firm scope, firm size, and competition significantly influence the adoption of these systems.

Interestingly, while all five factors impact retailers, only firm scope and competition significantly affect upstream suppliers. These findings provide valuable insights for FinTech companies aiming to market their technology to merchants in emerging economies, aiding in the development of effective strategies and pricing models.