Shweta Bhogale

Shweta Bhogale

PhD Candidate

Harvard University

Biography

I am a postdoctoral fellow at Jameel Poverty Action Lab’s King Climate Action Initiative at MIT and a visiting scholar at UCSD’s Global Policy School.

My research interests lie at the intersection of environmental and resource economics, development economics, and political economy. In particular, my work spans natural resource management including groundwater and clean air, climate adaptation, innovation in agriculture, and rural development.

Before starting my postdoc, I got my Ph.D. in Public Policy (Economics Track) at Harvard university. I have been a research assistant for Professor Tavneet Suri and Dr. Rachel Glennerster through Innovations for Poverty Action. I received my MA in International and Development Economics at Yale University and have a BA in Economics and Statistics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.

Interests
  • Environmental Economics
  • Development Economics
  • Political Economy
Education
  • PhD in Public Policy (Economics track), 2022

    Harvard University

  • MA in International and Development Economics, 2013

    Yale University

  • BA in Economics and Statistics, 2012

    St. Xavier's College

Research

Working Papers

Run On The Reservoir: Evidence for Administrative Competition for Groundwater in India” with Shamil Khedgikar (Under Review)

We study whether administrative jurisdictions exacerbate the standard tragedy of the commons problem for groundwater through the policies they implement. We employ a cross-sectional difference-in-differences framework using variation in the overlap of groundwater resources with districts, and the permeability of aquifer systems which facilitate groundwater movement across borders. We find that districts which competitively share a common resource engage in water-intensive agricultural practices. District spending through different policies escalates this groundwater dependence instead of controlling it, implying a lack of coordination between the decentralized administrations. In the long-term, competitive resources experience unsustainable extraction and are more likely to have defunct wells. Lastly, we find evidence for some adaptation to depleting groundwater within small administrations like villages where local cooperation is more feasible. Villages invest more in generating alternative surface-water sources that are not at risk of appropriation, as groundwater depletes.

Selected Works

In Progress

Innovation at Local Agricultural Research Centres in India

Revitalizing Traditional Water Tanks for Climate Adaptation in India” with Kyle Emerick

Barriers to Civic Action for Clean Air” with Patrick Baylis and Teevrat Garg

Long-term Climate Change Adaptation in Agriculture” with Maulik Jagnani, Meera Mahadevan, and Kibrom Tafere

Solarizing Agriculture: Estimating the Economic Returns to Solar Irrigation Pumps in Bangladesh” with Shefali Khanna and Mohammad Yunus

Population Dispersion and Rural Public Good Delivery” with Shamil Khedgikar and Kartik Srivastava