Sandip Chakrabarti | Jayanth Kumar Narsim
Transport Policy on Science Direct, January 2026
The rapid aging of the global population warrants multidisciplinary research on factors influencing the quality of life of older adults, with the goal of creating old-age-friendly cities and communities. We investigate whether lack of car ownership or “carlessness” is associated with reduced life satisfaction and increased depression – and hence degraded quality of life – among older adults and analyze whether depression mediates the carlessness-life satisfaction relationship. We use nationally representative data comprising more than 31,000 persons aged 60 years or more from India, a country experiencing rapid population aging as well as car adoption. We employ OLS regression along with mediation analysis using Structural Equation Modeling techniques (SEM and GSEM) to analyze the associations and mechanisms. We find that carlessness is associated with lower life satisfaction (measured using the SWLS) and higher levels of depression (measured using the CES-D scale) and that depression partially mediates the carlessness-life satisfaction relationship. Carlessness-related life satisfaction degradation is greatest among the oldest age cohort and women. Women are most vulnerable to carlessness-induced depression. Depression amplifies life dissatisfaction the most among relatively younger cohorts, men, and urban residents. Our study underscores the need for policy action to delink the car ownership and accessibility advantage connection for simultaneously addressing life satisfaction declines and mental health disorders among carless older adults. Since structural transformations in land use and transportation systems take time, policymakers should urgently recognize and address carlessness-induced depressive symptoms using medical or social support interventions to enable carless older adults to lead relatively more satisfying lives. Preventing transportation-related degradations in older adults’ quality of life is imperative for promoting transportation equity.
Sandip Chakrabarti | Muskan Verma
Research on Transportation Economics on Science Direct, December 2025
The existence, causes, and consequences of the accessibility advantage offered by personal motorized vehicles relative to alternative modes have been explored in the literature. We use data from a relatively understudied geographical context to estimate the magnitude and analyze the implications of the disparity in spatial range, specifically the 60-min travel range – i.e., the maximum distance that can be covered, on average, via the multimodal transportation network – between personal motorized vehicle owners and non-owners. A higher travel range within a specified time window may indicate greater accessibility to opportunities. We use nationally representative survey data comprising over 178,000 households across India to first examine whether and to what extent household vehicle ownership is associated with a relative 60-min travel range advantage. Using an experience- and perception-based measure of household-level travel range, we find that the 60-min travel range of vehicle-owning households is at least 10 % more than that of vehicle-less households. This travel range advantage is relatively greater in rural and low-density areas and locations with limited public transit services. Next, we analyze whether the 60-min travel range determines the aspiration of owning a household vehicle. In urban areas, a one-km lower 60-min travel range is associated with about 5 % higher odds of aspiring to own a car. Our analysis highlights that existing vehicle owners in India enjoy a potential spatial travel range advantage relative to non-owners, and that this advantage promotes latent demand for vehicle ownership in urban areas. Closing the gap can ensure equity in accessibility and reduce personal vehicle dependence.
Consumption and borrowing: Land-holding inequality and the effects of cash transfers
Abhishek Shaw | Sawan Rathi | Anindya S. Chakrabarti
Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer Nature Link, December 2025
A rich literature shows that in developed countries, cash windfalls increase consumption and are often used to pay off debt. Does inequality influence how cash transfers affect consumption and borrowing in developing countries? In this paper, we study an unconditional cash transfer program for agricultural landowners in India in a quasi-natural experiment set up. In aggregate, cash transfers led to an increase in consumption alongside an increase in borrowings on the extensive margin. Farmers with large land holdings increased only bank borrowings, whereas small and marginal farmers increased both consumption and borrowing from banks, with heterogeneous effects across quartiles. There are no effects on landless agricultural laborers. These effects appear after cash disbursement and not when the announcement was made. Our results suggest that as landholding size increases, households tend to respond more through formal borrowing than consumption.
Mental health consumption: Tracing the past and preparing for the future in a digital age
Rajeev Kumar Ray | Ishita Vyas | Rajesh Chandwani | Mayank Kumar
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Wiley Online Library, November 2025
In an era where digital platforms are reshaping healthcare delivery, we have also seen the rise of online platforms for mental health consumption. While the literature on consumer behaviour in an online context is rich, mental health consumption presents a unique context requiring attention to personal health-related dynamics alongside the larger aspect of online consumption. This motivates the current study to conduct a multi-method study for understanding the phenomenon of online mental health consumption. We combine a systematic review of 105 articles (2014–2024) with topic modelling of 168,040 user reviews from mental health applications. We theorise how the logic of choice and care are at work in online mental health consumption. Our findings reveal a complex and dynamic interplay of ‘choice’-related enablers and ‘care’-related inhibitors, shaping online mental health consumption behaviour. While online platforms offer ‘choice’ for consuming mental health services by overcoming traditional barriers related to stigma and accessibility, their uptake at the same time is challenged by the emerging care-related factors such as trust and privacy concerns. An analysis of user reviews further reveals that consumer experiences focus on the service delivery quality, personalised user interfaces and technical platform reliability, which collectively demonstrate how users navigate between autonomous choice making and professional care expectations. This apparent tension between the ‘logics’ in mental health consumption online also informs the larger online consumption behaviour literature about attending to the constantly evolving, often competing logic in online platforms.
Vanita Singh | Rajesh Chandwani | Viswanath Pingali | Alpa Dalal
BMC Public Health, Springer Nature Link, November 2025
India’s fight against Tuberculosis (TB) has evolved from the National Tuberculosis (TB) Control Program (NTCP) in 1962 to the current National TB Elimination Program (NTEP), guided by the National Strategic Plan (2020–2025). Despite ambitious goals, TB incidence remains high at 199 cases per lakh, with only a 3% annual reduction, far from the 15% target. Systemic issues, especially in human resources, hamper effective policy implementation. Frontline workers (FWs), crucial to the program, face heavy workloads, inadequate upgradation of training, and limited support, yet their voices are rarely heard. This study uses Lipsky’s Street-Level Bureaucracy (SLB) theory to explore FWs’ challenges under NTEP and offers insights to strengthen India’s TB elimination efforts.
