My primary fields of research are political economy and development economics. Here is my CV. Some of my research papers are below.

Property Rights

"Land Titling and Rural Transition in Vietnam." (with Quy-Toan Do) Economic Development and Cultural Change 56, no. 3 (April 2008).

"The Cost of Property Rights: Establishing Institutions on the Philippine Frontier Under American Rule, 1898-1918." (with Noel Maurer) Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 09-023, August 2008. (Revised April 2009.) [PDF]

"Unbundling Property Rights: The Impact of Urban Housing Reforms on the Wage Structure in China." (with Xin Meng, Nancy Qian and Xiaoxue Zhang), Work in progress.

Political Economy

"Direct versus Indirect Colonial Rule in India: Long-term Consequences." Review of Economics and Statistics, 92 (4), 693-713, 2010. [PDF] (Lead article)

"Traveling Agents: Political Change and Bureaucratic Turnover in India." (with Anandi Mani) Review of Economics and Statistics, forthcoming. [PDF] [Online Appendix]

"The Power of Political Voice: Women's Political Representation and Crime in India." (with Anandi Mani, Prachi Mishra and Petia Topalova), American Economic Journal: Applied Economics (forthcoming). [PDF] [Online Appendix]

"Caste and Entrepreneurship in India." (with Tarun Khanna and Ashutosh Varshney), Harvard Business School Working Paper No. 12-028 (under review). [PDF]

"Redrawing the Lines: Did Political Incumbents Influence Electoral Redistricting in the World’s Largest Democracy?" (with Maya Shivakumar), Work in progress.

Public Goods Provision

"History, Social Divisions and Public Goods in Rural India." (with Abhijit Banerjee and Rohini Somanathan) Journal of the European Economic Association 3, nos. 2-3 (April-May 2005): 639-647.

"Public Action for Public Goods: Theory and Evidence." (with Abhijit Banerjee and Rohini Somanathan) In Handbook of Development Economics. Vol. 4, edited by T. Paul Schultz and John Strauss. Elsevier Science & Technology Books, 2008. [NBER Working Paper version]

"Colonial Land Tenure, Electoral Competition, and Public Goods in India." (with Abhijit Banerjee) In Natural Experiments in History, edited by Jared Diamond and James Robinson. Harvard University Press, 2009.

Conflict

"Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal." (with Quy-Toan Do) Journal of Peace Research, 47 (6), 2010. [PDF] “Mental Health in the Aftermath of Conflict.” (with Quy-Toan Do), in Michelle Garfinkel and Stergios Skaperdas, eds., Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Peace and Conflict, Oxford University Press, 2012. [PDF]

“Managing Conflict.” In Ejaz Ghani, ed., Reshaping Tomorrow: Is South Asia Ready for the Big Leap?, Oxford University Press, 2011.

“Conflict and Development,” with Ejaz Ghani, VoxEU.org, March 23, 2010. [Link]

"Conflict and Development: Lessons from South Asia,” with Ejaz Ghani, Economic Premise No. 31, September 2010. [Link]

Other Publications

“Is Decentralization Helping the Lagging Regions?” with Ejaz Ghani and Saurabh Mishra, in Ejaz Ghani, ed., The Poor Half Billion in South Asia, Oxford University Press, 2010.

“Are Lagging Regions Catching Up with Leading Regions?” with Ejaz Ghani and Saurabh Mishra, in Ejaz Ghani, ed., The Poor Half Billion in South Asia , Oxford University Press, 2010.

“India’s Pockets of Prosperity?” with Laura Alfaro and Semil Shah, The Christian Science Monitor, July 31, 2009. [Link]

Review of Economic Cooperation between Singapore and India: An alliance in the making? by Faizal bin Yahya, South Asian Review, December 2008.

Review of Understanding Civil War: Evidence and Analysis, Vols. 1 & 2, edited by Paul Collier and Nicholas Sambanis." Journal of Economic Literature, March 2007.

HBS Course Materials

Iyer, Lakshmi, and Richard H. K. Vietor. "India 2012: The Challenges of Governance." Harvard Business School Case 712-038.

Iyer, Lakshmi, and Namrata Arora. "Hollywood in India: Protecting Intellectual Property (A)." Harvard Business School Case 711-017.

Iyer, Lakshmi, and Namrata Arora. "Hollywood in India: Protecting Intellectual Property (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 711-018.

Iyer, Lakshmi. "Hollywood in India: Protecting Intellectual Property (A) and (B) (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 711-076.

Iyer, Lakshmi, and Jonathan Schlefer. “India: The Road to Inclusive Growth.” Harvard Business School Case 710-046.

Iyer, Lakshmi. “India: The Road to Inclusive Growth (TN).” Harvard Business School Teaching Note 711-009.

Iyer, Lakshmi, and Matthew C. Weinzierl. "Ben Bernanke: Person of the Year?" Harvard Business School Case 710-051.

Iyer, Lakshmi, John D. Macomber, and Namrata Arora. "Dharavi: Developing Asia's Largest Slum." Harvard Business School Case 710-004.

Iyer, Lakshmi, and John D. Macomber. "Dharavi: Developing Asia's Largest Slum (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 711-107.

Iyer, Lakshmi, and John D. Macomber. "Dharavi: Developing Asia's Largest Slum (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 710-011.

Alfaro, Laura, and Lakshmi Iyer. "Special Economic Zones in India: Public Purpose and Private Property (A)." Harvard Business School Case 709-027.

Alfaro, Laura, Lakshmi Iyer, and Namrata Arora. "Tata Motors in Singur: Public Purpose and Private Property (B)." Harvard Business School Case 709-029.

Alfaro, Laura, and Lakshmi Iyer. "Public Purpose and Private Property (A) and (B) (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 709-028.

Iyer, Lakshmi. "Punjab and Kerala: Regional Development in India." Harvard Business School Case 707-008.

Iyer, Lakshmi. "Punjab and Kerala: Regional Development in India (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 708-047.

Iyer, Lakshmi. "To Trade or Not to Trade: NAFTA and the Prospects for Free Trade in the Americas." Harvard Business School Case 705-034.

Iyer, Lakshmi. "To Trade or Not to Trade: NAFTA and the Prospects of Free Trade in the Americas (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 706-011.

Iyer, Lakshmi, and Noel Maurer. "What Should the Federal Reserve Do? Thoughts of Greenspan and Bernanke." Harvard Business School Case 706-017.

Abdelal, Rawi E., Lakshmi Iyer, and Noel Maurer. "Business, Government, and the International Economy (BGIE): Course Overview." Harvard Business School Note 706-029.