Her research reveals that state-level pro-employer labor reforms significantly boost plant output, wage bill, and worker earnings in the formal manufacturing sector, while pro-worker reforms do not negatively impact plant performance. Job security laws at the 100-worker threshold do not lead to significant discontinuities in the plant size distribution at the regulatory threshold. Additionally, Sreyashi shows how initial distributions of wealth lead to the emergence of aggregate and individual poverty traps in the presence of capital market imperfections, suggesting that redistributive policies and financial reforms can promote equitable economic development.

Niklas Bengtsson from Uppsala University kindly acted as opponent.

If you are curious to find out more about Sreyashi’s research, click below to read her thesis in full.

Read Sreyashi’s thesis