As the IPL season wrapped up and the T20 World Cup is in progress, there is no doubt that cricket fever is here to stay. Beyond cricketing questions such as the secret of KKR’s success or who will win the trophy at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on June 29, these tournaments raise broader social and economic questions. What is the ripple effect of a country’s victory on local businesses and employment? How do sponsorship deals and media rights shape consumers’ consumption patterns? Do such events bring people together or do they drive them apart? While these are often informally discussed and debated, there is a systematic science that can be applied to answer many of these questions in virtually every other sector of our economy. But to understand how, we must first travel to 1850s London.
How do you cure an epidemic?
In 1854, London was facing a grave problem: a deadly cholera outbreak was ravaging the city. The prevailing theory of that time blamed “miasmas” or foul air for the disease’s spread. However, it was unknown how exactly the disease spread and what could be done about it. Enter John Snow, a physician who challenged this notion and ultimately cracked the mystery. Snow meticulously collected data on the locations of cholera cases and mapped them. His analysis revealed a cluster of cholera outbreaks around a public water pump on Broad Street. Through his systematic observation approach, data analysis, and evidence-based reasoning, Snow identified contaminated water as the outbreak’s source and helped contain the disease. He understood that human health was intricately linked with human behaviour. He relied not on the Physical Sciences like Biology or Chemistry, but on the Social Sciences and showed how, by rigorously investigating social phenomena, one can discover practical solutions that improve lives.
What are the “Social” Sciences? In essence, it involves the scientific study of human behaviour, social groups and communities and the relationships among various stakeholders (the government, individuals, businesses, and so on). The classical Social Sciences encompass Economics, Psychology, Political Science, Anthropology, and Sociology. Newer additions include fields such as Communication and Media Studies, Criminology, Gender Studies, and so on. Social Science is predicated on the notion that, by bringing data and theory about various social phenomena to bear, one can begin to see systematic patterns in human behaviour and relationships between various stakeholders in societies. Advancing the Social Sciences is vital because pursuing such knowledge enriches our understanding of human nature and society. Additionally, the insights gained are practical, enhancing daily decision-making and informing effective policies and regulations.
In India
Conventionally (from India’s independence to the early 2010s), fields such as Engineering and Medicine have been considered the main career paths in India. These STEM fields have provided the country with phenomenal human capital and development, making it the hub of outsourcing some of the best talent in the world. STEM fields develop academic rigour and ethic of evidence-based research and equip students to solve technical problems with limited resources. By rewarding precision and problem-solving, they build a strong foundation for expertise in a field.
However, the gains offered by focusing on STEM fields have come at the cost of de-prioritising other related fields, particularly the Social Sciences. As our country rapidly develops, we are now facing the challenges due to this de-prioritisation. For example, in water resource management, most municipal departments in India are staffed with hydraulic engineers. While this skill is a necessity, water resource management involves catering to a wide range of priorities: maintenance of adequate water pressure, sustainable extraction of water resources, leakage and pilferage detection, sewerage design and mapping for universal access, efficient and equitable pricing, and the development of water markets. The cholera epidemic in London reminds us that solving these problems requires expertise not just in hydraulics but also in economics, demography, law and governance.
Moreover, every technical field increasingly has philosophical questions to answer. For example, how do we address the challenge of bias while using algorithms for policing? How do we anonymise wearable data to understand public health? We need technical expertise to be integrated into society and out of their silos to address challenges that cut across educational disciplinary barriers. While there is no silver bullet, the Social Sciences provide useful moral, theoretical and empirical frameworks to address these challenges.
Research trends
Over the last decade, an increasing number of young Indians have chosen Arts over the usual Science and Commerce fields. The All India Survey on Higher Education (2021-22), conducted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, found that the most popular stream of choice for postgraduate studies was the Social Sciences (21.1%) followed by Science (14.7%). While this is encouraging, unfortunately, this talent is not furthering its expertise in this area and contributing to the development of sorely needed new social scientific knowledge. The share of Ph.D. graduates in the Social Sciences has been reducing considerably over the last few years (from over 15% in 2013 to 7% in 2021).
Expanding Social Science training and increasing the number of Ph.D.s in this field is essential for India’s progress. We have ample demonstrations of this. For instance, Karthik Muralidharan’s impactful research on the efficacy of using biometric smartcards for delivering payments in Andhra Pradesh significantly reduced leakage and delays, directly improving the livelihoods of millions. This demonstrates the profound influence well-trained social scientists can have on addressing crucial national issues. However, India faces numerous pressing challenges that lack solutions, and we simply do not have enough people with the right training to tackle these issues.
Further, importing answers from the West is not viable due to our unique context. For example, India’s informal economy operates differently from Western models, necessitating tailored approaches. India’s current social system has many innovations that rival the West, such as biometric identification and digital payments. The impact and governance of these social phenomena must be undertaken locally. While we have been able to rely on Western advances in the Natural Sciences such as Engineering, Computer Science, and Medicine, in the realm of Social Science, the lack of a deep and robust social scientifically trained bench and a body of knowledge seriously hinders our ability to tackle systemic issues that are slowing India’s progress.
On the bright side, thanks to rapid technological advancements, we live in an era of data abundance and rapid digitisation. This presents a perfect opportunity to study various societal aspects comprehensively. Data and technology must reshape education and skill-development initiatives. Imagine using satellite data to monitor agricultural productivity in real-time or employing big data analytics to predict and prevent public health crises. Imagine studying the derivative impacts of migration and environmental erosion in cities or algorithmic decision-making for rations and welfare schemes. In light of these opportunities, there is a growing demand for interdisciplinary programmes that combine data analytics and domain-specific knowledge to address multi-sectoral problems that, if solved in silos, will do more harm than good. Social Science research has enthusiastically embraced these developments, evident from the spike in programmes in Urban Studies, Data Policy, Data Science in Public Policy, and newer social research methods such as social network analysis.
Way forward
To fully harness this potential, we need more individuals trained and skilled in the Social Sciences. Undergraduate programmes must develop and hire skilled faculty in these areas to emphasise to students the importance of these topics. We need more graduate and Ph.D. programmes in Social Science fields from Economics, Political Science, to Psychology. Such expertise will yield specific knowledge and create a pool of professionals ready to serve in government and senior corporate roles, applying their insights to critical issues. By focusing on nuanced, impactful research rooted in our societal context we will have effective answers to a wide range of socially and economically important questions that India faces. And yes, that includes an estimate of the economic and social implications of a potential Indian victory on an island far away in the West Indies on June 29.
Abhishek Nagraj is an Assistant Professor in the Management and Organizations (MORS) and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation group at Berkeley Haas. Sahil Deo is co-founder of CPC Analytics, a policy consultancy firm in Pune and Berlin.
Published - June 20, 2024 07:01 pm IST
