Two TCI scholars received their degrees during commencement ceremonies at Cornell University on Saturday, May 25. Vanisha Sharma received her PhD in applied economics and management from the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. Whitman Barrett received his MS…

Before planning your week, it is probably not unusual for you to check the weather forecast on your smartphone. For a farmer in a rural developing economy, however, weather news is more likely to come from the TV, radio, or…

The COVID-19 pandemic has revolutionized the face of field research in the era of mobile phones and the internet. While in-person interviews provide an opportunity to researchers for extensive interactions with participants in any study, to reduce the risk of…

In this blog post, TCI scholar Vanisha Sharma investigates how farmers in India’s impoverished rural areas are using the internet to boost agricultural productivity. Beginning in 2016, a public-private partnership called Jio laid 250,000 km of fiber optic cable throughout…

Vanisha Sharma received her PhD in applied economics and management in 2024. She is interested in analyzing the effects of the internet and digitization in rural economies. Her field-based research involves exploiting increasing internet access in rural communities to analyze…