PhD student in Information Systems and Innovation
Biography
Silvia Masiero (born 12th October 1986) has an undergraduate degree in Economics of International Markets and the New Technologies, awarded with honors by Bocconi University in July 2008. After graduation, Silvia has moved to LSE, where she obtained a Master of Science in Development Management, awarded with Distinction in December 2009. Before starting her PhD, Silvia has worked as a research assistant at Bocconi University: her activity was located in the domain of development induced by industrial innovation, with a focus on the sectors of advanced microelectronics and semiconductors. Her professional background results from the complementarity between research in these areas and on-field experiences in international volunteering, which have led her to work in Palestine (2008 and 2010), Jordan (2009) and Togo (2010). From volunteering, Silvia has derived her personal approach to development, as something inseparable from the direct knowledge of human and geopolitical contexts of intervention: this perspective is embodied in the work which she will be dedicated to for three years, as a PhD student in ICT for Development. Silvia's PhD work focuses on the impact of digital technologies on the Indian Public Distribution System, which is the biggest anti-poverty net ever constructed in India for the public distribution of primary goods.
Research Interests
Thesis: 'State-Level Implementation of the Indian Public Distribution System: What Role for E-Governance?'
My PhD work focuses on the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the state-level implementation of the Indian Public Distribution System (PDS). The PDS, a programme aimed at government-led redistribution of primary commodities to below-poverty-line (BPL) citizens, is articulated on two tiers: on the one hand, the Government of India dictates general policy guidelines and allocates rationed goods to the state administrations; on the other hand, state governments design and implement distribution schemes at the local level. My research focuses on the latter tier, and seeks to understand the mechanisms through which e-governance can proactively aid the process of local implementation of the PDS. Research will be conducted on the basis of a single-state case study, which will, in a later stage, extend to other states, in order to draw lessons for other Indian state administrations facing the same challenge.
My elected case study is that of Kerala, a state whose PDS is experiencing serious problems of governance, as a consequence of the 1997 shift of the central government of India to a Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). Indeed, given that only 25% of the Kerala population has been termed BPL by the Government of India, allocation of foodgrains to this state has been reduced to only 10% of the previous supply. Coherently with its strong redistributive tradition, the Government of Kerala has decided to revitalize the PDS: to do so, it has adopted a programme-specific toolkit for e-governance, known as Targeted Efficient Transparent Rationing and Allocation Public Distribution System (TETRAPDS). Developed between 2003 and 2005, TETRAPDS is made out of four modules, three of which refer to the back-end management of PDS supplies: namely, a workflow-based Ration Card Management System (RCMS); a computerized system for the allocation of commodities to retail dealers; and a digitalized system for coordinating the inspection and monitoring measures at the different levels of the supply chain. The fourth module, a "webPDS" portal for civil supplies, is a front-end application that caters directly to the citizens, who can use it to access application forms and detailed information on PDS mechanisms. The purpose of my research is that of studying the impact of this ICT-based programme on the local implementation of PDS, in order to infer prescriptions for the other Indian states that need to design their own execution of the central government's guidelines.
Supervisor
Publications and Papers
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Masiero, S. (2011) Financial vs. Social Sustainability of Telecentres: Mutual Exclusion or Mutual Reinforcement? European Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 45(3): 1-23.
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Masiero, S. (2010) Book Review - E-Governance for Development: A Focus on Rural India. African Journal of Innovation, Science, Technology and Development, 2(3): 253-258.
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Masiero, S. 2010. Digital Technologies and Human Development. Working Paper for The Innovation Knowledge Foundation (THINK!), available at http://www.thinkinnovation.org/file/research/22/en/Silvia_Report_004_2010.pdf.
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Masiero, S. 2010. Accountability for Services to Palestinian Refugees: A View on UNRWA's Work in the West Bank. Working Paper 9/2010 at MEDAlics Research Centre for Mediterranean Relations, available at http://www.medalics.org/public/fileupload/commoncms/20101004122722872-WP9.pdf.
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Masiero, S. 2010. The ICT Sector in Palestine: Conceiving Development as Human Empowerment. Working Paper 8/2010 at MEDAlics Research Centre for Mediterranean Relations, available at http://www.medalics.org/public/fileupload/commoncms/20100714111345492-WP8.pdf.