This is the 2026 job market series, where I speak with young scholars entering the academic job market about their latest research on India. I spoke with Vaibhav Rathi who is a doctoral candidate in economics at Stockholm University. We discussed his job market paper titled, "Political Influence, Bureaucratic Priorities, and Capital Accumulation in India."

We talked about bureaucratic state capacity in India, the role of bureaucrats in approving large infrastructure projects, whether politicians use their influence to distort administrative priorities, the impact of these processes on private investment and much more.

Recorded September 15th, 2026.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

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Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:26 - Bureaucratic Priorities, Political Influence, and "Distortion without Corruption"
00:06:53 - The Queue Metaphor
00:09:03 - India's Bureaucratic State Capacity
00:14:28 - The Procedural Context for Large Investment Projects
00:17:25 - Political Alignment and Project Prioritization
00:20:35 - Measuring Bureaucratic Activity
00:25:58 - Understanding Changes in Politicians' Influence
00:32:38 - Findings of the Study
00:36:14 - Why Central-Government Projects Get Bumped in the Queue
00:39:00 - Implications for India's Political Economy
00:45:19 - Outro