The attractiveness of Indian Polytechnics graduates—An analysis from the (demand-side) perspective of companies and colleges

The paper examines the attractiveness of graduates from Indian Polytechnics (PTs). The attractiveness is examined from the perspective of actors who have a demand for the graduates, namely companies and engineering colleges. To understand the reasons for their assessment of attractiveness, this study uses the concept of institutional logics (ILs) to unveil the inherent reasons behind the stakeholders' perception of attractiveness. To understand the stakeholders' ILs, interviews were undertaken in nine companies and 10 colleges in Mumbai and Delhi. The findings make clear that the companies' and colleges' assessments of the attractiveness of PT graduates are very different, reflecting their own ILs. Companies assess the attractiveness as limited due to the lack of employability of PT graduates. In contrast, colleges view graduates far more positively, as the weaknesses described by companies have less of an impact on them.     

The effect of presidential election outcomes on alcohol drinking

The growing political polarization and the increasing use of social media have been linked to straining social ties worldwide. The 2016 presidential elections in the United States reflected this trend with reports of fear and anxiety among voters. We examine how election results can be linked to episodes of anxiety through the use of alcohol as self-medication. We analyze a daily dataset of household purchases of alcohol in the weeks following presidential elections. We find that, within 30 days from Election Day, a 10 percentage point increase in support for the losing candidate increases alcohol expenditure by 1.1%. The effect is driven by counties with a higher share of supporters of the losing candidate and is robust to controlling more flexibly for omitted variables related to alcohol consumption. The increase in alcohol consumption is present in the 2016 elections and absent in the previous three presidential elections.