Interrogating Development Seminar: The Financial Fix, Dr Sohini Kar (LSE)
Schedule
Wed Mar 18 2026 at 05:00 pm to 06:30 pm
UTC+00:00Location
Bush House South East Wing, King's College London | London, EN
About this Event
Join us for an exciting talk with Dr Sohini Kar, a leading economic anthropologist from the London School of Economics. In this session, Dr Kar will explore the intersections of the financial fix, insuring labour and extreme heat in India.
In the context of strained public finances, private finance has increasingly been called upon to fund social programmes. From social and development impact bonds to emerging insurance products and financial instruments, finance is being drawn into or called upon to address a vast array of development issues, from health and environment to education and housing.
At the intersection of financialization and development, this paper argues that the financial fix—following the technological fix—aims to solve social and environmental problems using financial instruments. While in some cases this is to address funding gaps, we also see the growing use of financial instruments as the solution. This paper focuses on the role of the financial fix in addressing the problem of extreme heat in India. It examines the emerging growth of insurance as a mechanism for addressing the problem of labour and extreme heat in India.
To debate her work, Dr Ewa Karwowski(Department of International Development) will act as discussant.
About the speaker
Dr Sohini Kar is a socio-cultural anthropologist focusing on economic anthropology of South Asia. Her work examines the impact of increasing financialization on poverty and development. Dr Kar has written about Indian microfinance, gender and finance, and on India’s financial inclusion policy and its relation to social welfare programmes. She is currently working on two projects: 1) financial activism and the ways in which both financial and non-financial actors engage finance as a space to enact social change; and 2) the impact of extreme heat on the lives and livelihoods of the urban poor in India.
About the Interrogating Development Seminar Series
The 'Interrogating Development' seminar series is organised by the Department of International Development at King's College London. The series examines some of the most pressing issues of development facing global society today, with the authors of new books presenting cutting-edge research on a variety of topics related to development.
The talk will be followed by a wine reception. The event is open to everyone.
Where is it happening?
Bush House South East Wing, King's College London, Bush House SE 2.10, London, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00
