Erin Hern, associate professor of political science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, recently shared her expertise on how to measure gender discrimination under systems defined by legal pluralism for an international organization as it prepares to update an index widely referenced by researchers and policymakers.

Hern joined a working group of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a Paris-based international group of 38 democracies that works to promote economic growth and trade while setting global standards on issues ranging from tax policy to education and environmental protection. As a lead discussant, she addressed the challenges of determining how to measure gender discrimination in plural legal systems.

Legal pluralism refers to the coexistence of two or more parallel or overlapping legal systems within a country. Hern has researched and written on discrimination in Africa, where most countries are legally plural due to colonialism, religious law and other factors.  She has maintained that such systems are often doubly bad for women, as they reinforce patriarchal threads in Indigenous practices alongside male-dominated Anglo-European laws.

Referring to the OECD working group, Hern says, “We also discussed how to measure discrimination when women can theoretically opt into a gender-equal legal system, but social and familial pressures might make that impossible for them.”

The panel was held in advance of the OECD’s fifth edition of the , the most widely used measure of international gender inequality in academic and policy work. The index includes measures of gender inequality in countries by looking at discrimination in the legal system, within families, in education, in the economy and physical integrity.

Hern is among a small group of subject area experts who were invited to join the panel to explore challenges related to measurement data. Their feedback and perspectives will influence changes to the methodology and content areas as the organization prepares to release the next edition in 2027. Other invited speakers included academics, topical experts from the United Nations, think tank fellows and representatives from private organizations such as the Clooney Foundation for Justice.

Hern is the author of “When do Women Win in Legally Plural Systems? Evidence from Ghana and Senegal” (Journal of Modern African Studies, 2022) which examines how women navigate complex legal and social systems to claim their rights in courts.

Senior Reese Skelly is floating above Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, pondering where in the capital city he wants to visit first. At least, that’s what it looks like through his virtual reality (VR) headset—he’s actually in Bird Library’s Digital Scholarship Space.

“You’re flying a little fast,” cautions Andrew Jonelis, assistant teaching professor of economics. “Maybe slow down before you make yourself queasy.”

Around him, classmates laugh as Skelly, an economics major, “drops” toward a cluster of corrugated-metal rooftops. On the screen, the class can see what he sees: winding dirt roads and clusters of homes pressed against a modern highway.

“That’s what we talked about in class,” Jonelis says, pointing. “Right there—you’ve got informal housing next to developed neighborhoods. That’s economic development in action.”

It’s all part of an assignment for Jonelis’ Economics of Emerging Markets course, one that trades textbooks for experiential learning. With the help of the Digital Scholarship Space staff, students are using VR headsets and an app called WorldLens (formerly EarthQuest) to “visit” the emerging markets they’re studying—without leaving campus.

Jonelis got the idea during a summer teaching institute that showcased new technologies for the classroom.

“I realized this could help students see what life is actually like in emerging markets,” he says. “Numbers and charts don’t hit home the same way.”

In his course, students examine the vast differences in living standards between advanced economies and developing ones.

“The average person in an advanced economy consumes about $150 a day,” Jonelis says. “In many emerging markets, it’s closer to $10 or even $2 a day. That’s a big difference in resources.”

While he spent the beginning of the semester driving home those statistics, Jonelis believes the ability to visualize that difference will make a greater impact.

“I’ve been to some of these countries, and you can very clearly see what struggling with international poverty looks like,” he says. “Just reading about it does not have the same effect.”

The VR sessions all begin the same way.

“Do you get motion sickness?” Jonelis asks. “Start slowly.”

Students are asked to explore various sites in their target market, take screenshots and later write a Development Consultant Mission Memo reflecting on infrastructure, informal economies and how public services reach people on the ground.

“Do all these citizens have access to clean water, sanitation or proper, safe electricity that’s well regulated?” Jonelis asks. “How do people get around to go to work or school? Can you tell how public services are delivered?”

Junior economics major Bram Feenstra takes the class around Dushanbe, Tajikistan, while Jonelis explains some of what the students are seeing.

“Here the infrastructure doesn’t look too bad, but I bet if you go to the rural areas, you’re going to see more deficient infrastructure that hasn’t been maintained following the fall and collapse of the Soviet Union,” he says.

Next up is Castries, St. Lucia, with Ashley Ryan. She lands in front of the National Insurance Corporation building, then visits the Grass Street area to walk through an urban shantytown and a street full of vendors selling produce and other food.

“It’s very cool to feel like I am standing right there with them,” she says.

Classmate Anna Slight travels to Tandale, a neighborhood of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where the VR places her inside a fruit market before she ventures out to explore different parts of the coastal city.

“Seeing the areas of informal housing we discussed in class really helped me understand what we’re talking about when we say ‘developing economies,’” she says.

For Jonelis, that connection between concept and lived experience is exactly the point.

“VR lets students feel what it’s like to stand in the middle of an emerging market—to notice how people get around, how the economy operates,” he says. “It’s the next best thing to being there.”

The project also showcases how the University’s Digital Scholarship Space is reimagining classroom learning.

“We’re seeing more faculty experiment with immersive technologies,” says staff member Sam Santiago, who helps students with the headsets. “Economics might not be the first discipline you think of for VR—but it works.”

As Slight finishes her virtual tour, Jonelis grins.

“There’s some economic development for you,” he says, watching the headset view flicker between a sleek office building and a nearby settlement of corrugated roof housing.

For a moment, everyone is somewhere between Syracuse and Tanzania, the real and the virtual. Then Slight removes the headset and laughs. “I think I just flew through a mountain,” she says.

“Well,” Jonelis quips, “that’s globalization for you.”

This week, the White House announced that it was doubling tariffs to 50% on imports from India, due to the country buying oil from Russia.

Reporters looking for an expert to discuss how these tariffs will impact global trade and the economies of India and the US, please see the expertise of ������ Professor of Economics He is an expert on Indian economics and international trade.

In reaction to the news, Professor Mitra responded:

• “These US tariffs apply to India’s goods exports. It is much more difficult, if not impossible, to put tariffs on its service exports. The US share in India’s  manufacturing exports is close to 20%, while the US share in India’s service exports is over 60%. If we look at India’s total exports to all countries, 40% is service exports. While India’s goods exports to the US are about $86 billion, its service exports to the US are about $186 billion. Therefore, while a 50% tariffs on Indian goods exports to the US  will cause significant damage to the Indian economy, it will be  somewhat limited by the fact that its service exports to the US are more than double that of its goods exports,” said Mitra.
• “Also, India is a large and diversified economy and has a very large domestic market, which producers there will certainly tap into. Recently, India has been signing free trade agreements with various countries. President Trump’s 50% tariff will push them into negotiating trade agreements with many more countries. Given that President Trump has imposed tariffs on 90 countries so far, many of those countries also will be looking for alternative markets for their own products. This will benefit India.  These trade agreements with other countries will further contain the impact of the Trump tariff on India. These agreements might take a little bit of time, so the immediate negative impact of the Trump tariff might be larger than what we see in the longer run,” said Mitra.

• “There are some estimates out there that the US tariffs will shave off 1 percentage point from India’s  currently projected growth rate of 6.5% for FY 2025-26, but others say that the growth reduction could be a bit larger,” said Mitra.

• “All of this remains to be seen. There was a meeting scheduled some time ago between US and Indian trade negotiators in New Delhi for the end of this month, so, at the very least, President Trump should not have expected any concessions from India before the end of this month. But even by the end of this month, the US is unlikely to get from India what it wants. Totally opening up its agricultural and dairy markets to American agricultural and dairy producers is what President Trump wants India to do. This would be political suicide for Prime Minister Modi (this will have tremendous political costs). Also, President Trump doesn’t want India to buy Russian oil. While it is true that India should not be buying that oil in light of the current Ukraine-Russia conflict (President Trump does not apply the rules on this uniformly on all countries), the Modi government has consistently argued that cheap oil benefits India a great deal. For a large and populous country like India with a population of over 1.4 billion, there is a big demand for oil and purchase of Russian oil leads to big savings for it. In addition, India has been processing Russian oil and selling that processed oil to other countries, which has been generating considerable revenues and profits,” said Mitra.

• “Thus, given the large political and economic costs of meeting President Trump’s demands, it is unlikely that India will provide him with any concessions. It is quite possible that President Trump’ negotiating team will come back empty handed from New Delhi in late August,” said Mitra.

• “It is also important to note that, given America’s problems with China, the US has wanted India to be a counter to China in that region. So India is of huge geopolitical importance to the US.  Thus, the geopolitics itself provides India with considerable negotiating power. If President Trump doesn’t understand that, it is not totally impossible that India will get pushed towards China’s side, in which case it is possible that it joins the currently China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) (a free trade agreement) as an equal member. In the situation and climate President Trump has created, it won’t be surprising if both India and China find this a mutually beneficial transaction.,” said Mitra.

To arrange an interview with Professor Mitra, please contact Ellen James Mbuqe, executive director of media relations at ejmbuqe@syr.edu.