Felix Rusche Wins FBK-IRVAPP 2025 Best Paper Award
Felix Rusche, a doctoral graduate at the Center for Doctoral Studies in Economics, has been honored with the 2025 FBK-IRVAPP Best Paper Award for his outstanding research on public policy evaluation. His paper, Broadcasting Change: India’s Community Radio Policy and Women’s Empowerment, explores how access to media can serve as a transformative tool in advancing gender equality.
The study analyzes the impact of India’s 2006 policy reform, which allowed NGOs and educational institutions to operate community radio stations aimed at supporting local development. Using a unique dataset covering over 250 stations, Felix Rusche demonstrates that community radio has consistently prioritized women’s empowerment in its programming.
The findings are striking: access to radio is associated with an average increase of 0.3 years in girls’ education and an 11% higher likelihood of completing secondary school. The study also links community radio to a 22% reduction in underage marriages and a 21% rise in women’s participation in household decision-making.
“The aim of the FBK-IRVAPP award is to emphasize the importance of rigorous public policy evaluation in understanding societal impact,” said FBK-IRVAPP Director Mirco Tonin. “This year’s winning paper is an outstanding example, reminding us of the media’s profound influence on people’s lives—a power that must be used with great responsibility.”
Felix Rusche will present his research at the upcoming “Panel Data for Causal Research Designs” summer school, to be held June 29 – July 4, 2025, in Bertinoro, Italy. The program is jointly organized by FBK-IRVAPP and the Italian Society of Econometrics (SIdE-IEA).
The FBK-IRVAPP Award is given annually to an unpublished paper by a doctoral student or early-career researcher. This year’s jury—Mirco Tonin, Erich Battistin, and Enrico Rettore—selected Rusche’s work for its methodological rigor and policy relevance.