Title: Bureaucrat Cadre Assignment Policies: Theory and Evidence

Abstract: Indian Administrative Services officers spend their predominant work-life in a cadre/location. Three different cadre-assignment mechanisms have been applied since 2000: an essentially random assignment (both pre-2008 and current), serial dictatorship (SD; 2008-17), SD with constraints on reporting cadre-preferences (2017-2026). In addition, we design and study a fourth mechanism. A key policy aim is national integration which implies officers should serve in diverse locations relative to their home cadre. We use theory, surveys of aspirants, and lab/field experiments to study the four mechanisms' implications for strategy-proofness and misreporting, officers' envy and welfare, and national integration.