An economist in the real world : the art of policymaking in India / Kaushik Basu.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Basu, Kaushik, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Basu, Kaushik.

Economists--India.

Economists.

Economic development--India.

Economic development.

India--Economic policy--1991-2016.

India.

India--Officials and employees.

India--Politics and government--1977-.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (257 p.)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts ; London, England : The MIT Press, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"In December 2009, the economist Kaushik Basu left the rarefied world of academic research for the nuts and bolts of policymaking. Appointed by the then Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, to be chief economic adviser (CEA) to the Government of India, Basu -- a theorist, with special interest in development economics, and a professor of economics at Cornell University -- discovered the complexity of applying economic models to the real world. Effective policymaking, Basu learned, integrates technical knowledge with political awareness. In this book, Basu describes the art of economic policymaking, viewed through the lens of his two and a half years as CEA. Basu writes from a unique perspective -- neither that of the career bureaucrat nor that of the traditional researcher. Plunged into the deal-making, non-hypothetical world of policymaking, Basu suffers from a kind of culture shock and views himself at first as an anthropologist or scientist, gathering observations of unfamiliar phenomena. He addresses topics that range from the macroeconomic -- fiscal and monetary policies -- to the granular -- designing grain auctions and policies to assure everyone has access to basic food. Basu writes about globalization and India's period of unprecedented growth, and he reports that at a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Obama joked to him, 'You should give this guy some tips' -- 'this guy' being Timothy Geithner. Basu describes the mixed success of India's anti-poverty programs and the problems of corruption, and considers the social norms and institutions necessary for economic development. India is, Basu argues, at an economics crossroad. As CEA from 2009 to 2012, he was present at the creation of a potential economic powerhouse"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Contents; Preface; 1 Arriving in Lutyens's Delhi; From the Slopes of Raisina Hill; Speaking in Subsequences, the Extended Sen Rule; 2 India's Growth Story: Stagnation, Crisis, and Takeoff; Delicious Bengali Dishes; The Coffee House at the Delhi School of Economics; Intellectual Roots of the Economy; The Growth Trajectory; Crisis as Opportunity; Growth Surge; Gathering Storm: The Global Financial Crisis and Its Fallout; The Tea Leaves; 3 Inflation: The Emperor of Economic Maladies; Understanding Inflation, Understanding Deflation; Inflation in India and the World; Interest Rates and Liquidity

Benefits for the Poor and InflationSalad Bowl Stagflation; 4 Fiscal and Other Macroeconomic Policies for an Emerging Economy; A "Repo" Mishap; Fiscal Policy in the Emerging Economy; Infrastructural Investment and Government Guarantees; Exchange Rate Management; Managing and Predicting Macro Parameters: A Conundrum; 5 Globalization and the Challenge of Development; Tips to Industrialized Nations; Poverty, the Sharing of Prosperity, and Policy; Inequality and Taxation; Globalization and the Taxation Game; 6 Food and Poverty; The Challenge of Poverty; Food Buffers

India's Food Grain Market: DescriptionTheory of Food Market Intervention; Redesigning India's Food Grains Policy: Price Stabilization; Food Security for the Vulnerable; 7 The Nuts and Bolts of the Economy; O-Rings; Contracts and Pareto; Finance and Development; Ponzis; 8 Law and Economics; Preamble; Corruption and the Law; Law's Responsibility; Law as Focal Point; Postscript; 9 The Social and Organizational Foundations of Economic Development; A Critical Flaw; Guarding the Jewelry and Stealing in the Bazaar; Utilizing Norms and Modifying Norms; Teacher Absenteeism in India

The Sociology of Bureaucracy10 The Road Ahead; India's Prospects; Striking Gold with Higher Education; The Invisible Hand, Markets, and Interventions; Development without Borders; Notes; References; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

ISBN:

9780262331685

0262331683

9780262331678

0262331675

OCLC:

923808384