On the road to Liberty

In 2012, developmental issues have firmly emerged at the top of the agenda of most major political parties. Yet, barely a decade ago, many believed that India was paying a “democracy tax”, that political pluralism was at the cost of economic well being. Today, increasing political competition has opened new opportunities for the voters not only to demand performance but drive the economic changes as their aspirations rise. This is forcing politicians to explore new ideas that might meet these demands. Is it time for India to reap the economic dividend from political democracy? A longer version is " Democratic Dividend: Economic benefit from political competition ". A shorter version was published in the Mint , on 6 March 2012.

It is generally believed that good economic policies do not necessarily lead to electoral victory, in India. There is a general agreement that economic competition improves the lot of the paying consumer. So, what might be the impact of political competition? While economic growth is not sufficient to help win an election, could increased political competition among major political formations help in adopting economic policies that perform, and contribute to marginal improvements in the lot of the citizens? I look at the possible relationship between economic growth and election outcome in the states of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, in " Can bad politics make for good economics ?" in the Financial Express , on 28 January 2012.

West Bengal just had an historic election. The thirty year rule of the Left Front government has come to an end. In the following analysis I look at the political future of in Bengal, and the policy options before the new government.  A version of this article was publisehd in the Anada Bazar Patrika on June 30, 2011. Shorter versions of this article have been published in the Financial Express and Pragati magazine. It has been a few weeks, since Mamata Banerjee and her newly elected team of ministers took the oath of office. True to her style, the new Chief Minister of West Bengal has set a frantic pace for herself, holding innumerable meetings and making surprise visits to hospitals and other public spots, firing off instant orders, cajoling the government staff to serve the people better.  While Mamata Banerjee’s intentions are clear, she continues to be the dominant face of her government and party. There is a limit to the number of places she could try and ...

Populism may be an inherent part of democracy, but one must be wary of opportunism. I review the book, 'Can India grow without Bharat?' by Shankar Acharya, one of India's leading economic policy maker. This was published in the Financial Express , on 15 April 2007, under the title " The Economics of populism ". Can India grow without Bharat, asks Shankar Acharya in the title of his new book. Whether you are a politician or an economist, the answer to that question is almost always a no. So what is it the economist wants to bring out in this book? Acharya had served as the chief economist advisor to the government of India for seven long years between 1993 and 2000. Unusually, he served four prime ministers in four different political formations during this period getting a ringside view of politics of economic decisions. Here he brings together 33 short essays, written between late 2003 and 2006. These essays cover a range of issues from macro economic policies, ...