Articles by Bharat Ramaswami

[An Open Letter to the Prime Minister on NREGA by economists based in India and elsewhere in the world.]

We are writing to express our deep concern about the future of India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA).

Labelling of genetically modified foods is a contentious issue and internationally there is sharp division on whether such labels ought to be mandatory. This debate has reached India where the government has proposed mandatory labels. Mandatory labelling aims to provide greater information and correspondingly more informed consumer choice. However, even without such laws, markets have incentives to supply labels. So can mandatory labelling achieve outcomes different from the voluntary type? The paper argues that this is not the case in most situations. It goes on to explore the special set of circumstances, where mandatory labels make a difference to outcomes. If these outcomes are intended, mandatory labelling is justified; otherwise not. Although the Indian context provides the motivation, the core arguments given are general and applicable to other country contexts as well.

The private sector has become an important supplier of varietal technology in agriculture giving rise to concerns about competition in the seed market. This study examines the evolution in the structure of India's cotton seed market and factors that underlie the changes. It finds that the private sector has grown rapidly in the last decade. As the proprietary hybrid seed market has grown, more private players have come into the market, eating away at the share of market leaders. With Bt cotton, the seed industry encompasses a seed market as well as a technology market. To some extent, biosafety laws have protected the monopoly of the incumbent, which has received a significant first mover advantage. However, the market structure is not frozen because of diffusion from illegal seeds, competition from alternative gene suppliers and changing regulatory practices.

This paper compares the public distribution of food in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Based on the 50th round of National Sample Survey (NSS) household consumption survey data, the authors examine differences in utilisation, extent of targeting, magnitude of income transfers and the cost-effectiveness of food subsidies. The findings suggest policy reforms in favour of self-targeting and greater operational efficiency.