The Indian economy, which was facing demand defi ciency and slowdown prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, plunged further with the lockdown. The present exercise represents the current problem as a typical demand constrained Keynesian equilibrium, affl icted further by demand and supply failures generated by transaction costs. The resulting scenario resembles a “supply constrained” Keynesian equilibrium. The article looks at the possible impact on prices and discusses the implications of select policy interventions for such an economy.
The discussions surrounding the Indian economy’s performance during the past three-and-a-half year rule of the National Democratic Alliance government have been entirely concerned with the ups and downs of particular year-on-year quarterly growth rates alone, and this amounts to missing the wood for the trees. This article attempts to contrast the notion of a growth rate that is normally employed in the growth theory with y-o-y quarterly rates for the Indian economy. It argues, in particular, that the policy failure (if any) associated with demonetisation cannot be judged with reference to growth rates.
With the aid of simple theoretical tools used in classroom lectures, the implications of the recent “demonetisation” exercise in India are analysed. It lends support to conclusions reached by other authors on the impact of demonetisation with the aid of available data. Following Robert Lucas’s Nobel lecture, the merits of economic policies that assume the form of random shocks to an economic system are questioned.
Globalisation, Democracy and Corruption: An Indian Perspective by Pranab Bardhan, London: Frontpage Publications, 2015; pp x + 250, price not indicated.
This article critically evaluates the government's pricing policy for petroleum products in India. It looks carefully at the notion of "under-recoveries" oil companies and attempts to compare it with their profi ts under an alternative pricing regime. It concludes that under the suggested pricing structure the surplus generated in the oil sector will be suffi ciently large to wipe out the much advertised fi scal defi cit sustained by the government on account of oil subsidies - without raising the price of the essential oil products. The analysis is carried out with reference to 2011-12 data.
A dedicated teacher, not just well versed with economic theory but also with modern English literature, mathematics and classical music, Dipak Banerjee will be remembered as one of the most erudite professors of Presidency College, Kolkata.
This paper offers analytical description of the economic performance of Indian states as reflected in their per capita (net) state domestic product. Statistical analysis of data for the period 1960-61 to 1995-96 shows a clear tendency for Indian states to diverge in per capita SDP, but converge in shares of different sectors in the SDP.
