Society and Culture
The Contradiction of Kosovo and Multi-Ethnic Societies
Kosovo’s independence fundamentally weakens the case for multi-ethnic societies and for a multi-ethnic, “integrated” Europe.
The Economist on Private Sector Quotas
For over a year controversy has raged in India over government plans to extend quotas - India’s version of affirmative action for the lower castes - to the private sector. The plans raised the hackles of many, and for the first time led to questioning the real effectiveness of quotas. Now, the Economist has weighed […]
Reflections on China, Lessons for India
Over the past 2 weeks I traveled to Taiwan, Hangzhou and Shanghai. The trip was ostensibly a vacation, but I met enough people in government and business - that I knew before or ran into in random bars, airports, and planes - that I managed to achieve the real purpose of the trip: establish for […]
Inequality in the US: India’s Choice
I have written a lot recently on inequality - in India and in Asia. The basic point has been the same - that inequality is bad from a social and moral point, but (as the ADB argues in its report on Asia) also from an economic point of view. In the same vien I pulled […]
Income Inequality in Asia Growing
The ADB has just released a report titled “Key Indicators 2007: Inequality in Asia” (covered in IHT and BBC). The report concludes that the gini index, a measure of relative inequality had grown in all 15 countries studied, since the 1990s. More alarmingly, absolute inequality had grown even more. The bank identified the trend as […]
India’s Miracle: More on the India Story
I am usually loathe to repeat stories found elsewhere, but this one is certainly worth mentioning. The British magazine New Statesman has a special issue on India (courtesy New Economist). Titled, India’s Miracle, it has five stories - none of which probably break significant new ground for the accomplished reader. That said, they are each in […]
Income Inequality Growing in India
An updated version of this post now appears on the IEB, with additional references.
In the debate over growth and equality, and comparisons of India and China, proponents of India’s path to development make much of the fact that income inequality in India is relatively low. The UN Human Development Report 2006 estimates the Gini […]
Preparatory Reading On Privatizing Education
A lot of ink has been spilt lately on privatizing education, particularly by Atanu Dey (on IEB, and Pragati-Issue 2). I myself have tentatively supported vouchers in the past (Evaluating Vouchers). But the excessive liberal free-market promotion of the concept has me wondering if things are indeed as they seem. Before committing to a position, however, […]
