It is unusual for an economist to make heads turn for his theories and philosophies rather than his politics or insider revelations. But that is exactly what Karthik Muralidharan seems to have achieved with his just-released book Accelerating India's Development. The reviews have ranged from 'outstanding' to 'essential reading! THE WEEK caught up with this Tata Chancellor's Professor of economics at the University of California, San Diego. Excerpts from an interview:
Q/ What is your theory about development and where India is going wrong?
A/ The grand debate in development has been about growth. [Economists] J.N. Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya will say that if you manage to get faster economic growth, everything else will follow. On the other hand, Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze will say that the purpose of development is to improve human life and therefore things like health and education should be a priority.
Now my point of departure in this debate is to say that at some level they are both correct. Because more growth helps human development, more human development helps growth. Then it becomes a fight about what you should focus on. The growthwallahs will say we need to do capital expenditure. The developmentwallahs will say we need to focus on the social sector. This is fundamentally a fight for budget allocation. But if you look at how inefficient the government is in the delivery system, then it doesn’t matter what you’re spending on, you’re spending it very badly.
この記事は THE WEEK India の June 02, 2024 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は THE WEEK India の June 02, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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