The Times of India

India Outperforms the Tigers

ALMOST everybody in business and politics says the government really must do something to revive the flagging economy. Industrial and export growth are floundering. Bank credit to industry is not taking off despite interest cuts. Few businessmen want to invest, …

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The Ultimate Lemon

Even when markets fail, market-based solutions can often be better than government ones. This needs emphasis in the wake of the Nobel Prize for economics going to George Akerloff, Joseph Stiglitz and Michael Spence, for showing that lack of formation …

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Lessons on Whistle-Blowing

Amidst the excitement of the hijacking that wasn’t, the Bangladesh election, and the US build up against the Taliban, not many readers would have noticed a news item about an out-of-court settlement for $ 875 million reached by two top …

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How to Tackle Terrorism

In 1998, Islamic terrorists exploded bombs in US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. President Clinton of the US was outraged, declared war on terrorism, and sent American planes to bomb terrorist camps in Afghanistan and a factory in Sudan. Did …

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Why do Democracies Remain Poor?

Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen says that democracies have, without exception, abolished famine. A free press and lively opposition ensure that early warnings are given about drought and starvation, and political competition obliges the ruling party to take remedial as well …

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It\’s the Culture, Stupid

Why did the US economy, which in the 1980s seemed likely to be overtaken those of Japan and Europe, suddenly accelerate in the 1990s and leave others far behind? Forget the usual economic explanations. The main reason is cultural. The …

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It\’s the Culture, Stupid

Why did the US economy, which in the 1980s seemed likely to be overtaken those of Japan and Europe, suddenly accelerate in the 1990s and leave others far behind? Forget the usual economic explanations. The main reason is cultural. The …

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A Land Without Any Justice

What does the gunning down of Phoolan Devi have to do with economic reform? A lot. The whole premise of economic reform is that the government should stop doing things that can be left to private enterprise (like running steel …

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