HOW dependent is prosperity on economic freedom? The Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal compile annually an Economic Freedom Index. This is based on 50 different economic variables grouped into 10 categories — banking and finance, capital flows and foreign […]
Freedom & growth: No Siamese twins Read More »
NEW DELHI: Amartya Sen complains (TOI, November 19) that I have not quoted him properly and distorted his views on education. Okay, let\’s quote him at length. Sen had written for the Pratichi Trust about a field study in West
Amartya Sen revisited Read More »
Disasters that do not occur can be as remarkable as those that do. During most of my 37 years in journalism, droughts were major disasters that meant spiraling prices, food imports, foreign exchange shortages, and consequent political crises. So it
Why drought matters so little Read More »
Have Indian interest rates finally become globally competitive? I have long held that real interest rates in India are too high for a sustainable investment boom. This is the predictable consequence of crowding out by huge fiscal deficits. The Bombay
Interest rates: competitive at last ? Read More »
I have often wondered as a feminist — yes, men can be feminists too — what sparked female empowerment in the 19th and 20th centuries. Why, after millennia of being household drudges, do women now occupy the top ranks of
Electricity: The spark behind women\’s lib Read More »
I have often wondered as a feminist — yes, men can be feminists too — what sparked female empowerment in the 19th and 20th centuries. Why, after millennia of being household drudges, do women now occupy the top ranks of
Electricity: The spark behind women\’s lib Read More »
In our era, all idols seem to have clay feet. So too with Amartya Sen, celebrated Nobel Prize winner. Having admired his passionate writings to empower people, I am dismayed by his craven backpedalling in a report for the Pratichi
A lion’s looks, a rabbit’s liver Read More »
For the first time, India is well-placed to catch the current global boom in wheat prices. At a time when India’s granaries are full to bursting, bad weather has ravaged wheat crops across the world and sent prices soaring. In
Bonanza for wheat exports Read More »
I have long said that India is not globally competitive in manufacturing. Now, at last, I see limited signs of improvement. I will focus in this column on the auto industry. Ford has decided to outsource car engines for its
There is new hope for manufacturing Read More »
Daniel Kahneman has won this year’s Nobel Prize for economics for showing that human beings are irrational. Readers will ask, isn’t that too obvious to merit an award? Answer: an economist is one who observes that something works in practices
Nobel Prize Insights Read More »
Sign up to get all the latest posts and news sent to your inbox.
