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An Economist in the Real World: The Art of Policymaking in India

Online ISBN:
9780262331678
Print ISBN:
9780262029629
Publisher:
The MIT Press
Book

An Economist in the Real World: The Art of Policymaking in India

Published:
30 October 2015
Online ISBN:
9780262331678
Print ISBN:
9780262029629
Publisher:
The MIT Press

Abstract

In 2009, the economist Kaushik Basu left the world of academic research for the nuts and bolts of policymaking. Appointed by the then Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, to be chief economic adviser (CEA) to the Government of India, Basu—a theorist, with special interest in development economics, and a professor of economics at Cornell University—discovered the complexity of applying economic models to the real world. Effective policymaking, Basu learned, integrates technical knowledge with political awareness. In this book, Basu describes the art of economic policymaking, viewed through the lens of his two and a half years as CEA. Basu writes from a unique perspective—neither that of the career bureaucrat nor that of the traditional researcher. Plunged into the deal-making, non-hypothetical world of policymaking, Basu suffers from a kind of culture shock and views himself at first as an anthropologist or scientist, gathering observations of unfamiliar phenomena. He addresses topics that range from the macroeconomic—fiscal and monetary policies—to the granular—designing grain auctions and policies to assure everyone has access to basic food. Basu writes about globalization and India’s period of unprecedented growth. Basu describes the mixed success of India’s anti-poverty programs and the problems of corruption, and considers the social norms and institutions necessary for economic development. India is, Basu argues, at an economics crossroad.

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