Economic Reform in India: Challenges, Prospects, and Lessons
Cambridge University Press, 1/21/2013
EAN 9781107020047, ISBN10: 1107020042
Hardcover, 500 pages, 23.5 x 15.8 x 3.4 cm
Language: English
The essays in this volume are written by leading economists working on the Indian economy. They collectively emphasize the importance of policies and institutions for sustained growth and poverty reduction, stressing that the success of sector-specific policies is vitally dependent on the nature of markets and the functioning of institutions such as those charged with regulating and overseeing critical sectors. Individual contributions assess the role of Indian government policy in key sectors and emphasize the policies required to ensure improvements in these sectors. The first section discusses aspects of the macro economy; the second deals with agriculture and social sectors; the third with jobs and how labor markets function in agriculture, industry and services; and the fourth with infrastructure services, specifically electricity, telecommunications and transport. The essays are drawn from the most influential papers presented in recent years on Indian economic policy at the Stanford Center for International Development.
1. Introduction Nicholas C. Hope, Anjini Kochar, Roger Noll and T. N. Srinivasan
Part I. The Macro Economy
2. Federalism and economic development in India
an assessment Nirvikar K. Singh and T. N. Srinivasan
3. India and China
trade and foreign investment Arvind Panagariya
4. Financial sector reforms and monetary policy
the Indian experience Rakesh Mohan
Part II. Institutional Reforms
Agriculture and Education
5. Land reform, decentralized governance and rural development in West Bengal Pranab Bardhan and Dilip Mookherjee
6. Market-driven agricultural growth
contrasting experiences in Punjab and Rajastham Peter Hazell, Abhijit Sharma and Laurence Smith
7. India's higher education opportunity Naushad Forbes
8. Improving the quality of rural primary schools
an evaluation of a computer aided learning program in south India Verghese Jacob, Anjini Kochar and Suresh Reddy
Part III. Employment, Industrial Structure and Poverty
9. The missing middle Anne O. Kreuger
10. Some aspects of the trends in employment and unemployment in Bihar and Kerala since the seventies T. N. Srinivasan and Treb Allen
11. Size matters
urban growth and poverty in India 1983–2005 Peter Lanjouw and Rinku Murgai
Part IV. Infrastructure
Electricity and Transportation
12. An assessment of Indian telecommunications reform Roger Noll and Scott Wallsten
13. Managing demand-side economic and political constraints on electricity industry restructuring process Frank A. Wolak
14. Moving India
the political economy of transport sector reform Nirvikar K. Singh and Jessica S. Wallack.
Advance praise: 'The transformation of India in the past couple of decades from a slow growth economy to the ranks of the fastest growing economies in the world is not a mystery. Economic reforms unleashed the growth potential of the sleeping giant. But what exactly were these reforms? This volume, with contributions by an all-star cast of expert economists, is the definitive description of the wide-ranging economic reforms undertaken by the Indian government. It will be read by academics with an interest in growth and the Indian economy, as well as by policy makers around the developing world who want their countries to emulate the Indian experience.' Mohsin Khan, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, Washington DC