Articles by ISG

Technology Import Liberalisation Is Not the Answer ISG WE, economists, are very fond of drawing a distinction between 'necessary' and 'sufficient' conditions, almost to the point of making it a cliche. I am tempted to draw the same distinction, in the present context; to ask how necessary it is to import technology in order to modernise our economy. I have no doubt that modernisation is absolutely necessary for our economic progress and that we cannot modernise without updating our technology. But will the import of technology be sufficient to ensure modernisation?

Tackling the Debt Crisis ISG AS an international political forum, the Commonwealth is probably one of those very nebulous institutions today whose impact on the policy-makers of its member countries is best not assessed, for any such attempt is unlikely to yield much. That such a forum has, all the same, survived for so long may, for some, only go to prove how institutions have a way of outliving their usefulness. A more positive way of looking at the continuation of the Commonwealth is to view it not as a policy-making institution but as a body that serves to influence thinking on world issues, economic as well as political, of not only its member countries but also non-members. This it seeks to do less through the meetings of ministers and other functionaries from its member countries and more through the studies it commissions on various important world issues. It is this aspect of the Commonwealth's functioning that has come into the forefront more and more in recent years.

Undervalued Yen or Overvalued Dollar? ISG JAPAN'S economy after the Second World War was a highly controlled economy with restrictive tanit and non-tariff barriers applying to trade rigid control on movement of funds not only out of Japan but also into Japan. Over the years, Japan has liberalised trade and dismantled most of its non-tariff barriers except those meant to protect its high-cost primary sector. Rice and beef are the two principal commodities enjoying this protection. Also, tariffs have come down considerably over the years. In regard to control on funds, Japan has been more cautious.

October 29, 1983 maintained through the media and the sight of a Democratic party in disarray, his victory is by no means assured, certainly not, to use an Americanese, a 'shoo-in.' He will have to defend a four-year record which, despite all the trumpet-blowing, will be no easy task; it has several ugly features

January 15, 1983 ment lies: "It goes without saying that the Right-wing reactionary forces represent a dangerous alternative to Indian National Congress power at the national level. This is the chief menace, and it is looming ever larger on the political horizon. The struggle against it is making INC, headed by Indira Gandhi, a broad organisation with relative historical progressiveness which it of course uses to consolidate its popularity and well-deserved authority." Of course. Well known specialists of course have the prerogative to abstract from reality. It is not exactly the 'Right-wing reactionary forces', some of whom were a part of the Union government during 1977-79, who however created the conditions which have rendered the country wide open to exploitation by international capitalism. This situation has been brought about subsequently, by the Indian National Congress headed by Indira Gandhi, whose popularity, Dr Ulyanovsky assures us. is so well-deserved. It is again Indira Gandhi's government, working assiduously during the past three years, who have scrapped the production controls on the big monopoly houses, slashed the supply of free foodgrains to the rural poor, and launched a crusade against communist ideology.