ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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Development under Siege

Sudhir Sen The lamentation over 'development under siege' which fills the latest report of the Committee for Development Planning of the United Nations cannot but evoke mixed feelings. The economic woes to which the report draws attention are the outcome of a much deeper-rooted malaise, namely: for a generation or more development economics itself has been under siege THE veteran AFL-CTO president George Meanyt who was well known for his sharp tongue and robust common sense, once made a biting remark that comes haunting across the years: "Economics is the only profession in which it is possible to achieve great eminence without ever being right". The Committee for Development Planning of the United Nations which consists of 24 eminent economists handpicked by the secretary- general from as many countries, has delivered a resounding proof of the melancholy truth embodied in George Meany's unflattering words.

Volcker Years at the Fed-II Reaganomics and Volckeronomics

Nambi and Soman have dealt with the different levels of pollution in the cities in a cavalier and unscientific manner. They state:
The negative correlations [between radiation dose and cancer incidence] obtained in Figure 1 cannot be explained away in terms of carcinogenic pollutants prevalent in the five cities; for example Bangalore and Madras are more industrialised than Pune and Nagpur, and hence the higher cancer rates in the latter cannot be explained away by the relative pollution levels. This astonishing paragraph does not even report the authors' own data accurately. The authors' Figure 1 reports cancer incidence rate for Bangalore to be considerably higher than that for Nagpur, while at the same time the authors report a considerably lower cancer mortality rate for Bangalore (see the Table). Moreover, the authors appear not to be aware that Pune is a highly industrialised city.

Volcker Years at the Fed-I Hasty Embrace of Monetarism

There, as in all other capitalist countries, in the name of the public good and capitalist efficiency, bankruptcy laws provide for the insolvency of private enterprises, private individuals, public institutions, regional and local governments (New York City nearly went bankrupt), and even banks themselves. Both debtors and creditors are afforded the protection of their most essential interests by law and court, which (as under Chapter 11 of the United States bankruptcy code) also seek to enable the enterprises, institutions and individuals to make structural adjustments to re-establish themselves as going entities by freeing them from unbearable burdens. (New York City, the Chrysler Corporation, Rolls Royce, AEG Tele- funken, etc. and the Continental Illinois Bank and Trust Company among many others were all enabled again to set their houses in order). Why should this same legal practice in the public interest be denied to effectively insolvent 'sovereign

UNITED STATES-Poor Yield from Dollar-Bashing

tinuous tussle between these two wings of CIA for control), and being a non-political person. But these hopes could be illusory The Reagan doctrine could certainly survive Casey's departure. And Washington Post now tells us that it was Gates who put forward a plan for the invasion of Libya with the help of Egypt to overthrow Gaddafi, and "to redraw the map of North Africa"17 Redrawing the maps of the world is an old imperialist habit, and habits die hard. Even under Gates, then, Casey's people are bound to soldier on.

UNITED STATES-A Visit to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

strife among sociologists, exploited further by the 'cadre promotion politics' whereby many promising sociologists were compelled to leave the Institute of Socio-Economic Problems of the Academy of Sciences, USSR and work at 'peripheral' levels elsewhere. She also laments the 'virtual disappearance' of the Leningrad Sociological School which in the late 1960s and 1970s carried out pioneering research in critical areas like dissatisfaction and alienation among workers, occupational preferences of the youth, etc.

UNITED STATES-A Vist to Federal Reserve Bank of New York

April 4, 1987 UNITED STATES A Vist to Federal Reserve Bank of New York Sudhir Sen THE New York Foreign Press Centre or the US Information Agency organised a 'Wall Street Fundamentals' tour on March 4 for the benefit of a small group of foreign journalists. The programme included a visit to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the head office of The Wall Street Journal. At both places there were extensive briefings with plenty of time for questions and answers. Together, they provided a first-hand view of the workings of these two key financial institutions.

UNITED STATES-Death of Monetarism

UNITED STATES Death of Monetarism Sudhir Sen FOR more than a year monetarism was in its last gasp. Its worried protagonists did their best to keep it alive with frequent application of oxygen, but to no avail. This week it died a quiet death. No official obituary notice has been served; this would be too much to expect from those who, for almost seven years, had hugged it, albeit with varying degrees of warmth, as the ultimate truth

Tokyo Economic Summit in Retrospect


merited on a national level. In this connection it is heartening to note that the Central government is proposing similar amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act to cover the entire country.

UNITED STATES- Downing the Dollar

doctors become retailers to prescribe a particular proprietary brand. As was acknow- leded by these professionals themselves in the seminar, most of the medical students are inadequately trained in the clinical application of drug knowledge. When the typical physician enters private practice, knowingly or unknowingly he becomes the key figure in the drug marketing strategy. He comes to place increasing reliance on the promotional materials distributed by drug manufacturers. It needs to be emphasised and realised that doctors have the absolute power to determine the sales of ethical drugs and if our wishes are expressed on their prescription pads they will have a great impact. Apart from the doctors, the people's science movement can play a major role in creating consumer awareness provided they operate at grassroot levels. Their campaigns needs to be issued-oriented and should operate at different levels to tackle the drug issue. The production of alternative information, dissemenation of this information and mobilising people for agitational action can be such levels.

UNITED STATES-A Nervous Fed Shifts Gear

felt even now. Unfortunately, it looks as if the whole sequence of events may be repeated again, the repurcussions of which will continue for several years. Even now UNITED STATES the situation can be retrieved if the government is forthcoming at least with an assurance in the matter of interim relief and the work-load will not be increased.

UNITED STATES- Lameduck President after Landslide Victory

Lameduck President after Landslide Victory Sudhir Sen MORE than 150 years have passed since Alexis de Tbqueville, in his classic work on Democracy in America, made some unforgettable comments on the presidential election in America: As the election draws near, the activity of intrigue and the agitation of the populace increase; the citizens are divided into hostile camps, each of which assumes the name of the favourite candidate, the whole nation glows with feverish excitement; the election is the daily theme of the public papers, the subject of private conversation, the end of every thought and every action, the sole interest of the present. So was it also in 1984. For months, all eyes were focused on the election, the rivalry among the candidates-

Galbraith on Agriculture

already knows about his endeavours on Pakistan's behalf) for him to be effective in making a come-back as Secretary of State. However, Reagan's need to move on Latin America, the Middle East and the arms race can hardly be denied.

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