The Great Leveler: Capitalism and Competition in the Court of Law by Brett Christophers; Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2016; pp 360, $46.50.
China-India: Pathways of Economic and Social Development edited by Delia Davin and Barbara Harriss-White, Proceedings of the British Academy, 193, published for The British Academy by Oxford University Press, London, 2014; pp xvii + 218, £ 50.
This paper makes the case that, even in a poor country such as India, decision-makers should aim not only to eradicate poverty but also to reduce economic inequality. After providing an overview of various dimensions of economic inequality in India, it is argued that such inequalities - both among individuals and between identity groups - are a matter of concern even independently of their implications for the extent of poverty. It is discussed as to how government economic policies can be oriented to reduce economic inequality without reducing economic growth.
Equal and Efficient Globalisation Globalisation and Egalitarian Redistribution, Pranab Bardhan, Samuel Bowles and Michael Wallerstein (editors); Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2006;
This paper discusses whether or not policies of positive discrimination, such as reservations, should be deployed in order to reduce the social and economic marginalisation of disadvantaged racial, caste or other ethnic communities. PD policies giving preferences to members of such disadvantaged communities are likely to have significant negative as well as positive consequences. Are there alternative policies - such as class-based preferences - that could deliver similar benefits without significant costs? After reviewing the diversity of ways in which a race-, caste- or ethnicity-based PD policy can be structured, it concludes that the case for deploying such PD policies is strong if the policies are carefully designed to maximise the benefits and minimise the costs.
What is the empirical evidence on the consequences of Indian reservation policies in admissions to higher educational institutions? Reservations at all levels of higher education both redistribute SC and ST students upward in the university quality hierarchy, and attract significant numbers of SC and ST students, who would not otherwise pursue higher education, into universities. That reservations tend to benefit a 'creamy layer' of SC and ST students does not mean they are failing in achieving their objectives. They should be understood, instead, as an effort to promote integration of the upper strata of society - by increasing the access of highly disadvantaged and under-represented communities to elite occupations and decision-making positions.
In the context of a concerted assault on affirmative action policies that began more than 10 years ago and the current dominance of the right-wing in political discourse and action in the US, the US Supreme Court's rulings in the two University of Michigan affirmative action cases last month are certainly surprising. Few would have expected a rightward drifting court to endorse so firmly a left-leaning policy like racial/ethnic preferences. How can this remarkable outcome be explained?
This paper seeks to contribute to greater mutual understanding of positive discrimination in India and the US by describing and reviewing some important empirical work that has recently been carried out to evaluate the effects of affirmative action in the US higher education. Until recently the debate on the wisdom of positive discrimination policies has been largely theoretical, appealing to ethical considerations and political-philosophical values. Now, however, systematic empirical evidence on the long-term consequences of affirmative action policies in admissions to US colleges and universities has at last been made available and can be brought to bear on the discussion.
A Comparative Survey of Performance in Economic Development Thomas E Weisskopf Ever since India's Independence in 1947 and Chinas Liberation in 1949, the two nations have invited comparison. Each is of continental size, with an enormous population; each entered the post-War era of development as a predominantly agrarian society, with an extremely low level of per capita output and correspondingly widespread poverty.
Thomas E Weisskopf The disaffection with orthodox modern economics that has led to the growth of the new radical economics in the United States is part of a more general process of change that has profoundly affected American society in the past decade.
Some Numerical Results Thomas E Weisskopf This article is based on a study formulated as a detailed application of an inter-industry programming model for the Indian economy. The main objective of the study is to analyse the structure of imports and the scope for import-substitution in Indian industry within the context of the growth of the economy as a whole.
