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

Political economySubscribe to Political economy

A Right Act for Health

Rajasthan’s pioneering Right to Health Act emerged through contestation and negotiation with private medical associations. Certain provisions require further clarity and incorporation of civil society suggestions; this forward-looking legislation must be operationalised keeping in view the wider political economy of healthcare.

Legitimate versus Distortionary Freebies

This article argues that based on constitutional provisions and prudent fi scal management principles, freebies can be classifi ed into two broad categories, namely legitimate freebies and distortionary freebies. Legitimate freebies have a signifi cant positive impact on the well-being of vulnerable sections of the population. In contrast, distortionary freebies have an adverse impact on fi scal health, resource utilisation, and resource allocation and can distort economic development.

India’s Tryst with Liberalisation

India after Liberalisation: An Overview by Bimal Jalan, India: HarperCollins , 2021, pp 240, $21.94 (paperback).

Sraffa’s Political Economy

A Reflection on Sraffa’s Revolution in Economic Theory edited by Ajit Sinha, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021; pp xxv+601, ¤139.99 (hardcover).

The Political Economy of India’s New Middle Class

Beyond Consumption: India’s New Middle Class in the Neo-Liberal Times edited by Manish K Jha and Pushpendra, London: Routledge, 2022; pp xviii + 205, `995.

Redressal or Reconciliation?

The history of local alliances forged between caste groups and the state is interrogated, through the colonial period leading to current day west Uttar Pradesh. The recent farm acts threaten to supplant such alliances, with the state aligning with the interests of big capital. It has necessitated the Jat khaps in west UP to offer resistance by adopting a language of communitarian solidarity that can be traced to the 1980s. However, the shadow of the riots of 2013 has meant that talk of solidarity has veered towards “reconciliation” and “redressal” towards the minorities. As a result, the agitation has revealed new political possibilities while exposing earlier fissures within west UP’s political economy.

 

Globalisation and the Indian Farmer

The article analyses the impact of globalisation on income and levels of living in the rural sector. It also discusses the changes in India’s stance on food security in global negotiations.

 

A Framework for the Analysis of State–Society Relations

Class and Conflict: Revisiting Pranab Bardhan’s Political Economy of India edited by Elizabeth Chatterjee and Matthew McCartney, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2020; pp x + 299, £47.99 (hb).

 

The Story of a Peasant Struggle in Jiwandesar, Rajasthan

Farmers of Jiwandesar, a village in Rajasthan have waged a struggle for the past two and half decades for getting irrigation water from Gang canal. However, due to the larger political economy of the region where large and influential farmers resist any cutback in their water allowances from the Gang canal and the inert attitude of successive state governments which do not want to antagonise the large farmers’ lobby, the struggle of has not led to a fruition.

Decoding Ayushman Bharat

The challenges before the components of Ayushman Bharat, the (ir)rationality behind raising the insurance coverage manifold are highlighted, a political economy narrative of the changing health financing scenario is drawn, and how the design of Ayushman Bharat will feed into executing the proposed public–private partnership model in public facilities and facilitate the strategic purchasing agenda of the National Health Policy is examined. Ayushman Bharat is a step towards creating a system that would facilitate in relinquishing public funds and public institutions to already dominant private players, which will have serious implications for the healthcare delivery system in India.

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