Indian economics

In order to alleviate chronic fiscal and balance of payments problems, since 1988 Pakistan has been implementing structural adjustment programmes (SAP) with the assistance of international donor agencies led by the International Monetary Fund. The SAPs generally ignored the sectoral issues but have had economy-wide implications. In this paper, an attempt has been made to analyze the determinants of real wage trends in the manufacturing industries of Pakistan for the pre-SAP and SAP periods. Using a simple but intuitively robust technique, the paper finds that as compared to the pre-SAP period the earlier period of the SAP registered a fall in the growth rate of real wages. This decline can be attributed to a relatively smaller appreciation of the domestic exchange rate, as the producer price level was higher than the consumer price level, and a rise in the growth rate of employment. On the other hand, strong domestic appreciation of exchange rate along with a sharp rise in the growt...

A cursory glance at the century-old history of Indian sociology reveals its relative under-engagement with economic phenomena and processes. Although the ‘economic’ did get studied under the influence of agrarian and village studies, and certain apparently economic themes such as industry and labour did attract scholarly attention from some sociologists, we notice the absence of a sustained and robust academic tradition of sociological studies of the economy in India. There appears to have been an intellectual division of labour, where the study of economic issues was ceded to economists whereas sociologists remained jubilant with their studies of primordial institutions. This study attempts to locate this persistent disjunction between the social and the economic from the perspective of the disciplinary history. Of necessity, this calls for an examination of the relationship between sociology and economics, and the way it unfolded in post-independence India. To this end, this study...

Responding to the special issue, “CORE’s Economics Textbook”(EPW, 16 June 2018), a teacher who has used the book in class explains why the book has proved useful in conveying concepts in economics and inculcating an interest in the study of social sciences at large. The Economy is not only a well-thought-out and ideologically eclectic textbook, but an interactive and dynamic teaching and learning tool that incorporates digital resources.

Agriculture has an immensely crucial role to play in the economic development of India. It is still the backbone of the Indian economy by virtue of the fact that more than half of the workforce and also a similar proportion of the country’s population depend on agriculture for their livelihood and income even in the mid-2000s (Chand et al. 2010). Agriculture growth also has numerous, complex and far-reaching linkages, both backward and forward which increase the non-agricultural sectors’ incomes. This is supported by the fact that the growth of the extent and number of cultivated areas for commercial crops have increased over the years and this, in turn, has accelerated the potential of earning through exports of the agricultural commodities manufactured by the fast–developing agro-based industries (Dev, 2013). Thus, agriculture contributes to the overall economic growth and also is a developmental tool for reducing poverty by providing food security and employment (Dev, 2013).

This review looks into both the national and state level issues concerning agriculture.

"The Industrial Development of Bengal, 1900-1939. By A. Z. M. IFTIKHAR-UL-AWWAL. Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1982. pp. 256 (Distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Advent Books, New York.) "

PREFACE:

The present work examines the industrial experience of Bengal during the period 1900 to 1939 with particular emphasis on the role of the government as the main instrument for growth. For this work, available statistical material has been utilized for the sake of precision as well as to strengthen the qualitative evidence. The book contains eight chapters. While Chapter I builds up the case for industrial development, Chapter II examines in detail the industrial policy of the Bengal government in the light of its own limitations as a subordinate authority to the Government of India and that of Whitehall. Chapter III is an investigation of the labour market in Bengal with emphasis on the supply of labour to jute, tea and coal industries in relation to wages and conditions of work. In Chapter IV, I have examined the rates of profitability and security of industrial investments. In this chapter, I have also examined the financial institutions of the time and their role in the industrial development of the province. Chapter V points to some of the difficulties experienced by Indian entrepreneurs, and in the above light looks at their contribution to the larger industrial establishments of Bengal. The next two Chapters VI and VII examine the growth and development of the two biggest manufacturing industries of our period--jute and handloom cotton weaving industries. The concluding chapter is an estimate of the industrial progress made in the province during the period under review.

This book is a slightly revised version of my Ph.D. thesis submitted to the University of London in 1978. In the preparation of this thesis, I have accumulated an enormous debt of gratitude to my Supervisor, Dr. K. N. Chaudhuri whose careful vigilance and timely intervention saved me from many factual errors and infelicities of style. My thanks are also due to Mr. I. B. Harrison, who went through some of my preliminary chapters during the absence of Dr Chaudhuri in 1975-76 and made many useful observations. I am also indebted to Dr. Sirajul Islam of Dacca University for helping me with some necessary corrections.

Here I take this opportunity also to express my deep gratitude to the UK Commonwealth Commission which offered me a scholarship for three years which enabled me to undertake this research work. Needless to say, without their financial help it would have been virtually impossible to pursue this course of studies. I also wish to thank the University of Dacca for granting me the necessary study leave.

There remains also a special group of people - without whose co-operation, patience and tolerance, this work would not have seen the light of day. In this group belong the library staff of the British Library (including the Newspaper Section at Colindale), Senate House Library, the library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, and particularly, the India Office Library and Records (including their Newspaper Section at the Bush House). I take this opportunity to thank Mr. J. Sims of the India Office Library and Records for being so helpful in tracking down apparently untraceable official documents. I wish to thank the staff of the Bangladesh Secretariat Record Room and of the Secretariat Library, Dacca for extending me all possible facilities in carrying out my research work. Finally, I owe a special debt of gratitude to my wife, Lilly whose support and constant encouragement over these years was invaluable in completing this work.

Introduction Economic growth can be defined as the change or expansion of an economy in quantitative terms over a period of time. Economic development, on the other hand, is a much broader concept. As per Todaro and Smith (2009:16) development is "a multidimensional process involving major changes in social structures, popular attitudes, and national institutions, as well as the acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of inequality and the eradication of poverty." Though GDP growth is considered as the backbone of economic growth of any country, a comprehensive study of other macroeconomic indicators like money supply, exchange rates and inflation rates is also required in order to assess a country's economic growth and development. India has been a bit of a laggard in the process of economic reforms .The process of economic reforms was initiated in full earnest only in the early 1990s through a chain of reforms which were aimed at making the country more globally competitive .The new economic reforms called the Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization model (LPG) model led to the dawn of hitherto unprecedented changes making India one of the fastest growing economies in the world. (Goyal 2006). As per data from the world bank India's average annual growth rate has been around 7% after the 1990s .Considering that India's economy hardly grew in the first half of the twentieth century and grew at a sluggish rate of around 3% post independence, this recent acceleration in growth is quite remarkable(Kohli, 2006). Literature Review The relationship between macroeconomic indicators and growth has been a subject of interest for researchers for many decades. Some of the earlier studies by Kormendi and Meguire (1985) and Barro (1991) present interesting and fascinating results for a variety of macroeconomic variables to explain growth. The stock market is considered to be a popular leading macroeconomic indicator of any economy. Many believe that large decreases in stock prices are reflective of a future recession, whereas large increases in stock prices suggest future economic growth. (Comincioli and Wesleyan, 1996).Many studies have used stock markets as a leading indicator in studying economic growth of countries. Billson, Brails ford and Hooper (2001) analyzed the impact of selected macroeconomic variables like money supply, inflation, industrial production, exchange rates on stock markets of twenty emerging economies. Their research pointed to a model that local factors were more relevant in determining growth and commonality in exposures across markets could not be expected. Another interesting study by Bhattacharya and Mukherjee (2002) found a causal relationship between stock prices and macroeconomic factors in India. Levy Yeyati and Sturzenegger (2003) did an extensive study on the impact of exchange rates on growth of 183 developing countries .Their study showed that exchange rate regimes had a strong impact on real economic performance and that fixed exchange rates were linked to slow growth rates. Basher and Sardosky (2006) examined the impact of oil prices on the stock indices of twenty emerging economies and found strong evidence that oil price risk impacts stock price returns in emerging markets Though the impact of macroeconomic variables on growth of developed countries has been studied extensively, the interest of researchers in developing economies like India has taken wings only over the last decade.Basu and Maertens (2007) outlined the phenomenal growth story of India from the 1950s till 2005 through a comprehensive study which shed light on the phenomenal GDP growth, imports and exports of India. The study outlined the reasons for the emergence of India as a powerful nation in the global economy. An analysis of the relationship between stock market development and economic growth for the Indian economy by Deb and Mukherjee (2008) found strong evidence of a causal flow from the stock market development to economic growth. Further studies of macroeconomic indicators and the Indian stock market by Singh (2010) concluded that though IIP, exchange rate and WPI strongly influenced the Indian stock markets, only IIP results could be used to predict the stock market movement. An evidence of a long run relationship between macroeconomic variables like exchange rates, interest rates, inflation rates and the stock markets in India was found by Pal and Mittal (2011). Aizenman and Sengupta (2013) explain that India's growth is based on the convergence of a middle ground between the three policy objectives of exchange rate stability and financial integration buffered by sizeable international reserves. Though studies have explored the relationship between macroeconomic indicators and growth factors influencing the Indian economy, most of them have focused on a relatively limited number of macroeconomic indicators. Studies showing the impact of a broad spectrum of major macroeconomic variables on the growth of the Indian economy over the last decade are still limited in number. The advantage of studying a broader spectrum of macroeconomic indicators is that it helps to understand the interrelationship between these variables and their significance in the Indian growth story.

A phenomenon as old the human civilization, migration is little studied in its qualitative aspect. Striking trends since the first censuses reveal how migration has been shaped to its present contemporary state. While a plethora of quantitative data supports this assertion, the qualitative studies reveal a different story. In 1991, India adopted a series of new economic policies, based on the principles of liberalization, globalization and privatization. The new economic policies aimed at increasing efficiency, achieving high growth rate, promoting exports, and attracting more and more foreign investment by easing up policy regulations. An unparalleled development of creation of the cosmopolitan cities forced the Indian population to cluster at these ‘urbanized’ centers. In view of the same, the present study endeavors to analyses the trends and patterns of internal labour migration in India. It also aims to intricately combine the existing quantitative data with an independent case study of the qualitative aspect. More specifically, it intends to associate the overwhelming numbers with the economic hardships at ground level.

The end of the nineteenth century witnessed the emergence of the idea of Indian Economics, which its proponents hoped would address the issue of the scientific method of studying the Indian economy, and help in laying out a path for economic development. Some of the best sources to study these views are textbooks written as introductions to Indian Economics during the early-twentieth century. This paper will explore the manner in which the textbooks dealt with these issues.

Experience in emerging economies has shown that the economic excellence is a vital part of the restructuring desirable to progress from a command economy to a social market economy. Much of the literature links ethics and entrepreneurship at the micro level. Entrepreneur, with interest in ethical dilemmas may be relevant to new venture setting, although some work looks at the organizational dynamics of new ventures, and the impact on ethical behavior at the firm level. This stream of research asks how entrepreneurs make ethical decisions. Further emphasizes on ethical dilemmas arising from entrepreneurship, and impact of innovation on entrepreneurial ethics.

It has been estimated by the Integrated Energy Policy of Planning Commission of India (in August 2006) that to achieve the target power generation capacity of 8 lakh MW by 2031-32 in the country, India would need a massive coal availability level of over 2 billion tons / annum based on the present quality of domestic coal. India currently holds the position of being the world's third largest coal producing country producing 638.05 (Provisional) million tons in 2015-16. It also is the fourth largest importer of coal with 199.88 Mt (Provisional) being imported during 2015-16. The import requirement projection by 2016-17 is 265 Mt under the 'business as usual scenario' and about 185 Mt under the 'optimistic scenario'. Now due to the constantly rising demand for coal and the availability of lesser amounts of indigenous and low-quality coal, India has had to rely on such hefty imports which have increased over time. And this gap has been projected to widen further due to the burgeoning demand from infrastructural and heavy investment sectors. In this context, this paper shall look into the trends of past imports of coal of India and how it has complemented domestic coal production in bridging the demand-supply gap of coal in the country by augmenting the supply of coal.

The black economy is once again a headline in the news and discussions following the announcement of demonetization of the large-denomination currency notes in India in November 2016. The notion that demonetization can tackle the black economy is a result of the incorrect understanding that the black economy is all cash. The black economy is the single biggest problem confronting India since 1970s. In India, it was estimated to be 62 percent of GDP for 2012-13. If it is assumed to be the same in 2017-18, the black economy amounts to Rs.103.99 lakh crore. Hence it cannot be ignored. In 1955-56, it was estimated by Prof. Kaldor to be 4-5 percent of GDP. Its growth has been rapid and it is intertwined with the white economy and results in growing inefficiencies. The black economy is one of the biggest reasons for the failure of state policies-the result of which is that society is unable to achieve its goals. It impacts all the micro-and-macro variables-inflation is higher and the trade deficit larger, the savings rate rises while the investment rate falls; employment is lower than potentially possible, and the rate of growth below the potential and ultimately sets back development. There is a paucity of white economy data, because of the existence of a substantial black economy in India. Its non-inclusion in analysis results in a partial understanding of the economy and often incorrect policy pronouncements. The need to incorporate the black economy is not simply an empirical matter, but a theoretical necessity. This paper in general tries to give some conceptual and theoretical understanding of the concept of the black economy in India. The empirical section of the paper explains the significance of the black economy as a variable to be included in the analysis to get a better understanding of the economy.

Although growing at rates that are globally enviable, the Indian economy has been unstable over the last several years. False dawns, shifting time series, and the selective use of data has provided fodder for scoring political brownie points. Citing near-term data, the Economic Survey 2017–18 argues that the Indian economy is on the path of recovery even as it raises some red flags. What does a comprehensive appraisal of the data show? Is this “recovery” sustainable or is this yet another case of a dead cat bounce?

The black economy is once again a headline in the news and discussions following the announcement of demonetization of the large-denomination currency notes in India in November 2016. The notion that demonetization can tackle the black economy is a result of the incorrect understanding that the black economy is all cash. The black economy is the single biggest problem confronting India since 1970s. In India, it was estimated to be 62 percent of GDP for 2012-13. If it is assumed to be the same in 2017-18, the black economy amounts to Rs.103.99 lakh crore. Hence it cannot be ignored. In 1955-56, it was estimated by Prof. Kaldor to be 4-5 percent of GDP. Its growth has been rapid and it is intertwined with the white economy and results in growing inefficiencies. The black economy is one of the biggest reasons for the failure of state policies-the result of which is that society is unable to achieve its goals. It impacts all the micro-and-macro variables-inflation is higher and the trade deficit larger, the savings rate rises while the investment rate falls; employment is lower than potentially possible, and the rate of growth below the potential and ultimately sets back development. There is a paucity of white economy data, because of the existence of a substantial black economy in India. Its non-inclusion in analysis results in a partial understanding of the economy and often incorrect policy pronouncements. The need to incorporate the black economy is not simply an empirical matter, but a theoretical necessity. This paper in general tries to give some conceptual and theoretical understanding of the concept of the black economy in India. The empirical section of the paper explains the significance of the black economy as a variable to be included in the analysis to get a better understanding of the economy.

A cursory glance at the century-old history of Indian sociology reveals its relative under-engagement with economic phenomena and processes. Although the ‘economic’ did get studied under the influence of agrarian and village studies, and certain apparently economic themes such as industry and labour did attract scholarly attention from some sociologists, we notice the absence of a sustained and robust academic tradition of sociological studies of the economy in India. There appears to have been an intellectual division of labour, where the study of economic issues was ceded to economists whereas sociologists remained jubilant with their studies of primordial institutions. This study attempts to locate this persistent disjunction between the social and the economic from the perspective of the disciplinary history. Of necessity, this calls for an examination of the relationship between sociology and economics, and the way it unfolded in post-independence India. To this end, this study...

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) is considered as the major structural legal reform in India. It is making a robust Indian economy by reducing the amount of Non-Performing Assets and improving Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) ranking. It has attracted investors from abroad because they now seek India as a legible place for investment owing to the reasons as, smaller timeframe for resolution reduces risk of losing investment and flexible exit policy, even when company becomes insolvent the IBC gears towards maximum realisation of value of assets. It has given a new identity to the Indian Economy on the International platform. It seeks to create a single unified law for insolvency and bankruptcy. This research empirically studies IBC as an important tool in the growth of the Indian Economy and analyses the impact of reengineering/ restructuring under IBC on the Indian Economy. The study analyses the role of Insolvency Professionals in the Insolvency process and makes recommendations thereafter for expanding their role as Turnaround Professionals. This empirical research study is exploratory in nature.

Abstract: Substantial growth in consulting services provided by auditors in 1990's has been highlighted as a threat to auditor independence, which has been argued to be the cause of changes in investors' perception of auditor independence. Research based on audit and ...