Kaushik Basu

An economist's perspective on the nuts and bolts of economic policymaking, based on his experience as the Chief Economic Adviser in India.

The Art of Policymaking in India

An Economist in the Real World

A New Approach to Law and Economics

The Republic of Beliefs

Virtually all industrialized nations have annual per capita incomes greater than $15,000; meanwhile, over three billion people, more than half the worlds population, live in countries with per capita incomes of less than $700. Development economics studies the economies of such countries and the problems they face, including poverty, chronic underemployment, low wages, rampant inflation, and oppressive international debt. In the past two decades, the international debt crisis, the rise of endogenous growth theory, and the tremendous success of some Asian economies have generated renewed interest in development economics, and the field has grown and changed dramatically. Although Analytical Development Economics deals with theoretical development economics, it is closely grounded in reality. The author draws on a wide range of evidence, including some gathered by himself in the village of Nawadih in the state of Bihar, India, where—in huts and fields, and in front of the village tea stall—he talked with landlords, tenants, moneylenders, and landless laborers. The author presents theoretical results in such a way that those doing empirical work can go out and test the theories. The book is a revision of Basu's The Less Developed Economy: A Critique of Contemporary Theory (Blackwell, 1984). The new edition, which has several new chapters and sections, incorporates recent theoretical advances in its comprehensive, up-to-date treatment of the subject. It is intended primarily as a textbook for a one-semester graduate course, but will also be of interest to researchers in economic development and to policymakers.

The Less Developed Economy Revisited

Analytical Development Economics

One of the central tenets of mainstream economics is Adam Smith's proposition that, given certain conditions, self-interested behavior by individuals leads them to the social good, almost as if orchestrated by an invisible hand. This deep insight has, over the past two centuries, been taken out of context, contorted, and used as the cornerstone of free-market orthodoxy. In Beyond the Invisible Hand, Kaushik Basu argues that mainstream economics and its conservative popularizers have misrepresented Smith's insight and hampered our understanding of how economies function, why some economies fail and some succeed, and what the nature and role of state intervention might be. Comparing this view of the invisible hand with the vision described by Kafka--in which individuals pursuing their atomistic interests, devoid of moral compunction, end up creating a world that is mean and miserable--Basu argues for collective action and the need to shift our focus from the efficient society to one that is also fair. Using analytic tools from mainstream economics, the book challenges some of the precepts and propositions of mainstream economics. It maintains that, by ignoring the role of culture and custom, traditional economics promotes the view that the current system is the only viable one, thereby serving the interests of those who do well by this system. Beyond the Invisible Hand challenges readers to fundamentally rethink the assumptions underlying modern economic thought and proves that a more equitable society is both possible and sustainable, and hence worth striving for. By scrutinizing Adam Smith's theory, this impassioned critique of contemporary mainstream economics debunks traditional beliefs regarding best economic practices, self-interest, and the social good.

Groundwork for a New Economics

Beyond the Invisible Hand

Policymaker's Journal

A leading economist offers a radically new approach to the economic analysis of the law In The Republic of Beliefs, Kaushik Basu, one of the world's leading economists, argues that the traditional economic analysis of the law has significant flaws and has failed to answer certain critical questions satisfactorily. Why are good laws drafted but never implemented? When laws are unenforced, is it a failure of the law or the enforcers? And, most important, considering that laws are simply words on paper, why are they effective? Basu offers a provocative alternative to how the relationship between economics and real-world law enforcement should be understood. Basu summarizes standard, neoclassical law and economics before looking at the weaknesses underlying the discipline. Bringing modern game theory to bear, he develops a "focal point" approach, modeling not just the self-interested actions of the citizens who must follow laws but also the functionaries of the state—the politicians, judges, and bureaucrats—enforcing them. He demonstrates the connections between social norms and the law and shows how well-conceived ideas can change and benefit human behavior. For example, bribe givers and takers will collude when they are treated equally under the law. And in food support programs, vouchers should be given directly to the poor to prevent shop owners from selling subsidized rations on the open market. Basu provides a new paradigm for the ways that law and economics interact—a framework applicable to both less-developed countries and the developed world. Highlighting the limits and capacities of law and economics, The Republic of Beliefs proposes a fresh way of thinking that will enable more effective laws and a fairer society.

Why do our friends have more friends than we do? How do you book the best available seats on a plane? And if jogging for ten minutes adds eight minutes to our life expectancy, should we still go jogging? The ability to reason is one of our most undervalued skills. In everyday life, the key is to put yourself in the shoes of a clever competitor and think about how they might respond. Whether you are dealing with events on the scale of the Cuban missile crisis or letting go of anger, leading economist Professor Kaushik Basu shows how game theory - the logic of social situations - can help us achieve better outcomes and lasting happiness. Full of fascinating thought experiments and puzzles, Reason to Be Happy is a paean to the power of rationality. If you want to have a good life and even make the world a better place, you can start by thinking clearly.

On the Unexpected Benefits of Thinking Clearly

Reason to Be Happy

Annemie Maertens

This new edition of the Oxford Companion to Economics is India is an updated and comprehensive resource on contemporary Indian economy. With more than 80 revised entries and 25 new entries, this volume takes into account recent developments, policy changes, and latest data, as well as new topics that have grown in significance since the first edition came out.

The New Oxford Companion to Economics in India

Tito Cordella

This book considers how emerging economies around the world face the challenge of building good institutions and effective governance, since so much of economic development depends on having these in place. The promotion of shared prosperity and the battle against poverty require interventions to reach out to the poor and the disadvantaged. Yet time and again we have seen such effort foild or diminished by corruption and leakage. The creation of good governance and institutions and structures to combat corruption require determination and passion but also intricate design rooted in data, analysis, and research. In this book, leading researchers from around the world bring to the table some of the best available ideas to help create better governance structures, design laws for corruption control, and nurture good institutions.

Institutions, Governance and the Control of Corruption

Clive Bell

Pinaki Bose

Interlinkage, Limited Liability, and Strategic Interaction

Essays by leading academics, policymakers, and industrialists examine India's economic success in the late 1990s. India's economy over the last decade looks in many ways like a success story; after a major economic crisis in 1991, followed by bold reform measures, the economy has experienced a rapid economic growth rate, more foreign investment, and a boom in the information technology sector. Yet many in the country still suffer from crushing poverty, and social and political unrest remains a problem. These essays by leading academics, policymakers, and industrialists -- including one by Amartya Sen, the 1998 winner of the Nobel Prize in economics for his work on poverty and inequality -- examine the facts of India's recent economic successes and their social and cultural context. India's rate of economic growth after the 1991 reforms were instituted reached a remarkable 7 percent for three consecutive years, from 1994 to 1997. Several contributors to India's Emerging Economy ask what this means for the nation as a whole. In his essay "Democracy and Secularism in India," Amartya Sen argues that economic progress is not the only way to measure a nation's performance. Other essays examine the actual effect India's economic growth has had on reducing poverty and recommend policies to empower the poor. Essays also address such issues as globalization and the vulnerabilities and opportunities it creates, India's experience with monetary and fiscal reform, the rapid growth of the information technology sector (including a case study of India's software industry), and India's grassroots economy.

Performance and Prospects in the 1990s and Beyond

India's Emerging Economy

This concise and reader-friendly volume provides a comprehensive and updated account of the trends and issues across various sectors of the Indian economy. A statistical appendix gives a snapshot of key indicators.

The Concise Oxford Companion to Economics in India

Social Status, Prices and Markets

A Theory of Association

Focuses on welfare economics, law and economics, and the making of global economic policy. Discusses the possibility of common international labour standards, elimination of child labour, and the growing inequality in a globalized world.

Welfare, Law, and Globalization

Collected Papers in Theoretical Economics

Ranging from authoritative seminal pieces to striking contemporary papers, the readings in this volume explore the complex intersections between politics and economics from the perspectives of both disciplines.

Readings in Political Economy

As we get into the twenty-first century, the concept of the Indian economy has come to encompass a mind-boggling array of topics, phenomena, and complexities. And, with that, the so-called expert on the Indian economy is becoming a vanishing tribe. Someone may have expertise on Indianagriculture but not know anything on the countrys financial markets; another may possess knowledge of the nations many standard-of-living indicators but be innocent of the world of fiscal policy. The aim of this ambitious book is to make amends for this. It provides a comprehensive and far-reachingcompendium of essays on a vast range of themes pertaining to the Indian economy. It should serve as an essential reference not just for students of India and economists working on the Indian economy, but for bureaucrats and policymakers, and corporate investors and entrepreneurs interested incontemporary India. Among the over 190 authors are some of the most eminent economists of the world, corporate leaders and CEOs and important politicians. As a consequence this book is not just a reference volume but a record of the thinking of our times. The new edition has several revised entries on sectors of the Indian economy that have been undergoing rapid transformation during the very short time the first edition was under way. For example, IT and ITes, where the domestic market is luring more IT players and MNCs; Savings and Investments;aviation, a sector which is on a high growth trajectory, etc. Also, in keeping with the new and emerging sectors that are evolving in a dynamic economy and showing sharp development, there are new entries on SEZs; land rights; self-help groups, demographic dividend etc to keep readers updated. A newintroduction and a new cover blurb highlight these issues along with reviews from economists as well as comments from mainstream media.

The Oxford Companion to Economics in India

'Philosophy has to be deductive, poetry romantic, plays and fiction humorous, and politics intriguing if they are to catch my attention, ' writes Kaushik Basu. All these interests are on display in An Economist's Miscellany, which brings together an eclectic collection of writings on the world of academe, politics, policy, travel, and more. This book offers unique glimpses of the author's engagement with the world: his opinions on contemporary policies and economic issues; his exploration of different parts of the world; and his reflections on people, ideas, and books that have influenced him. An Economist's Miscellany also puts on display his literary forays-translations of two hilarious Bengali short stories and a four-act play on academe, love, and cultural misunderstandings. This second and much-expanded edition of the book features a new set of essays that reflects the author's dual perspective of the world: one from the groves of academe and one from the policymaker's perch, in New Delhi and in Washington, DC. In the world of policymaking he was not just an observer but an active participant, and many of the new essays dwell on ideas gathered from this hands-on engagement.

From the Groves of Academe to the Slopes of Raisina Hill

An Economist's Miscellany

Sudipto Mundle

Kenneth Kletzer

Eric Verhoogen

Maitreesh Ghatak

This volume is a testament to the breadth and policy relevance of development economics today. It grapples with questions on how to design anti-poverty policies and under what conditions we can expect them to be successful. It concentrates on programmes and policies for India and covers international experience with cash transfer programmes. The work in this area applies core theoretical insights to policy discussions surrounding poverty measurement, income inequality, rural unemployment, and compares alternative growth strategies in terms of their impact on poverty and inequality. The book closes with chapters that trespass the boundaries of economics and enter the territory of politics, to engage urgent concerns of the day that are the basis of much dispute and debate. The essays are collected under three broad themes-anti-poverty policies; land, labour, and financial markets; and political economy.

Development, Distribution, and Markets

Pulin Nayak

Development Policy and Economic Theory

The importance of locating the analysis of contracts within the relevant context of socio-economic relations is also discussed. In addition to these theoretical issues, there is an extremely valuable bird's-eye view of the actual experience of Indian agriculture since independence in 1947. Finally, we have a careful study of the link between agriculture and overall economic progress in the Indian context.

Kaushik Basu

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