Columnists

Kaushik Basu

The writer is C. Marks Professor at Cornell University and former Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, World Bank.

The way in which it was executed, India’s lockdown itself became source of virus’s spread

Wed, Jul 08, 2020

By having people huddle together, infecting one another, and then having the same people travel hundreds of miles, the pandemic has been made much worse than it need have been.

Crisis also brings opportunity for building a nurturing economy

Fri, Jun 19, 2020

Our economic and political policies must not be ends in themselves, but instruments for building a society that is secular, inclusive and nurturing, where people of all religions, caste, race and gender feel wanted and at home.

The stress of the pandemic is often robbing us of consistency

Fri, May 15, 2020

You cannot replace the invisible hand of the market with the visible hand of the bureaucrat and the police, telling people what to do and doling out money and food.

Post lockdown, India’s economy should not lapse into ‘permit raj’

Thu, Apr 23, 2020

At this crossroads, missteps can change nation’s trajectory for decades to come. We cannot have the poor, the labourers and the migrants bear the brunt of the effort to contain the spread of the virus, and nor do we want to weaken the foundations of the economy so much that we emerge from the pandemic onto an economic wasteland.

Let’s use follower’s advantage: We could learn to fight Covid-19 from South Korea

Fri, Mar 27, 2020

In confronting coronavirus, India’s first moves have been right, but much will depend on follow-up. We could learn from South Korea.

An afternoon in New York, an encounter between a psychic and a non-believer

Fri, Mar 13, 2020

To predict that I will die in one year is a bad idea. If she got it wrong, I would be there to accost her and tell people she got it wrong. But if I died soon after she predicted a long life, the main witness to her wrong forecast would be gone.

The $5 trillion arithmetic: Even the history might not be enough to get Indian economy there in time

Tue, Feb 18, 2020

The five trillion target is in dollar terms. Typically, if India has higher inflation than the US, the rupee would depreciate vis-à-vis the dollar to account for that.

Politics of exclusion and disenfranchisement is hurting investment and India’s cooperative spirit

Wed, Dec 25, 2019

What economists do not like to dwell on and what Karl Polanyi had noted a long time ago is that the economy is ultimately embedded in society, institutions and politics. When these are damaged, the economy begins to stall.

Creating spaces for different opinions is only way to craft policies that encourage investment

Fri, Nov 08, 2019

All nations in the world today face a challenge of expertise. Because the world has become so complex, it is impossible for all of us to know everything.

It is important to use Nobel to harness the best of science, reasoning to policymaking

Tue, Oct 15, 2019

This is a richly-deserved award. The prize has been given for their work on randomised control trials used in the broad area of poverty eradication and policies for better health and education.

Economic Graffiti: What is to be done about growth

Tue, Jul 23, 2019

Arvind Subramanian’s paper, other micro data, suggest an impending economic slowdown. Policymakers must take notice and act.

Economic Graffiti: The view from Palanpur

Sat, Jun 15, 2019

The experience of Palanpur offers useful tips to India — importance of education, human capital, vocational training, need for greater connectivity

Does god exist? There are several possible hypotheses

Thu, Mar 07, 2019

What I would recommend to you, dear reader, is my own philosophy of scepticism, which has stood me in good stead and which can be summed up in a simple dictum: Anything that is not logically impossible is possible.

A quiet courage

Fri, Jan 25, 2019

As PM, Manmohan Singh upheld a tradition of openness to ideas and disagreements. This is an inheritance India needs to cherish and advance.

Economic Graffiti: The anti-argumentative Indian

Fri, Dec 14, 2018

More disappointing than the attacks on Amartya Sen is that leaders in government have not countered the chant of abusive trolls.

Economic Graffiti: An evening in Florence

Fri, Oct 19, 2018

In one of the cradles of civilisation, the joys of travel are revealed in its artefacts, people and the traveller’s faux pas.

In Good Faith: A journey, an education

Mon, Aug 20, 2018

Travelling in rural Bengal, Jharkhand I saw a village school at the cutting edge, and met ordinary people distressed by political cults of a hate-filled Hinduism.

Economic Graffiti: A Hinduism more tolerant

Fri, Jun 22, 2018

At the Ramakrishna Mission complex in Kolkata, a different face of the religion is visible from what is propagated by Hindutva

Economic Graffiti: The angry intellectual

Thu, May 17, 2018

One of the finest minds of our times, Ashok Mitra was anguished by poverty and inequality. His anger sometimes led him to make mistakes.

Economic Graffiti: Why morality matters to economics

Fri, Apr 13, 2018

To deal with corruption, it is not enough to just get fiscal policies right. It is in our collective long-term interest to nurture individual values.

Economic Graffiti: In the name of education

Fri, Feb 23, 2018

There is an impressive increase in school enrollment levels across the country. But not much thought is being given to what students learn.

Facing the slowdown

Thu, Jan 25, 2018

India’s economy is not doing well. Only carefully crafted policy reforms can turn it around

Economic Graffiti: The Turin miracle

Thu, Dec 28, 2017

A magical trip that almost didn’t happen. A moment when disbelief was shaken.

Economic Graffiti: Where India is ahead of China

Fri, Nov 10, 2017

India’s early investment in secularism, cultural openness, freedom of speech, which made the early years difficult for economic growth, is now in a position to pay off. But all forecasts come with caveats.