| Title: | 28 : Nepal’s Shaky Peace Process: One Year On |
| Author/s: | Nishchal N. Pandey |
| Abstract: | 21 November 2007 marked the first anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the government and the Maoist rebels in Nepal. The signing of the CPA was followed, on 28 November 2006, by another important agreement - that of monitoring the management of arms of both the Nepal Army and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), with the United Nations taking on the responsibility of ensuring that the Maoist combatants remain inside designated cantonments while the Nepal Army stays in its barracks. The principal objective of the CPA and efforts of the United Nations were to bring the Maoist guerrillas into the political mainstream. This was to be achieved through the election of a Constituent Assembly. The end goal was sustainable peace in Nepal. |
| Date: | 18 December 2007 |
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| Title: | 27 : Dynamics of Integration in India’s Policy Making: An Analysis of the Urban and Energy Sectors |
| Author/s: | Indu Rayadurgam |
| Abstract: | Cities and towns are becoming major economic, employment generation and revenue earning centres. These cities also host the maximum percentage of urban population. The contribution of services and industry relative to agriculture is a rough indication of the performance of the urban sector towards the gross domestic product (GDP). Urban Development in India is a state subject and the central government performs an advisory and coordinating role, apart from providing technical and financing assistance for promoting orderly urbanisation. The reason for this has been subtly elucidated in the Eighth Five Year Plan as 'The identification of regional urban systems was suggested on the basis of regional characteristics and the needs and functions of each town in its regional context'. |
| Date: | 20 November 2007 |
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| Title: | 26 : Political Economy Of Iran-pakistan-india (Ipi) Gas Pipeline |
| Author/s: | Marie Lall And Iftikhar A. Lodhi |
| Abstract: | Energy security, meaning the sustainable and uninterrupted supply of energy at all times at an affordable price is in one way or another interlinked with a number of other global issues such as climate change, development, and most importantly armed conflict. Energy security not only affects the economic and foreign policies of countries but shapes regional geopolitics. No matter what alternative energy sources are developed in times to come, hydrocarbons (especially oil and gas) are likely to remain the bulk of energy sources for the foreseeable future. The uneven distribution of supply and demand of hydrocarbons in the world1, along with an unprecedented increase in demand from China, India and Pakistan's rising economies, will have repercussion, not only for the hydrocarbon markets but also for the geopolitics of South Asian region and the wider world. |
| Date: | 23 October 2007 |
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| Title: | 25 : India’s Foreign Policy Priorities In The Coming Decade |
| Author/s: | Rajiv Sikri |
| Abstract: | India's foreign policy priorities in the coming decade will depend, in the first instance, on India's assessment of the likely evolution of the world order. Predictions are fraught with uncertainty. A study of history reveals that events often follow a non-linear path and that present realities and trends are, at best, a rough guide to the future. The world has been in flux for nearly two decades. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 signaled the end of the post-World War II era. This momentous event, full of symbolism, signaled the defeat of the Soviet Union in the Cold War, triggered off the disintegration of sovereign states and emboldened the United States (US) towards triumphal and unilateral behaviour. A decade and a half later, it is clear that there has been no'end of history'. Nor is the rest of the world prepared to accept perpetual US global dominance. However, the casualness and arrogance with which long-established principles of international relations have been cast aside have saddled the world with the disastrous situations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the global spread of terrorism. |
| Date: | 25 September 2007 |
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| Title: | 24 : Capital Account Convertibility In India: Revisiting The Debate |
| Author/s: | D. M. Nachane |
| Abstract: | It is undeniable that in the last three decades, cataclysmic changes have been underway in the functioning and organization of the world economy. Following Went (2002-03), three changes may be singled out for special attention: (i) A phenomenal increase in the number of global markets for products and services (especially financial services). (ii) A growing role for "footloose"multinationals (a term owing to Reich (1992)) in the global economy. (iii) An enhanced role for supranational organizations (G8, IMF, BIS, WTO, OECD etc.) and regional associations (EU, NAFTA, ASEAN, etc.), with a commensurate emasculation of the role of nation states. While these developments are well recognized, a related phenomenon seems to have attracted relatively little attention viz. the unchallenged sway that the doctrines of new-classical economics1 and monetarism have acquired over the policy advice emanating from academic institutions, international "think tanks" and multilateral bodies. This mould of thinking translates into policy recipes such as export-oriented growth, privatization, deregulation etc. and are religiously followed by many emerging market economies (EMEs) and least developed counties (LDCs), (under "persuasion" from international organizations) with no attention to local conditions. The actual results of such policies are often mixed, and though the success stories are inevitably highlighted, failures tend to get under-reported and attributed to faulty implementation rather than the flawed advice in the first place. |
| Date: | 24 August 2007 |
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| Title: | 23 : Public Investment Reversals, Inequality and Borrowing: Fiscal Policy in India |
| Author/s: | Errol D'Souza |
| Abstract: | With economic growth as a priority goal of the state it is a puzzle as to why public investment declined since the mid 1990s despite no significant reduction in fiscal deficits. This paper advances the proposition that public investment affects the returns to the distribution of factor endowments differentially. The rise in inequality then turns the attention of the state towards redistribution. Even when expenditures are financed by borrowing rather than taxation, increased inequality that creates pressures for redistributive transfers, crowds out public investment. Future income generation gets adversely affected by a reversal of public investment which makes creditors impose borrowing constraints on the state. This can take the form of the enactment of fiscal responsibility legislation. |
| Date: | 22 August 2007 |
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| Title: | 22: Growth and Employment in India: The Regional Dimension |
| Author/s: | K. V. Ramaswamy |
| Abstract: | Regional inequality (spatial inequality) has emerged as a key issue in recent discussions of development policy. States within India differ greatly in terms of economic growth and employment potential. In this paper, I examine some aspects of this regional employment growth in India spanning the period 1983 to 2004/05. My analysis is confined to 14 selected major states in India accounting for 93 percent of the population. My results confirm widening inter-state disparities in income in the first quinquennium of the 21st century a continuation of the trend of the 1990s. Across the 14 states urban bias in employment growth is found with employment in urban areas growing faster than in rural areas. All states are found to be diversifying with the pace of diversification lower in low income states. A positive association is found between initial level of diversification and subsequent employment growth. Geographic concentration of skill labour is observed in the sector financial and business services. Regional employment growth in India is found to be urban, unorganized and low productivity jobs. A positive relationship between initial educational attainment and non-agricultural labour productivity growth is observed. Inter-State disparity in educational attainment is likely to be a binding constraint. |
| Date: | 21 August 2007 |
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| Title: | 21: The Paper Is Not Available |
| Date: | 2 April 2007 |
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| Title: | 20 : Price Controls On Pharmaceutical Products In India |
| Author/s: | S. Narayan |
| Abstract: | In revising its drug pricing policies, the Government of India needs to balance its core responsibility to protect the health and welfare of the Indian people and the Nation's interest in sustaining the continued development of a world-class Indian life sciences capability. It is vital that the citizens of India, particularly the common man, have access to affordable medicines for treating the most common and important disease conditions. This is a core mission for any government. At the same time, unlike most nations, including even the most advanced OECD economies, India is a global competitor in the advanced life sciences. Our pharmaceutical industry is a world leader in international generics markets and has begun making serious inroads in innovative drug discovery. Indian scientists, doctors, and medical researchers have developed important, commercially-successful treatments for disease, including biopharmaceutical inventions which have been patented in the United States and Europe. Indian scientists and researchers populate the laboratories of the major U.S. and European multinational drug companies, and increasingly are being drawn home by opportunities in our own country. Accordingly, any pharmaceutical pricing policy must also advance India's capability to discover and develop advanced medicines |
| Date: | 19 March 2007 |
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| Title: | 19 : Conceptualising The Typologies Of Indian Diaspora In International Economic Relations: ‘tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’, Or A ‘great Off-white Hope’ Of The New Century |
| Author/s: | Binod Khadria |
| Abstract: | Prior to situating the issues of international economic relations, mobility of the highly skilled, and human capital formation in the broader context of "India in the Global Labour Market", I have, in this working paper, attempted to conceptualize some typologies for the Indian 'diaspora' as players or actors, and international relations as their playground or the field - an attempt that would help clearly defining and delimiting the universe of discourse . |
| Date: | 26 January 2007 |
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| Title: | 18 : Knowledge Economies In India, China And Singapore |
| Author/s: | Jayan Jose Thomas |
| Abstract: | Recent news reports have frequently described India and China as "rivals and partners." 1 India and China are today experiencing some of the fastest rates of economic expansion in their recent histories. The two countries are often seen as rivals, racing with each other on the basis of their most visible source of competence: abundance and low cost of labour.2 However, economic advantages arising out of low labour costs are ephemeral, likely to last only until snatched away by a competitor country offering still lower wages. The real source of competence in the world economy lies in innovation. Therefore, for both India and China, performance in technology-intensive or knowledge-intensive industries will be the crucial test for long-term success. |
| Date: | 26 January 2007 |
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