Indian Economists Research Articles

P. J. Thomas’s Scholarship on Mercantilism and the Political Economy of Trade: A Centennial Appreciation and Assessment

This article addresses the contribution of the Indian economist P. J. Thomas to the scholarship of mercantilism and the political economy of trade. It considers Thomas’s 1926 book, Mercantilism and the East India Trade, and interprets Thomas’s account of trade issues in the late seventeenth century in terms of the graphical analysis of the imperfect substitutes model. It contrasts Thomas’s work with that of Jacob Viner and sets his work in a larger context of culture and technology. The article concludes that Thomas’s scholarship deserves to be rediscovered within the fields of international economics and global political economy.

ВЛИЯНИЕ ЧЕЛОВЕЧЕСКОГО КАПИТАЛА НА РАЗВИТИЕ НАЦИОНАЛЬНЫХ СОЦИАЛЬНО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ СИСТЕМ

In the course of our research we have revealed the essence of the phenomenon of our study - human capital, the development of which determines the prosperity of the countries of the world. In the process of studying the topic of the scientific article, we determined the economic interpretation of this term, and also identified its main types and features. As is known, human capital is classified to intensive factors of production. After all, thanks to the object of our study, the formation and development of innovative technologies, as well as knowledge, skills and abilities on the highest stage of development of society and economy is carried out. In addition, we also resorted to the analysis of the list of countries according to the human development index, which is identified as a tool that contributes to the competent redistribution of countries into three key categories: developed, developing and third world countries. It should be added that this index was formed in 1990 by Pakistani and Indian economists - Mahbub ul Haq and Amartya Sen, respectively. Thus, the task of each state is the formation of high indicators of human capital, because its development will depend on the general state of the entire economic system of the country. After all, at the present stage of human development it is human capital that is more responsible for the rate of economic growth, and ensures the development of scientific and technological progress in the life of society and the entire economic system. This, in turn, again increases the im-portance and relevance of the research topic under consideration in the conditions of the modern twenty-first century.

Beyond Economics: Review of Selected Studies in the Context of Indian Society

Economics of ‘dalits’ or ‘economics of castes’ does exist and could be interesting and challenging; besides that, except rare exception, none of Indian economists has considered economics of castes as a research topic. The economics of castes is unexplored branch of economics even today. While dealing the economics of castes, there seems more discrimination and injustice in the academic world of economics. In this article, the focus has been given on economics castes, which is stated as ‘beyond economics’

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on the Development of Currency System During British India: Problems and Suggestions

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's approach to economics was significant and founded on his expertise in comprehending issues at their most fundamental level. He had a profound awareness of both the British financial system and the pattern of the Indian rupee's exchange value. He explains the importance of the "medium of exchange" in stabilising any currency through its supply and demand networks. He was a first-generation Indian economist who earned degrees from the London School of Economics and Columbia University in the United States. He was the first to advocate for monetary and fiscal reform in India. In my paper, I will try to understand his analysis of the growth of Indian modern currency and the financial weaknesses during British India.

Krishna Bharadwaj. Accumulation, Exchange, and Development: Essays on the Indian Economy. New Delhi: Sage Publications. 1994. 395 pages and Index. Hardbound. Indian Rs 350.00. Paperback. Indian Rs 195.00

Before her death in 1992, Professor Krishna Bharadwaj had reached the prime of her intellectual growth so that her mature thought on classical political economy and her ideas on development paradigms had begun to coalesce into a single whole. As the title of the book under review implies, this work of the late Indian economist comprises a study of the general problems of economic growth, accumulation, exchange, distribution, and development based on the theory of surplus, including its generation, appropriation, and distribution in society. The author applies classical theory to the complex development process in the developing economies, and to the specific problems of the Indian economy in the industrial, agricultural, and commercial sectors.

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar’s Image and Thought as Perceived in Thailand From 1975 to 2017

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956), popularly known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, was an Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer who inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement and campaigned against social discrimination against untouchables (Dalits) while supporting the rights of women and labourers. This article examines how Ambedkar is characterized in Thai language academic and general writings published between 1975 and 2017. The paper is based on textual analysis that interprets the books and articles on Ambedkar in Thai language as primary sources for understanding his image and thought as portrayed in Thailand. Ambedkar’s forward-thinking ideas on democracy impressed Thai writers because Ambedkar attempted to dispense with the caste system and promote liberty, equality and fraternity among underprivileged communities in India. Ambedkar also served as chairman of drafting committee of Constitution and leader of the Dalit movement and community. Furthermore, Thai writers see Ambedkar’s ideas about Buddhism as qualifying him as a messiah or bodhisattva who revived a neo-Buddhist movement in India. Thai monks have served as significant intermediaries in narrating Ambedkar’s interpretation of Buddhism to the Thai Buddhist community because they have direct experience such as studying and staying in India. Academics and famous writers have also conveyed Ambedkar’s ideas about Buddhism and democracy, which qualify him as a modernist and maha manav [great man].

A WIN-WIN MODEL OF DEVELOPMENT: HOW INDIAN ECONOMICS REDEFINED UNIVERSAL DEVELOPMENT FROM AND AT THE MARGINS, 1870–1905

In this article, I argue that looking at lesser known intellectuals can help the history of economics to uncover new ways of seeing the world. My focus is the beginnings of “Indian economics” and its conceptualization of development. The Indian economists, despite their elite status in India, were from an imperial context where they were never considered economists. Studies throughout the twentieth century continued to treat them only as nationalists, rarely as contributors to economic knowledge. My research gives agency to these economists. I show how the position of Indian economics from the margins of discursive space offered a unique perspective that enabled it to innovate at the margins of development discourse. Indian economics redefined the concept of universality in the existing nineteenth-century idea of development by rejecting the widely accepted comparative advantage model and assertion that progress originated in Europe. Moreover, the economists pushed for universal industrialization, even for imperial territories, arguing that universal progress was beneficial to all.

Impact of Covid-19 on Indian Stock Market

The corona virus outbreak, which originated in China, has infected nearly 8, 75,000 people. Its spread has left businesses around the world counting costs. The corona virus is going global, and it could bring the world economy to a standstill. COVID-19 that began in the depths of China’s Hubei province is spreading rapidly, persuading the World Health Organisation to declare it as a pandemic. There are now significant outbreaks from South Korea to Italy and Iran, from America to Britain. The ongoing spread of the new corona virus has become one of the biggest threats to the global economy and financial markets. Even though, time and again our Indian economists have assured the country that Indian economy stands relatively insulated from the global value chain, but being integrated into world economy, there has to be some impact. This was reflected in the Nifty when the stock market took a great plunge down in last week of February, 2020. The present study is an attempt to examine the impact of COVID-19 on Indian Stock market. The study takes into consideration a time period of four months, from December 1st, 2019 to March 31st, 2020. The study focuses on the Nifty and sectoral indices of Nifty along with India Volatility Index. Tools used for the study involves correlation, regression, ANOVA, variance analysis and moving averages. The study concludes with the statement that volatility is higher in medium run than in short run and also there is significant impact of COVID-19 on Indian stock market.

Why China's Capital Exports Can Weaken Imperialism

The rise of China has prompted US geostrategic thinkers over the past decade to talk about the degree to which another “world war” is inevitable, and has also contributed to growing accusations that China is “imperialist.” It will be argued that it is possible to accuse China of “imperialism” under the definitional outline Vladimir Lenin popularised, but only because, in his model of the world, he considered the export of capital to be a defining feature of imperialism; however, this is flawed because his model had no theoretical space for the mechanisms of national exploitation that prevailed at that time, most importantly the “drain” of wealth from India. This is because Lenin's model was borrowed from that of John A. Hobson, who outright denied the “drain.” At the time, the claim of the “drain” was pioneered by Indian economist Dadabhai Naoroji, who in turn greatly influenced contemporary pioneers about the topic, namely Utsa Patnaik and Prabhat Patnaik, whose framework offers useful insights. After reconstructing the term “imperialism,” it will be argued that Chinese capital exports are actually weakening national exploitation, which is weakening imperialism and raising tensions, not towards “inter-imperialist” conflict, but “hegemon–rival” conflict.

Scaling Commercial Law in Indian Country

How do you drive economic enterprise in a financial desert? Indian tribes, academics, economists, and policy makers have considered the means and methods for energizing economic growth for forty years. Efforts such as the creation and promotion of the Model Tribal Secured Transactions Act (“MTSTA”) promise much towards creating conditions that would gather financial opportunity to tribal regions that experience poverty at the strikingly higher rate than any other place in the U.S. And yet, while the law has been available for more than ten years, tribes have been reticent to adopt it. This article fills the vacuum in the literature around the promise of uniform laws in Indian Country by describing the inherent tension that exists between down-scaling uniform laws into tribal contexts and the local-ism that seeks to preserve localized values. This Article argues that tribal choices to accept uniformity or reject uniformity in these areas are built around a combination of formal associations and organic relationships designed to create “institutional thickness” in the face of other scarce resources.

Determinants of foreign direct investment outflow from India to Poland

Abstract This article concerns the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) outflow from India to Poland with some insights to other European countries. This topic strongly relates to globalization of foreign trade and especially new economic initiatives between European Union (EU) and India, which was one of the first countries to develop trade relations with EU. According to CEIC data – Financial Data and Economic Indicators, India’s FDI outflow increased slightly to 1.4 billion USD in September 2019 in comparison with 996.5 million USD in September 2018, but it is still below the average of 1.8 billion USD for a period of 2007–2019. Available at: https://www.ceicdata.com/en/india/foreign-direct-investment-outflow/foreign-direct-investment-outflow (accessed October 19, 2019). Very limited number of the scientific research can be found in European literature about India’s FDI outflow to EU countries in period of 2004–2019. Indian economists made some research on that topic. Professor J. Ramachandran (listed among the Best Management Thinkers for the year 2015, the first Bain Fellow in India) from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore in 2004 and Professor Jaya Prakesh Pradhan from Central University of Gujarat in 2008 explored the evolution in Indian outward FDI, referring to a shift in the pattern of overseas expansion and basis of competitiveness of Indian companies. The main goal of this article is to explain what really triggers Indian investors to go to Poland and what kind of businesses they form. Some examples of the Indian-based companies are mentioned to support the analysis. The author of this article also researched on different governmental bilateral trade agreements and initiatives, trying to find any direct impacts of that on the India FDI outflow to Poland and other EU countries. He used empirical method of the analysis based on accessible data for period 2004–2019 and literature in that topic and also direct interviews with private Indian investors who made decision to start and run their business in Poland or other EU countries. The main conclusion is that Poland the leader of Visegrad Group is an interesting investment for India and India can be for Poland a counterpart investment partner to China.

Status of Human Development Index

What is the need for Human Development? This research paper seeks to research the reasons for the emergence of the concept of Human Development. ‘Human development is a process of enlarging people’s choices’ (HDRO, 1990). The Human Development approach insists that the fundamental aim of development policy should be to expand the opportunities that people have to lead meaningful lives. Economic growth is a means towards this end, not an end in itself. Therefore, the indicators to identify the human development index were amended. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators, which are used to rank countries into four tiers of human development. Amartya Sen, an Indian economist who was awarded the Nobel Prize is known for his fruitful contribution to the Human Development Theory. It is interesting to note that a person who developed the Human Development Theory is a citizen of a country which has a medium Human Development whereas the countries who adopted this approach have a high or a very high Human Development Index. The researcher through this research paper seeks to analyse the status of Human Development in India and what are the reasons for its position in a comparative analysis with other countries. The researcher concludes the research with findings and suggestions.

ON THE THEME OF LIBERATED LOVE AND GLOBAL FEMINIST DISCOURSE

My exploration of the work of Pamela Sue Anderson focuses on what she calls “a philosophical imaginary” in her article “Towards a New Philosophical Imaginary,” in which she responds to Judith Butler’s theory of relational ontology and vulnerability. Anderson’s project is to recast the term vulnerable, which is often associated with feminine weakness, as a positive energy. Critiquing Western myths that portray women as less empowered than men, as in Mary Midgley’s reference to Minerva and Owl that denigrates women as other, according to the Lacanian imaginary, Anderson strikes at the root of Western patriarchy. In contrast, she adduces Michèle Le Doeuff’s contemporary myth on Dawn, adapted from the Spanish philosopher Zambrano’s figure of Dawn, and offers us a new paradigm where Dawn’s heart expresses a new framework of love that is liberated from sex/gender discrimination. Although Anderson believed in Kantian philosophy, she did not hesitate to question the limitations of it. In this context, I also discuss the modern Indian philosopher Sri Aurobindo’s theory of supramental consciousness, the French philosopher Henri Bergson’s theory of intuition, and the ways in which Anderson’s theory of love is grounded in spiritual transformative practice, following Paul Fiddes. Other attractions of Anderson’s essay are the nuances of postcolonial discourse. I explore ways in which the theory of relational ontology proposed by Judith Butler intersects with the Indian economist and philosopher Amartya Sen’s theory of capability/justice.

The industrial policy as a driver of the Indian economy’s development

The aim of this research is the Indian industrial policy in 1950-2010s, its main direction and perspectives of its future evolution. The methodological basis of the study is such methods as induction and deduction, analysis and synthesis. The systematic approach to the overall study of the Indian economy and the Indian industrial policy in particular has become the base of this research. The author thoroughly analyses its main specific features during the pre-reform period, as well as identifies the causes and the nature of its transformation at the beginning of the 1990s. At the same time the author underlines that taking into account the national-specific features of a mixed society, the industrial policy of the prereform stage facilitated the successful holding of industrialization during which the industrial sector has become the fastest growing sector of the Indian economy. The author underlines the main directions of the New Industrial Policy, 1991 , among which the most important ones are the following: abolition industrial licensing, the reduction of the public sector in the national economy, amendment of Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 , attraction of foreign direct investment and advanced technologies, liberalization of industrial policy at the local level and the replacement the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 , by the Foreign Exchange Management, 1999 . Apart from that the author examines the most representative theories of the Indian economists (R. Agraval and C. Rangarajan) which made a significant contribution to working out the industrial policy in 1990s. The author also draws attention to the main elements of a future ready industrial policy discussed in India at the present time. The author stresses that for all its diversity at different stages of socio-economic development the Indian industrial policy always based on both the economic and social components (the New Industrial Policy, 1991 , also added the ecological component). It means that accelerating the annual economic growth rate, the Indian industrial policy has contributing to solving a wide range of social tasks - from the creation of new jobs to poverty and undernourishment alleviation. The article also presents statistical data on the dynamics of gross domestic savings and gross domestic capital formation in the Indian economy, annual average economic growth rates in India from 1990-1991 to 2016-2017 financial year as well as the Indian GDP by industry of origin in 2000-2017.

India’s Approach to China’s Belt and Road Initiative—Opportunities and Concerns

Abstract China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a geoeconomic vision and geopolitical strategy is closely watched and scrutinised by Indian economists, diplomats, and strategists. Perspectives on India’s approach to the BRI can broadly be classified into three—the optimist, the sceptic and the cautionary. Whereas, economists generally appear optimistic, there is a sense of uneasiness within India’s strategic community that the BRI represents much more than China’s ambition to emerge as an economic leader in the region. This article argues that India’s approach to the BRI has largely been pragmatic, cautious and complex. Accordingly, India has taken an atomistic approach to the various components of the BRI depending on its security and economic needs, which explains why on the one hand India has become increasingly receptive of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM EC) and on the other continues to publicly oppose the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

India as a Challenge to China's Belt and Road Initiative

India as a Challenge to China's Belt and Road Initiative Gurpreet S. Khurana (bio) The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was announced by Xi Jinping in 2013 and comprises both the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt (launched in August 2013) and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (introduced in September 2013). The initiative was showcased in a manner that was too appealing to be ignored by the countries of the Indian Ocean region. Many Indians also viewed BRI as highly promising for their country. As a virtual "island state" constrained by landward geophysical barriers in the north, India is in dire need of developing its economic corridors and maritime transportation infrastructure. Projections indicate that by 2050, India will be the second-largest economy (in purchasing power parity terms), premised inter alia on the growth trends of merchandise trade.1 However, leading Indian economists point out that a large part of the country's export potential remains unrealized, mostly in its own neighborhood. The key reason for this loss of competitiveness is rising "trade costs," mainly for maritime transportation, which are heightened by the lack of connectivity and port infrastructure.2 Therefore, even though the Indian government never endorsed BRI, a few Indian analysts (including this author) were of the view that the Chinese initiative was pregnant with geoeconomic opportunities for India, and, premised on the ongoing India-China rivalry, it may not be prudent for New Delhi to throw the baby out with the bathwater.3 Eventually, however, the official Indian position against BRI hardened to the extent that India was the one key country in [End Page 27] the Indian Ocean region not represented at the major international Belt and Road Forum organized in Beijing in May 2017.4 This essay aims to examine some mainstream Indian perspectives on BRI and analyze its likely adverse ramifications for India. Based on these findings, the essay considers how India should (and is likely to) tailor its foreign policy and national security responses to this Chinese initiative. Mainstream Indian Perspectives on BRI Owing largely to the country's geographic location and disposition, India's national interests are closely intertwined with developments in the Indian Ocean region. In this context, BRI is seen in New Delhi as China's endeavor to capitalize on the desires, vulnerabilities, and insecurities of regional countries. Sri Lanka, for instance, sought BRI to bolster investment in its port-led economic development after the 2009 end to decades of internal conflict, but later became beset by debt. In December 2017, Sri Lanka was compelled to grant China a 99-year lease and 70% stake in the deepwater port at Hambantota.5 In Maldives, China played on the political fissures and local fears of sea-level rise to involve Chinese companies in reclamation projects. Today, the country owes China $1.5 billion—about 30% of its GDP—in construction costs.6 In Malaysia, China's exorbitantly expensive Melaka Gateway port project was premised on Kuala Lumpur's geoeconomic rivalry with Singapore to host a major hub port in the Asia-Pacific.7 Pakistan, for its part, was much too willing to cede to China the transit corridor from Kashi to Gwadar in order to reduce its own strategic vulnerability vis-à-vis [End Page 28] militarily superior India and develop the Baluchistan Province. Pakistan owes China at least $10 billion in debt for the construction of Gwadar port and other projects.8 Viewed in New Delhi, China's approach runs counter to India's vision for collective and inclusive economic development of the Indian Ocean region. India believes that it cannot attain prosperity for its citizens in isolation from the regional neighborhood. BRI is also viewed in New Delhi as China's attempt to outsource its low-end "sunset" industries to initiative partners, letting them worry about the attendant issues of environmental pollution. To redress this issue, in June 2017, in the document "Vision for Maritime Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative," China attempted to link BRI with blue economy and sustainable development concepts.9 However, repackaging does not change the product. Pakistan's coal-based power plant project in Rahim Yar Khan, proposed to be built by...

The Legacy of Ashok Mitra

Ashok Mitra, the renowned Indian economist, passed away on 1 May 2018. Mitra was a keen analyst of the relationship between economics and politics, which he understood as being inextricably enmeshed, with the latter having a degree of relative autonomy. It followed, for Mitra, that class struggle ‘in society at large’ underlay ‘every aspect’ of economic life, including the determination of economic variables. He focused his analytical sights on distributional dynamics, specifically on the relative shares of the different classes in national income and the role of the State. He took issue with, and went beyond, Kalecki’s theory of ‘degree of monopoly’, which Mitra did not take as a given but as determined by factors that included the real wage rate. He also advanced, beyond the main approaches, to the issue of the terms of trade, including that of Prebisch, by illuminating the class differentiation within the sectors, especially agriculture, and the political clout of the rural rich. Mitra was also passionate for economic decentralization, at a time when the Third World was in a special, early post-war and post-colonial conjuncture, which bestowed a higher degree of manoeuver for state intervention and policymaking. Mitra will be remembered as a theorist of the ‘dirigiste’ phase of Third World development.

Measuring multidimensional poverty in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil: looking beyond income

Abstract The multidimensional poverty index (MPI) was developed by the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (Ophi) in 2010. The MPI is established on indicators of health, education and standard of living. The concept of multidimensionality is anchored on the theory of poverty and human development elaborated by the indian economist Amartya Sen in the 1980s. The methodology used for the modeling of this study is based on Alkire and Foster - AF (2011) and analyzes the incidence and intensity of poverty. The purpose of this paper focuses on the application of the MPI in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil and uses the Household Sample Survey produced by João Pinheiro Foundation (FJP) in 2009, 2011 and 2013. The results indicate that the MPI is relativaly low, 0.0329 (2009), 0.0226 (2011) and 0.0155 (2013), indicating there is a tendency for decreasing along the years.

Some Observations on Ajit Sinha’s Interpretation of the Sraffa System

Most of the Indian economists who took interest in Sraffa’s pioneering work were active in the decades stretching from 1960s to 1980s. From 1990s few Indian economists have shown much concern for it. Amongst them the name of Ajit Sinha stands foremost. Starting from 2007, Sinha has published in a series of contributions [Sinha 2007, 2010a, 2010b, 2012, 2013, 2015 and Dupertuis and Sinha, 2009a, b] culminating in his 2016 book, “A Revolution in Economic Theory: The Economics of Piero Sraffa”, his clarifications on the logical and philosophical foundations of Sraffa’s path breaking work. In this endeavour Sinha has advanced a radically new perspective on the guiding motives and final accomplishment of Sraffa’s work which he has distilled from Sraffa’s published and unpublished writings. In advancing his own perspective, he has locked horns not only with neoclassical authors (as is obviously to be expected) but also with eminent Sraffians like Pierangelo Garegnani, Heinz Kurz, and Christian Gehrke.

The Chosen One:Krishna Bharadwaj (1935-1992)

It is evident that Krishna Bharadwaj was not the first Indian economist to engage with classical political economy (henceforth CPE) in general or Piero Sraffa’s work in particular. She was, in her own time, the youngest of them and most consequential at that, having made CPE the centre-piece of virtually all her work. The present account of Bharadwaj’s work and persona highlights four features that seem to set her apart from other scholars. The first one is that she was completely home-grown as an economist. All her training, including doctoral study, was in India. This was by choice (see below) and unlike the case of her seniors like Arun Bose and Gautam Mathur, and contemporaries such as Sukhamoy Chakravarty and Amartya Sen. When she published her well-known review of Sraffa’s Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities (Sraffa 1960; henceforth PCMC) in the Indian journal Economic Weekly (see Bharadwaj 1963), she was teaching at Bombay University and had no direct exposure to Cambridge, UK.