In yesterday's musings on whether education promotes development, I had promised to outline a proposal for making India 100 percent literate within three years. Here is the modest proposal. First, the government of India must credibly commit to paying every literate and numerate person Rs 5,000 (about US$100). Second, ensure that every person who wants … Continue reading A Modest Proposal for Making India 100 Percent Literate within Three Years
Month: September 2004
Does Educational Spending Promote Growth?
Back in February I had examined the matter of why education is underprovided in India. My insistence that basic education was a necessity for development prompted Alok Mittal to ask about the connection between economic development and education. Specifically, he quoted these lines from my post -- Economists are deservedly known to disagree on many … Continue reading Does Educational Spending Promote Growth?
Misplaced Conclusions
"My uncle died sadly due to his habit of drinking tea?" "That's amazing! I have heard of people dieing because of alcohol. But tea?" "Yes, tea lead to his death. He was crossing the road to get himself a cup of tea, and a bus ran over him. Tea caused his untimely demise." You may … Continue reading Misplaced Conclusions
The Power of M-type Arguments
Suhit Anantula forwarded an open letter to Krugman from Arnold Kling. In it, Kling told Krugman that he (Krugman) was using too many M type arguments (M for "motivation") and not enough C type arguments (C for "consequence") when Krugman argues for or against certain policies. I think that Kling's letter is worth reading. And … Continue reading The Power of M-type Arguments
Why, oh why, are they so materialistic?
Prashant has raised a very interesting point. And one of the more important statements he makes is "... several religions of the world preach that material belongings are unimportant." Indeed material belongings are unimportant. If several religions of the world make that point, they are indeed right. But if they don't go to the next … Continue reading Why, oh why, are they so materialistic?
You might be a third-world country if …
I have been writing this blog for a year. I have learnt a bit and I hope that it was not a waste a time for those who visit it occassionally. About 100 unique visitors show up every day on the average, and every day a few write in with comments or an email to … Continue reading You might be a third-world country if …
The Power of Incentives
It is said that one should not ascribe to malice what can be adequately explained as stupidity. I would go one step further and say that one should not ascribe to malice or stupidity what can be explained by basic self-interest. In other words, the power of incentives. Incentives matter and just like you can … Continue reading The Power of Incentives
