Author: Atanu Dey

Economist.

Incentives for Better Policies

This year, 2009 CE, marks the 200th birth anniversary of Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882), and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (1859). Contrary to what one may suppose, the phrase “survival of the fittest” does not occur in that book. It was Herbert Spencer (1820 -1903), who coined it in his book Principles of Biology, (1864).[1]

Spencer warned that “the ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.” That observation holds with special force in the context of the misgovernment of India. If the policy makers (the bureaucrats and politicians) are shielded from the ill-effects of their policies, they have little incentive to act prudently. Eventually, as the stock of bad policies keep building up, the country ends up in ruin. We have to remember that in the main, the success or failure of an economy is solely determined by the quality of its public policies.
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Mera Naam Raju

Worth recalling from that Hindi song:

kaviraj kahey
na yeh taaj rahey
na yeh raaj rahey
na yeh raaj gharana

preet aur preet kay geet rahey
kabhi loot saka na koi yeh khajana

mera naam raju
gharana aanaam
behti hai ganga jahan mera dhaam

Sung by the incomparable Mukesh. Pity that it can’t be translated from the Hindi.

MCP Sighting

An Air India ad: “If you fly with us, your wife flies free.”

Seen today on a huge billboard on the road from Pune to Mumbai. The generous explanation is that Air India perhaps does not know that everyone does not have a wife; some people actually have husbands. But perhaps Air India is staffed by male chauvinist pigs, just like the rest of Indian society.

{Earlier I typed “fee” instead of “free.” Sorry for the typo.}

Rockefeller Foundation: The Century of the City

century_city_cov

One in every ten people lived in urban areas a century ago. Now, for the first time ever, most people live in cities. By 2050, the United Nations projects, almost three-quarters of the world’s population will call urban areas home. The majority of this growth is centered in struggling, developing countries of the Global South, but cities in developed (or Global North) countries face increasingly complex challenges as well.

Around the world, unplanned urban expansion is multiplying slums, overburdening housing, transportation and infrastructure systems, stifling economic growth, and leaving millions vulnerable to new environmental and health threats.

To help manage and plan for this accelerating urbanization, the Rockefeller Foundation convened an exceptional group of urbanists–leading policy makers and government officials, finance experts, urban researchers, members of civil society organizations, and other innovators–for a Global Urban Summit at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center. This book shares their diverse perspectives, creative approaches, and urgent agenda for harnessing the vast opportunities of urbanization for a better world.

[Link for ordering the book free.]

Draft Arun Shourie?

Gaurav Srivastava wants Shri Arun Shourie to be the BJP’s candidate for prime minister. He believes that the core constituency of BJP — the urban middle-class voters — are not particularly impressed with Shri Advani.

It would be good if Shourie were the PM. The man is smart, courageous, ethical, and has the national interest at heart. Which is more than you can say about Shri Manmohan Singh. I wish India had good political leadership but if wishes were horses . . .

ICT, Choice and Democracy 2.0

Upstream and Downstream Choices

It is fairly well understood that information and communications technologies (ICT) tools expand choice. We all have access to a very large set of information and have the freedom to choose what we want to read, watch, listen to, etc., etc. ICT expands our “downstream” choice. What is not as well understood is that it expands our “upstream” choice also. It is a two-way medium, unlike say broadcast and print media which only allows us downstream choice: using ICT we send back information indicating our choice and thus guiding what comes downstream.

In other words, ICT expands the menu of options we have and also gives us the ability to change that menu. Options that are not exercised fall off the menu and this leads to more efficient outcomes since resources are not wasted on things that people don’t value. All this is trivially true and one can be guilty of stating the obvious except for the fact that we have yet to make full use of the power of upstream choice that ICT affords in scores of areas which would make economic and political freedom more meaningful.
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The Need for an Indian National Identity

I have long been an admirer of Rajiv Malhotra, the founder and president of the Infinity Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Princeton, New Jersey. He is an Indian nationalist and is indefatigable in his goal of educating people about the Indic traditions — particularly to Americans and Indians in America. Given his strong Indian nationalism and his love of the Indic traditions, I would not have expected Tehelka to publish one of his opinion pieces. Still, it is good to see Malhotra’s piece in Tehelka, “We, the Nation(s) of India.” One is thankful for small mercies.
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The Truth About Satyam

The capacity for ethical behavior is evidently not correlated with wealth. Too often I have observed poor taxicab drivers, upon being given a generous tip, attempt to return the excess amounts pointing out that perhaps I made a counting error. So it is no surprise to me to come across instances of extremely wealthy people behaving unethically and immorally merely to gain a little (relatively speaking) more wealth.

The evolving story about Satyam and its chairman Mr Ramalinga Raju is more interesting from a human interest point of view than merely from its commercial implications. Lots of very earnest analysis already occupies the minds of an army of commentators, editorial writers, bloggers and talking heads. Much of it is shock that Raju was so bold as to believe that he could get away with it. There is some puzzlement on why the auditors did not catch such a blatant cooking of books.
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Look and feel of this site

Due to circumstances out of our control, we had to change our hosting service. While making that transition, I also made the decision to change the look of this blog. But I not clever enough to on my own fix all the little annoying bits that need fixing with such a transition. I get technical support for my blog from my dear friend and colleague Alok and he is really busy at his real job these last couple of weeks. Soon enough he will be relatively free to help me out. So take this opportunity to speak out and tell me what changes you would like to the look and feel of this site.

Back on the beat

Many of you have noted the fairly long hiatus in the postings on this blog and some have even written and called to find out if I am ok. Glad to report that I am indeed alive and kicking. I apologize for the extended break and I hope to get back on the treadmill without further delay.

So what’s in store for 2009, you may ask. I think I am going to work on a bit of synthesis. For the last few years I have touched upon a wide but interconnected set of issues related to India’s economic growth and development. It is time now to gather those together into a coherent whole and see how the big picture appears.

I hope to make some progress on the work I am doing. What is that, you ask. Well, first of all, I am working on setting up a service that would be of use for those in the educational sector. A great for-profit venture. It is true that I have been talking about it for a couple of years and I have precious little to show for it to date; but that is how it works — you think for a long while and then do. I am a great believer in thinking a lot before acting.

So here goes nothing. Do keep in touch and let’s all have a great new year. Cheers!