There are two core papers each semester as follows:
- Semester V
- Indian Economy - I
- Development Economics - I
- Semester VI
- Indian Economy - II
- Development Economics - II
Indian Economy - I
Description:
Using appropriate analytical frameworks, this course reviews major trends in economic indicators and policy debates in India in the post-Independence period, with particular emphasis on paradigm shifts and turning points. Given the rapid changes taking place in India, the reading list will have to be updated annually.
Outline:
Readings:
Using appropriate analytical frameworks, this course reviews major trends in economic indicators and policy debates in India in the post-Independence period, with particular emphasis on paradigm shifts and turning points. Given the rapid changes taking place in India, the reading list will have to be updated annually.
Outline:
- Economic Development since Independence: Major features of the economy at independence; growth and development under different policy regimes—goals, constraints, institutions and policy framework; an assessment of performance—sustainability and regional contrasts; structural change, savings and investment.
- Population and Human Development: Demographic trends and issues; education; health and malnutrition.
- Growth and Distribution: Trends and policies in poverty; inequality and unemployment.
- International Comparisons
Readings:
- Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen, An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions, Princeton University Press, 2013
- Pulapre Balakrishnan, The Recovery of India: Economic Growth in the Nehru Era, Economic and Political Weekly, November 2007
- Rakesh Mohan, Growth Record of Indian Economy: 1950-2008. A Story of Sustained Savings and Investment, Economic and Political Weekly, May 2008
- S L Shetty, India‘s Savings Performance since the Advent of Planning, in K.L. Krishna and A. Vaidyanathan, editors, Institutions and Markets in India’s Development, 2007
- Himanshu, Towards New Poverty Lines for India, Economic and Political Weekly, January 2010
- Jean Dreze and Angus Deaton, Food and Nutrition in India: Facts and Interpretations, Economic and Political Weekly, February 2009
- Himanshu, Employment Trends in India: A Re-examination, Economic and Political Weekly, September 2011
- Rama Baru, Inequities in Access to Health Services in India: Caste, Class and Region, Economic and Political Weekly, September 2010
- Geeta G Kingdon, The Progress of School Education in India, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 2007
- J B G Tilak, Post Elementary Education, Poverty and Development in India, International Journal of Educational Development, 2007
- T Dyson, India‘s Demographic Transition and its Consequences for Development in Uma Kapila, editor, Indian Economy Since Independence, 19th edition, Academic Foundation, 2008
- Kaushik Basu, China and India: Idiosyncratic Paths to High Growth, Economic and Political Weekly, September 2009
- K James, Glorifying Malthus: Current Debate on Demographic Dividend in India, Economic and Political Weekly, June 2008
- Reetika Khera, India‘s Public Distribution System: Utilisation and Impact, Journal of Development Studies, 2011
- Aniruddha Krishna and Devendra Bajpai, Lineal Spread and Radial Dissipation: Experiencing Growth in Rural India, 1992-2005, Economic and Political Weekly, September 2011
- Kaushik Basu and A Maertens, The New Oxford Companion to Economics, Oxford University Press, 2013
Development Economics - I
Description:
This course begins with a discussion of alternative conceptions of development and their justification. It then proceeds to aggregate models of growth and cross-national comparisons of the growth experience that can help evaluate these models. The axiomatic basis for inequality measurement is used to develop measures of inequality and connections between growth and inequality are explored. The course ends by linking political institutions to growth and inequality by discussing the role of the state in economic development and the informational and incentive problems that affect state governance.
Outline:
Readings:
This course begins with a discussion of alternative conceptions of development and their justification. It then proceeds to aggregate models of growth and cross-national comparisons of the growth experience that can help evaluate these models. The axiomatic basis for inequality measurement is used to develop measures of inequality and connections between growth and inequality are explored. The course ends by linking political institutions to growth and inequality by discussing the role of the state in economic development and the informational and incentive problems that affect state governance.
Outline:
- Conceptions of Development: Alternative measures of development, documenting the international variation in these measures, comparing development trajectories across nations and within them.
- Growth Models and Empirics: The Harrod-Domar model, the Solow model and its variants, endogenous growth models and evidence on the determinants of growth.
- Poverty and Inequality: Definitions, Measures and Mechanisms: Inequality axioms; a comparison of commonly used inequality measures; connections between inequality and development; poverty measurement; characteristics of the poor; mechanisms that generate poverty traps and path dependence of growth processes.
- Political Institutions and the Functioning of the State: The determinants of democracy; alternative institutional trajectories and their relationship with economic performance; within-country differences in the functioning of state institutions; state ownership and regulation; government failures and corruption.
Readings:
- Debraj Ray, Development Economics, Oxford University Press, 2009
- Partha Dasgupta, Economics, A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2007
- Abhijit Banerjee, Roland Benabou and Dilip Mookerjee, Understanding Poverty, Oxford University Press, 2006
- Kaushik Basu, The Oxford Companion to Economics in India, OUP, 2007
- Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom, OUP, 2000
- Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy, Cambridge University Press, 2006
- Robert Putnam, Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy, Princeton University Press, 1994
Indian Economy - II
Description:
This course examines sector-specific polices and their impact in shaping trends in key economic indicators in India. It highlights major policy debates and evaluates the Indian empirical evidence. Given the rapid changes taking place in the country, the reading list will have to be updated annually.
Outline:
Readings:
This course examines sector-specific polices and their impact in shaping trends in key economic indicators in India. It highlights major policy debates and evaluates the Indian empirical evidence. Given the rapid changes taking place in the country, the reading list will have to be updated annually.
Outline:
- Macroeconomic Policies and Their Impact: Fiscal Policy; trade and investment policy; financial and monetary policies; labour
regulation. - Policies and Performance in Agriculture: Growth; productivity; agrarian structure and technology; capital formation; trade; pricing and procurement.
- Policies and Performance in Industry: Growth; productivity; diversification; small scale industries; public sector; competition
policy; foreign investment. - Trends and Performance in Services
Readings:
- Shankar Acharya, Macroeconomic Performance and Policie 2000-08, in Shankar Acharya and Rakesh Mohan, editors, India’s Economy: Performances and Challenges: Development and Participation, Oxford University Press, 2010
- Rakesh Mohan, India‘s Financial Sector and Monetary Policy Reforms, in Shankar Acharya and Rakesh Mohan, editors, India’s Economy: Performances and Challenges: Development and Participation, Oxford University Press, 2010
- Pulapre Balakrishnan, Ramesh Golait and Pankaj Kumar, Agricultural Growth in India Since 1991, RBI DEAP Study no. 27, 2008
- B N Goldar and S C Aggarwal, Trade Liberalisation and Price-Cost, Margin in Indian Industries, The Developing Economics, September 2005
- P Goldberg, A Khandelwal, N Pavcnik and P Topalova, Trade Liberalisation and New Imported Inputs, American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, May 2009
- Kunal Sen, Trade, Foreign Direct Investment and Industrial Transformation in India, ïn Premachandra Athukorala, editor, The Rise of Asia, Routledge, 2010
- A Ahsan, C Pages and T Roy, Legislation, Enforcement and Adjudication in Indian Labour Markets: Origins, Consequences and the Way Forward, in D Mazumdar and S Sarkar, editors, Globalisation, Labour Markets and Inequality in India, Routledge, 2008
- Dipak Mazumdar and Sandeep Sarkar, The Employment Problem in India and the Phenomenon of the Missing Middle, Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 2009
- J Dennis Rajakumar, Size and Growth of Private Corporate Sector in Indian Manufacturing, Economic and Political Weekly, April 2011
- Ramesh Chand, Understanding the Nature and Causes of Food Inflation, Economic and Political Weekly, February 2010
- Bishwanath Goldar, Organised Manufacturing Employment: Continuing the Debate, Economic and Political Weekly, April 2011
- Kaushik Basu and A Maertens, The New Oxford Companion to Economics in India, Oxford University Press, 2013
Development Economics - II
Description:
This is the second module of the economic development sequence. It begins with basic demographic concepts and their evolution during the process of development. The structure of markets and contracts is linked to the particular problems of enforcement experienced in poor countries. The governance of communities and organizations is studied and this is then linked to questions of sustainable growth. The course ends with reflections on the role of globalization and increased international dependence on the process of development.
Outline:
Readings:
This is the second module of the economic development sequence. It begins with basic demographic concepts and their evolution during the process of development. The structure of markets and contracts is linked to the particular problems of enforcement experienced in poor countries. The governance of communities and organizations is studied and this is then linked to questions of sustainable growth. The course ends with reflections on the role of globalization and increased international dependence on the process of development.
Outline:
- Demography and Development: Demographic concepts; birth and death rates, age structure, fertility and mortality; demographic transitions during the process of development; gender bias in preferences and outcomes and evidence on unequal treatment within households; connections between income, mortality, fertility choices and human capital accumulation; migration.
- Land, Labor and Credit Markets: The distribution of land ownership; land reform and its effects on productivity; contractual relationships between tenants and landlords; land acquisition; nutrition and labor productivity; informational problems and credit contracts; microfinance; inter- linkages between rural factor markets.
- Individuals, Communities and Collective Outcomes: Individual behavior in social environments, multiple social equilibria; governance in organisations and in communities; individual responses to organizational inefficiency.
- Environment and Sustainable Development: Defining sustainability for renewable resources; a brief history of environmental change; common-pool resources; environmental externalities and state regulation of the environment; economic activity and climate change.
- Globalisation: Globalisation in historical perspective; the economics and politics of multilateral agreements; trade, production
Readings:
- Debraj Ray, Development Economics, Oxford University Press, 2009
- Partha Dasgupta, Economics, A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2007
- Abhijit Banerjee, Roland Benabou and Dilip Mookerjee, Understanding Poverty, Oxford University Press, 2006
- Thomas Schelling, Micromotives and Macrobehaviour, W W Norton, 1978
- Albert O Hirschman, Exit, Voice and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations and States, Harvard University Press, 1970
- Raghuram Rajan, Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy, 2010
- Elinor Ostrom, Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action, Cambridge University Press, 1990
- Dani Rodrik, The Globalization Paradox: Why Global Markets, States and Democracy Can’t Coexist, Oxford University Press, 2011
- Michael D Bordo, Alan M Taylor and Jeffrey G Williamson (ed.), Globalisation in Historical Perspective, University of Chicago Press, 2003