Vivek's Info » Economics & Economy

India: Union & State budgets search engine

Vivek S. — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 06:11:09 +0000

A search engine to search India's Union budgets and State budgets (available) in one click

A wealth of materials is available online today about budgets in India. Unfortunately they are dispersed across dozens of websites that take time to find. This search engine will enable to to search official budget websites of Government of India and most state governments in one click. It is periodically updated. The results are not perfect, but it is the best that I was able to produce given the clutter and the constant changes in the budget websites of various states.

Search engine for Constituent Assembly debates in India India's Constitution is far-sighted and among the most interesting Constitutions...
India: Parliament & Legislative Assemblies search engine Search websites of Indian Parliament and most legislative assemblies in...
Indian Parliament & Legislative Assemblies search engine Search debates, policies, laws, parliamentary questions, and other issues relating...
Union and State budgets, India: Websites, documents, tools This page gives links to websites of State and Union...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Economics for beginners: An unconventional list of books, audio, video

Vivek S. — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:15:59 +0000

“The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.” - John Maynard Keynes

A unconventional list for the beginner that starts with economic issues than theories

I live in a part of the world where economics is considered ‘dry’ and boring. I blame it on the textbooks that are routinely prescribed in initiating beginners into the field. I believe that we can relate better to issues than arcane theories. In line with that thinking, this list brings together books with fascinating issues, ideas and policies that will give the reader an inkling of what the field is about. They do not deal with the ‘fundamentals’ of economics as it is understood in the academia, but will give a flavour of what it can be. Hopefully these will prepare you to appreciate textbooks when you get to read them.

Age of uncertainty by John Kenneth Galbraith

Age of uncertainty is a book about some of the greatest thinkers and events of the last few centuries. Galbraith provides an introduction to the ideas of Adam Smith, Spencer, Marx, Keynes and others who have had profound influence on the field at different points of time. This is interlaced with economic history, primarily of the western world, in an age of uncertainty. The book was written in the process of producing a television show for BBC with the same name. It is clearly intended for the mass audience and is accessible to any reader. It is one of those rare books that is accessible to a school child and yet profound to any adult. Galbraith’s wit, beautiful illustrations and excellent editing make the book a pleasure to read and to read again.

India: Development and Participation by Amartya Sen and Jean Drèze

This book to me represents the best in the tradition of development economics. The authors look some of the most pressing issues relating to the developing world such as education, hunger, health, democracy, and conflicts. The first chapter presents their approach to development and it is followed by one chapter on each of the above issues. The authors present competing ideas as well as their own backed by detailed references and statistical appendix. Sen and Drèze are highly sophisticated thinkers whose understanding of development transcends the narrowly “economic” understanding that plagues development economics today. This book too is intended for the lay audience but is a lot heavier reading than Age of uncertainty. But for anyone who is interested in economics with an eye on development issues, this book is a must read.

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dunbar

One of the most fascinating aspects of economics is its meticulous attention to numbers. Statistics in the social world presents many challenges. Freakonomics presents a series of studies that illustrate these challenges and the cleaver methods that economists adopt to surmount them. The book is a partnership between a Chicago school economist and a New York Times journalist, and thus combines rigour with great writing. This is a different genre on the whole compared to the other books in this list, but is well worth the read for it illustrates some of the best elements of economics. [Note: I have serious differences with the analysis and with the theories that underlie the book. That said, it has its strong points and is fun to read]

Wonders and flaws of intuitive thinking: Daniel Kahneman’s commencement talk at Princeton

Kahneman is a psychologist who got a Nobel prize in economics. Mainstream economics makes impossible demands in the reasoning skills of people (that underlies choice, and thus is fundamental to how markets work). In this one-hour talk at Princeton he challenges some conventional ideas in mainstream economics using a survey he did with the audience. Kahneman illustrates how simple experiments can be used to deliver powerful ideas. Kahneman deals briefly with how these ideas relate to behavioural economics and to public policy. In this lecture, he does not talk at length about how these ideas relate to economics. But if you are curious, there is a lot of materials around to establish the link for you. Kahneman is a great speaker and this talk is certain to be entertaining. I strongly recommend that you watch it.

This list is under construction. Please revisit this in a few weeks for more

Collected works on Anthropology and institutional economics Book: Anthropology and institutional economics Editor: James M. Acheson This...
Collected works on Anthropology and institutional economics Anthropology and institutional economics Rating: 3 out of 5 Editor:...
Finally a good book to read I had almost become tierd of reading the last few...
Rights based approach to development: Lessons from India’s Right to Food Campaign In April 2001 People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) approached...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Are we asking the right questions on Social Security & Medicare?

Vivek S. — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 18:48:51 +0000

Pertinent questions are being asked about the sustainability of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in the US…but the causes and options are not articulated fully

Since there is a lot of hullaboo about the “crisis” in social security I tried to find what it’s all about. To my considerable surprise, I found that if the current trends continue, the system will go insolvent in early 2040’s. This kind of foresight in fiscal planning came as a surprise to me – but it is welcome. The crisis is attributed to a demographic shift towards the aged that is going to sharply increase as the baby boomers start retiring. Apart from Social Security, expenditure on Medicaid and Medicare has been increasing quite rapidly since 1960s and stands as a large proportion of the Federal budget expenditure. The debates over these issues are polarized and confusing. So here’s my lay understanding culled out from a labyrinth of arguments. I find it useful to separate out arguments at the aggregate and the individual levels – let me start with the individual.

Increasing life expectancy, high health costs

Life expectancy has gone up in the United States significantly since the inception of Social Security in 1930s. If people continue to retire at ages that one did during the world wars, one is going to live an increasing number of years without earning. On top of this, old age involves huge medical expenditure and this is much higher that what is spent on children or young adults. So one has to spread the earnings into longer years of retirement – and these years are also very expensive. I understand the “crisis” in social security as saving at an older rate, but living longer and costlier. This also lies at the root of higher health expenditure Medicare. If this were the problem of an isolated individual, rising life expectancy and associated health costs means that I have to earn more (perhaps by working longer) and save more (in part by consuming lesser). Though there are many other considerations at the aggregate level, I think this broad lesson holds no matter how we articulate arguments. Since incomes are growing increased savings can be achieved without cutting back as much on expenditure.

Baby boomers, demographic shift and macro implications

The story at the aggregate level is not identical to the case of the ‘isolated individual’. Distributional issues, rigidities arising out of laws and policies, demography and other issues transpose the issue in new terms. The need to save more, work longer, etc. now get read as increased taxes, changing age of retirement, etc. These terms look imposing and unfriendly but (I think) necessary. The hue and cry about the “crisis” in social security and the impending “insolvency” of social security has a basis. Similarly it is important to anticipate a sharp increase in Medicare and other expenses relating to old age. Unfortunately those who raise this issue do not often articulate the problem well. For example, analysts just make it look like the bad government is spending too much these days on Medicare and Medicaid and this is ‘unsustainable’ (implying it should be cut). Seen only in this light, it looks like all will be well if spending on these is reduced. This is wrong. The issue is one that of saving more for old age in the context of raising life expectancy and huge health costs during old age. This cannot be tackled by reducing health spending. A part of the solution lies in financial management by individuals and the government by retiring later, consuming lesser, raising taxes, etc. An important part lies in creating a policy space for cheap health and other care for aged.

The merrit of democratic debate

The crisis rhetoric has a merit in raising public attention to the issue, but is poor in articulating the causes, implications or options. The implications of cutting budgetary expenditure are articulated by other groups that often ignore or undermine the fiscal issue. Still others are creating visions of policy and personal options for old age. If any of these arguments were implemented in their pristine form, they are likely to lead to a crisis. What is important today is to learn from each, let a democratic debate flourish and to create a vision from these visions together.

List of data sources for social science research My bookmarks on data sources that is continually updated An...
Food policy and social movements: Reflection on India’s Right to Food Campaign This paper was written for a book of case studies...
Child development links: Policies, research, issues No, this is not about parenting! The following bookmarks would...
Understanding Tamil Nadu’s commitment to public services: An institutional perspective My doctoral dissertation on the question of why Tamil Nadu...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Collected works on Anthropology and institutional economics

Vivek S. — Sun, 20 May 2007 23:24:28 +0000

Anthropology and institutional economics

Rating: 3 out of 5

Editor: James M. Acheson

Year: 1994

Category: Anthropology, economics, institutional economics

Publisher: University Press of America

ISBN: 0819195952

This volume is one of the rare collection of papers I found looking at Anthropology and institutional economics. Surprisingly, though the two have a large scope for collaboration, there is very little work happening between these two disciplines, to my knowledge. This volume provides a useful introduction. The book starts with an introduction about Anthropology and Institutional economics by James Acheson. This is followed by an essay on New Institutionalism by Robert Bates. The best part of the book is made up of case studies divided into three sections (1) Transactions cost, individual decisions & econoimc performance (2) Institutions and the state (3) Institutions and credit. Finally there is a section on theoretical issues concerning institutional economics. The book is an outcome of a meeting of society for economic anthropology at UC Irvine. The volume provides a strong flavour of how the two disciplines can collaborate. Among these, I especially liked, "Individual choice and institutional constraints: the new organization of health care in USA" by Melissa Rehfus and Christiana Gladwin. While most articles are information, they left somethnig wanting in how things are theorised.