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A review by torvosaur
An Uncertain Glory: India and Its Contradictions by Jean Dreze, Jean Drèze, Amartya Sen
5.0
I think every Indian, irrespective of their political inclination must definitely read this book. Most Indians want India to be a economic powerhouse with high economic growth. However, this itself is an extremely warped perspective as no more than a fifth of the country's population actually sees the benefits of this. Should growth not be more equitable?
As the authors explain - there is a huge imbalance between economic growth and the slow progress in living standards - think healthcare, education, public services such as PDS/electricity etc. You don't need to look further than the coronavirus pandemic and the effects of the lockdown on Indians to see this skewed imbalance.
Written during UPA-II, the excoriating criticism still applies, eight years on. Aside a few states, there are extreme imbalances and our HDI remains abysmal. The authors use Amartya Sen's welfare economics and human capability approach and combine it with social justice, environmental protection and an evidence based approach. This makes for a great reading on what precisely ails India right now.
Higher growth must be accompanied by demands for participatory growth, say the authors, and the resources created by it must be used to remedy the deplorable lack of public services and basic amenities that are holding India back. Contrary to public perception - the government's excessive spending is on ill-thought out subsidies rather than on public services like healthcare. There needs to be a rethinking of where our budgets are going and who they are serving. Simple.
Despite the authors being a little too appreciative of MNREGA and the like (for obvious reasons), I think even those programmes can be reformed or salvaged in one way or the other. I wonder how they would feel about UBI, which has gained large traction these past few years.
This is sure to become a classic on development economics in India, and is a must read for anyone who cares about the state of India's people, and want to know how to make them better.
As the authors explain - there is a huge imbalance between economic growth and the slow progress in living standards - think healthcare, education, public services such as PDS/electricity etc. You don't need to look further than the coronavirus pandemic and the effects of the lockdown on Indians to see this skewed imbalance.
Written during UPA-II, the excoriating criticism still applies, eight years on. Aside a few states, there are extreme imbalances and our HDI remains abysmal. The authors use Amartya Sen's welfare economics and human capability approach and combine it with social justice, environmental protection and an evidence based approach. This makes for a great reading on what precisely ails India right now.
Higher growth must be accompanied by demands for participatory growth, say the authors, and the resources created by it must be used to remedy the deplorable lack of public services and basic amenities that are holding India back. Contrary to public perception - the government's excessive spending is on ill-thought out subsidies rather than on public services like healthcare. There needs to be a rethinking of where our budgets are going and who they are serving. Simple.
Despite the authors being a little too appreciative of MNREGA and the like (for obvious reasons), I think even those programmes can be reformed or salvaged in one way or the other. I wonder how they would feel about UBI, which has gained large traction these past few years.
This is sure to become a classic on development economics in India, and is a must read for anyone who cares about the state of India's people, and want to know how to make them better.