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2017 | Book

Planning, Poverty and Political Economy of Reforms: A Tribute to Suresh D. Tendulkar Read chapter Read first chapter

Perspectives on Economic Development and Policy in India

In Honour of Suresh D. Tendulkar

Editors: K.L. Krishna, Vishwanath Pandit, K. Sundaram, Pami Dua

Publisher: Springer Singapore

Book Series : India Studies in Business and Economics

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" , Springer Professional "Technik"

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About this book

The book pays tribute to the celebrated economist Professor Suresh Tendulkar’s contribution and scholarship to economics, economic-policy making, and economic reforms in India. Professor Tendulkar served on numerous panels and commissions set up to reform diverse aspects of India’s economy. To name a few, he served as the Chairperson of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, Chairman of the National Commission of Statistics, National Sample Survey Organisation, Committee on National Accounts, and as a member in the Fifth Pay Commission, the Disinvestment Commission (1996). He is credited with devising the new method to estimate poverty in India which resulted in India’s poverty estimates being scaled up.

This book primarily focuses on Professor Tendulkar’s contributions on economic planning in India, the political economy of economic reforms, and his important conceptual and policy-relevant work on poverty measurement. The three sub-themes of the book – Economic Reforms and Policy Formulation, Poverty and Inequality, and Development and Trade – are indicative of his specific research interests, namely poverty and well-being, and India and the world economy. It covers both micro and macro aspects relevant to the Indian economy. The econometric techniques utilized encompass state-of-the-art microeconometric as well as macroeconometric models. The book contains contributions from eminent economists associated with Professor Tendulkar, and is useful for readers from the undergraduate through the Ph.D. level as well as researchers and practitioners of economics.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter

Economic Reforms and Policy Formulation

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Planning, Poverty and Political Economy of Reforms: A Tribute to Suresh D. Tendulkar
Abstract
This paper pays tribute to Professor Suresh D. Tendulkar’s contribution and scholarship to economics, economic-policy making, and economic reforms in India. The paper’s scope is by no means exhaustive, and primarily focuses on his contributions on economic planning in India, the political economy of economic reforms, and his important conceptual and policy-relevant work on poverty measurement. The paper also presents results on empirical exercises comparing trends in inequality, and various poverty lines in India in the recent past. The paper concludes with policy observations on economic reforms in India, and directions for further empirical research on poverty.
T. N. Srinivasan
Chapter 2. Understanding Economic Reforms for India: A Book Review
Abstract
Economic development going well beyond growth has been the principal agenda of each and all of the governments in India since it became independent more than six decades ago. Many factors, including, in particular, the fact that India chose to follow a democratic political system and that the state was agreeably destined to play a vital role in the social, political and economic development of the country, have been critical in shaping the State of the Nation at different times. The country, unavoidably, went through phases of development, retardation and crises from time to time until 1991 when a totally new paradigm had to take over. The last book that Professor Suresh Tendulkar wrote, co-authored by Professor Adi Bhavani, brings it all out remarkably well. No wonder, after all Suresh was a critic, a witness as well as an important contributor to the process of policy formulation for many years. The book is a must read for those all interested in India’s development.
Y. V. Reddy
Chapter 3. Assessment of Well-Being in Multidimensional Perspective in Post Reform India
Abstract
This paper analyses the changes in Social Welfare and Inequality during post reform period in the framework of Atkinson Social Welfare Function. Our results suggest acceleration in the growth of social welfare at All India and broad expenditure groups of population. The acceleration of growth in Social Welfare was accompanied by worsening of inequality. This paper provides estimates of elasticity of poverty and welfare with respect to growth and inequality. It also evaluates the performance of states in poverty reduction. The results show substantial inter-state and inter social group variations in poverty reduction. In almost all the states relative poverty of Scheduled communities increased in the post reform period and relative poverty levels were higher for these communities in developed states including Punjab, Haryana and Kerala. Decomposition of poverty reduction between 1993/94 and 2009/10 and simulation exercises show that poverty reduction would have been substantially more, had all states achieved same growth of MPCE as that of All India and inequalities remained at 1993/94 level. This paper suggests an approach to pool two independent surveys data—NSS 61st round (2004/05) and NFHS-3 (2005/06) and provides estimates of multidimensional poverty considering income poverty, child malnutrition, and female chronic energy deficiency under alternative rules of aggregation. This paper also evaluates states performance in the reduction of multidimensional poverty and ranks the states on the basis of multiple deprivations.
R. Radhakrishna, C. Ravi, B. Sambi Reddy

Poverty and Inequality

Frontmatter
Chapter 4. What Kinds of Economic Inequality Really Matter?
Abstract
The chapter discusses the major reasons why economic inequality should be a source of concern and the forms of inequality that are principally implicated. It considers ten different arguments as to why inequality matters—two of them moral, two political, three economic, and three social. In each case it discusses the economic variable(s) whose unequal distribution is at issue, whether economic class inequality or ethnic group inequality is most salient, and what part(s) of the unequal distribution are the most problematic—i.e., is the problem primarily poverty at the lower end, privilege at the upper end, bipolarization, or the entire distribution?
Thomas E. Weisskopf
Chapter 5. Variable Populations and the Measurement of Poverty and Inequality: A Selective Overview
Abstract
The present paper is a selective overview, very considerably based on work in which the author himself has been involved, of the difficulties which can arise in the measurement of poverty and inequality when one compares populations of differing size. The paper begins with certain problems attending the measurement of poverty when the overall population size is fixed but the numbers of the poor are permitted to vary: one discovers a certain commonality of outcomes between Derek Parfit’s quest for a satisfactory theory of wellbeing and the economist’s quest for a satisfactory measure of poverty. Complications arising from both the poverty and inequality rankings of distributions when the aggregate size of the population is allowed to vary are also investigated. It is suggested in the paper that, from the perspectives of both logical consistency and ethical appeal, there are problems involved in variable population comparisons of poverty and inequality which deserve to be taken note of and enquired into.
S. Subramanian
Chapter 6. Some Recent Trends in Population, Employment and Poverty in India: An Analysis
Abstract
Bringing together the results of the NSS 66th Round Employment-Unemployment Survey and the Provisional Population Totals of the 2011 Population Census, we examine the inter-play of demographic change, decisions on schooling and participation in the labour force, and the changes in the economy in shaping the size and structure of employment and the resultant impacts on labour productivity, real wages and poverty among those inside and outside the labour force in India over the period 2005–2010. We also offer a brief discussion on some issues in the measurement of poverty in India. A sluggish growth in the total number of workers on UPSS alongside an absolute reduction in the size of female workforce, and in the number of workers in agriculture and unorganized manufacturing are among the key results of our analysis. On the positive side we find a strong growth in employment in the organised manufacturing sector and in the number and share of regular wage salary workers; and, a strong growth in labour productivity and in real wages. We also find an across the board reduction in the proportion and count of the working poor between 2005 and 2010. These improvements in quality of employment must temper our disappointment with the small growth in the size of the workforce.
K. Sundaram
Chapter 7. Estimation of Calorie Norms and Measurement of Food Intakes: Some Implications for the Magnitudes of the Prevalence of Undernutrition in India
Abstract
This paper highlights the significant measurement issues in the computation of the prevalence of inadequate calorie intakes in India using NSS data. It focuses on the setting of appropriate norms or cut-offs which determine adequacy or inadequacy, as well as the measurement of intakes. Although energy norms for an individual are biologically determined their use as a policy tool necessitates several additional considerations that have not received sufficient attention in the literature. We demonstrate that changes in assumptions regarding age-sex distribution, average heights of adults, and physical activity status can lead to substantial changes in norms. Also important is the way food intakes are measured: changes in food habits that may lead to greater underreporting as the recall period increases, and the increasing trend, even though small, of eating meals outside the home, can exert a significant influence on the trends in the POU over time. With more realistic assumptions, the prevalence of inadequate energy intakes are quite reasonable in magnitude, although still high in absolute terms. The paper also suggests that by accounting for outliers, there is a correlation between anthropometric indicators for adults and food intakes.
J. V. Meenakshi, Brinda Viswanathan

Development and Trade

Frontmatter
Chapter 8. Capital Flows and Exchange Rates: The Indian Experience
Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between real exchange rate and the level as well as volatility of capital flows for the Indian economy for the period 1993Q2 to 2010Q4. Other variables include fiscal policy, monetary policy and external balance indicators. Estimation results indicate that the variables are co-integrated and each Granger-causes the real exchange rate. The generalized variance decompositions show that determinants of the real exchange rate, in descending order of importance include net capital inflows and their volatility (jointly), government expenditure, money supply and the current account surplus. An analysis on similar lines is also performed for the foreign exchange reserves held by the Reserve Bank of India.
Pami Dua, Partha Sen
Chapter 9. Determinants of Import Intensity of India’s Manufactured Exports Under the New Policy Regime
Abstract
This paper attempts to understand the factors behind the significant increase in import intensity of India’s manufactured exports that has taken place in the post-reform period. The industry-level analysis indicates that the increase in import intensity of manufactured exports is attributable partly to changes in product composition of exports and partly to growing export orientation of Indian manufacturing industries. A major contributing factor appears to be the liberalization of import policy in India. Firm-level econometric analysis reveals that exporting firms are more import intensive than non-exporting firms. A significant positive impact of export intensity on import intensity of firms is clearly indicated. The econometric results also show that firms’ decisions to import and export are interdependent. Both decisions may be rooted in firm heterogeneity.
Bishwanath Goldar
Metadata
Title
Perspectives on Economic Development and Policy in India
Editors
K.L. Krishna
Vishwanath Pandit
K. Sundaram
Pami Dua
Copyright Year
2017
Publisher
Springer Singapore
Electronic ISBN
978-981-10-3150-2
Print ISBN
978-981-10-3149-6
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3150-2