Political Economy of Reforms in India

The Oxford India Short Introductions are concise, stimulating, and accessible guides to different aspects of India. Combining authoritative analyses, new ideas, and diverse perspectives, they discuss subjects which are topical yet enduring, as also emerging areas of study and debate.

Political Economy of Reforms in India discusses the political economy of the country's growth, globalization, and welfare. It finds that the political economy of growth and globalization are intimately connected. And, the political economy of welfare, though dependent to a much greater extent on state intervention than growth, is critically dependent on the growth process. Governments and markets can both fail to deliver. Understanding the political process of economic change is critical for evolving a view about the importance of governments and markets in economic activity.

This book highlights the critical importance of political economy during the course of development. Economic ideas about growth, globalization, and welfare have to traverse a political distance before citizens can benefit from economic institutions and policies. Mukherji reviews the importance of various factors that affect economic change in India and finds that the way the government, especially its technocrats, think is important for producing change.