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India and the Indians have made some progress in 75 years after Independence. The number of literates has gone up. The Indians have become healthier and their life expectancy at birth has gone up. The proportion of people below the poverty line has also halved. But the shine from the story fades when India is compared with that of the East Asian Tigers and China. It looks good but not good enough. India looks far away from the glory it seeks. This issue forms the core subject matter of this book. It tries to argue why India could not achieve more and what all it could have achieved. It paints a picture of its possible future and highlights the areas that need immediate attention.
The determinants of current account imbalances under floating exchange rates are analyzed. The analysis provides a framework within which the sources of. and the remedies for, the current account imbalances between the United States, Japan, and the Federal Republic of Germany can be discussed. The effects of various government policies are emphasized, in particular the differences between expenditure-changing and expenditure-switching policies. Short-run and long-run considerations are investigated, as well as the role played by expectations and price-level dynamics.
Following a serious deterioration of the competitive position of the WAEMU region in the 1980s and the eary 1990s, the countries took steps that have led to a significant turnaround in economic activity, a drop in inflation, and increases in output, exports and investment. This study describes policy issues that the region continues to face and suggests how the WAEMU countries can address them.
The Finance Commission has played a critical role in India's federal structure since 1952. Every five years, this constitutional body produces a report recommending what share of the Union Government's divisible tax pool should be devolved to the states, and how this aggregate should be distributed among the different states, among other recommendations on fiscal governance. In between its appointment and submission of its Report, the Finance Commission tends to spend the intervening period in the relative secrecy of internal discussions and state visits. Despite the excitement about the Commissions in the media, and among the public, leaders and bureaucrats in states, little is publicly kno...
Over the past two decades, sub-Saharan Africa has lagged behind other regions in economic performance. The important overall indicators of performance, however, mask wide differences among countries. On the whole, countries that effectively implemented comprehensive adjustment and reform programs showed better results. Their experiences demonstrate that an expansion in private saving and investment is key to achieving gains in real per capita GDP. The four papers included in this publication provide a cross country analysis that assesses empirically the role of publlic policies in stimulating private saving and investment in the region in 1986-92 and describe the adjustment experiences of Ghana (1983-91), Senegal (1978-1993), and Uganda (1987-94).
Central banks and other public financial institutions act as agents of fiscal policy in many countries. Their "quasi-fiscal" operations and activities can affect the overall public sector balance without affecting the budget deficit as conventionally measured, may also have important allocative effects, and increase the effective size of the public sector. This paper analyzes the macroeconomic and financial effects of such quasi-fiscal activities, as well as the taxes, subsidies, and other expenditures that such activities introduce outside the budget. Measurement and accounting issues are addressed, and policy recommendations are offered.
This occasional paper provides an overview of the economic reform experiences of the Central Asian states of the former Soviet Union since their independence at the turn of the decade. The choice of countries reflects not only a geographical grouping, but also similarities in the types of transition challenges faced by these countries notwithstanding considerable variations in their sizes, ethnic composition, resource endowments, and economic structures. The paper attempts to identify a number of key macroeconomic and structural areas where the slower reformers in the group might benefit from the experience of the faster reformes.
Hedge funds are collective investment vehicles, often organized as private partnerships and resident offshore for tax and regulatory purposes. Their legal status places few restrictions on their portfolios and transactions, leaving their managers free to use short sales, derivative securities, and leverage to raise returns and cushion risk. This paper considers the role of hedge funds in financial market dynamics, with particular reference to the Asian crisis.
Ukraine has made impressive progress in restructuring and stabilizing its economy over the past two years, and yet much remains to be done to revive output and establish a market economy. The 16 papers included in this volume, edited by Peter K. Cornelius and Patrick Lenain, were presented at a seminar sponsored by the IMF and the World Bank in July 1996, which brought together government officials, academics, and staffs of international organizations to discuss a comprehensive medium- term strategy for Ukraine. The papers cover the medium-term macroeconomic framework; wages, poverty, and social safety net reform; private sector development; trade policies and sectoral reforms; and institution building and good governance.
Exploring the controversies and problems surrounding post-communist transitions, this innovative volume brings together a distinguished group of political scientists, economists, historians, and sociologists. Within a strong theoretical framework, the book moves between general issues of transitology and specific analyses. Hungary, a state that has weathered political and economic transition more successfully than most, is used as the volume's case study for illuminating both comparative and regional issues. By bridging the divide between area studies and comparative politics, this book will be a key resource for advanced students and for scholars in East-European/post-communist studies, comparative politics, and international relations.