Economic Graffiti: What is to be done about growth | The Indian Express

Economic Graffiti: What is to be done about growth | The Indian Express

Written by Kaushik Basu |Updated: July 23, 2019 5:40:12 am

The writer is C. Marks Professor at Cornell University and former Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, World Bank.

Economic Graffiti: What is to be done about growth

Arvind Subramanian’s paper, other micro data, suggest an impending economic slowdown. Policymakers must take notice and act.

What should the government do to ward off short-run risk and strengthen long-run, sustainable development? (Illustration by Suvajit Dey)

Arvind Subramanian’s paper, ‘India’s GDP Mis-estimation’, published in June this year, caused a lot of controversy. I was initially sceptical of his argument. But now, having heard him at the India Policy Forum at NCAER, on July 10, where he presented more data on India’s slowdown, I am convinced about the significance of his research. The lessons I take away from his papers and new work are not exactly the ones he would emphasise, but the general message is important for India and the nation’s policymakers.