Brexit as much cry against London, as against EU: Raghuram Rajan

Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan believes that the UK could benefit from leaving the European Union (EU) if the government gets the Brexit policy framework right.

Rajan, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) who has also been tipped by some UK media reports as one of the candidates to succeed Mark Carney as the Governor of the Bank of England next year, said that the Brexit vote in June 2016 was as much a "cry" against London as it was against the EU.

"I don't think it will be resolved if power goes back to London but doesn't get diffused to communities. This [Brexit] is as much a cry against London as it is a cry against the EU, he told The Times'.

Asked if he thought Britain's future might be brighter outside the EU, he said: "It could be, but it does require a lot of things to go right. The big Brexit debate is, can you, in a short span of time, re-engage with the world on equal terms while getting more sovereign powers?