Rathin Roy

Under the hood

On the surface, India's economy seems to be cruising along, but it is on the commonplace road to prosperity failure

India's neglected development transformation

Inclusive growth appears irrelevant to current electoral outcomes

Voter's choice: Mediocrity or prosperity?

The present day voting population is deciding whether economic transformation will determine its electoral choice

Borrowing to consume

Consumption-based borrowing by the household sector makes investment capital even more expensive

Why populism prospers

Today's populist leaders, unlike the strong authoritarians of history, maintain political durability by keeping the masses in a state of consensual mediocrity and low self-esteem

Addressing the land question: Focus on equity

Indian elites consider it their divine right to have first claim over our Commons - and the Indian state, a petty landlord obsessed with revenue crumbs, actively collaborates

Land and the problem of inequity

By 2050, India will be the most land-scarce major economy in the world, but any solution first needs to recognise the unequal deployment of land

Building forward better

The biggest impediment in India securing transformative prosperity for its citizens by 2047 is the suboptimal utilisation of its resources

Complex, not complicated

Navigating the current economic and political challenges demands a shift in our analytical lens to one that refrains from simplifying problems

North-South divide at a crossroads

As the Finance Commission deliberates on the terms of reference, it is crucial that it acknowledges the existential threat facing India

16th Finance Commission's political challenge

There are fundamental issues to harmonious inter-governmental fiscal relations that the Centre must take into account when constituting the Commission

The G20 tightrope

India navigated political minefields to show great economic leadership to make progress on the G20's core mandate

Suit-boot nationalism

Taxing inherited wealth of foreigners of Indian origin offers a means to strike a balance between national interest and individual liberty, but it may not see the light of day

Unfair taxation in the name of climate action

EU's Carbon Border tax is not just discriminatory but founded on a flawed and faulty concept aimed to shift the burden of the carbon transition on to developing countries

Democratising debt

Emerging economies must take stronger action to address risk mispricing, a problem at the heart of financing economic transformation

The darkness of trivialisation

Economic policy tradecraft cannot be executed with inferiority complex that constantly requires divisive religio-cultural and ethnic grievances to be sated

Inflation and its discontents

Central banks are incapable of dealing with the political and economic outcomes of inflation, and the sooner this is recognised, the less dangerous the consequences will be going forward

Fraternity, prosperity and polarisation

Economic stagnation is the advance payment for polarisation, which extracts a terrible price

The macro-fiscal question

Budget reflects the limitations of a fiscally-strapped government. Increases in capital outlays have matched decreases in public sector capex

Conflict and inflation: Indian realities

Policymakers must be wary of using frameworks tailored by rich countries to address rich country problems when crafting India's inflation-control strategy