Recently we have seen that the middle-sized states are coming together in several forums. The WTO meetings and India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) dialogue forum are among those to be cited. Such groupings are mainly economy oriented and whether they will have political output needs to be seen,...

In 2004 Hollywood produced three purportedly blockbuster epic films: Troy, King Arthur and Alexander. Many critics suggested a direct link between the 1950s “sword and sandal” epic and this new crop of movies. Similarities between the two cycles certainly exist but in this essay I want to...

Cross country regressions on aid effectiveness have failed to provide substantial evidence on the effects of foreign aid. This study focuses on country performance in a production theory context. By means of the non-parametric DEA method, we study 60 individual low and middle income countries...

Based on an empirical study in West Bengal, this paper attempts to examine whether women’s involvement in the microcredit programme through SHGs makes any positive change on women’s empowerment. From the assessment of various criteria of empowerment(power, autonomy and self-reliance,...

This paper suggests that the discourse of sustainable development (SD) within the United Nations (UN) represents a paradigm shift from first/industrial modernity to a reflexive modernity. Reflexive modernity is defined by the changing nature of political structures in the face of globalised...

India signed a Free Trade Agreement with ASEAN on 13th August, 2009. In this paper we analyze one aspect of the possible impacts of the FTA that on India’s Balance of Trade. It is found that the impact of the agreement on India’s balance of trade is expected to be negative. India’s imports...