Adequate fiscal flexibility is a prerequisite for meeting the post-2015 development challenges. This paper proposes a composite fiscal flexibility index. Based on several important fiscal parameters, the index will identify countries in the Asia and Pacific region that are well-poised to meet...

This paper reviews some of the more critical policy dilemmas facing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its pursuit of inflation stabilization and balanced growth objectives. The challenge in meeting these objectives further increased in the mid-2000s with the advent of large capital flows into...

Recent empirical papers dealing with the debt crisis and its impact on the rate of investment (especially the private investment to GDP ratio) report conflicting results. However, none of the studies account for the fact that the market for investment loans may not have been in equilibrium. This...

Recent studies on structural adjustments in LDCs highlight two results. First, intensive adjustment lending countries performed better than non adjustment lending countries during the late eighties (judged by many performance indicators, of which growth in real GDP is the most important...

The conventional conclusion is that, ceteris paribus, a revenue-neutral VAT would have no impact on the aggregate price level, unless it elicits a supply response due to a lower degree of distortions. This paper shows that even if we ignore supply response, a revenue-neutral VAT can lead to...

Book Review of Sudipto Mondle (ed.), Public Finance: Policy Issues For India, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1997

Recent studies of structural adjustments highlight two results: intensive adjustment-lending countries performed better than nonadjustment-lending countries during the late 1980s, and middle-income countries performed better than low-income countries. However, the methodology has ignored the...

This paper argues that greater the liberalization of imports in a sub-Saharan African country, the more significant is the decline in its rate of growth due to excessive competitive imports. Furthermore, this result was strengthened during recession in high income economies during the late...

What is the role of human capital in the regional location of the software industry? Why did policy rate cuts in India not lead to a rapid lowering of the banks' lending rates in the context of the financial crises? How does women's education impact on patrilocal marriage and cultural norms?...