This paper compares the latest estimates of poverty (1999–2000) made by the Planning Commission with earlier estimates of the 1980s and 1990s, focusing on the methodology and database used for estimation. It extensively reviews the attempts by Angus Deaton (2003a, b, and c), Sundaram and...

Over the last few decades India has emerged as an economic giant. In 2000 the Special Economic Zone (SEZs) policy became part of a strategy to maintain high growth and promote India’s manufacturing sector. However, India’s current SEZ policy does little to strengthen India’s...

Governments frequently compartmentalize issues of reform and reconstruction into separate strategies and separate ministries (the fate of poverty reduction as well). Donors do likewise, for each has its own responsibilities; the IMF focuses on reform, the UN concentrates on conflict resolution...

Developing Asia is the driver of today's emissions intensive global economy. As the principle source of future emissions, the region is critical to the task of global climate change mitigation. Reflecting this global reality and a range of related domestic issues, the governments of the People's...

Private practice in the health sector was re-introduced from 1980, when China began its economic reform from a planned economy to a market economy. But today the total number of private sector providers is quite few, because the government does not encourage the growth of private sector...

China has adopted a wide-ranging program of pension reform since the late 1990s. The new pension system has replaced the pre-existing enterprise-based system. This paper analyzes the background of this reform, surveys the progress of China’s pension reform, describes its principal...

Competition law is different from other branches of law. It is not about the fairness or morality to be instilled in the actions which mark societal behaviour. Instead the rules of competition reflect economic principles, designed to render the operation of the markets in a manner beneficial to...

Public welfare policies in developing countries have a Rawlsian perspective; they seek to uplift the poor, the poorest of the poor in particular. Policies to enable the poor to catch up with the rich are generally two-fold, viz., inclusive growth, and redistributive (transfer) programmes. This...

Economic growth is widely perceived as a major policy instrument in reducing childhood undernutrition in India. The association between changes in state per capita income and the risk of undernutrition among children in India were assessed. Data for this analysis came from three cross-sectional...

The public sectors of different countries are shaped by many factors, but they share common challenges. Those challenges make public sector performance management more complex than it is in the private sector. The generally simpler environment of the private sector and its efficient evolution of...