Reform of the welfare state is at the centre of political debate. In a new book, CASEmembers analyse changes in social policies over the last twenty-five years, trends inspending, outcomes of policies, and impacts on institutions and families.The stereotypes of both left and right are wrong....

During the last two decades West Bengal has led the rest of the country with regard to agricultural performance andimplementation of panchayat institutions. But these developments have begun to level out. At the same time the state hasfallen behind in other sectors – industry, higher education...

We analyze a simple and tractable model of occupational choice in the presence of credit marketimperfections. We examine the effect of parameters governing technology and transaction costs, andhistory, in terms of the initial wealth distribution, in determining the long-term wealth...