Special economic zones following the enormous success of China have been widely imitated. But it is to be entirely anticipated that the results would vary greatly. Earlier avatars of SEZs in the form of Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) and Export Promotion Zones (EPZs) were important in the export led...

Public Investments in India have witnessed large delays and cost overruns. The same are estimated and shown to continue to be large, even though they have declined despite many changes in economic policy. What has brought about change in efficiency of overall investments is the sharp decline in...

Brings out the nature of public expenditure accountability in India especially at the federal level. The perversities - large role for off budget items, the process that leads to expanding expenditures with little functional but much procedural control, are brought out. The division of...

Reviews the various articles of the IIR2001, and lays out the theme of having the appropriate market structure and regulation in various sectors of physical infrastructure including electricity, telecom, water and sewage, transportation and energy

The paper reviews the situation with regard to the electricity sector and the failure of policy and regulation. It argues for direct subsidy and a market oriented unbundling of the sector to take the sector forward. It also brings out the failure of the IPP policy and the costs that it has...

Growth rates of regions (states) have generally followed the national level growth rates over time with small lags or leads. We find much coherence between the aggregate performance of regions over time and that of the nation, so that the periodization at the national level is also useful at the...

The growth and development of Gujarat one of India's leading industrial states is examined and the reasons for the relatively high growth are presented. Despite high growth Gujarat faces limitations emanating from skills constraint to attract skill intensive industries

The paper discusses and summarises the principal findings of the various articles in the report. It also develops the theme of ensuring value for government expenditures through inter alia PPPs and PFIs. Government expenditures on vital social services with vast positive external effects need to...

Introduces the theme of expenditure allocation, processes and their effectiveness. Reviews all the articles in the report.The focus is on expenditures related to physical infrastructure in India Argues that a paradigm shift in the expenditure process that gives adequate incentives for...