Gandhi’s 150th anniversary soon. Though it is not fashionable to admire Gandhi, I have always been an admirer of Gandhi without agreeing with him on many things. Of course, it is difficult to say what he finally believed since he changed his opinions on many issues. On one issue I am passionate about, he finally said “Caste has to go”.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Saturday, September 28, 2019
India’s flailing state
Premature Imitation and India’s Flailing State “We argue that one reason that India passes laws which are incongruous with its state of development is that Indian elites often take their cues about what is normal, good and desirable from Western elites. There’s nothing wrong with imitation, of course. We hope that good policies will be imitated but imitation in India is often premature. Premature because India does not have the state capacity to enforce the edicts of a developed country.”
An unequal burden
An unequal burden Via Madhukar Shukla with the quote "...for the GST paid on the purchase of any input – whether fertiliser, pesticide, pheromone trap, tractor, drip/sprinkler irrigation systems or other agri equipment – the farmer has no means to using it for reducing his tax liability (ITC - Input Tax Credit)... The actual reason is simply that all farm produce attract zero GST. Hence, there’s no way a farmer can claim credit to the extent of GST paid on purchases when he makes a sale..."
On Snowden revelations
Looking back at the Snowden revelations
“The brilliant thing about the Snowden leaks was that he didn’t tell us much of anything. He showed us. Most of the revelations came in the form of a Powerpoint slide deck, the misery of which somehow made it all more real. And despite all the revelation fatigue, the things he showed us were remarkable. ”
“The brilliant thing about the Snowden leaks was that he didn’t tell us much of anything. He showed us. Most of the revelations came in the form of a Powerpoint slide deck, the misery of which somehow made it all more real. And despite all the revelation fatigue, the things he showed us were remarkable. ”
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
India’s flailing state
Premature Imitation and India’s Flailing State “We argue that one reason that India passes laws which are incongruous with its state of development is that Indian elites often take their cues about what is normal, good and desirable from Western elites. ”
Lant Pritchett used this term before https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/4449106/Pritchett%20India%20Flailing%20State.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Lant Pritchett used this term before https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/4449106/Pritchett%20India%20Flailing%20State.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Monday, September 16, 2019
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Thursday, September 05, 2019
Regenerative agriculture
WA businesses take regenerative agriculture from niche to mainstream “Regenerative farming aims to balance modern science technology with age-old stewardship techniques to boost the sustainability and productivity of the land.”
Tuesday, September 03, 2019
Inheritance customs
Do Inheritance Customs Affect Political and Social Inequality? via MR. Traces of Emmanuel Todd.
Abstract:
Why are some societies more unequal than others? The French revolutionaries believed unequal inheritances among siblings to be responsible for the strict hierarchies of the ancien régime. To achieve equality, the revolutionaries therefore enforced equal inheritance rights. Their goal was to empower women and to disenfranchise the noble class. But do equal inheritances succeed in leveling the societal playing field? We study Germany—a country with pronounced local‐level variation in inheritance customs—and find that municipalities that historically equally apportioned wealth, to this day, elect more women into political councils and have fewer aristocrats in the social elite. Using historic data, we point to two mechanisms: wealth equality and pro‐egalitarian preferences. In a final step, we also show that, counterintuitively, equitable inheritance customs positivelypredict income inequality. We interpret this finding to mean that equitable inheritances level the playing field by rewarding talent, not status
Abstract:
Why are some societies more unequal than others? The French revolutionaries believed unequal inheritances among siblings to be responsible for the strict hierarchies of the ancien régime. To achieve equality, the revolutionaries therefore enforced equal inheritance rights. Their goal was to empower women and to disenfranchise the noble class. But do equal inheritances succeed in leveling the societal playing field? We study Germany—a country with pronounced local‐level variation in inheritance customs—and find that municipalities that historically equally apportioned wealth, to this day, elect more women into political councils and have fewer aristocrats in the social elite. Using historic data, we point to two mechanisms: wealth equality and pro‐egalitarian preferences. In a final step, we also show that, counterintuitively, equitable inheritance customs positivelypredict income inequality. We interpret this finding to mean that equitable inheritances level the playing field by rewarding talent, not status
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