Introduction -- Stabilization policy -- Fiscal policy and trade policy -- Financial sector reform -- Industrial policy and factor markets -- The social sectors, poverty, and reform -- Summary and afterthoughts.

These essays examine India's relations with key powers including the Russian Federation, China and the USA and with key adversaries in the global arena in the aftermath of the Cold War. One positive relationship is that of India's relations with Israel since 1992.

The economic reforms that were initiated in India in the early nineties, are the subject of intense debate. Much of this debate centres around the scope of the reforms, their progress and their impact on growth, poverty reduction and sectoral development. In contrast, this volume focuses on the various political dimensions of the Indian economic reform process. The contributors emphasize the political shaping of the reforms, the politics of implementation, and the impact of reforms on political structures and processes. Two major themes run through the book: the relationship between policy reforms and democratic politics; and the impact of reforms on the quality of governance. Bringing together both theoretical contributions and case studies pertaining to particular states or sectors, this volume provides insights into various important questions including: - How was a radical shift in policy possible in a democracy, where the opposition can easily mobilize resistance? - How can reforms be sustained in a context where the majority of the voters are poor and attracted by handouts, and where political parties are accustomed to attracting voters through populist policies? - Do the reforms contribute to more efficient and inclusive administrative and political governance, or do they lead to new forms of corruption, bureaucratic mismanagement and/or undemocratic politics?

This book incorporates select papers presented at the two day seminar titles Economic Reforms in India and China. The China National School of Administration (CNSA) and Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE) jointly organized the two day seminar. The Chinese papers dealt with prospects of economic development, development approach similarity between China and India, economic growth and policy, industrialization dilemma and civilization model innovation under resource, etc. The Indian papers dealt with economic reforms in agriculture, second generation reforms, performance of public enterprises, political economy in state enterprises, financial sector reforms, social sector reforms, etc. These papers have been authored by renowned policy makers, researchers and practitioners from India and China.|

For the latest thinking about the international financial system, monetary policy, economic development, poverty reduction, and other critical issues, subscribe to Finance & Development (F&D). This lively quarterly magazine brings you in-depth analyses of these and other subjects by the IMF’s own staff as well as by prominent international experts. Articles are written for lay readers who want to enrich their understanding of the workings of the global economy and the policies and activities of the IMF.

This monograph is an attempt to understand the symbiotic relationship between politics and economy in India since independence. A few essays are presented to delineate this relationship in simple, non-technical language. But a discerning reader could easily decipher a specific interpretation throughout the text: the process of economic transformation is viewed as a function of the decision makers’ changing calculus of political pay-offs. Indian Political Economy is divided into three phases: (1) Nationalist Political Economy (1947-68); (2) Populist Political Economy (1969-1990) and (3) Competitive Political Economy (1991- ). The grand coalition in the first phase enabled the state to play an interventionist role and to estimate payoffs for the entire country; the minimum-winning coalition in the polarised politics of the second phase played a redistributive game and carefully calculated payoffs of its own supporters only and the uncertainty resulting from a fragmented politics in the third phase did not allow any party to be assured of a winning coalition and, therefore, made it difficult for any political party to predict political payoffs. Economic reforms of the 1990s were the result of this political uncertainty. The radical changes in economic policy transformed contemporary politics. A running theme in these essays is that while political actors face uncertainty in a competitive political economy, the citizens, as consumers of public policies, are further empowered to question, accept or reject any policy initiative. Citizens and groups are able to assert their rights and, if necessary, throw out the non-performers. Rights dominate over welfare in this new policy regime.

This book reports on a fundamental economic policy shift in transition and developing countries after the mid-1980s. Since that time the liberalization of international trade and finance has been among the principal forces for increasing global integration. Looking at the experiences of nine countries--Argentina, Columbia, Cuba, India, Mexico, Russia, Korea, Turkey, and Zimbabwe--and the often negative effects that liberalization has had on them, the contributors include policy recommendations for often-overlooked problems and challenges posed by globalization.

While South Asia’s economic reform initiatives of the last two decades were often born in crisis, this alone does not account for their occurrence. This book looks at the processes and institutional arrangements behind these reforms, and analyses what lessons can be learnt about how South Asia can improve its policy efficiency. The book develops ideas about how to overcome the political restraints to reform by drawing on recent theories of political economy and policy learning. It tests these ideas against authoritative case studies of actual reform initiatives in South Asia, which illustrate processes and institutional arrangements that have helped South Asian governments to sustain reform efforts, even in the absence of a strong political base. This offers valuable lessons for the global economy as it moves into a phase of rebalancing, with the structural adjustments that this will require. The book goes on to identify weaknesses that could be addressed by South Asian national governments and regional forums. It is an important contribution to studies on South Asian Politics and International Political Economy

Study conducted at Dindigul and Madurai districts of Tamil Nadu, India.