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44 ICSSR Journal of Abstracts and Reviews

Political Economy, Liberalization,Globalization

BANERJEE-GUHA, SWAPNA. Neo liberalising the Urban: NewGeographies of Power and Injustice in Indian Cities. Economicand Political Weekly XLIV.22. 30 May. 2009: 95-107.

An adequate understanding of the contemporary neoliberal urbanprocess requires a grasp of its politico-economic ideologicalframework, multi-scalar institutional forms, diverse socio-politicallinks and multiple contradictions. This paper examines the activeengagement of neoliberalism that is not only moulding the conceptof urban, but is simultaneously intensifying unevenness in inter-urban and intra-urban development. It focuses on the NationalUrban Renewal Mission, the official carrier of neoliberal urbanism,and its various implications. The paper illustrates the process ofrestructuring in a few cities in different states, most importantly, inMumbai, the countrys budding international financial centre, witha focus on specific development projects.

BASU, DEEPANKAR., DEBARSHI DAS. Political Economy ofContemporary India: Some Comments. Economic and PoliticalWeekly XLIV.22. 30 May 2009: 157-159.

Two of the most important characteristics of contemporary Indianreality are primary accumulation of capital and the continuedexistence of a huge pool of surplus labour. Partha Chatterjeesattempt at explaining these important features, though insightful,is fraught with numerous theoretical and empirical problems.

BHADURI, AMIT. Understanding the Financial Crisis.Economic and Political Weekly XLIV.13. 28 March. 2009: 123-126.

This paper attempts to understand the nature of the current financialcrisis by identifying the main characteristics of the system thatbecame vulnerable to collapse due to falling asset prices. It highlightsthe shadow banking system, which lacked the explicit backing of amonetary authority on the one hand, and escaped largely itsregulation on the other. This system fostered a circular rather than a

Political Science 45

vertical network of credit interdependence, which had its advantagesbut was also spectacularly vulnerable. The financial system may bestable and flush with liquidity through injection, but in the absenceof sufficient demand for liquidity from the real economy, thedepressive economic conditions may continue. The politics of tryingto save capitalism by saving only the financial capitalists may wellturn out to be the last twist of the knife from free Marketfundamentalism to pave the way for a deeper and lasting recession.

BHUSHAN, PRASHANT. Misplaced Priorities and Class Biasof the Judiciary. Economic and Political Weekly XLIV.14. 4 April2009: 32-37.

The Author argues that it is clear from the recent record of the higherjudiciary that the imperative of upholding civil liberties, socio-economic rights, and environmental protection has beensubordinated to agendas such as the war on terror, developmentand satisfying corporate interests. Far from remaining faithful tothe motives that resulted in the institution of public interest litigation,the Supreme Court has tended to act against the interests of thesocio-economically backward.

CHAUDHURI, SILADITYA and NIVEDITA GUPTA. Levels ofLiving and Poverty Patterns: A District-Wise Analysis for India.Economic and Political Weekly XLIV.9. 28 February 2009:94-110.

Most of the contemporary studies of level of living and povertyconcentrate only on state-level averages. In view of the growingdivergence both between and within the states, disaggregatedstudies are necessary for accurate identification of the critical areascalling for policy intervention. In the National Sample SurveyOrganisations Consumer Expenditure Survey held in 2004-05, thesample design had taken districts as strata in both the rural andurban sectors, which makes it possible to get unbiased estimates ofparameters at the district level. This paper presents a profile of levelsof living, poverty and inequality for all the districts of the 20 majorstates of India. An attempt has also been made to map poverty inthe districts to examine their spatial disparity within and across thestates.


ESWARAN, MUKESH, ASHOK KOTWAL, BHARATRAMASWAMI and WILIMA WADHWA. Sectoral Labour Flowsand Agricultural Wages in India, 1983-2004: Has Growth TrickledDown?. Economic and Political Weekly XLIV.2. 10 January2009:46-55.

This paper examines the evolution of poverty in India through theprism of agricultural wages and employment. It links the movementin wages (and hence poverty) to the fundamental process of sectorallabour flow that underlies economic development. It finds thatdespite the rapid growth of the non-farm sector, its success indrawing labour from land has been limited. Yet agricultural earningshave increased, demonstrating the pivotal role of agriculturalproductivity. The stock of the labour force already locked intoagriculture is large and the best way to improve living standardswould be to boost farm productivity.

GLENN, JOHN. Welfare Spending in an Era of Globalization:The North-South Divide. International Relations 23.1. (2009):27-50.

This paper examines the assertion that economic globalization hasled to the decline of welfare spending in recent decades. Althoughit is often argued that the increasing intensity of globalization hasled to such a decline in the industrialized states, the paper findsthat there has been little, if any, downturn in either levels of stateexpenditure in general or in levels of welfare spending in particular.However, the experience of the developing states has been ratherdifferent. In their case, the last few decades indicate that stagnationor a decline in welfare spending has occurred, particularly duringthe period of structural adjustment implementation. It is argued thatthe OECD countries still manage to provide a high level of socialwelfare to their populations that closely resemble the compensatorystate model. In contradistinction, many of the states in the Southhave struggled to maintain their levels of social expenditure andtherefore most resemble Cernys competitive state model. In orderto explain these two divergent outcomes, the paper examines theway in which the behaviour of certain key international financialactors (investors, multinational companies, and internationalfinancial institutions) differs with regard to these two sets ofcountries.


GOOPTU, NANDINI. Neoliberal Subjectivity, EnterpriseCulture and New Workplaces: Organised Retail and ShoppingMalls in India. Economic and Political Weekly XLIV.22. 30 May.2009: 45-54.

With a case study of young workers in organised retail in shoppingmalls in Kolkata, this paper aims to illuminate how emerging labourprocesses as well as the organisation and culture of new workplacesin India today have far-reaching consequences beyond the economyand is transforming Indian society and politics in profound ways.With the adoption of Market-driven and business-friendly publicpolicy in India, new workplaces like shopping malls are playing adecisive part in crafting suitable workers and citizens, and inreshaping individual subjectivity, consonant with the needs of theMarket and of neoliberal governmentality for self-governing citizensand self-driven, pliant workers. The paper shows how youngworkers seek personal solutions to structurally or systemicallygenerated problems in the economy and at the workplace; emphasisethe responsibility, autonomy and agency of the self-driven,enterprising individual; disavow formal party politics and politicalengagement; negate the significance of the state in public policy;and allow both the government and employers to abdicate anyresponsibility for workers and citizens well-being.

GUDAVARTHY, AJAY. Globalisation and Regionalisation:Mapping the New Continental Drift. Economic and PoliticalWeekly XLIV.24. 13 June. 2009:93-100.

How far have regional organisations in the south been successful instruggling against neoliberal policies initiated in the northerncountries, and actively aided by the international financialinstitutions? How far have they succeeded in establishing analternative global regime of development? An assessment of theseregional formations in Asia, Africa and Latin America is undertakento find whether they could fulfil the aspirations for an alternativeand just globalisation.


JELLISSEN, SUSAN M. and FRED M GOTTHEIL. Marx andEngels: In Praise of Globalization. Contributions to PoliticalEconomy 28 June 2009: 35-46.

Marxs vision of history unfolding is one of societal transformationfrom a set of diverse nation states in a capitalist world to a unifiedeconomic society in a yet-to-be communist world. The catalyst thatsets this unfolding into action is the globalization process. Its triggermechanism is the innovating capitalist. Enticed into creating newlabour-saving technologies by the prospect of reaping higher ratesof profit, these capitalists confront unavoidable competition andtechnology imitation which undermine their advantage and leadsultimately to falling prices and falling rates of profit. Their onlyrecourse is to venture abroad, to globalize, to invest and produce inthe less technologically developed economies. This globalization ofresource and product Markets is a dual-edged sword: It creates anddestroys. It destroys the economic and social fabrics of the lessdeveloped economies and creates in its wake a replica of the moretechnologically advanced. In the end, we are all one global economy,western in character. Marx sees this inevitable globalization processas progressive and praiseworthy.

KANNAN, K P. and G RAVEENDRAN. Growth sansEmployment: A Quarter Century of Jobless Growth in Indiasorganised Manufacturing. Economic and Political WeeklyXLIV.10. 7 March. 2009:80-91.

There has been considerable debate in India about the impact ofgrowth on employment especially in the organised manufacturingsector for different periods since the early 1980s. However, changesin the coverage of the Annual Survey of Industries demand a freshlook at the issue over a longer period. This paper attempts such ananalysis for 1981-82 to 2004-05. For the period as a whole as well asfor two separate periods the pre- and post-reform phases thepicture that emerges is one of jobless growth, due to the combinedeffect of two trends that have cancelled each other out. One set ofindustries was characterised by employment-creating growth whileanother set by employment-displacing growth. Over this period,there has been acceleration in capital intensification at the expenseof creating employment. A good part of the resultant increase in


labour productivity was retained by the employers as the productwage did not increase in proportion to output growth. The workersas a class thus lost in terms of both additional employment and realwages in organised manufacturing sector.

KATE, GOODING., and ANNA MARCHRIOT. IncludingPersons with Disabilities in Social Cash Transfer Programmes inDeveloping Countries. Journal of International Development 21March. 2009:685-698.

This paper discusses inclusion of persons with disabilities in socialcash transfer programmes in developing countries. Drawing onmaterial from literature reviews and interviews, it considerspotential challenges in the design of these programmes, particularlybarriers to access and the complexities of assessment, and the impactof transfers for persons with disabilities. The paper identifies somekey principles for including persons with disabilities in socialtransfer schemes, specifically: strong legal foundations; participationof persons with disabilities in programme design, implementationand evaluation; and embedding transfers within a wider frameworkof action to tackle discrimination and empower persons withdisabilities.

MEHROTRA, SANTOSH and HARSH MANDER. How toIdentify the Poor? A Proposal. Economic and Political WeeklyXLIV.19. 9 May 2009: 37-44.

The Census of 2002 to identify the poor in rural areas of India wasthe third in a quinquennial series. However, it has been appropriatelycriticised. This paper elaborates on the criticisms, and proposes analternative set of criteria and methodology for conducting the next(now overdue) census of the rural population to identify the poor.

MENON, NIVEDITA. Thinking through the Post nation.Economic and Political Weekly XLIV.10. 7 March. 2009: 70-77.

A well-known opposition in globalisation debates is the nationalversus the postnational in which the static nation, defined foreverby symbols of identity produced in the now-irrelevant era of nationstates, is counter posed to the dynamic postnational corporation,


located everywhere and nowhere, resisting the parochialism ofnational pride and national symbols. The term postnational isdeveloped here in a sense different from that promoted bycorporations and the self-defined global civil society, whichconceives of it simply as spaces above and beyond the nation state.Moreover, in a world in which dominant discourses valorise flows,fluidity and translatability, the term postnational may offer usa vantage point that insists on location in the face of translatability,while simultaneously insisting that location is autonomous of thenation state.

MUKHERJI, RAHUL. The State, Economic Growth andDevelopment in India. India Review 8.1. January-March. 2009:81106.

The Indian state has been more penetrated by social actors than manyEast and Southeast Asian states. Unlike China, India could neitherabolish private enterprise nor could it embrace globalization withthe same speed and ferocity. Both complete state-drivennationalization and state-driven globalization would demand a state,which would have much greater command over interest groups likeindustrialists, farmers and trade unions. Policies favouring economicgrowth and development in India needed to evolve gradually afterbuilding a social consensus on those policies. This is a model ofdevelopment driven by a relationship between the state and society,where the power of the state, even in its commanding moments,was moderated by the power of social actors. Developmental ideaswere debated within the state. Substantial economic policy changewould require building upon a historical path of gradual changesin ideas and policies, punctuated by economic crises. This paperdemonstrates how this dynamic is critical for explaining the politicsof the green revolution and consequent self-sufficiency in foodgrains, as well as for understanding the Indias globalization beyond1991. It is a story of getting to higher rates of economic growth in agradual and circuitous way after building a policy consensus amongdiverse stakeholders. Economic crises aided the arrival of a newconsensus.


OOMMEN, T.K. Development Policy and the Nature of Society:Understanding the Kerala Model. Economic and Political WeeklyXLIV.13. 28 March. 2009: 25-31.

The quality of life is usually measured by three interrelateddimensions such as the human development index, the humanfreedom index, and the human distress profile. In Kerala, in spite ofhigh HDI, the rates of suicide, crime, drug addiction, unemployment,etc, are high compared to other states. This essay argues that a highquality of life should register a high HDI, the maximum HFI andminimum HDP. It is necessary to work towards this complexobjective if Kerala wants to sustain its claim to a high quality of life.

PATNAIK, PRABHAT. The Economic Crisis and ContemporaryCapitalism. Economic and Political Weekly XLIV.13. 28 March2009:47-54.

A democratic agenda for coming out of the recession must have atleast five elements: first, the nationalisation of financial institutionsin the leading capitalist countries where they have basically becomeinsolvent; second, controls on cross border financial flows; third,protection introduced to defend peasants and other petty producersof primary commodities (ideally through agreements amongproducing countries) in the case of all commodities whose worldprices are demand-determined (as opposed to cost-determined);fourth, a coordinated fiscal stimulus to the world economy providedby a group of leading countries; and fifth, a system of grants wherebythe increased surpluses generated by such a stimulus are given asgrants to the less (or least) developed countries on the conditionthat they do not merely add these to their reserves.

SAMANTARAYA, AMARESH. An Index to Assess the Stanceof Monetary Policy in India in the Post-Reform Period. Economicand Political Weekly XLIV.20. 16 May. 2009:46-50.

The Reserve Bank of India has formally adopted the multipleindicator approach in the conduct of monetary policy since April1998. During this period, sole reliance on traditional indicators ofmonetary aggregates or policy rates is not adequate to reflect thestance of monetary policy. This paper develops a monetary policy


index by synthesising the extracted signals from the policydocuments and quantitative information embedded in keyindicators. The MPI so constructed was used to assess the impact ofmonetary policy on macroeconomic variables such as interest rates,bank credit, inflation, and output growth during the post-reformperiod. It was observed that while monetary policy has an instantinfluence on interest rates, the impact on inflation and output wasrealised with a lag of around 6 to 18 months.

SANYAL, KALYAN and RAJESH BHATTACHARYA. Beyondthe Factory: Globalisation, Informalisation of Production and theNew Locations of Labour. Economic and Political WeeklyXLIV.22. 30 May 2009:35-44.

This essay foregrounds the phenomenon of informalised self-employment and explores its implications for potentially new formsof labour activism. The relation which defines the new location oflabour is one in which the labourer is no longer a source of surplus,rather he/she is an unwanted possessor or occupier of economicresources from which he/she must be divorced to free thoseresources for use in the circuit of capital. This process ofdispossession without proletarianisation or exploitation is referredto as exclusion. The traditional contradiction between wage-labourand capital is overshadowed by the contradiction between capitaland a surplus labour force. Class politics traditionally focused onexploitation of wage-labour must reinvent itself to address theother great political movement shaping up around the exclusion oflabour.

SHARMA, NARESH KUMAR. Special Economic Zones: Socio-economic Implications. Economic and Political Weekly XLIV.20.16 May 2009:18-21.

This report of a conference held at the Indian Institute of AdvancedStudy on special economic zones raises doubts about theirdesirability on different counts. It is centred around three themes:(1) SEZs and economic development; (2) SEZs and distributiveimplications; and (3) SEZs and the legal issues.

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