Care Work as the Work of the Future C.P. Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh
As technological change threatens many different kinds of jobs, the significance of direct face-to-face interaction required in much care work means that it is unlikely to be as adversely affected. What does this mean for the future requirements of care workers? Future_Care_Work (Download the full text in PDF format) (This article was originally published in the Business Line on August 15, 2016.)
Dangerous Embrace: India and International Finance Capital C. P. Chandrasekhar
Financial liberalization, aimed in the first instance at attracting foreign finance capital to India, is the centrepiece of the neoliberal growth strategy India chose to adopt 25 years back. That was indeed a dramatic change. In 1947, controls on and regulation of foreign investment were seen as prerequisites for ensuring autonomy from predatory foreign capital, and strengthening the political freedom that had been won. Since 1991, however, economic success has been measured by neoliberal advocates by the confidence that foreign investors have in the Indian economy, reflected in the volume of cross-border inflows of foreign capital, especially foreign finance capital.…
The Return to Retail Lending C.P. Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh
After having retreated from retail lending in the years since 2005-06, banks burdened by NPAs in areas like infrastructure seem to be returning to the retail market. How far can this go? Retail_Lending (Download the full text in PDF format) (This article was originally published in the Business Line on August 1, 2016.)
The Post-1991 Growth Story C. P. Chandrasekhar
July 1991 is widely seen as a watershed month in Indian economic policy making. That was when the Indian government openly declared that it was unwinding the interventionist regime which had been in place since Independence, involving controls on economic agents, regulation of markets, a large public sector and an a priori plan as to how economic resources should be allocated. In the period to follow, policy, it was then argued, would dismantle this excessively interventionist framework, and establish and support a system driven by private initiative and relatively unfettered markets, with minimal regulation and control. The State was to…
The Business of Wilful Default C. P. Chandrasekhar
In the fourth round of what has become a periodic exercise, the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), the “oldest and largest” trade union in the industry, has released a list of 5,610 wilful defaulters on debt they owe commercial banks. In the AIBEA’s view the failure to reduce, let alone prevent, such defaults is badly damaging bank balance sheets. The fact that attempts at recovery have also been tardy and quite unsuccessful is not helping either. The official listing of suit-filed accounts of wilful defaulters disseminated through the Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd, reports 6,081 cases involving loans totaling…
Why the European Union should be Even More Worried about Brexit C.P. Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh
The economic pressures that may have driven the Brexit vote are also evident in other big European nations. So to survive, the EU must rethink its template for economic policies. European_Union_Worried (Download the full text in PDF format) (This article was originally published in the Business Line on July 18, 2016.)
The Real Banking Problem C.P. Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh
Recognizing bad assets and writing them off may not resolve the banking problem, since the new financial order requires banks to lend to those who seem more prone to default. Banking_Problem (Download the full text in PDF format) (This article was originally published in the Business Line on July 4, 2016.)
The Global “New Normal” is Not New- But it is still a real concern C.P. Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh
lobal growth rates of the last five years are similar to those in the past, but now they are accompanied by unprecedented monetary expansion that seems to have little impact. Global_New_Normal (Download the full text in PDF format) ( This article was originally published in the Business Line on June 20, 2016.)
Bad Loans, Lending Behaviour and Growth C.P. Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh
As interested observers focus on the bad loans, accumulating in the books of India’s commercial banks, the implications it has for lending behaviour and growth are less explored. Bad_Loans (Download the full text in PDF format) (This article was originally published in the Business Line on June 6, 2016.)
The IMF’s Call for Complacence C. P. Chandrasekhar
A specter that haunts a number of so-called emerging markets, including India, is that of a sudden outflow of capital, either because of exit of foreign investors or because of the flight of resident capital. That fear has increased in recent times for two reasons. First, after capital inflows to these economies shrank during the crisis of 2008, they registered a sharp revival and then surged when large quantities of liquidity were infused into the world economy to save the banks and stall the downturn in the developed economies. This increased the stock of footloose capital in these economies, which…
