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Quarterly Newsletter (Nov-Dec-Jan ’15-16)

The Quarterly Newsletter of Nickeled & Dimed for the months of November, December and January 2015-16 has been released! You can subscribe to the blog for latest updates in your mailbox! Newsletter 2.0
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State, Market and Institutions: Changing Roles and Relationships in Economic Development Since 1950

Mohan Kumar reviews the work of leading Development Economists to understand the role of the market and the state and how the evolution of the field of Development Economics has contributed to our understanding of these institutions. [Mohan Kumar is pursuing his Masters in Diplomacy, Law and Business from Jindal Global University, Haryana] The emergence…
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Myth of “Value Added” in Indian Industry: Has India Missed the Bus?

Sourish Dutta is an MPhil Student of Applied Economics at Centre for Development Studies, JNU According to the ASI database, although the flow of “Net Income” is increasing impressively, the flow of intensity of net income (i.e. net income/output) is in decline mode. Through acute statistical analysis, throughout ASI data, it is noted that the…
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ECONOMY OF TURKMENISTAN: THE EVOLUTION

This essay, written by Ansh Bharadwaj, is a country study of Turkmenistan. He gives a comprehensive narrative on Turkmenistan’s economic trajectory in the wake of the socialist regime that took over after the country became independent of foreign control. The essay also throws light on the reforms introduced in the country and the challenges ahead.…
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The ABCs of Agent Based Computational Economics

The unrealistic assumptions that economic models are based on have rendered many models insufficient and impractical in application in the real world. Aishwarya Ketkar offers Agent Based Computation as an answer for those who want to simulate models capturing actual human behaviour and experiences…. Economy is an interactive complex system reflecting the interaction between various agents residing within it. The attempts at classifying Economics into a perfect science are transforming into varied perspectives being used to predict consumer behavior. There is a clear indication of evolution of a novel mathematical ideology into economics taking aid of the massive computing power made feasible by technology. Leon Walras was the first person to classify Economics as a science. To Walras and the Physicists of his time, economy was a closed system following simple mathematics to gain …
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India-Afghanistan: A Tie from the Past

In this essay, Srilaxmi Sriram explores India’s historical relationship with Afghanistan and underlines the future potential as well as possible obstacles which can serve as deterrents in smooth economic and political relations. Afghanistan, as a rich land with abundant resources, has been a crucial area since the Mughal rule in India. Since that period, Afghanistan…
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The Chinese recipe for growth, and slowdown?

To understand the reasons for the Chinese slowdown, it is important to revisit the reasons for China’s economic success. In this article, Alexandra de Mingo McAllister attempts to provide a comprehensive understanding of China’s journey uptil now. In Yingyi Qian’s paper on “How reform worked in China”, he analyzes how the Chinese economy blew mainstream…
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The Al-Bashir Saga and India’s International Obligations

Kalyani Unkule highlights the pertinent role that India needs to play on the international platform in the sensitive question of the Sudanese President’s alleged genocide… The recently concluded summit of African Heads of State in New Delhi has prompted much introspection on the legacy, successes and challenges of bilateral and regional ties. It is equally…
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Nepal: Divided by A New Constitution

Nepal has adopted its seventh constitution in 67 years. It is the first fully democratic constitution in Nepal. Amit Kumar Jha looks at the issues the new constitution raises and outlines a role for India as Nepal’s crucial neighbour. “A good constitution is infinitely better than the best despot”-Thomas B Macaulay Nepal, a tiny Himalayan…
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Quarterly Newsletter! (Aug-Sep-Oct ’15)

Nickeled & Dimed has been running for over a year and has built up a decent readership base. So we decided to release a series of newsletters recapitulating 2-3 months worth of articles and activities. So here goes the first one, covering the months of August, September and October so far. If you like the…
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Book Review: India Uninc.

Vivek Rai summarizes R. Vaidyanathan’s India Uninc., a cogent overview of the oft ignored unincorporated sector which contributes upto 45% of India’s GDP, hailing it as a much needed insight into a less written about area. Title: India Uninc. Author: Prof R. Vaidyanathan Price: 395 Publisher: Westland Pages: 344 Year Published: 2014 In India, as…
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Political Dynamics in Bihar: Electoral Competition and Representation

Reproduced from Economic and Political Weekly Issue Vol – L No. 39, September 26, 2015 with the authors’ permission. The authors Yugank Goyal and Arun Kumar Kaushik teach at OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat. They can be reached at ygoyal@jgu.edu.in and akkaushik@jgu.edu.in respectively. Abstract: Upcoming Assembly Elections in Bihar are expected to be unprecedented on…
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