Notes on Corruption and Morality

An actor perspective within a moralistic approach to corruption in india and Southeast Asia contrasts to a (Weberian) institutional one. This emphasizes local values which help explain apparent lack of social constraints to everyday corrupt practices as bribery. In Karnataka the approach indicates that status and power within one’s own community gained by amassing wealth however acquired overrides morality; overstepping moral taboos can easily be rectified through an appropriate ritual. In post-coup Thailand morality is defined by emulation of King Bhumibul Aduilyadej. At present it is almost the sole criterion for political power, rejection of which is seen as immoral and hence punishable. Like Thailand, Indonesia lacks cultural possibilities of converting wealth to status and power. Those who cannot become a part of the bribetakers must endure as bribe payers. The remedy to corruption is purely institutional, i.e., an anti-corruption commission with wide ranging powers but with little noticeable effect

Vulnerable Daughters in a Modernizing Society: From ‘son preference’ to ‘daughter discrimination’ in S India

Full-text electronic issues (no. 60, 61, 66--

Cities and Economic Growth : A Review

Presently, there is no single, coherent theory on the causality between cities and economic growth, only a fragmented set of theories. Current patterns and trends for the relationship between cities and economic growth, however, suggest that a full understanding of contemporary processes will not be achieved by relying on the tools of one discipline alone, or by focusing on a single level of analysis. The aim of this literature review is to examine the leading contemporary theories on the relationship between cities and economic growth. The relationship can work in several ways by focusing on: the impact of economic growth on cities, the impact of cities on economic growth, and cities as an intermediate link to economic growth. Most theories however focus on the impact cities have on economic growth. One conclusion is that economic activities and economic diversification occur before cities are formed; without them, cities are not needed and hence cannot promote economic growth. The paper also discusses the various policies and policy designs used to promote cities as well as economic growth

A Note on Inflation and Prices in India during 1939-45

Wars are generally characterized by inflationary issue of currency. War is a costly affair which makes excessive demands on the resources of a country so that a large part of the productive apparatus has to be geared to the war needs. The government of a country involved in war has to find new sources of finance to cover the high costs of labour and materials for the war effort which does not satisfy the civilian needs. Initially, the government would resort to heavier taxation coupled with the floating of loans to raise more revenue. But the total cost of war is very heavy and the revenue accruing to the state through sources docs not suffice. Taxation, one of the sources of increased revenue, cannot be increased to any level because too heavy a tax can affect the ability and desire to work and save, and thus have adverse affect on production. So in order to obtain additional resources from the society the government would have to resort to printing more currency or borrow from the central bank against its own securities. Both these sources of increased revenue have an inflationary effect

Impact of assistance under P.L. 480 on Indian economy 1956–1970

In a developing country a crisis of “food gap” cannot be ruled out because of the aggregate demand of such an economy has a tendency to increase on one hand and the elasticity of supply is low on the other1 There has been a substantial increase in the population of many developing countries since the 1950s and the food production has failed to keep pace with demand.2 One bad harvest in a region could mean food shortage. Bad harvest in two consecutive years could mean disaster. Indian case has to be seen against the background sketched here