India’s lockdown: why small businesses and the self-employed need help

As India’s economy continues to be locked-down, Rituparna Patgiri (Jawaharlal Nehru University, India) and Ritwika Patgiri (South Asian University, India), review the state of the country’s economy and the place of small businesses and the self-employed within it during the coronavirus lockdown

Book review: Village ties: women, NGOs, and informal institutions in rural Bangladesh by Nayma Qayum

In Village Ties: Women, NGOs, and Informal Institutions in Rural Bangladesh, Nayma Qayum explores the role of non-governmental organisations in involving women in the political and development process in rural Bangladesh. This book contributes to scholarship that attends to ordinary people’s lived experiences to understand how marginalised communities solve political and social problems, finds Ritwika Patgiri. Village Ties: Women, NGOs, and Informal Institutions in Rural Bangladesh. Nayma Qayum. Rutgers University Press. 2021

Book review: The economic history of colonialism by Leigh Gardner and Tirthankar Roy

In The Economic History of Colonialism, Leigh Gardner and Tirthankar Roy offer a new historical account of the relationship between economic development and colonialism, showing how diverse processes of colonisation impacted on patterns of economic growth. Seeking to understand the roots of growth as well as poverty and inequality in formerly colonised nations as well as the origins of the environmental challenges we are facing in the current century, this book offers a nuanced study of the economic history of colonialism and its lasting legacies, finds Ritwika Patgiri. The Economic History of Colonialism. Leigh Gardner and Tirthankar Roy. Policy Press. 2021

Book review: Doing economics: what you should have learned in grad school – but didn’t by Marc F. Bellemare

In Doing Economics: What You Should Have Learned in Grad School – But Didn’t, Marc F. Bellemare offers a new guide to research economists to help equip them with the practical tools for ‘doing economics’. This book will be an excellent starting point for young students of economics who are thinking of pursuing a career in academia, writes Ritwika Patgiri. Doing Economics: What You Should Have Learned in Grad School – But Didn’t. Marc F. Bellemare. MIT Press. 2022