The Great Indian Growth Debate

Here are two columns about the Sen-Bhagwati contretemps on India's growth

"It's Growth, Stupid -- Or Is Growth Stupid?"

The debate between two of India’s greatest economists, Jagdish Bhagwati and Amartya Sen, is important for India’s policymakers. Are growth targets diverting policy attention from other important development goals? Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu has said the differences are less substantive than they are made out to be, but what is the common ground? Here is my take on the great growth debate.

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Fighting Malnutrition in India

Growth is good. So are health and education. Malnutrition is bad. As I noted in my last column, everyone, including those involved in India’s growth debate, agrees on these things. But differences emerge in recommendations for how to improve India’s human development status. Malnutrition is a good example. One view is that focusing on growth alone diverts attention from tackling problems like malnutrition. Another view is that accelerating growth is crucial to generate the resources for addressing such problems.

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