Policy Wise

A a very interesting new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine claims that obesity is ”contagious” and can spread across contacts,
involved a detailed analysis of a large social network of 12,067 people who had been closely followed for 32 years, from 1971 until 2003. The investigators knew who was friends with whom, [...]

Doha round of WTO talks failed primarily because the developed countries couldn’t come to an agreement with the developing countries led by Brazil and India on agricultural subsidies. In an interesting op-ed, Rjiv Kumar argues that India has more at stake in expanding world trade, and hence should be ready to compromise even in the [...]

Or at least the American corporates. A very interesting report in The New York Times details how the largest American corporates are increasingly growing outside America–both through exports and off shore subsidies, and how it is changing the game fo American workers and investors.
The charge offshore seems certain to continue because chief executives want to [...]

Harvard economist Greg Mankiw has a very interesting take on whether the tax code is ”fair”
The C.B.O.?s most recent calculations of federal tax rates show a highly progressive system. (The numbers are based on 2004 data, but the tax code has not changed much since then.) The poorest fifth of the population, with average annual [...]

Government’s decision to monitor pregnancies is a regressive step.

In a bid to check female infanticide and the worsening sex ratio, the Indian government has decided to make registration mandatory for all pregnancies. Further, abortions would now be allowed under certain circumstances.
On Thursday, Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury told Hindustan Times that she [...]

Professor William Easterly on how to help Africa,
The real Africa also has seen cellphone and Internet use double every year for the last seven years. Foreign private capital inflows into Africa hit $38 billion in 2006 — more than foreign aid. Africans are saving a higher percentage of their incomes than Americans are (so [...]

The government in India is moving towards guaranteeing student loans,
In a significant step towards making it easier for banks to give loans to needy students, the Government may soon stand as the guarantor for them. This will help ensure that needy students are not refused an education loan for want of a security or collateral…This [...]

In an op-ed in the Indian Express, the chairman of Shell India, Vikram Mehta argues,
Will the fact that growth (or rather the limitations on growth) is the peg on which India is hanging its objections at the international level sidetrack it from taking appropriate domestic measures to weaken the link between economic growth and atmospheric [...]

Despite some disagreements among scientists, there is little doubt that climate change is an ongoing process and represents a monumental challenge. With rapid development of India and China–the latter has recently replaced United States as the world’s biggest carbon emitter, the situation can only get worse.
In an op-ed in the Hindustan times, Praful Bidwai argues [...]