Shanti P. Chakravarty

Ethnic Nationalism and Income Distribution in Malaysia

The need for the social inclusion of all ethnic groups is highlighted in discussions on development. That is an important point, but this paper urges caution about placing an exclusive focus on ethnicity in the formulation of policy. This argument is illustrated by way of an examination of the income distribution policies promulgated in Malaysia to improve the economic conditions of the Malay community after a series of race riots in 1969.

Economic analysis of police stops and searches: a critique

Abstract The practice of stopping a disproportionate number of members of a particular racial group for questioning by the police would be regarded, at first sight, as an unacceptable manifestation of racial bias. However, Borooah [Eur. J. Pol. Econ. 17 (2001) 17] makes a distinction between two types of discrimination, that based on bigotry and that based on, what he calls, business necessity. The argument is that racial bias based on a desire to visit disadvantage on a particular racial group should be distinguished from racial discrimination based on the objective probability of offending. He suggests a measurement procedure for separating these two types of discrimination. This is a welcome contribution to the debate—see, for example, McConville et al. [Br. J. Criminol. 37 (1997) 347] and the rejoinder by Smith [J. Criminol. 37 (1997) 319] about the fairness of the criminal justice system. However, there is an assumption underlying Borooahs model which, if placed under critical scrutiny, could undermine his conclusions. This assumption is examined here.

A Note on the Electoral Rules for the Welsh Assembly

A recent article in this journal highlights,using simulated data, potential paradoxes inherent in thesystem of election to the Welsh assembly. This paper examinesthe data for the assembly elections held in 1999 to illustratethe occurrence of yet another paradoxical outcome, theelection of the first ever First Minister due to a fall insupport for his own party.

Growth, De-Regulation and Rent-Seeking in Post-War British Economy

ABSTRACT Post-war political consensus about the need for government action to rectify market failure began to unravel in the 1970s, and even the need for prudential control of banking and finance began to be challenged by the start of the 1980s. Regulatory oversight was relaxed in the belief that emerging techniques in financial engineering would render irrelevant fears of sharp periodic downturns that have historically been the consequence of lightly regulated finance. The outcome of this new policy, embracing the idea of unregulated markets to deliver greater prosperity, is disappointing. We find that the average growth rate of UK GDP and output per person employed for three decades from the start of liberalization was no greater than that in the previous three post-war decades. Cyclical fluctuations were deeper. A remarkable feature of the second period is the sharp rise in income inequality in favour of the very top earners. An illusion of greater prosperity for a wider segment may have been created in the second period due to asset price bubbles and housing inflation.