Soumyananda Dinda

Inclusive growth through creation of human and social capital

This paper analyses inclusive growth that focuses on the creation of opportunities for all. Inclusive growth allows people to contribute to and benefit from economic growth, while pro-poor growth approaches focusing on welfare of the poor only to reduce inequality. Recently, economics literature incorporates social capital for explaining regional disparities. Economic development of country depends on the impact of social capital which includes social culture, norms and regulations that promote economic reforms and development activities. Social capital forms with the development of human capital through schooling. Educated individuals are interested in dialogue and conversation. Interaction enables people to build trust, confidence and cooperation, to commit themselves to each other (i.e. reciprocity), and thereby to knit the social fabric. This study deals with the formation of social capital through development of human capital that is created through improvement of schooling and/or social inclusion. Creation of human and social capital is the basis for inclusive growth. The predictions of the model are examined empirically for a cross-section of countries and findings support the model.

China integrates Asia with the world: an empirical study

The paper focuses on China’s economic integration with Asia region and the world. It also attempts to find the long run relation with short run dynamics of China’s trade in Asia and the world. The augmented Dicky-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) methods are applied to test the time-series properties of the variables. Co-integration technique is used to detect the economic integration of China’s export to the US and its import from Asian nations using monthly aggregate data from December 2005 to July 2010. This study observed that empirically China’s export to the US depends on exchange rate and China’s import from Asia depends on China’s export to the US. China has double role in international trade – (i) China acts as an attractor of all inputs from Asia and (ii) China exports the final products in international market. This study also reveals that the speed of China’s import from Asia is faster than that of China’s export to the US. The results imply that China’s trade should be treated as an engine of growth in the Asian developing countries and the trade promotion policies should be encouraged. The emerging China will create other opportunities through trade integration with Asia and the world. China is economically integrated with region and the world. The paper contributes to measure the speed of Chinas export and import within Asia and the world. These empirical findings will help policy makers to formulate their policy and design the mechanism for application as per their targets.

Climate Change: An Emerging Trade Opportunity in South Asia

This article investigates emerging opportunities in climate change mitigation in South Asia through trade. Trade can mitigate the climate change issues of a country, region or the world as a whole. Through international agreement (or pressure), trade also creates the opportunity for green jobs that produce environment-friendly goods (EFG), which have less damaging impact on environment. This article examines possible potential trade opportunity of climate-friendly goods (CFG) in South Asia. Applying the gravity model, this article estimates potential trade of CFG in South Asia. It also measures the trade gap as to how well bilateral trade flow performs relative to the mean value of trade as predicted by the model. Here, ‘potential trade gap’ means the gap between actual trade and the predicted trade value. It suggests that there is a scope to improve the export of CFG with trading partners. This article suggests and also highlights an alternative possibility for a climate-friendly export-led growth model in South Asia. It also identifies the potential trade gap of CFG for each regional member and its partners within region and developed countries such as the European Union (EU) and North America (the USA and Canada). JEL Classifications: Q5, C23, F1

Climate Change and Trade Opportunity in Climate Smart Goods in Asia: Application of Gravity Model

This article highlights the export potential trade gap in climate smart goods (CSG) in Asia in 2008. Using the trade gravity equation, this article estimates trade value and measures potential trade gap. This potential trade gap suggests that there is a scope to increase the export of CSG. This study identifies individual trade partners and focuses on the trade opportunity in CSG in Asia.

Defence Outlays Across Countries: Are They Converging?

Although the countries in the present world are staying away from formal wars like that of the First and the Second World Wars, still there has been persistence of informal wars among countries. The countries are now observed to be investing upon defence items in a larger way. The so-called backward countries are coming in a strong way in terms of increasing defence outlays and trying to catch up with the advanced countries in possessing military items. The present article, thus, tries to study whether the countries are converging in terms of per capita military expenses across a selection of 45 countries for the period 1988–2013. It reveals that there are absolute β and σ convergence among the countries with Kuwait and South Africa as outlier countries. It also observes conditional β convergence among the countries with various resources, particularly, crude oil production, regional dummies and time trend as significant conditional variables. JEL: H56, O47, C13, O50

Social capital and fiscal performance in India during 1991-2012

Purpose This paper examines the relationship between social capital and fiscal performance using provincial sub-national state level data in India during 1991-2012. Fiscal performance in India is based on social trust on fiscal institutions that emphasizes mainly social need for economic development. Design/methodology/approach People participation in public affairs or simply vote turnover in general election in India is taken to measure social trust on fiscal institution. Applying Principal Component Analysis (PCA) we construct social capital index and examine the said relation also. Models are estimated using panel data techniques. Findings Strong social capital reduces fiscal deficits. As one percent vote turnover rate rises fiscal deficit reduces by 2.6 to 2.8 percent during 1991-2012. The empirical findings suggest that social capital indirectly control the fiscal performance of the elected government. The results are robust to a number of control variables. Originality/value The strong political tru...

Creating natural resource base for green growth in India

This paper proposes a new development strategy of inclusive green growth which could lead to sustainable development. Following a theoretical basis for a green growth model, this paper provides the empirical supports for this model. The paper suggests policy inputs regarding the regeneration of natural resource capital and its preservation in terms of watershed development, flood control, forestation and the development of ecosystem services etc. Policy makers may be advised to focus more on regeneration and the preservation of natural resource capital for sustaining livelihoods in the economy.

A theoretical basis for green growth

This paper proposes a theoretical model of green growth. The paper analyses the development mechanisms through which natural resource capital regenerates (or at least does not degrade), is preserved and contributes to economic growth. Climate change is a threat to human civilisation and countries need to save natural resources, which are a crucial form of productive capital in the economy, and also challenge economic development in the 21st century. One of the new development strategies proposed is green growth which leads towards sustainable development. This paper suggests policy inputs regarding the regeneration of natural resources and their preservation in terms of watershed development, flood control and development of ecosystem services through the creation of jobs through the channel of productive consumption. Policy-makers should focus on employability, regeneration and preservation of natural resource capital for sustaining livelihoods in the economy.

Climate Change Creates Trade Opportunity in India

Climate change is an emerging challenge to developing economy like India however it also creates opportunity to grow through climate friendly goods production and new direction of trade. This paper focuses India’s potential export trade in climate friendly goods. The estimated gravity model is defined as the potential trade and potential trade gap is measured as how well a bilateral trade flow performs relative to the mean as predicted by the model. Potential trade gap means that actual trade is less than predicted trade value. It suggests that there is a scope to increase the export of climate friendly goods (CFG) to trading partners. The total estimated CFG export potential trade gap in India is around 6 billion US dollar (USD) in 2008. This study contributes on the empirical measurement of potential trade of climate friendly goods in India. Paper suggests a possible climate smart export-led growth model in India and mitigates climate change problems.

Neo-Liberalism and Protest in West Bengal: An Analysis through the Media lens

Neo-liberalism is revival of liberalism that is radically dismantling the state and sifting power to the private sector. People favour welfare state and oppose any move against it. This paper attempts to gauge the protest in West Bengal against neo-liberalism. The recent protest in West Bengal that led to the electoral defeat of the Left Front is not only about land acquisition and loss of livelihood. Instead, it goes to the core of over three decades of left rule and raises serious questions about the policies adopted by the Left Front governments. This paper demonstrates that land reform and decentralisation of rural power, through institutions of local government, consolidated the authority of the CPI-M in the state but were detrimental to capital formation, necessary for industrialisation. Lack of adequate capital forced the left leadership to lure private investors to cope with the instability caused by increased aspiration in a globalised set up coupled with technological innovation. This being paradoxical to the political doctrine of the left resulted in a tension in the midst of an already unstable situation caused by economic stagnation and lack of adequate job creation in the state. The actions of the government to ward off the protests raise moral questions as to whether the CPI-M has the authority to claim to be representing the poor.