A Reading List on the Alternative Discourses in Economics by Indian Economists
The year 2020 has been a tumultuous one with Covid-19 wrecking havoc across the world. The pandemic has had serious implications on the state of public health services in both the developing and developed countries and has made governments and people reconsider the mode of the production in not only the health sector, but across all sectors of the economy. While the developed countries have been able to recover from the wrath of the Covid-19 crisis to some extent, most of the developing countries still lag behind. Inequalities across and within countries have widened this year. On the other hand, people have stood up against the authoritarian nature of their governments and come out on the streets to protest in masses. India saw the anti Citizenship Amendment Act protests earlier this year and the farmer protests against the three agricultural bills of the Modi government in the recent month. 2020 has made us realize that countries need empathetic governments to function properly, public services to provide social protection to the masses and to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.
Economics education and policies need to shift from their neoliberal paradigms to cater to the current crisis that India is facing. Here is a list of readings authored by Indian economists to enlighten us on the discourses in economics, alternative to the existing mainstream in the discipline.
Development Economics:
[Reinert, E.S., Ghosh, J. and Kattel, R. eds., 2016. Handbook of alternative theories of economic development. Edward Elgar Publishing.]
A historically informed and well-elucidated account of the theories of economic development over a prolonged period of time, this book is a must-read if you want to be enlightened by the theories in alternative ideas in economics as opposed to the mainstream.
2. Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen
[Sen, A., 2001. Development as freedom. Oxford Paperbacks.]
This book is integral to understanding the concept of economic development in the 21st century. Prof. Sen writes that freedom is the means to sustain economic life and welfare for an entire society and its people and his idea of freedom ranges from historical, intellectual freedom to political and religion freedom as well. Prof. Sen focuses on the need to shift from the current world order that denies people elementary freedom with a sense of social accountability and responsibility.
3. The Political Economy of Underdevelopment
[Bagchi, A.K. and Kumar, B.A., 1982. The political economy of underdevelopment. Cambridge University Press.]
This book provides a Marxian and neo-Keynesian perspective to the problem of underdevelopment in the third world with evidences from Asia and Latin America. This book focuses on the inequalities prevalent in the world — inequality between countries, between the people and between the different regions of the same country and also discusses the attitudes towards government intervention and the problems faced in environmental control and planning in the developing world.
Political Economy:
4. Classical Political Economy and Rise to Dominance of Supply and Demand Theories by Krishna Bharadwaj
[Bharadwaj, K., 1978. Classical political economy and rise to dominance of supply and demand theories. Calcutta: Centre for Studies in Social Sciences; New Delhi: Sole distributors, Orient Longman.]
The book by Krishna Bharadwaj is a torchbearer in the revival of classical political economy, relating it to the theories of supply and demand. It provides a solution to the problems confronted by the society with supporting arguments based on the principles of ethics, religion, law, philosophy ad other disciplines.
5. The Long Transition: Essays on Political Economy by Utsa Patnaik
[Patnaik, U., 1999. The long transition: essays on political economy. Tulika Publishers.]
This book sheds light on the role of imperialism and colonialism in the underdevelopment of what is known as the third world today. Prof. Utsa Patnaik addresses issues ranging from agrarian problems in the developing countries to the problems in socialist economies with a detailed historical perspective on each of these occurrences and discusses the minimum conditions required for their transition to emancipation.
6. Rethinking the Social Sciences with Sam Moyo by Praveen Jha, Paris Yeros, and Walter Chambati
This book celebrates the contributions of the Zimbabwean scholar, Prof. Sam Moyo whose work has left a deep impact on the research on Africa and the global South. Sam Moyo was a leading force in the creation of a South-South dynamic in research collaboration, in defense of the intellectual autonomy and epistemic sovereignty of the South.
Imperialism:
7. A Theory of Imperialism by Utsa Patnaik and Prabhat Patnaik
[Patnaik, U. and Patnaik, P., 2016. A theory of imperialism. Columbia University Press.]
A Theory of Imperialism is a book on the origin and nature of capitalism. The book is centered around the nature of trade between the global North and the global South; the demand for primary commodities in the north and the specialization of the South in those products has further strengthened the imperialist power of the North. The authors reveal the limitations of neoliberal capitalism and explore solutions to develop the South. This book is an extremely crucial reading for understanding the dynamics of the North-South relationship.
8. Poverty and Un-British Rule in India by Dadabhai Naoroji
[Naoroji, D., 1901. Poverty and un-British rule in India. S. Sonnenschein.]
Dadabhai Naoroji revealed the sharp contrast in the liberal ideas of the British with what they practiced as colonizers in India. He observed that colonial India always a positive balance of trade but the surplus was appropriated by the British. This book is based on his Drain of Wealth theory and is one of the most compelling reads on the economy of colonial India.
Money and Capital:
9. The Value of Money by Prabhat Patnaik
[Patnaik, P., 2009. The value of money. Columbia University Press.]
Prabhat Patnaik refutes the monetarist belief that the value of money is linked to its supply and demand which in turn depend on the total value of commodities in circulation. In this critique of monetarism, the author states that in a non-barter economy, the value we assign to money is independent of demand and supply.
10. Accumulation and Stability under Capitalism by Prabhat Patnaik
[Patnaik, P., 1997. Accumulation and stability under capitalism. OUP Catalogue.]
This book is another crucial reading that sheds light on the dynamics in the relationship between the global North and the global South. It addresses issues ranging from imperialist systems, migration, technological advancement, etc in the tradition of Keynes, Marx, Luxemburg and Kalecki and provides perspectives that do not appear in the current mainstream approaches.
11. Perilous Passages: Mankind and the Global Ascendency of Capital by Amiya Kumar Bagchi
[Bagchi, A.K., 2005. Perilous passage: Mankind and the global ascendancy of capital. Rowman & Littlefield.]
Amiya Kumar Bagchi, in this book, explains how growth under capitalism does not always translate into human development. The author cites the literature on life expectancy and public health across age groups, gender, time and geographical locations. This book enlightens readers on the implications of capitalistic wars on resources and markets, on human lives.
Agriculture:
[Patnaik, U., Moyo, S. and Shivji, I.G., 2011. The agrarian question in the neoliberal era: Primitive accumulation and the peasantry. Fahamu/Pambazuka.]
This book provides a political economy perspective to the agrarian question in the global South. Corporate capitalism has altered the economic and social production relations in the South leading to an increased unemployment, higher debt and loss of food security. The neoliberal policies have resulted in an agrarian crisis pushing the developing world into import dependency and the peasantry into poverty and uncertainty.
Trade and Liberalization:
13. The Market That Failed by Jayati Ghosh and C.P Chandrasekhar
[Chandrasekhar, C.P. and Ghosh, J., 2002. The market that failed: A decade of neoliberal economic reforms in India. Leftword. ]
This book explains how the adoption of neoliberal economic policies by the Indian government in 1991 failed to deliver the sustained growth that it promised. Moreover government intervention in the economy began to be deemed as unfavourable and that had damaging impacts on employment, poverty alleviation and equity in the society. This book is one of the most informative accounts of the impact of liberalization on the Indian economy in the recent years.
14. Terms of Trade and Class Relations by Ashok Mitra
[Mitra, A., 2005. Terms of Trade and Class Relations: An Essay in Political Economy. Orient Blackswan.]
The book presents a novel analysis and a historical account of a crucial phase of India’s post-independence development.
(This list has been compiled by Trisha Chandra, member of Rethinking Economics India Network)
