India: the emerging giant

India has gone from an economy that grew less than 1.5 percent per annum until the 1980 to more than 6 percent today. In the process, it has cut the proportion of poor below the poverty line by half. This book offers the first comprehensive account of the policy initiatives leading to this transformation. It covers virtually all areas of policy.

1. Distinguishing four phases -- 2. Phase I (1951-65) : takeoff under a liberal regime -- 3. Phase II (1965-81) : socialism strikes with a vengeance -- 4. Phase III (1981-88) : liberalization by stealth -- 5. Phase IV (1988-2006) : triumph of liberalization -- 6. A tale of two countries : India and the Republic of Korea -- 7. Declining poverty : the human face of reforms -- 8. Inequality : a lesser problem -- 9. Deficits and debt : Is a crisis around the corner? -- 10. The external sector : On the road to capital account convertibility? -- 11. The financial sector : Why not privatize the banks? -- 12. International trade : carrying liberalization forward -- 13. Industry and services : walking on two legs -- 14. Modernizing agriculture -- 15. Tax reform : toward a uniform goods and services tax -- 16. Tackling subsidies and reforming the civil service -- 17. Telecommunications and electricity : contrasting experiences -- 18. Transportation : a solvable problem -- 19. Health and water supply and sanitation : Can the government deliver? -- 20. Education : expenditures or transfers?