A History Of Economic Policy in India
' Economic Policy in Independent India provides an immersive, accessible yet rigorous understanding of the Indian economy through a political economy analysis of economic policies. It provides a birds-eye view of the politics, context, and ideas that shaped major economic policies in independent India and argues that they are the product of crisis, coalitions, and contingency - not necessarily choice. Each chapter focuses on specific political regimes: Colonial Rule, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, liberalisation under coalition governments, the UPA Government, and the NDA Government. The book evaluates how well a government executed its policies based on the economic and political constraints it faced, rather than economic outcomes. Using theories to make sense of the economy, political ideology, historical conditions, and international context, the book's framework provides multiple perspectives and analyses economic policies as an outcome of interactions between dynamics in the economy. '
The text above is the blurb of the book - A History of economic Policy in India : Crisis, Coalition and Contingency written by Rahul De , A professor at Azim Premji University for whom I worked as a Research Assistant. The book launched in September 2023.
My key area's of responsibility for this particular project included
1. Data Analysis and Management:
Where I curated and analyzed public datasets concerning India's economic indicators and policy interventions.
I used statistical software (R and Python) to conduct quantitative analysis and gain insights. These are used across the multiple chapters as one would see through the various graphs that are present.
Where I curated and analyzed public datasets concerning India's economic indicators and policy interventions.
I used statistical software (R and Python) to conduct quantitative analysis and gain insights. These are used across the multiple chapters as one would see through the various graphs that are present.
2. Policy Research and Analysis:
I conducted literature reviews and archival research to contextualize India's economic policy evolution. Further I analyzed the impact of economic policies on socio-economic indicators, food security, healthcare and education which helped create stronger narratives within the different Chapters
3. Analysis of Five-Year Plans:
I examined the content of India's five-year plans, evaluating policy objectives and outcomes. Then, identified trends and shifts in policy priorities across different phases of India's economic development. Supported these statements, with public speeches by policy makers, politicians and even looking at allocation of central government funding.
4. Report Generation and Documentation:
Authored detailed reports documenting research methodologies, data sources, and key findings. This particular project drew from various different kinds of sources ranging from Public Data to Lok Sabha speeches and multiple iterations of policy documents . Further through the process of working on the book, dealt with recording of information during multiple stakeholder interviews.
Further to make this a book that could be accessible to all, a large focus was on simplifying economics and policy jargon, which personally gave me clarity and confidence.
