The Truth About Monopolies and Anti-Trust Laws
Our friends at the Foundation for Economic Education have created a great video that exposes the irony of entrusting governments with the task of protecting consumers from monopoly. Economic theory...
View ArticleHarmful Regulations Hit Close to Home
I returned home last night to a disturbing scene. Someone was moving his things into one of the vacant flats downstairs. “Are you moving in?” I asked. “No. MCD guys were here. They kicked us out of our...
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India’s new taxes on gold & other precious metals
In response to concern over the impact of imports of gold (up from $42B in 2010-11 to $58B in 2011-12 or about 967 tonnes), the Government of India put up the tax on gold bars & coins &...
View ArticleFirst Post Article on Gurcharan Das’ New Book
FirstPost.com has published a critique of Gurcharan Das’ new book India Grows at Night: A Liberal Case for a Strong State. The critique seems sound to me. I will be attending Das’ book launch on...
View ArticleRegulating Hair Cuts for the “Greater Good”
TOI reports today that “North Korea lists 28 hairstyles to keep capitalism at bay.” The Nazi’s outlawed Jazz music and the Soviets outlawed blue jeans. Such things may become the avenues for...
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Listening to winds of change in Chhattisgarh
I was recently in Chhattisgarh as a member of Joint Review Mission of Centrally Sponsored Scheme of teacher education. This initiative of the Government of India’s MHRD, is a nationwide program for...
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Does India means business?
How easy is it to start and conduct business in India? How does India fare in terms of economic freedom when compared to other economies? How competitive is India? How prosperous are Indians when...
View ArticleWho Should Pay for Mukesh Ambani’s “Z category security”?
Much has already been written about the Ministry of Home Affairs agreeing to provide round-the-clock “Z category security” to Mukesh Ambani. Even the Supreme Court frowned upon and raised questions...
View ArticleWould We Be Better Off Without Government-Organized Police?
Some friends of mine were in a minor auto accident yesterday and regaled me with the tragi-comic tale of their interaction with the Delhi police. Twenty minutes after being hung up on by the police and...
View ArticleMargaret Thatcher: Villain or Savior?
Many look upon Margaret Thatcher as a villain for shutting down or privatizing state-subsidized industries. By ending subsidies to uneconomical industries like coal mining and ship building in England,...
View ArticleKEEP IT UP UPA
Mint reports today that cabinet has approved changes in titling law that will make ownership of land more transparent by introducing amendments to the Registration Act of 1908. The act governs the...
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Uttarakhand Floods – The Role of State in Rescue, Relief and Rehabilitation
(Image courtesy: ibnlive.in.com) Rescue, relief and rehabilitation of those affected by the Uttarakhand flash floods is still in progress. While the efforts of state government have been criticised,...
View ArticleThe Right to Vend
- by Subhalakshmi D We are on the threshold of passing the historic Street Vendor Bill which will bring legitimacy to a profession that’s considered a cornerstone of urban living, generates employment...
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US Government Shutdown: For Better or for Worse?
The United States federal government shut down on 1 October 2013 as Republican-led House of Representatives (commonly known as “the Congress”) failed to pass a budget or a continuing resolution for the...
View ArticleAn Open Letter to Aam Aadmi Party
Dear Mr. Kejriwal Please accept my heartiest congratulations on your party’s historic win in the Delhi Assembly Elections against all odds. It is clear to everyone now that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is a...
View ArticleAn Open Letter to AAP’s Yogendra Yadav on Our COMMON Ideology
Dear Mr Yogendra Yadav I happened to read your excellent interview published in Mint last week. Of particular interest to me was the question, “What is the ideology of AAP?” I can’t think of anyone...
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ASER 2013: Enough of Outlays, Get Started on Outcomes NOW
The ninth Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER) was published last week. ASER is an annual household survey to assess children’s schooling (both public and private) status and basic learning levels...
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Interim Budget 2014-15: Same Old Same Old
Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented the (interim) Union Budget for the financial year 2014-15 in the Parliament today. A regular budget will be presented by the new government later in the year...
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Economic Freedom of the States of India 2013: Gujarat at the Top, Bihar at...
Last evening we attended launch of the “Economic Freedom of the States of India Report 2013“, jointly published by the Cato Institute, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Indicus Analytics and Academic...
View ArticleSwaminathan Aiyar on Economic Freedom
Swaminathan Aiyar was at CCS on 14 March 2014 to discuss the importance of Economic Freedom. Check out what he had to say about the ‘invisible hand’. ….On the ‘Invisible Hand’ “I grew up at the time of...
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