The macroeconomic uncertainty in times of COVID-19 pandemic is hard to measure. Economists and policymakers use the variable “output gap” to capture the “slack”. It is a deviation between potential output and actual output, which is a standard representation of a “cycle”. …

The slew of agricultural reforms initiated by the government has led to a vigorous discussion in the media about the pros and cons of these policy changes. Most of these discussions have focussed on agriculture as an activity that provides farmers with a regular source of income. The arguments …

(co-authored with Debasri Mukherjee)

 

The developing world has succeeded in significantly reducing the prevalence of under-nourishment over the last three decades compared to India [See Figure 1]. However, during this time the share of wasted (having low weight-for-height) children in India has remained around 20 percent. …

The Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the demand for consumer goods has increased considerably during the festival months. October-to-March is the festival season in India. Based on the “Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI)”, the Finance Minister said that the “economic activity had picked up in …

(Co-authored with Mita Choiudhury)

 

In a public health emergency, the role of the government is expected to be dominant as private provisioning is likely to be sub-optimal. Yet, in a health system, which is largely dominated by the private sector, a public-private interplay is inevitable. In …