Monthly Archives: July 2020

Reconsidering the Idea of Pigou Wealth Tax in the Time of Covid-19

By Kavaljit Singh | Briefing Paper # 40 | July 30, 2020

Arthur Cecil Pigou (1877-1959), a British economist, is well known for his contributions to welfare economics. One of the most prolific writers of his time, Pigou wrote over a dozen books and more than 100 articles and pamphlets dealing with both theoretical and practical aspects of welfare economics. His writings cover a wide range of human welfare issues from unemployment to housing to taxation.

Some of his most famous books include Wealth and Welfare (1912), The Economics of Welfare (1920),…

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Covid-19 and MSMEs: Addressing Information Barriers

By Anjali Tandon | Guest Blog | July 7, 2020

As many as three explicit interventions for the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) were announced by the Indian government as part of the post-Covid-19 recovery stimulus programme. These include the long-pending revision in the definition of MSMEs, emergency collateral-free credit, and the promotion of e-market linkages in the times of social distancing. While all three initiatives are welcome, there exist several implications for the MSMEs.

For a long time, firms believed “the smaller the better” to avail benefits. These…

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India’s Economic Dependence on China: Some Explanations

By Biswajit Dhar and K.S. Chalapati Rao | Briefing Paper # 39 | July 3, 2020

Since May 2020, India and China have had the worst face-off in decades on the line of actual control in India’s far North, which was yet another stark reminder that the two most populous nations have an extremely fragile relationship. But when the 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in the ensuing clashes with China’s People’s Liberation Army, the fault lines of India’s economic relationship with its northern neighbour became wide open. Passions are justifiably running high in India,…

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