The Cultural Basis Of Economic Growth In India

Based on a three-year joint research project, this book collects studies on the cultural basis of economic growth in India. Unlike the foregoing investigations on India’s economic growth from the economic perspectives, this book presents interdisciplinary discussions on India’s economic growth. The participants in this project consist of a cultural anthropologist who is an expert in the social and historical study on India as well as a group of researchers specializing in various fields of economics such as growth theory, public finance, income distribution, family economics, and economics of education. Our joint research yields new insights on India’s economic growth and social change. In addition, this book presents new findings of happiness in India obtained by our large-scale survey.

"The effort is impressive and the range of issues covered, both theoretical and practical, extensive.... It addresses some of the most crucial questions of the day regarding the direction of conceptualization in the social sciences, the role of social scientists under post-modern conditions, and the meaning of development beyond economics. For these reasons the study deserves a wide audience and should generate much discussion." --Social Indicators Research Drawing a sequential relation between the concepts of society, culture, and development, this unique volume presents an original approach toward understanding and appraising social reality. Mukherjee strives to harness social science thinking in order to study developmental processes in the context of the emerging relationship between nation-states and the world system. In doing so, he develops a remarkable synthesis from the diverse strands of thought and research in the social sciences that have evolved over the last two centuries. Mukherjee establishes a methodological breakthrough by treating economy, polity, and culture as symbiotic variables rather than as independent, dependent, of intervening variables. By positing survival, security, prosperity, and progress as the cardinal values of people in organizations, the author focuses on patterns of variability (ordinal valuations) which emerge and thereby differentiate one configuration of people from others. It is in this context that Mukherjee argues for appraising social reality of what he calls the process-structure-process syndrome, rather than the conventional social science approach which views society in a state of static or relative equilibrium. This conceptual clarity is then applied to examine the role of culture in development, which not only resolves the issues of economic growth versus social development, but also provides a sound methodological base for studying comparative development. This distinctive contribution to social theory and social science methodology will not only serve as supplementary reading for graduate students in several social science fields, but will be particularly valuable for those interested in culture issues--conflict, policy research, comparative development, and social change. "The importance of the book lies in its methodological approach, whereby economy, polity, and culture are treated as symbiotic variables within a system rather than independently. Thus, the approach breaks new ground for the study of comparative development and would be of great use to students of sociology, who are concerned with the issues of culture conflict, policy research, comparative development, and social change." --Pakistan Development Review "[Mukherjee's] latest book is a product of his stimulating discussions on society, culture and development with students and colleagues in some of the American universities. He draws his insight from some of his experiences in our society. That makes the book all the more valuable for Indian students. . . . Reading of the notes which are detailed and comprehensive is rewarding. That certainly enriches the value of the book." --Indian Book Chronicle

The purpose of this edited collection is to analyse the cultural aspects of Indian organizations. As the world’s largest and most diverse democracy, Indian society can be best described as an amalgam of multiple cultures, value systems, socio-political and institutional orientations. This book offers a theoretical and empirical basis for understanding the evolving and changing nature of these aspects in Indian organizations. The World Bank predicts that in the near future India will become the world’s second largest economy. The recent high growth rates reported by businesses in the Indian economy needs to be sustainable, especially amidst its high cultural diversity. Whilst there is tremendous interest in understanding the intricacies of Indian culture and a growing literature focusing on topics such as India-specific management and internationalization strategies of Indian firms, the cultural aspects of Indian businesses have been largely ignored. This book aims to fill this gap. It covers various topics in organizational culture and management such as human resource management, cross-cultural communication and coaching, cultural similarity, cultural literacy, multiculturalism, generational cultural values, talent acquisition and knowledge management. It also features case studies from high growth sectors such as the IT and health industries. Presenting contributions from local Indian and international researchers, this book provides a multidimensional perspective that will appeal to students, scholars and practitioners interested in organizational culture and management in India.

This study systematically evaluates the economic consequences of globalization for India in the light of the attack of the critics against globalization on grounds of economic stagnation, ?deindustrialization,? ?denationalization,? destabilization, and impoverishment. On the basis of abundant qualitative and quantitative data, it strongly repudiates the case of the critics, and demonstrates that India has been a significant beneficiary of the globalization process. Instead of economic stagnation, India has seen acceleration in its average annual rate of economic growth. Instead of deindustrialization, there has been substantial industrial growth and, indeed, acceleration in the industrial growth rate.Instead of denationalization, business in India is now more competitive and is venturingforth into the global market; increased imports and the entry of foreign multinationalshave not swamped it; essentially, India is master of its own destiny. Instead of economicdestabilization, there has been since the paradigm shift in economic policy in 1991 a marked absence of economic crisis in India. And, instead of impoverishment, India hasseen a long and unprecedented period of welfare enhancement since it began its reintegration into the world economy in 1975; there has been a secular decline in povertysince then, while inequality has not increased much. The policy conclusion that flows from this experience is that India ought to be, in general, more open to globalization in the interest of sustaining the acceleration in economic growth and enhancing the welfare of its people. To this end it should push forward with the reform agenda.This is the twenty-second publication in Policy Studies, a peer-reviewed East-West Center Washington series that presents scholarly analysis of key contemporary domestic and international political, economic, and strategic issues affecting Asia in a policy relevant manner.

Population, Land Use, and Environment: Research Directions offers recommendations for future research to improve understanding of how changes in human populations affect the natural environment by means of changes in land use, such as deforestation, urban development, and development of coastal zones. It also features a set of state-of-the-art papers by leading researchers that analyze population-land useenvironment relationships in urban and rural settings in developed and underdeveloped countries and that show how remote sensing and other observational methods are being applied to these issues. This book will serve as a resource for researchers, research funders, and students.

“The essential public good that Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and now Cameron sell is not power stations, or trains, or hospitals. It’s the public itself. it’s us.” In a little over a generation the bones and sinews of the British economy – rail, energy, water, postal services, municipal housing – have been sold to remote, unaccountable private owners, often from overseas. In a series of brilliant portraits the award-winning novelist and journalist James Meek shows how Britain’s common wealth became private, and the impact it has had on us all: from the growing shortage of housing to spiralling energy bills. Meek explores the human stories behind the incremental privatization of the nation over the last three decades. He shows how, as our national assets are sold, ordinary citizens are handed over to private tax-gatherers, and the greatest burden of taxes shifts to the poorest. In the end, it is not only public enterprises that have become private property, but we ourselves. Urgent, powerfully written and deeply moving, this is a passionate anatomy of the state of the nation: of what we have lost and what losing it cost us – the rent we must pay to exist on this private island.

India today is a vibrant free-market democracy, a nation well on its way to overcoming decades of widespread poverty. The nation’s rise is one of the great international stories of the late twentieth century, and in India Unbound the acclaimed columnist Gurcharan Das offers a sweeping economic history of India from independence to the new millennium. Das shows how India’s policies after 1947 condemned the nation to a hobbled economy until 1991, when the government instituted sweeping reforms that paved the way for extraordinary growth. Das traces these developments and tells the stories of the major players from Nehru through today. As the former CEO of Proctor & Gamble India, Das offers a unique insider’s perspective and he deftly interweaves memoir with history, creating a book that is at once vigorously analytical and vividly written. Impassioned, erudite, and eminently readable, India Unbound is a must for anyone interested in the global economy and its future.

"In the global knowledge economy of the twenty-first century, India's development policy challenges will require it to use knowledge more effectively to raise the productivity of agriculture, industry, and services and reduce poverty. India has made tremendous strides in its economic and social development in the past two decades. Its impressive growth in recent years-8.2 percent in 2003-can be attributed to the far-reaching reforms embarked on in 1991 and to opening the economy to global competition. In addition, India can count on a number of strengths as it strives to transform itself into a knowledge-based economy-availability of skilled human capital, a democratic system, widespread use of English, macroeconomic stability, a dynamic private sector, institutions of a free market economy; a local market that is one of the largest in the world; a well-developed financial sector; and a broad and diversified science and technology infrastructure, and global niches in IT. But India can do more-much more-to leverage its strengths and grasp today's opportunities. India and the Knowledge Economy assesses India's progress in becoming a knowledge economy and suggests actions to strengthen the economic and institutional regime, develop educated and skilled workers, create an efficient innovation system, and build a dynamic information infrastructure. It highlights that to get the greatest benefits from the knowledge revolution, India will need to press on with the economic reform agenda that it put into motion a decade ago and continue to implement the various policy and institutional changes needed to accelerate growth. In so doing, it will be able to improve its international competitivenessand join the ranks of countries that are making a successful transition to the knowledge economy."

In a world where half of the population lives in cities and more than 90 percent of urban growth is occurring in the developing world, cities struggle to modernize without completely losing their unique character, which is embodied by their historic cores and cultural heritage assets. As countries develop, cultural heritage can provide a crucial element of continuity and stability: the past can become a foundation for the future. This book collects innovative research papers authored by leading scholars and practitioners in heritage economics, and presents the most current knowledge on how heritage assets can serve as drivers of local economic development. What this book tries to suggest is a workable approach to explicitly take into account the cultural dimensions of urban regeneration in agglomerations that have a history and possess a unique character, going beyond an approach based solely on major cultural heritage assets or landmarks. The knowledge disseminated through this book will help stakeholders involved in preparation, implementation, and supervision of development investments to better assess the values of cultural heritage assets and incorporate them in urban development policies.