Debate on the role of growth and redistribution in poverty alleviation in India turns on some fallacies
The debates on the role of growth and growth in alleviating poverty go unabated in the real and virtual forums around the country.
The capacity of Indian intellectuals to argue even when they lack data either to refute the opponents' position or support their own far exceeds that of their counterparts anywhere else in the world. This means that issues that have been largely settled elsewhere remain subject of endless heated debate in India. Nothing illustrates this better than the debates on the role of growth and redistribution in alleviating poverty, which go unabated in the real and virtual forums around the country. Thus, judge just four propositions offered in these debates against the facts.
Proposition 1: Growth is not necessary for poverty alleviation.
If you are a rich country like those in North America or Europe, this is surely a defensible proposition. In that case, you have already experienced more than two centuries worth of growth and eliminated abject poverty. Moreover, the high levels of income made possible by the past growth generate enough revenues to finance Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security programme for the disadvantaged even without further growth. But if you are a poor country like India, starting with an income of Rs 555 (in 1999-2000 rupees) per month per individual in 1951-52, you do not have much choice except grow. Those asserting the contrary must confront two key questions.
Proposition 1: Growth is not necessary for poverty alleviation.
If you are a rich country like those in North America or Europe, this is surely a defensible proposition. In that case, you have already experienced more than two centuries worth of growth and eliminated abject poverty. Moreover, the high levels of income made possible by the past growth generate enough revenues to finance Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security programme for the disadvantaged even without further growth. But if you are a poor country like India, starting with an income of Rs 555 (in 1999-2000 rupees) per month per individual in 1951-52, you do not have much choice except grow. Those asserting the contrary must confront two key questions.