What does the AAP challenge amount to nationally? Not a whole lot: Arvind Panagariya
(Business Standard, 21 December 2013)
Earlier this year, noted economists Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya had a heated debate with Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on growth versus redistribution. While Sen believes India should invest more in social infrastructure to raise productivity, Bhagwati and Panagariya stress on growth, which will deliver resources for investment in the social sector. Has the phenomenal success of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the recent Delhi Assembly elections shifted the focus to redistribution of resources in Indian politics? Panagariya, Bhagwati Professor of Economics at Columbia University, tells Indivjal Dhasmana now, the Indian electorate is demanding sustained improvement in their lives, not a one-time transfer of money.