investment climate of a country is more important in attracting FDI than the available domestic incentives no matter how generous such incentives are. Their works also suggest the existence of an inverse relation between the degree of restrictiveness of trade and investment regime on the one hand and TFPG on the other. The latter exhibited remarkable expansion in the Sri Lanka economy following her market-oriented reforms.
While A&R have taken considerable pains in completing this scholarly works, there may be certain deficiencies. Since the import liberalization is the critical component in the reform process, they have not studied as to what happened to the former’s level, structure and trends. (See the reviewer’s paper in Prajnana 1996). What has been the impact over the rate of domestic inflation during and after the imple-mentation of policy reforms since inflation along with overvalued exchange rate could discourage the FDI inflow.
The reviewer in a paper (IE) 1994) tested and observed a deteriorat-ing trend in Sri Lanka’s NBTT as well as in her INTT during the sample period 1950-1991. It was also found that NBTT are one of the chief determinants of real aggregate private consumption ((C) and aggregate private real investment (IR) [see Artha Vijnana 1994). The reviewer also found empirically that Sri Lanka’s NBTT did determine her real national income.
Therefore, it follows that the improvements in NBTT and INTT, in the post-liberalization period, worked out by A&R, must have raised her real national income in so far as such a situation would have raised the economy’s capacity to buy imports and accelerated her capital formation during their chosen sample period. A more interesting aspect of the study would have been to test whether aggregate private fixed capital formation (PFKF) bear any relation with the inflow of FDI during the sample period they chose to study. Since the reviewer’s own research (Artha Vijnana, 1994) reveals a positive correlation between the two above, we came to the conclusion that FDI has a crowding-in rather than crowding-out effect on the PFKF. The other late comers to
The book under review provides an excellent analytical account of the progress of Sri Lanka’s economic develop-ment during the period both before and after the major reforms of 1977 and 1990. It is a case study of successful economic transformation of recent vintage through export-led industrialization.
such a process (say, a country like India) would be wiser by learning from the ex experiences of Sri Lanka and climb on to a higher learning curve. As a consequence, she may derive wide range benefits including the ones pointed out by Gerchenkron.
Let us remind ourselves that contemporary global trade is character-ized by an ‘Unequal Exchange’ relationship. Historically, trade preceded industrialization by thousand of years, but not the other way round. Moreover, international trade brings in an enormous size of gains to the participating nations and ensures their prosperity-(“Vanijye Vasate Laxmee’). But the lion’s share of gains from trade accrues to (what Frank Graham called) the ‘Lions’ (i.e. larger trading nations] and not to the ‘Lambs’ (i.e. small trading nations like Sri Lanka, India, etc.). The latter must ‘open up’ her economy to a larger volume of international trade and foreign direct investment and ensure good governance at home. Until then, the lambs will have to be satisfied with a minor share of the cake and will continue to be dubbed as “hewers of wood and drawers of water. The book under review, therefore, needs to be widely read by decision-makers and students of Development Econom-ics and Industrialization and of Trade and Development.
R.N. Pradhan is Reader in the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, Delhi. He has specialized in the study of International Trade and Economic Development.
BUILDING DEMOCRACY
IN SOUTH ASIA
India, Nepal, Pakistan
MAYA CHADDA
This book seeks to restore South Asia’s political experience to its proper place in the current discourse on democracy, Professor Chadda studies the process of democranization in three countries in the region and embeds this study a broader context of nation-state consolidation
2000 264 pages Rs 445 (cloth) Rs 295 (paper) A Vistaar Book
Originally priced at $49.95 (cloth) and $ 19.95 (paper)
THE UNORGANISED SECTOR
Work Security and Social Protection
edited by RENANA JHABVALA and RKA SUBRAHMANYA
This book book addresses the important issue of reaching social security to workers in the unorganised sector which now comprtives 92 per cent of India’s workforce. It examines the governmental and some non governmental efforts.
2000 192 pages Rs 345 (cloth) Rs 195 (paper)
Revised Edition
ETHNICITY AND NATION-BUILDING IN SOUTH ASIA
URMILA PHADNIS and RAJAT GANGULY
First published in 1989, this widely hailed core text of the dynamics of ethnic identities and movements in the South Asian region is perhaps even more relevant today, as the region faces a resurgence of ethne nationalist conflicts.
2000 460 pages Rs 595 (cloth) Rs 300 (paper)
CONTEMPORARY INDIA-
TRANSITIONS
edited by PETER RONALD deSOUZA
The contributors to this volume reflect upon the multiple transitions which are under way in the polly, economy, society and ovillsаботай space of contemporary India.
2000 384 pages Rs 475 (cloth)
PLURALISM AND EQUALITY
Values in Indian Society and Politics echted by IMTIAZ AHMAD, PARTHA S GHOSH
and HELMUT REIFELD
This important volume examines the principal values of state, plunsism, secularism and equality in the differing historical and socio-cultural contexts of Europe and India.
2000 382 pages Rs 545 (cloth) Rs 325 (paper)
INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPMENT
Cases from India
edited by SUBHASH BHATNAGAR
and ROBERT SCHWARE
The sixteen case studies in this volume spell out the various applications of information technology that have made a difference in the delivery of services products in rural india or which have increased productivity.
2000 232 pages Rs 195 (cloth) Rs 225 (paper)
INSTITUTIONS, INCENTIVES AND ECONOMIC REFORMS IN INDIA
edited by SATU KAHKONEN and ANTHONY LANYI
of the This book argues that successful economic reform necessitates understanding of the institutional and political underpinnings of economy.
2000 516 pages Rs 595 (cloth)
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION IN RURAL INDIA
edited by A VAIDYANATHAN and PR GOPINATHAN NAIR
book focuses on This book focuses on the vast and persistent disparities in educational progress across and within regions, the nature and extent of these doparities, their underlying causes, and possible remedies
Strategies for Human Development in India, Volume 2
2000 576 pages Rs 495 (cloth)
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