How seriously should we take Natwar Singh's book? Indeed how seriously should all such memoirs and autobiographies be taken? The answer, I imagine, depends on the intent. If the authors are merely settling scores, as many think Natwar Singh is, future historians would be entitled to ignore such autobiographies. But if there is no mens rea (guilty mind), so to speak, these books must be taken seriously, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
One of the most pronounced features of people who shrilly demand change is that unless it comes in precisely the way they want it, they either say there has been no change, or that it is the wrong change. The Modi government, which is being accused of both things, provides an excellent and latest example of this.
Writers often produce excellent books but they lack the flavour of those written by people writing in the language of their own culture, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan
Indian liberals' sanctimony is matched only by their inability to think clearly. They need lessons in logic
Not just Article 370 but all such special status articles must go, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan
A recent academic paper on probability theory shows how beliefs are influenced by interpretations of data rather than the data itself, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Let us take four examples, though, one each from telecoms, aviation, the media and banking, because these are the great success stories. Without exception, the service quality in each of them has plummeted.
The media needs to introspect about the steep increase in the dissatisfaction with it.
The Kerala phenomenon -- of little work, high growth -- is best explained by the capabilities approach to growth. The rest of India has always tended to ogle at Kerala and the mallus.
Since 1945, most US presidential elections have been accompanied by a recession.
The BIS nannies the world's central banks, which are now scurrying around with pots and pans and plastic cups to save the sinking ship.
There are hundreds of learned papers and books on why markets drop precipitously. Recalling how the Nobel-winning physicist Richard Feynman had helped explain the Columbia disaster in 1986, in the last few days, I have read more than a dozen research papers to see whether economists would be of any help.
The suggestion is this: All PhD degrees must have an expiry date. The reasons for putting in an expiry date are so self-evident that they do not merit reiteration. We did not get the opportunity to discuss just how long the validity period should be. But I imagine 10 -12 years would do nicely.
Amartya Sen says it is wrong to suggest that the US ought to draw inspiration from the British Empire.
Now three American economists from Harvard, David E Bloom, David Canning and Michael Moore, have written a paper* called A Theory of Retirement. "The results of our model can serve as a benchmark in the design of public pension systems," they say.
This general decline in essay writing abilities has been accompanied by another affliction: the failure to teach grammar. The main casualties are the article and the preposition. It is virtually impossible to find an Indian today who knows how to use 'a' or 'the'. The other rules of grammar don't even begin to get a look-in.
Steven Shavell of the Harvard Law School has made a suggestion that the CPI(M) needs to grasp like a drowning man clutches a straw
As far as India and Korea are concerned, it is pretty clear what Korea wants from India: markets and raw materials. But what do we want from Korea? Technology, for one; training for all sorts of skills (including for punctuality and politeness) for another; and some lessons in how to carry out land reforms.
Imagine ten pallbearers and that one of them stumbles badly, and you get the picture of the risk inherent in slicing risk.
Do central banks also suffer from moral hazard? Are they part of the problem or the solution?
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