Costs of Democracy

Costs of Democracy PDF

Author: Devesh Kapur

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-06-13

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 019909313X

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One of the most troubling critiques of contemporary democracy is the inability of representative governments to regulate the deluge of money in politics. If it is impossible to conceive of democracies without elections, it is equally impractical to imagine elections without money. Costs of Democracy is an exhaustive, ground-breaking study of money in Indian politics that opens readers’ eyes to the opaque and enigmatic ways in which money flows through the political veins of the world’s largest democracy. Through original, in-depth investigation—drawing from extensive fieldwork on political campaigns, pioneering surveys, and innovative data analysis—the contributors in this volume uncover the institutional and regulatory contexts governing the torrent of money in politics; the sources of political finance; the reasons for such large spending; and how money flows, influences, and interacts with different tiers of government. The book raises uncomfortable questions about whether the flood of money risks washing away electoral democracy itself.

Crisis and Predation

Crisis and Predation PDF

Author: The Research Unit for Political Economy

Publisher: Monthly Review Press

Published: 2020-11-15

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 1583679243

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How India's COVID-19 lockdown is creating an unprecedented humanitarian disaster With the advent of COVID-19, India’s rulers imposed the world’s most stringent lockdown on an already depressed economy, dealing a body blow to the majority of India’s billion-plus population. Yet the Indian government’s spending to cushion the lockdown’s economic impact ranked among the world’s lowest in GDP terms, resulting in unprecedented unemployment and hardship. Crisis and Predation shows how this tight-fistedness stems from the fact that global financial interests oppose any sizable expansion of public spending by India, and that Indian rulers readily adhere to their guidance. The authors reveal that global investors and a handful of top Indian corporate groups actually benefit from the resulting demand depression: armed with funds, they are picking up valuable assets at distress prices. Meanwhile, under the banner of reviving private investment, India’s rulers have planned giant privatizations, and drastically revised laws concerning industrial labor, the peasantry, and the environment—in favor of large capital. And yet, this book contends, India could defy the pressures of global finance in order to address the basic needs of its people. But this would require shedding reliance on foreign capital flows, and taking a course of democratic national development. This, then, is a pursuit, not for India’s ruling classes, but a course of struggle for India's people.

The Global Findex Database 2017

The Global Findex Database 2017 PDF

Author: Asli Demirguc-Kunt

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2018-04-19

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 1464812683

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In 2011 the World Bank—with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—launched the Global Findex database, the world's most comprehensive data set on how adults save, borrow, make payments, and manage risk. Drawing on survey data collected in collaboration with Gallup, Inc., the Global Findex database covers more than 140 economies around the world. The initial survey round was followed by a second one in 2014 and by a third in 2017. Compiled using nationally representative surveys of more than 150,000 adults age 15 and above in over 140 economies, The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution includes updated indicators on access to and use of formal and informal financial services. It has additional data on the use of financial technology (or fintech), including the use of mobile phones and the Internet to conduct financial transactions. The data reveal opportunities to expand access to financial services among people who do not have an account—the unbanked—as well as to promote greater use of digital financial services among those who do have an account. The Global Findex database has become a mainstay of global efforts to promote financial inclusion. In addition to being widely cited by scholars and development practitioners, Global Findex data are used to track progress toward the World Bank goal of Universal Financial Access by 2020 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The database, the full text of the report, and the underlying country-level data for all figures—along with the questionnaire, the survey methodology, and other relevant materials—are available at www.worldbank.org/globalfindex.

Capital Markets of India

Capital Markets of India PDF

Author: Alan R. Kanuk

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-07-22

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 111816072X

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Capital Markets in India: An Investor's Guide aims to provide the first comprehensive book on investing in the India markets. India is right now at the forefront of globalization. The book's focus is on the equity market, but it also addresses derivatives, fixed income, and foreign direct investments. Chapter topics include facts about the Indian economy; the Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) regulations, registration process, and applications; detail about the market regulation and the regulator; the very important market safeguards built into the Indian market systems; and lists of companies ranked by various criteria such as capitalization, turnover, industry, and earnings. The book even supplies investors and traders with contact information for many of the key institutions and market players. Readers will not only gain basic information about how the markets in India work, but also the contacts and facts to help them with their own investing plan.

India's Finance Ministers

India's Finance Ministers PDF

Author: A.K. Bhattacharya

Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited

Published: 2023-05-22

Total Pages: 538

ISBN-13: 935708102X

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Independent India has so far witnessed twenty-eight finance ministers. But only a handful of them could leave their mark on the exchequer or North Block, the headquarters of the Indian finance ministry. From Independence to Emergency: India's Finance Ministers 1947-1977 is the story of India's unforgettable finance ministers who shaped India's economy in the first thirty years after Independence. The book highlights the significant difference that these finance ministers made to the management of the Indian economy and to the policy evolution of the government, and who thus left an indelible mark on the psyche of Indian citizens. It attempts to measure the impact these decisions left, not only on India's economic system but also on its political system, and looks at to what extent the decisions were influenced by the socio-economic backgrounds of the finance ministers. Full of interesting anecdotes, the book is the first in-depth account of the crucial role these finance ministers have played in the functioning of India's economy.

Current Issues in the Economy and Finance of India

Current Issues in the Economy and Finance of India PDF

Author: Aswini Kumar Mishra

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-09-13

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 3319995553

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This proceedings volume highlights important points of achieving a balanced and sustained growth path from diverse economics and finance perspectives, touching on a wide array of economic and social analyses in India. Featuring contributions presented at the 2018 International Conference on Economics and Finance (ICEF-2018) held at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Goa, India, the enclosed papers explore topics such as inflation dynamics, information transmission in post-recession era, leverage effect and volatility asymmetry, structural change and economic growth and reforming tax systems, among others. The Indian economy today is remarkable and, not surprisingly, it is growing very rapidly. It has emerged as the fastest growing major economy in the world as per the Central Statistical Organization (CSO) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and it is expected to be one of the top three economic powers of the world over the next 10 to15 years, backed by its strong democracy and partnership. At the backdrop of impressive progress of the Indian economy during the last two decades, the question that remains to be answered is does India still have a long way to go before it is functioning well as a market economy? This book critically examines the performance of the Indian economy at the national, state and sectorial levels. Featuring contributions from leading academicians, scholars and practitioners from Asia and the rest of the world, this book is an asset to students, professors, scholars, practitioners and policy makers in the areas of India economics, finance and sustainable development.

Firm Financing in India

Firm Financing in India PDF

Author: Inessa Love

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 67

ISBN-13: 0050207113

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"Using balance sheet information for nearly 6,000 firms between 1994-2003, Love and Martinez Peria investigate recent firm financing patterns in India. They document the overall use of debt and, in particular, the role of bank financing (short-term and long-term), trade credit, intra-business group borrowing, and foreign financing. The authors examine financing patterns over time and explore differences across firms by sector, age, ownership type, export orientation, and, in particular, size. In terms of trends, they find that while debt to asset ratios have been relatively stable, nominal debt growth has slowed down in recent years. At the same time, firms' repayment capacity, as measured by the interest coverage ratio, has exhibited a U-shaped pattern falling during 1997-99 and recovering in recent years. Throughout the period of study, bank financing as a share of total debt has increased, while borrowing from nonbank financial institutions fell sharply. In terms of differences across firms, the most robust finding is that debt levels increase with firm size. Smaller firms have especially less debt relative to larger firms if they are young (below 10 years since incorporation), if they are in the manufacturing sector, and if they are located in Southern India. Furthermore, while the ratio of debt to assets has been relatively stable for large firms, the authors observe a significant decline for smaller firms. Overall, the findings presented provide suggestive (but not definite) evidence of stronger credit constraints for smaller firms. This paper--a product of the Finance Team, Development Research Group--is part of a larger effort in the department to study access to finance"--Abstract.

Financial Services in India

Financial Services in India PDF

Author: Rajesh Kothari

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Published: 2010-11-10

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 8132105079

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This textbook includes discussion on data that is not easily available on financial services, along with analyzing latest trends, new emerging areas, (an integral part of the syllabus in all leading business schools), the essential concepts of the financial system and the regulatory framework, and all the developmental aspects of finance. The book also studies the pace of progressive integration of financial markets—banking, insurance, mutual funds, securities and commodities with high technology absorption—to focus on customer-based services. At the same time, it covers oft-discussed but essential topics like real estate investment trust, consumer finance and investment banking.