India's Long Road The Search for Prosperity

India has been the subject of many extravagant predictions and hopes. In this powerful and wide-ranging book distinguished economist Vijay Joshi argues that the foundations of rapid durable and inclusive economic growth in India are distinctly shaky. He lays out a penetrating analysis of the country’s recent faltering performance set against the backdrop of its political economy and charts the course it should follow to achieve widely shared prosperity.Joshi argues that for India to realize its huge potential the relation among the state the market and the private sector must be comprehensively realigned. Deeper liberalization is very necessary but far from sufficient. The state needs to perform much more effectively many core tasks that belong squarely in its domain. His radical reform model includes a fiscally affordable scheme to provide a regular ‘basic income’ for all citizens that would speedily abolish extreme poverty.An authoritative work of tremendous scope and depth India’s Long Road is essential reading for anyone who wants to know where India is today where it is headed and what it should do to attain its ambitious goals. Review At a time when the Indian scene is flooded with many books Vijay Joshi's latest contribution towers above all others. India's Long Road will only add to Joshi's reputation for profound insight into India's economic problems - Jagdish Bhagwati University Professor and Director of the Raj Center on Indian Economic Policies Columbia UniversityThis is a very compelling book that makes a strong case for a comprehensive agenda of economic reforms that would enable India to emerge as a high income economy over the next quarter century - Barry Bosworth Economist the Brookings Institution A brilliant book. It is broad and deep in its coverage and balanced and judicious in its assessments. India's current position is viewed against its long history since independence. The author's academic objectivity cannot disguise his passionate engagement with India its economy and its future. Where the leading problems are to be found and what needs to be done are clearly revealed. A must-read for any student of modern India - Christopher Bliss Professor Emeritus in Economics University of OxfordIndia has a complex economy Joshi makes the issues intelligible in lucid prose without compromising on the complexity. He also provides a balanced perspective on many controversial questions. In today's partisan and shrill policy debates this book will set an example of clear thinking -Pranab Bardhan Professor of Graduate School at the Department of Economics at the University of California BerkeleyVijay Joshi's analysis of the Indian economy is wide-ranging thorough detailed and convincing. His policy prescriptions carefully balance concerns for alleviation of poverty economic efficiency and sustainability without carrying any ideological baggage. This outstanding book will become required reading for everyone interested in India - Avinash K. Dixit Sherrerd University Professor Emeritus Princeton University A tour de force a brilliant lucid and comprehensive analysis of what could be put right in the Indian economy and especially in government policy. The good news is that many of the proposed changes are surely feasible and have been practised in other countries. They might really lead India to fulfil its potential. For the world the economic transformation of a nation of more than one billion people would be a huge event - W. Max Corden Emeritus Professor of International Economics Johns Hopkins University and Honorary Professorial Fellow Department of Economics University of MelbourneIndia's Long Road by Vijay Joshi a leading macroeconomist deserves to be required reading for anyone interested in India's performance and prospects. While being strongly grounded in economic theory it succeeds in setting out a superb descriptive and