Which factors determine country’s economic development? Development scholars have looked into this question for more than a century and they came up with different explanations like the theory of colonial victimization, dependency theory, geography and climate, institutions, culture etc. Out of these explanations the cultural explanation is fundamental. I strongly think that culture is the […]
Tag Archives: India
30
Dec
Dec
India has border disputes with Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. Are India’s neighbours particularly unfriendly? Is India necessarily so honest that we must trust the map that the Indian government provides us? In reality, any line on the world-map—depending on the scale of the map and the kind of the pen used—represents a […]
27
Nov
Nov
Pakistan faces two major external foes. One is India, whose economy is eight-times larger, and hence has a much higher capacity to finance the military. The other external foe is the existence of Afghanistan, a chaotic bunch of tribes that is a country only on the map. In trying to tame it, the USSR faced […]
03
Nov
Nov
Those hoping to clean up our institutions imagine conducting sting operations, with hidden cameras, to catch the culprits in action. There is nothing wrong with such investigations. Governments should be afraid of the citizens. However, it is erroneous to think that the removal of bribery would solve the problems and defects of our institutions. Survival […]
17
Oct
Oct
India ranks 100th in hunger, below North Korea, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar. The GDP of India on per capita basis (2016: US$1,709) is lower than that of Africa. At least 50% of Indians do not have access to toilets. Officially 35% cannot read or write—the reality of literacy and employability is much worse. 240 million […]