As published in ET on 24.02 2011
Prof. S, K. Kaushik (New York, USA) 14 hrs ago (03:16 AM)
Prof. Arvind Panagariya interprets Prof. Amartya Sen's comments about the silliness of India-China comparisons as "proscribing comparisons" so that he can couch his analysis in terms of ideology and he has every right to do so. I do not believe Sen was speaking against growth -high, low or medium. He just wants growth to benefit people and the government to do its part. Nor was he chiding China's growth. But, the main point is about the distribution of benefits of growth. History is full of great unequal distributions and their consequent spawning of all sorts of revolutions. It is an important function of any government -a King, communist, or a parliamentary democracy to increase the well-being of the greatest number of its citizens, if not all, relative to each other over time. As regards China, the distribution of income is getting worse through the high growth periods from 1981 onwards and it cannot be sustained. Growing inequality is also slowing growth as other economists have argued it would do in addition to creating unsustainable social and political situation. So India needs growth, development and much better distribution of the growth it has been achieving in recent years. A policy mix that increases both growth and its better distribution is needed for sustainability of the growth process and a better human condition in India. India has so many models to choose from and create its own as China did. No one has it exactly right as we look around the world.