Author Description

The last twenty years have been a time of intense public debates on social policy in India. There have also been major initiatives, such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, as well as resilient inertia in some fields. This book brings together some of Jean Drèze's contributions to these debates, along with other short essays on social development. The essays span the gamut of critical social policies, from education and health to poverty, nutrition, child care, corruption, employment, and social security. There are also less predictable topics such as the caste system, corporate power, nuclear disarmament, the Gujarat model, the Kashmir conflict, and universal basic income. The book aims at enlarging the boundaries of social development, towards a broad concern with the sort of society we want to create. The concluding essay, on public-spiritedness and solidarity, argues that the cultivation of enlightened social norms is an integral part of development. "Jholawala" has become a disparaging term for activists in the Indian business media. This book affirms the learning value of collective action combined with sound economic analysis. In his detailed introduction, the author argues for an approach to development economics where research and action are complementary and interconnected.