Current account imbalances have been blamed in the past for creating external vulnerabilities that can lead to financial crises. In the run-up to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008, for example, the large current account deficits of the US—matched…
It has long been known that the very wealthy are able to shift their assets abroad and stash them away in tax havens and other jurisdictions. There are various reasons for doing this: to hide ill-gotten gains, to avoid or…
The latest Annual Report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey, covering July 2022 to June 2023, has some interesting results. On the face of it, there seems to be some improvement in the labour market, as expressed in the declining…
India has a robust and admired statistical system. But the government is suppressing data to suit its narrative. It is perilous not to know the reality of the governed No government in India has been as adept in shaping the…
Regulating financial activity in global commodities markets, while important, is not enough to stave off rising food insecurity. Policymakers must also take measures to help developing countries build up reserves of essential items and cope with price fluctuations, possibly through…
Unlike many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the Indian economy is not characterised by external debt stress or distress that could lead to default. It does record almost consistent current account deficits on the balance of payments, but these are…
The sovereign debt crises confronting many low and middle income countries is now common knowledge and is frequently referred to by global policy makers—even though remarkably little is being done by the international powers-that-be to resolve these crises. The general…
As news broke that the monsoon month August was the driest since 1901, when records began to be kept, fears of inflation gathered strength. At 161.7 mm across the country, rainfall that month was well below the previous record low…
The dramatic increase in global oil and food prices from the start of the Ukraine War did not reflect real global supply shortages or demand-supply imbalances. Rather, it reflected the impact of market concentration and financial activity in commodity futures…
Severe external debt stress in several low- and medium-income countries (LMICs) has raised two questions. The first is whether we are on a trajectory that would result in a generalised debt crisis of the kind that preceded debt write-offs under…
