The significance of Professor VKRV Rao Prominent economist, politician and educator goes beyond the narrow confines of the professions he followed. As fouder director of a number of institutions that are shaping India?s present like the Delhi School of Economics, the Institute of Economic Growth and the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, his contribution goes well beyond.
Footprints of Development and Change is a collection of essays in his memory. The research papers are primarily perceptions of development of an eminent group of academics. The writers, either Prof VKRV Rao chair professors or winners of VKRV Rao prize instituted by ICSSR, touch upon several crucial areas affecting the country today.
Broadly divided into three sections, it attempts to follow the thematic pattern that Professor Rao followed in his writings. While the first section deals with economic theory and the role of development in it, the second section deals with issues related to society and development. And the third provides a glimpse of the current developmental issues in the country.
In the opening essay ?Justifying Beliefs?, Anjan Mukherji challenges the role of a few tenets of economic theory as he analyses Laffer?s Curve, the relationship between minimum wages and employment and the Predator-Prey model. While Mukherji sets the tone for the book, Amiya Kumar Bagchi carries it forward with an attempt to explain the development of backward countries with the help of differing approaches.
TK Oommen explores the nature of social transformation in India since independence as he assesses the impact that economic liberalisation had on class, caste, tribe, gender and religious minorities. Ghanshyam Shah?s assessment of this interplay is engaging. He, examining how the vulnerable sections of the society and the NGOs fight for their rights in Gujarat, argues that the two are complementary and not antithetical. Kalpana Kannabiran highlights the plight of Dalit women, while Varun Sahni successfully explains ?why India turned its back on its region and looks outward instead??
Essential read for anyone trying to understand the fundamentals of development or seeking a roadmap for future growth.