Search

Begin New Search Topic Economics Political Geography South Asia

41. India's Water Challenges

Author:
Suresh P. Prabhu
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Threats of international water conflicts have garnered headlines in many parts of the world including South Asia. Yet, there are almost no examples of outright water war in history. Instead, national water tensions and issues in water management continue to bedevil South Asia and the largest country in the region. India's population currently stands at 1.2 billion people and is expected to reach 1.6 to 1.8 billion by 2050. For a country that already ranks among the lower rungs of the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index, faced by the stresses of such population growth, India will have to design a plan to satisfy basic human needs for survival, and identify—and maximize—the use of key inputs that drive India's economic growth. One common source that cuts across all criteria for basic survival and economic development is water. It is predicted that by 2050, the per capita availability of water at the national level will drop by 40 to 50 percent due to rapid population growth and commercial use. The main sectors that are heavily dependent on water, such as India's agriculture and power generation, will also affect the quality of water available, both for other productive sectors and for public use. The demand for, availability, and varying use of water all have an impact on India's water resource management and its relations with neighboring countries.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, Industrial Policy, and Water
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and Southeast Asia

42. India, Thailand and the Burma Connection

Author:
Sasiwan Chingchit
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Burma's ongoing democratic and economic transition has created an unprecedented opportunity for India and Thailand to cooperate and strengthen economic links between South and Southeast Asia. It was therefore no coincidence that the Indian government invited Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister, to be the chief guest at the country's annual Republic Day parade on January 26. Even more symbolic was that the Thai premier's visit to New Delhi overlapped with that of Burma's foreign minister, Mr. Wanna Maung Lwin, who came to discuss progress on economic and security relations and extended an invitation to India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit his country.
Topic:
Democratization, Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, New Delhi, Burma, Thailand, and Southeast Asia

43. Bridging the Gap? The New Philanthropy in India

Author:
Karl F. Inderfurth and Persis Khambatta
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Standard Poor's recently cut its outlook on India's investment rating from stable to negative. The decision was met with shock from India's Ministry of Finance, but it echoed a sentiment currently running through policy discussions about India—that investors and policymakers in and outside of India are looking at the central government with disbelief and disappointment over the stalling of further economic reforms.
Topic:
Security, Development, Economics, Poverty, and Food
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

44. Renewable Resource Shocks and Conflict in India's Maoist Belt

Author:
Devesh Kapur, Kishore Gawande, and Shanker Satyanath
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
Is there a causal relationship between shocks to renewable natural resources, such as agricultural and forest lands, and the intensity of conflict? In this paper, we conduct a rigorous econometric analysis of a civil conflict that the Indian Prime Minister has called the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by his country, the so-called Maoist conflict. We focus on over-time within-district variation in the intensity of conflict in the states where this conflict is primarily located. Using a novel data set of killings, we find that adverse renewable resource shocks have a robust, significant association with the intensity of conflict. A one standard deviation decrease in our measure of renewable resources increases killings by 12.5 percent contemporaneously, 9.7 percent after a year, and 42.2 percent after two years. Our instrumental variables strategy allows us to interpret these findings in a causal manner.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Economics, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

45. Indian Media's Dickensian Age

Author:
T. N. Ninan
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for the Advanced Study of India
Abstract:
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I must confess that the title for this lecture was thought up on the spur of the moment. Still, you might wonder which characters in Dickens' novels we can see in the Indian media. I can readily say that many journalists see latter-day versions of Uncle Scrooge; publishers who want to run their empires on shoestring budgets. Publishers, in turn, will say we have our Oliver Twist journalists, who keep asking their employers for more-even when salaries are doubling every four or five years. We have reporters who are Artful Dodgers, especially when it comes to deadlines. We have bankrupt TV moguls who, like Micawber, are forever hoping that something will turn up. And of course, many readers are like Pip, they had great expectations about the media but feel robbed and are disappointed. But when I fixed on the title, of a Dickensian Age for the Indian media, I had none of this in mind. My thought was the more predictable one, that this is a tale not of two cities but two narratives, competing narratives.
Topic:
Economics, Communications, and Mass Media
Political Geography:
South Asia

46. Inward FDI in Pakistan and its policy context

Author:
Khalil Hamdani
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Pakistan's large domestic market and policy environment are generally attractive to foreign direct investment, but terrorist violence and natural disasters are keeping investors at bay. Pakistan was the tenth largest recipient of inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) in Asia in 2006-2008. Pakistan has also been successful in attracting investment from other developing countries. There are successful joint ventures with parastatals. The policy regime is investorfriendly, and doing business in Pakistan is easier than in any of its neighboring countries. These advantages notwithstanding, inward FDI flows shrank by 60% in 2009-2010, a reflection of global trends and internal difficulties. Governance and terrorism are overriding preoccupations. Retaining the confidence of both foreign and domestic investors is vital. Determined efforts are needed to realize the country's considerable market potential.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Pakistan, South Asia, and Asia

47. The Future of Pakistan

Author:
Stephanie Flamenbaum, Megan Neville, and Constantino Xavier
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Growing economic and political instability, rising support for extremism and increasing tensions in Pakistan's relationship with the United States currently threaten the country's prospects for a stable future.
Topic:
Political Violence and Economics
Political Geography:
Pakistan, United States, and South Asia

48. Emerging challengers in knowledge-based industries? The case of Indian pharmaceutical multinationals

Author:
Gert Bruche
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
The growth of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) from developing countries and of a new generation of “emerging multinational enterprises” (EMNEs) has stimulated a flurry of publications. EMNEs have been portrayed as on their way to adulthood, latecomers that leapfrog into advanced positions, emerging giants, and challengers of conventional multinational enterprises (MNEs) from advanced economies.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

49. Ready or Not: Pakistan's resilience to disasters one year on from the floods

Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The floods that hit Pakistan in 2010 were the worst in the country's history. The humanitarian response achieved remarkable successes in minimising the immediate loss of life and providing relief to millions of people. However, it could have been better: more than 800,000 families remain without permanent shelter and more than a million people remain in need of food assistance. These unmet needs must be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Topic:
Economics, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Pakistan and South Asia

50. Putting the "Kerala Model" to Rest: Lessons for a New Era of Development in India

Author:
Apoorva Shah
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
In a country where two out of five citizens, about 450 million people, live in poverty, it is no exaggeration to say that the development experience of Kerala – a coastal state on the southwestern tip of India – stands out as extraordinary. Despite a history of anemic economic growth, this state of 32 million boasts effectively universal literacy rates and life expectancy levels close to many Western societies. Because of this, the “Kerala model” has been hailed by NGOs, development experts, and Western academics as an alternative path for human development in which a robust welfare system rather than economic growth drives social progress.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, and Poverty
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and Kerala