Articles by Anand G Chandavarkar

THIS biography of Kaldor (1908-86), in the series entitled Grand Masters in Economics (General Editor: Mark Blaug), is very appropriately written by an author (Professor of Applied Economics, University of Kent at Canterbury) who knew the late Lord Kaldor intimately and can claim complete familiarity with Kaldor's professional contributions having himself extended and refined them. It is a comprehensive work which includes an informative chronology, charming illustrations and a bibliography of Kaldor's writings, but it is not "a full personal biography on the lines of Harrod's or Skidelsky's life of Keynes; nor is it an intellectual biography in the sense of providing a new interpretation or critique of Kaldor." Rather it is "a straightforward attempt to elucidate the work of a man who was one of the most interesting, inspiring and influential economists of the twentieth century". It is a happy blend of "discussion of quite complex theoretical issues with biographical detail". The author's empathy has in no way inhibited an objective assessment of Kaldor's prolific contributions to theoretical and applied economics, his varied roles as an economic and tax advisor (Hungary, Britain, India, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Ghana, Guyana, Tbrkey, Iran, Venezuela) and international civil servant and consultant (mostly to the UN and related agencies).

An Economist's Odyssey Anand G Chandavarkar A Course Through Life: Memoirs of an Australian Economist by H W Arndt; The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, 1985. (History of Development Studies I). No price stated.

Anand G Chandavarkar Keynes is widely regarded as essentially a monetary economist (Hicks) who was not concerned with either growth or the underdeveloped countries (Patinkin). But while Keynes was not directly concerned with economic development, he was the first to present the developmental rationale of a Central bank. Development economics also derives intellectual support from the applicability of his (testable) concepts, such as the fringe of unsatisfied borrowers, liquidity preference, and the multiplier Nevertheless, the author concludes, the most influential paradigms of development economics, such as the centre-periphery dichotomy, cumulative causation, backwash and spread effects, big push, takeoff, balanced growth, human capital, choice of techniques, and unlimited labour, owe little directly to Keynes or Keynesian economics.

The Financial Maturation of India A Statistical Overview Anand G Chandavarkar The Financial Development of India, 1860-77 by Raymond W Goldsmith; Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1983: pp 240, price not mentioned.

Anand G Chandavarkar Monetary Planning for India by Suraj B Oupta; Oxford University Press, Bombay, 1979; pp xi + 240, Rs 75.
THIS book is a highly professional analysis of the objectives, mechanics, and rationale of monetary planning in the Indian context, which is addressed to policymakers as well as teachers, researchers and students of monetary economics. The main text, albeit without sacrifice of analytic rigour, is relatively free of the more technical aspects which have been thoughtfully collected into seven appendices, including a particularly useful concluding appendix 6n the data and sources of all the variables used in the empirical analysis. The book's organisation thus lends itself to selective use by different classes of readers.