Articles by Dilip Mookherjee

This paper reports results of a household survey in 12 Singur villages, six in which lands were acquired for the Tata car factory, and six neighbouring villages, with random sampling of households within each village. The results show that (a) the size of plots acquired were non-negligible; (b) the majority of those affected were marginal landowners engaged in cultivation; (c) the government's compensation offers were approximately equal to the reported market values of acquired plots on average, but the inability of the official land records to distinguish between plots of heterogeneous quality meant that a substantial fraction of farmers were under-compensated relative to market values; (d) those under-compensated were significantly more likely to refuse the compensation offers, as were those whose livelihoods were more dependent on agriculture; (e) incomes and durable consumption of affected owners and tenants grew slower between 2005 and 2010 compared with unaffected owners and tenants; (f) earnings of affected workers fell faster than unaffected workers. Therefore, land acquisition resulted in substantial economic hardship for large sections of the rural population, for many of whom compensation offered was inadequate.

Is There Too Little Theory in Development Economics Today?
DILIP MOOKHERJEE Development economics is increasingly becoming an empirical discipline today. Where theory reigned during the 1980s and early 1990s, in the last 10 years or so the primary research concerns have become increasingly driven by empirical and policy issues. In this essay I wish to reflect on the balance between theory and the rest in the discipline, thinking aloud about the question of whether the pendulum has shifted away a bit too far, and whether there is need for some reorientation of the dominant research agenda or methodology.

Arindam Das-Gupta Dilip Mookherjee Barring adverse harvests or oil price movements, the 1993-94 budget is likely to increase the industrial growth rate, without significantly increasing inflation. The balance of payments situation may, however, deteriorate, resulting in downward pressure on the rupee, necessitating intervention by the RBI to stabilise the exchange rate The resource mobilisation assumptions underlying the budget projections for 1993-94 appear to be slightly optimistic. Never- the less, the likely increases in customs and excise revenues and direct tax receipts should cover the effects of the duty concessions. There is some uncertainty, however, about the ability of public enterprises to raise enough resources through market borrowings to implement plan outlays. In terms of the aim of longer term structural adjustment, the fiscal policy of the government appears to be successful in reducing government borrowing, but unsuccessful in stepping up investments, particularly in infrastructure. Detailed aspects of tax policy are appraised and some suggestions for administrative initiatives and for insurance market reform are offered.