Amartya Sen

This is just a few lectures and papers published elsewhere compiled together, but both Sen and Maskin are good writers, so it provides a very useful introduction to Arrow's Impossibility Theorem. I can't imagine why anyone would want such a thing, except for fairly academic reasons. In order to read the proof, it would be helpful to be at least somewhat familiar with how preferences work, so best for students in the second half of their undergraduate degree. Alternatively, if taking the proof as given, it would of use to any student who has completed first year micro. The technical details of the proof are not particularly illuminating - none of the intermediate steps really mean much, so you can skip it.… (mere)

You will be impressed if you look at India's GDP growth rate. But GDP and its growth rate are simplistic measures to understand how a country is faring. India's middle-class is large enough to keep the wheels of the economy chugging along.
Yet, unless everyone participates in economic and social growth, the engine will sputter and die.
In this book, Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen have done an admirable job in analysing India's 'uncertain glory' as they call it.
Our under-investment in public hygiene, public health and education is appalling and alarming.

The authors have managed to walk the tightrope with admirable felicity. They point out the good and the bad. And they do so in a balanced manner, with the proper use of data.

What are their recommendations? I miss this. Barring this omission, the book is excellent. What is sad, is that the book remains relevant even now, years after it was published.… (mere)