Economy

The cost of a schoolbook

In East Nusa Tenggara Indonesia, a 10-year-old boy’s suicide exposes the limits of income-based poverty metrics. Multidimensional data show that deprivation in Indonesia often clusters long before a family is officially classified as poor.
Feb 23

India–EU trade is set to grow. Its environmental costs may grow faster

The India–EU Free Trade Agreement is expected to expand exports and employment. But many of the sectors set to benefit are also among India’s most polluting, raising doubts about whether environmental oversight can keep pace.
Feb 16

India’s climate diplomacy must account for domestic inequalities

Economic liberalization in India has shifted the emissions burden from more equal and developed states to less equal ones. This needs to change.
Dec 24

A rivalry too entangled to decouple

Unlike the Cold War standoff with the erstwhile Soviet Union, today’s US-China competition is constrained by shared production networks, mutual dependence, and the high costs of economic separation.
Dec 18

Why we still don’t know who the rich are in India

India has detailed systems for measuring poverty. But when it comes to wealth, the data goes dark. Understanding who the rich are is essential to building fairer taxation, climate policy, and social programs.
Dec 11

The global economy in flux – Tariffs and turbulence  

Global growth is weakening as rising trade barriers and an increasingly uncertain global policy environment continue to weigh on economies worldwide
Nov 27

India’s tryst with strategic experimentation

For India, from universal suffrage to space research, progress has often begun as a gamble. In the new age of tariffs and tech rivalry, research suggests that the appetite for experimentation could be its key strategic asset.
Nov 06
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