Editorial

Citation

Das, S.P. and Ghate, C. (2008), "Editorial", Indian Growth and Development Review, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 5-6. https://doi.org/10.1108/igdr.2008.35001aaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Indian Growth and Development Review, Volume 1, Issue 1.

While there are several economics journals coming out of developing countries, virtually none have a solid standing at the international level. It is ironic that no first-rate field journal in the area of development and growth originates from a developing country! Further, serious researchers working on specific developing countries, e.g. India and China, often encounter a limited professional audience and obtain little credit in the profession for their work. This tends to discourage high-quality work on these and other developing countries. The Indian Growth and Development Review (IGDR) aims at filling this void and providing an impetus for researchers, especially young scholars, to specialize in the field of growth and development. The IGDR aspires to become a leading specialized journal in the profession at large.

Each issue of the IGDR will have two major sections. The first is a purely research-based academic section, constituting the main body. This is not specific to India it is meant to accommodate general theoretical articles as well as empirical work in the area of growth and development.

The leading article in the inaugural issue of the IGDR is "The polluted ecosystem game" by William A. Brock and W.D. Dechert. This paper addresses the optimal management of ecosystems such as a lake with multiple users. It is a theoretical piece that uses frontier methods and concepts in dynamic analysis and game theory. By its inclusion, it is conveyed that the journal is keen on considering high-quality abstract theoretical articles as long as they are relevant to the issue of development and growth. The second article is "Economic influences on child migration decisions: evidence from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh" by Eric V. Edmonds and Philip Salinger. It is an empirical paper showing that in the context of two provinces in India, child migration decisions respond to differences in child wages. Thus, there is a link between child migration and child labor. The next two articles belong to the category of "applied-theory". While they are theoretical, they generate testable implications with regard to economic phenomena we observe, and have policy implications. The paper, "The composition of productive government expenditure: consequences for economic growth and welfare", by Goncalo Moneiro and Stephen Turnovsky, studies the relative impact of government spending on infrastructure and government spending on human capital and the tradeoffs that they entail, both in the long run and over time. Sahana Roy Chowdhury's "Migration in a model of occupational choice" provides a theoretical explanation for an observed pattern, namely that migration of unskilled (skilled) labor tends to occur from developing economies that are relatively unequal (equal). Combined together, these articles are indicative of the diversity of issues, and the type and rigour of theoretical and empirical analysis, which the journal wishes to maintain.

The second section is a policy-debate section, titled, "Policy Focus", dealing with policy issues on India and South Asia. Very often, policy making in this region is distant from academic research. As a result, it tends to be ad hoc and driven by debates that are historical, descriptive, and imprecise. This process lacks a much needed analytical or quantitative support. To bridge this gap, the editors will designate topics of policy interest and invite/solicit economists from academia as well as those working with government, business and research organizations to write critical, quantitative pieces. These contributions will draw, alongside other sources, on the existing research on the theoretical foundations of economic policy in India. An important mission of the journal is to bring together academics and policy makers so that both benefit from each other's inputs in a meaningful and constructive way.

The policy focus article in this issue of the IGDR is "A robust normative evaluation of India's performance in allocating risks of death" by Nicolas Gravel, Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay, and Benoît Tarroux. It provides a robust normative evaluation of the recent evolution of exposures to health-related risks to Indians. The paper makes an important methodological contribution as it illustrates the usefulness of dominance methodology to evaluate the outcome of various policies. It is the first of its kind in the Indian context. By including this piece, the journal conveys that it will feature both policy pieces that build new methodological foundations for policy evaluation, as well as more descriptive pieces on specific policy issues.

Some issues of the IGDR will carry a section called "Education Briefing" which will publish teaching material at post-graduate and undergraduate levels in economics and business. This feature is based on the journal's philosophy that research and teaching are complementary to, not substitutes of, each other. In the current issue, there are three teaching pieces by Dipankar Dasgputa, Chetan Ghate, and Satya Das.

The journal will also publish other miscellany such as book reviews, or interviews with renowned economists and policy makers.

The journal's uniqueness thus lies in integrating fundamental research, policy debates, and teaching of economics and business. It aims at serving the interests of colleagues in universities, colleges, business, governmental, and other institutions as well as students. The editors commit to a fast turn around, excellence in research, and will strive to provide authors with useful referee reports.

Satya P. Das and Chetan Ghate

About the EditorsSatya P. Das and Chetan Ghate of the Indian Statistical Institute Delhi Centre are the editors of IGDR. Satya Das has written two textbooks in microeconomics and a research monograph on macroeconomics. He has authored more than 50 articles appearing in various international journals in economics. His main research interests are development, growth, international economics, macroeconomics, and the economics of terrorism. Chetan Ghate has also published several articles in international journals in economics. His main research interests lie in macroeconomics and political economy.