Progressive fiscal policy in India / edited by Praveen Jha.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Papers presented at a conference on Towards progressive fiscal policy, held at New Delhi in December 2008.

Part 1 : Overall Macroeconomic Policy Regime and its Linkages with Fiscal Policy Finance Capital, Fiscal Deficits and The Current Global Crisis Prabhat Patnaik Liberalization as a Constraint on Fiscal Policy: Some Lessons from the Indian Experience C P Chandrasekhar Inclusive Growth in Neoliberal India - A Mirage? Nirmal Kumar Chandra Growing Inequality: A Serious Challenge to the Indian Society and Polity S L Shetty Assessing Tax Policy and Tax Compliance in the Reform Era Saumen Chattopadhyay Part 2 : Pressing Concerns Relating to Fiscal Federalsm in India Challenges to Fiscal Policy in India in the Era of Reforms T M Thomas Isaac and R Ramakumar Fiscal Devolution in the Era of Liberalisation: The Indian Experience Jayati Ghosh Thirteenth Finance Commission: Core Issues and New Challenges D K Srivastava Horizontal Imbalances in Indian Federalism Tapas K Sen Regaining the Constitutional Identity of the Finance Commission: A Daunting Task for the Thirteenth Commission K K George and K K Krishnakumar Towards a Rational and Progressive Fiscal Policy: What Role for Local Governments? M A Oommen Part 3 : Public Policies and Institutions Towards Addressing the Develipment Deficits Unbalanced Growth, Tertiarization of the Indian Economy and Implications for Mass Living Standards Utsa Patnaik From Outlays to Outcomes: Some Missing Links N C Saxena Social Sector Expenditures: An Analysis for All India and States, 202007-81-1980-08 Mahendra Dev and N Sreedevi Centrally Sponsored Schemes: Are They the Solution or the Problem? Praveen Jha, Subrat Das and Nilachala Acharya Improving India's Health: The Significance of Public Financing Mita Choudhury and A K Shiva Kumar Financing the Right to Education Santosh Mehrotra

Progressive Fiscal Policy in India locates the prevailing fiscal policy in the overall macroeconomic policy regime of the nation. It presents a rigorous critique of the predominance of fiscal conservatism and neoliberal fiscal orthodoxy over the last two decades. The book develops a strong case for bringing forth progressive change in the country's fiscal policy and explores the role of public policies and institutions in addressing the development deficits confronting the country. Authored by top economists and policymakers of India, the contributions in this book address issues of equity in our fiscal and macroeconomic policies, which rarely figure, in any meaningful sense, in the mainstream fiscal policy deliberations. The book puts forth persuasive and cogent arguments for the pursuance of an active fiscal policy promoting growth as well as greater equity in distribution, which in turn may lead to accelerated rate of poverty reduction and a desired pace of human development.