Wealth tax and estate duty; Paths to a political business cycle; "The art and science of economic policy" on Coursera; Episodes 41-44 of Everything is Everything

Wealth tax and estate duty

Some bad ideas in public policy re-emerge every decade or so. So it is with the fresh discussions around taxation of wealth and inheritance in India. My column in the Business Standard of 28 April draws on institutional memory and the old wisdom of public finance to add value on the contemporary discussion.

Paths to a political business cycle

In advanced economies, there have been concerns about election cycles in fiscal and monetary policy. In my column in the Business Standard of 14 April, I argue that those phenomena are unlikely to be important in India. But there are some interesting channels through which the elections impinge upon business cycle conditions.

The art and science of economic policy, on Coursera

Aromar Revi, Vijay Kelkar and I built a course, The Art and Science of Economic Policy. This was based on the book In service of the republic: The art and science of economic policy. This is a part of the `Digital blended learning’ initiative at IIHS. The course now has 6064 `learners’, 3557 `active learners’ and 1729 completers.

Eps 41-44 of Everything is Everything

Ep 41, Four papers that changed the world, 5 April.

Ep 42, The populist playbook, 12 April.

Ep 43, Six stories that should be films, 19 April.

Ep 44, Maps are magic, 26 April.