Populism
Must inform voters about financial implications of freebies: Ashima Goyal
Freebies are never 'free' and when political parties offer such schemes, they must be required to make the financing and trade-offs clear to voters, RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Member Ashima Goyal said on Sunday, adding this would reduce the temptation towards "competitive populism". Goyal further said a cost is imposed somewhere when governments provide freebies, but this is worth incurring for public goods and services that build capacity. "Freebies are never free... specially harmful are subsidies that distort prices," she told PTI in an interview. Noting that this hurts production and resource allocation and imposes large indirect costs, such as the water table falling in Punjab due to free electricity, Goyal said such freebies come at the cost of low quality health, education, air and water that hurt poor the most. "When parties offer schemes they must be required to make the financing and such trade-offs clear to voters. This would reduce the temptation towards ...
 "Must inform voters about financial implications of freebies: Ashima Goyal")
In celebrated bastions of democracy, an unlikely club of 'dissimilar' leaders
T N Ninan reads from another commentator's notes on one prime minister and observes how eerily similar they sound to the description of some others
Why the poor are leaning right
How support for left and right-leaning parties is changing in social composition
 "Why the poor are leaning right")
How the republic falls
If you want to understand today's politics, read novels about the fall of Rome. Populism is democracy's oldest and most enduring disease
The ideology of social scientists: A complex balance
The conflict between liberty and equality is often central to ideological differences among social scientists
Does Trump's defeat in US elections signal the start of populism's decline?
Populist leaders may have lost their most prominent champion, but their economic, social and political grievances remain potent
 "Does Trump's defeat in US elections signal the start of populism's decline?")
The many faces of populism
Book review of I Am the People
 "The many faces of populism")
India likely to see rise in populism; trend poses risk to economy: JPMorgan
Populism is linked with weaker economic growth in the long-term, which could weigh on India's rich equity valuations, says bank.
 "India likely to see rise in populism; trend poses risk to economy: JPMorgan")
Ahead of UP budget, Adityanath govt looks to balance populism, development
The economic slowdown has taken a toll on the state's industrial growth and consequently the collection of taxes, which is further putting a strain on its finances
 "Ahead of UP budget, Adityanath govt looks to balance populism, development")
Power populism
States should resist the temptation to hand out free electricity
 "Power populism")
How Kejriwal's AAP and Modi's BJP are strikingly similar, and yet different
The two offer the same package - personality cult, populist schemes, inflated claims, etc - but the hard edge to BJP's communalism is missing in AAP, a difference we should celebrate, writes T N Ninan
Letter to BS: Why welfare policies in developed nations are not populist
Examples of populist measures are sometimes controversial such as exemptions from indirect tax given to ladies' hand bags and bindis and to imports of professional equipment by journalists
Populism in less developed countries is somewhat different
Our understanding and response to the populist challenges need to be suitably differentiated, a fact which seems to be overlooked in the large and growing flurry of writings on populism
 "Populism in less developed countries is somewhat different")
Daniel Gros: Is globalisation really fuelling populism?
A close look at statistics belies the argument that the losers of globalisation are revolting against the elites
