Originally written for The Arthniti Essay Writing Competition. Prompt: Altruistic Capitalism or State Financing – The Way to Finance Sustainable Development Goals. The provision of binary options suggests that our choices are limited to the two, which is a misconception. This article attempts to address the limitations of the given options and suggest alternate solutions…
Category: Ecognisance
Expansionism : India, China and the Asian Century
Europe is yesterday’s hegemony, America is today’s and Asia will be the future’s. It’s a notion that eludes pride and buoyancy, but to what extent? The idea of ‘expansionism’ ran through the bloodstream of all our forefathers, but with the turn of each century, each country let go of this idea, except China, who still…
FASTag & The Future of Fare Collection
FASTag, based on Radio Frequency Identification technology to facilitate e-tolling, was made mandatory from February 16, 2021. First gaining prominence in December 2016, it is an easy tool of digitizing toll collections by means of automatic deduction of charges. However, the recent policy of making FASTag binding for vehicles has a far-reaching impact on India’s…
The Economics of Gift Cards
Have you wondered what is common among single-use appliances, cookbooks, and gift cards? Yes, they often go unutilised. They probably gather dust and take some place in your closet. Gift cards, both open-loop and closed-loop, are a convenient and suitable substitute for making payments. They act as a medium of exchange and store of value….
Good Economics and Good Incentives: A Symbiotic Relationship
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane. Well, memory lane is about 50,000 years ago, but in the grand scheme of things, a relatively recent occurrence. There once lived a ‘man’ (in modern day Iraq), who for our convenience was known as Shanidar-1, and he led a life full of physical deformities and ailments. Yet…
The ‘HOW’ Factor : Why Experiences Trump Everything Else
“Ease of use may be invisible but its absence sure isn’t” – IBM If you have ever lost anything (who has not?), you know what follows next. The pain of losing stuff is undeniable. Unfortunately, what can add salt to the injury is the unpleasant task of filing for a claim. (I, for one, can…
An Interplanetary Keynesian Economy
*The year is 2025 & the world has woken up to another one of Elon Musk’s tweets that read as follow*- @elonmusk ‘Gazing away for better, see you on the other end.’ While most readers interpret it as a passing gimmick, a group of twitteratis’ battle over the veracity of claims. The media is caught…
Dumping and its Menace: How China evades Illegality?
Imagine the emergence of a new foreign firm selling its products at a comparatively lower price than the domestic market. Such a situation is a hazard to the native markets as it imposes a threat to local business with pressing competition. This scenario is noticeable in developing and less developed countries, as the market is…
To (not) kill 2 birds with one stone!
“If you really think the economy is more important than the environment, try holding your breath whilst you count your money.” – Dr. Guy McPherson The combat between the economy and the environment is age-old. While the pro-economy and the pro-environment populace stand their ground, what do liberals like me, who equally care about the two,…
Economics Declassified 