Shruti Rajagopalan Profile picture
Sep 16, 2020 7 tweets 4 min read Read on X
Students routinely email me asking me what they should read in public choice/constitutional political economy. I am going to post some of the classic papers in the field once or twice a week. Follow this thread. #publicchoicecanon
The first is a classic #virginiapoliticaleconomy paper: An Economic Theory of Clubs by James Buchanan. I've been thinking a lot about this paper recently and it's a critical step bridging the gap between pure private & pure public goods. #publicchoicecanon darp.lse.ac.uk/papersDB/Bucha… Image
This is another classic #virginiapoliticaleconomy paper: The Pure Theory of Government Finance by James Buchanan (1949). One of the first papers outlining Buchanan's 'politics as exchange' - while critiquing the state as organism theory. #publicchoicecanon jstor.org/stable/pdf/182… Image
Adding three papers on rent seeking today by Tullock, Krueger, and Bhagwati. Like many great ideas, it is simple and obvious the moment it is explained. Individuals and firms are said to seek rents when they try to obtain benefits for themselves through the political process.
The idea of rent-seeking is introduced by Tullock in this 1967 paper, where he shows that the welfare losses of monopolies, exceed those previously estimated as deadweight losses or the Harberger triangle. walkerd.people.cofc.edu/400/Sobel/2A-3… Image
Anne Krueger (1974), actually dubbed these Tullockian and other welfare losses rent seeking. The label stuck. She emphasised the competitive process in seeking these rents. also developed some of the ideas by Bhagwati and Desai on import restrictions. jstor.org/stable/pdf/180… Image
Jagdish Bhagwati (1982) developed this more in his Directly Unproductive Profit-seeking (DUP) Activities model-activities that yield pecuniary returns but do not increase the availability of goods and services in the economy-in the context of int. trade. jstor.org/stable/pdf/183… Image

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More from @srajagopalan

Dec 31, 2022
Remember the eighties when wrong numbers and crossed connections were so common that misbehaving phones found their way into Indian movies? This trope disappeared at the turn of the century. In this essay, I explain the evolution through 18 movie clips! 🧵
tinyurl.com/4ethprvf
In Mr. India, writers Salim-@Javedakhtarjadu masters of setting up characters, and @shekharkapur introduce Gaitonde and his phone through a series of wrong numbers. 2/n
vimeo.com/user191454509?…
Fixed line phones used wires that got mixed up or damaged over time. Indian telecom infrastructure was so bad it became a convenient trope. In Mr. India, the plot thickens when Seema overhears a conversation between Daga and Wolcott about Hawa Hawaii. 3/n
vimeo.com/user191454509?…
Read 32 tweets
Jul 22, 2022
I've been thinking about a subgenre of Hindi film music from '50-70 that's disappeared. The cabaret/club/dance song where the female singer raised philosophical questions.A departure from the usual cabaret/club/dance songs meant to titilate/objectify/sexualize/pine. 10-Song 🧵 👇
1. Tadbeer Se Bigdi Hui
Taqdeer Banale Taqdeer Banale
Apne Pe Bharosa Hai
Toh Yeh Daav Lagale

From Baazi (1951): composition by SD Burman with lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi.

Geeta Bali on screen to Geeta Dutt's voice.

2. Ai Meri Zindagi,
Aaj Raat Jhum Le

From Taxi Driver (1955): composition by SD Burman with lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi (same as Baazi).

Shiela Ramani on screen to Lata Mangeshkar's voice.

Read 13 tweets
Jul 1, 2022
On 5th #GSTDay, I argue that in trying to make GST more equitable through multiple rates, GST has become more complex and less equitable because of regressive nature of compliance costs.

My paper (forthcoming in Social Philosophy & Policy). shrutiraj.com/wp-content/upl…

Here's why 👇
GST was marketed as a tax system that:
✅ Is easy to comply with as it subsumes multiple taxes into one tax
✅ Will unify the state tax system and convert India into a single free trade zone
✅ Has the potential to reduce corruption and tax evasion 2/n
But getting all states and political parties to agree on this reform meant building consensus on the actual rate/rates. Various experts came up with different rates for a single GST. 3/n
Read 16 tweets
Dec 31, 2021
2021 has been an incredible year for the @IdeasofIndia podcast @mercatus with transcripts @Discourse_Mag. Thanks to all the guests and listeners for their support and generosity. A list of the fantastic scholars and conversations below. 👇
We released 17 regular episodes and 14 short episodes with young scholars in our job market series, all made possible by the amazing team @mercatus. Our production team @Jeff_Holmes @FloerIt and Morgan Hamilton and @Discourse_Mag team David Masci and Christina Behe.
1. 2021 started with a continuation of the job market candidates in the 2020-2021 cycle. With Dr. Vaidehi Tandel @VaidehiTandel, now a lecturer at Henley Business School at University of Reading ,about her research in urban economics. discoursemagazine.com/economics/2021…
Read 34 tweets
Jul 24, 2021
On the 30th anniversary of the budget speech that liberalized India from socialism, I am thrilled to announce The 1991 Project @mercatus.

A year long project to revive the discourse on growth-centered economic ideas to unleash the next stage of reforms.

the1991project.com
My lead essay describing life under socialism in India, the 1991 reforms, why they matter, and the way forward in the quest for economic freedom and growth in India.

the1991project.com/essays/shruti-…
To learn more about what happened in 1991, read our interactive timeline of events explaining how India went from crisis to consensus.

the1991project.com
Read 10 tweets
Apr 23, 2021
Dear American Media, I understand that poverty porn and pandemic porn are very exciting and good for ratings. But there are a lot of issues to cover in re the horror in India, especially topics that can save lives. 1/n
Most urgent: (1) Biden administration's DPA embargo on vaccine ingredients. (2) Or sending 20 million AZ and couple of million J&J vaccine stockpile to India. (3) Or helping supply ventilators to India, which is facing an acute shortage. 2/n
Or understanding how limiting the outbreak in India and vaccinating Indians reduces variants and protects Americans. Or how to look beyond India and increase funding support for COVAX. 3/n
Read 4 tweets

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