Columbia professor excels in "India: The Emerging Giant"
Professor Arvind Panagriya, who holds the Bhagwati Chair at Columbia University, is one of the most astute observers of the Indian scene. Besides being a stellar economist, he's a writer and speaker of great felicity. I strongly recommend his new book, "India: The Emerging Giant," published this month by Oxford University Press. Professor Panagriya offers a solid study of how India is being transformed from a giant country handicapped by long years of socialist policies to one of the world's most dynamic economies. At the same time, he's unsentimental about the challenges -- the need to dramatically alleviate poverty, to create more jobs in manufacturing, and to re-energize the agricultural sector. This is a book both for scholars and everyday readers, and is marvelously organized.