How to Do Development| Episode 57 | Everything is Everything

It is the moral imperative of every poor country to lift all its people out of poverty. And yet India, like so many other poor countries, has failed to do this. Development Economics carries much of the blame for this. Wrong beliefs and dangerous fashions within this field have mostly failed to help -- and sometimes caused much harm.

Welcome to Episode 57 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

If you like watching Everything is Everything, please like, subscribe, share, comment. :)

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
00:00 Packaging
00:13 Introduction: The Greatest Hair Light!
00:48 Chapter 1: Developmental Economics: This Shit Matters!
05:42 Chapter 2: Where We Stand
12:54 Chapter 3: The Growth Model is Inadequate
19:35 Chapter 4: Failure is the Norm
27:53 Chapter 5: Why Have We Failed?
32:29 Chapter 6: The Key to Success
41:31 Chapter 7: What Does the Data Say?
47:42 Chapter 8: The Three Pillars of Development
51:49 Chapter 9: The Role of Society
56:49 Chapter 10: Leave Them Firms Alone
1:02:33 Chapter 11: What Should We Study?
1:04:06 Chapter 12: The Role of the State
1:10:46 Chapter 13: Some Wrong Theories
1:17:41 Chapter 14: The Big State Delusion
1:25:33 Chapter 15: The Distortion of Development Economics
1:36:03 Chapter 16: Recommendations

USEFUL RESOURCES:

Produced by Amit Varma

[amyak]

Almost a crime to watch this for free and not share this.
This one brings a lot of episodes together, feels very short.
Thank you for allowing us to eavesdrop.

[FahadHasin]

Some friendly pushback, looking to be educated:

1. The episode begins with a straightforward definition of development: income (per capita GDP). While many things are important for individuals to lead a good life, but only a reasonable income can enable that. Top 15 economies (PPP, current international $) are: Luxembourg, Singapore, Ireland, Qatar, Macao SAR (China), Bermuda, Norway, Switzerland, Brunei Darussalam, Cayman Islands, United Arab Emirates, United States, Netherlands, Icebland, and Denmark. Many of these — such as Singapore, Qatar, Macao SAR, Brunel Darussalam, and UAE — are not particularly free countries.

2. South Korea became a democracy in 1998 after joining the OECD in 1996. So, it seems that much of its transformation from a poor to a rich country happened during a period of less freedom. Similarly, Singapore has a fair degree of curtailment of freedom.

3. I was, therefore, confused when Ajay argued that all advanced economies are liberal democracies and made the case that freedom is an important ingredient for development. Amit clarified that "an advanced economy is not just about people earning more money; it's also about freedom percolating down to society." But this is a change from the initial definition of development the episode adopted i.e. GDP per capita (towards the end, we again return to the initial definition). Defining advanced economy as one that has freedom and aspects of liberal democracy and then claiming that freedom is a key ingredient for becoming an advanced economy seems tautological. The dependent and independent variables are the same.

4. I deeply value freedom and share the normative values mentioned here. However, that is a separate point from an analytical explanation of what causes growth. I would have liked the episode to stick to the straightforward definition it started with and then give an explanation for all high-income countries, rather than excluding countries that do not fit our normative values.

5. Finally, Ajay argues that growth in spurts is not impressive; what we need is sustained growth: "What’s miraculous about the US and UK is that they were able to sustain 3% growth for 200 years... We have not found the amazing economic development story where they did not get 6% or 7% growth, but they got 200 years of 3%. So they just hammered year after year.” In 1960, India's GDP (current US $) was about USD 37 billion, which grew to USD 3.5 trillion in 2023. That's a CAGR of about 7.5%. Based on this, can we say India is on the right path? Even in the post-2011 period, which Ajay dubbed as a period when we lost economic dynamism, the CAGR is 5.73%. That is above the higher end of the benchmark of 5% growth despite the COVID-19 shock. This seems to me too low a benchmark.

[Gunther]

I was going to the barber to get a haircut, but now I'll go after watching this video, lol.

Peak quality content with consistency not to mention that amazing background (which keeps getting better).

[bookedbin]

Everything in 'Everything is Everything' is top-notch.... 😍

[kazimustaqeem]

On Friday I pray to God, take rest and listen to philosopher Amit verma and economist Ajay shah😅

[vikasshetty]

This brilliant episode deserves atleast a million views . Sad that such a great podcast does not get the views it deserves .

[swamidkbose]

the series was introduced to me by my friend manish mishra at the time when i had started developing these notions myself. great acceleration to my understanding. thanks

[Niirbhay]

Nice discussion.

I would like to listen more on bureaucracy.

Permanent, archaic bureaucracy lies at the core of public policy in India.

Unless reforms in bureaucracy take place, nothing is going to change.

All these insights are known to bureaucracy but they are not willing to change because this current structure helps their own interests.

The real question is how to & who will bell this cat?

I would like one episode on bureaucracy in India with its comparison with developed world bureaucracy.

[logical.Indian]

Hello Amit,

I just listened to your recent podcast where you mentioned that an increased divorce rate signifies women's empowerment. I completely agree with you and have always held this perspective. I read your article on this topic and I'm happy to see that I'm not alone in holding this belief. Really enjoy your work, keep it up!

[blahblahblah]

It's mind-blowing how India doesn't have a single recognizable global brand. It shows you the state of the State.

[samadhanshendge]

Its a treat to listen episodes on this channel.
Amitji is doing great service through both of his channels. Hats off !!

[khushilshah]

This episode is on the ‘most’ used word in the budget speech by our FM.

[AbhishekSingh-ipxe]

Would love an episode each on healthcare and taxation in India.

[the__man]

casually dropping awesomest video, with great knowledge to bank on, with the bestest "green screen".
content that India needs.

[seemasrivastava]

Loved this!
Wish there was a course on Development Economics by Ajai.

Thanks for choosing this topic.

[waqarhussain]

At 1:04:46, beautiful frame: 
The serene and picturesque scene where four young and not-so-young individuals sit together on what seems like the edge of a cliff, gazing out over a vast valley bathed in the soft hues of a dying sun. Majestic mountains stand on the horizon, their peaks silhouetted against the warm, fading light.

[jollyabraham]

This episode has got me thinking. Thank you.

2 episode requests:

1. A defn of development that goes beyond per capita GDP - What metrics improved in India between 1991 and 2011, and have lagged since then?

2. How does rule of law develop?

[inventorpranjal]

Just ordered Ajay's book. Here we go, flirting with libertarianism.
Edit: wrote Amit instead of Ajay

[ngxrjuz]

Man, WHAT AN EPISODE! A lot of what you guys say has for long been my fundamental philosophy in life, especially on building genuine competence. I really want to reach the level of your thinking

P.S: Ajay sir, could you please respond to my comment on the physical infrastructure episode, I would love to know what you think of my arguments, because thats one episode I had a fundamental disagreement with.

[awenindo]

Man, these guys are living the high life.