Article from NY Times
More than the article what particularly interests me are Krugman's opening lines of how an academician's proposal on health care is now the center of national debate in the USA.His lines
"The idea of letting individuals buy insurance from a government-run plan was introduced in 2007 by Jacob Hacker of Yale, was picked up by John Edwards during the Democratic primary, and became part of the original Obama health care plan."
Its fascinating to see the power of the academics influencing reform. India clearly lacks a strong foundation in generating academics and their influence on growth and reform. I don't have any doubt in our country's intellectual strength, but have big doubts in educational institutions that can develop and maintain that talent. Many people have tried, but sadly the focus always shifts to science and math but never on policy and other matters that concern the country's development and future sustainability.
In a country that has a history of great thinkers (Chanakya to name a person), we have moved away in every form of research and heavily depend on the West and import ideas in the area of administrative reform and ultimately end up with archaic reform practices that are developed for population segments in different class and needs.
The solution to the problem is a near term fix of our educational system. Reduce the mass production of engineers and make universities and research more lucrative than moving towards educational systems that generate labour for sweat shops (yes, I refer to our plethora of engineering colleges in every nook and corner).
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2 comments:
I disagree!! A lot is being done on policy in India and many smart people choose to go into policy rather than the usual fields like engg and med. One example is of my sister. She was a merit holder in both 10th, 12th and her graduate studies. Could have easily taken engg or med but instead choose to go into civil service.
Her husband has the same background. Many of her peers are the same. Its just that we are not aware of it, partly because we dont know many people from those areas personally.
Have you read 'Imaganing India'? Reading that will probably change your opinion a bit.
Again, what is their influence and how independent is their research. Civil services will always be biased with the elected government's mandate. If I can produce research that is not necessarily influenced by the government but by a forward thinking approach of what may be possible.
But, I will read about Imagining India and maybe come back here and comment again :)
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