Comments on: Sir, won’t you buy this bridge and the Employment Guarantee Act?

By: Atanu Dey on India’s Development » The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 15:14:16 +0000

[...] he same as increasing production. [Also see the importance of producing stuff and “Sir, won’t you buy this employment guarantee a [...]

By: Atanu Dey on India’s Development » The Poor as a Fertile Source of Slave Labor

Mon, 29 Aug 2005 05:16:37 +0000

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By: Atanu Dey on India’s Development » The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

Mon, 29 Aug 2005 04:57:05 +0000

[...] the same as increasing production. [Also see the importance of producing stuff and “Sir, won’t you buy this employment gua [...]

By: Suhit Anantula

Suhit Anantula — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Atanu:

First, great examples. It really helps you think better.

I wrote about the EGA sometime back. I have looked at it from a different angle though.

http://www.worldisgreen.com/2004/10/21/right-to-work/

I was reading Frederic Bastiat, That Which is Seen, and That Which is Not Seen.

He makes a wonderful point,

*Between a good and a bad economist this constitutes the whole difference – the one takes account of the visible effect; the other takes account both of the effects which are seen, and also of those which it is necessary to foresee.*

And this gem on public works encourages labour,

*As a permanent, general, systematic measure, it is nothing else than a ruinous mystification, an impossibility, which shows a little excited labour which is seen, and bides a great deal of prevented labour which is not seen.*

When will the fools learn?

Suhit.

By: Dr Malpani

Dr Malpani — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

One question comes to mind.
Why do so many people get these basics wrong again and again ? Aren’t they economists too ?
Or is it that they can’t see beyond their idealised solution ?

By: Abi

Abi — Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

While the examples you used were good stories that would evoke a few wry smiles, I am not at all sure that they “prove” that EGA will not achieve its objectives.

This post was written more than two months ago, and it looks like you have been meaning to write a longer piece on it; you concluded it with: “As they say on TV, stay tuned. Details at 11″. Perhaps other things/events have intervened to take your attention away from this issue. But, I just want to let you know that I would really, really like to see a substantively reasoned argument against EGA.