Inequality, Poverty and Development in India: Focus on the North Eastern Region

This book reviews the fulfillment of two Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), namely poverty and inequality, in the Indian subcontinent. It examines the complex interplay among development, inequality and poverty in relation to corruption, environmental resource management, agricultural adjustment to climate change and institutional arrangements, with a special focus on the Northeastern region of the country. 

The topics covered offer a blend of theoretical arguments and empirical data with regard to the three main themes of the book, while also providing agricultural and environmental perspectives. The book also provides guidelines for policy initiatives for harnessing the region’s potential in the areas of industry, trade, sustainable use of mineral, forest and other natural resources, nature-based tourism through proper infrastructure development, and resolving land issues to achieve inclusive development.

In addition to introducing some new questions on thedevelopment-ethnic conflict interface, it uses sophisticated tools such as the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition method in consumption expenditure to show the endowment, and return to endowment effects; and techniques like spatial correlation-regression to analyze regional variation, co-integration, vector autoregression, the panel data technique and the adaptation index to climate change, to understand socio-economic complexities and the effect of the concerned variables on entrepreneurship and human development.

The book offers a timely contribution to our understanding of major MDGs and highlights their successes and failures. It also includes analytical frameworks that are key to future policy initiatives. Further, it disseminates approaches and methods that improve livelihoods and standards of living through poverty reduction and promoting inclusive development along with sustainable utilization of available natural resources. Putting forward various ideas for creating a more sustainable future, it inspires and encourages readers to pursue further studies to address the gaps that still remain.

Utpal Kumar De is currently a Professor of Economics and also the Head of Department of Economics at the North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, India. Prof. De has been engaged in teaching at postgraduate level since 1994. His research interests include agricultural economics and rural development, issues on environmental and natural resources, climate change adaptation, and empowerment of women. Prof. De has visited Europe and Asia in connection with research and delivered keynote and invited lectures at a number of conferences. Besides presenting over 60 research papers in various international and national conferences he has published seven volumes, completed a number of research projects and published over 75 research articles in reputed national and international journals. The Marquis Who’s Who Publications Board certifies that Utpal Kumar De is a subject of biographical record in Who’s Who in the World 2013 Pearl Anniversary Edition, inclusion in which is limited tothose individuals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their own fields of endeavor and who have, thereby, contributed significantly to the betterment of contemporary society.

 

Manoranjan Pal is currently a Professor in the Economic Research Unit (ERU) of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata. At the institute, besides teaching graduate and postgraduate courses, he is also engaged in carrying out projects of the Government of India and other organizations, while also guiding doctoral students. He was the Head of the ERU and Professor-In-Charge of Social Sciences Division (SSD) of the ISI. He worked as Member Secretary, Board of Directors, International Statistical Education Centre (ISEC), Kolkata, for more than 10 years starting from February 1999. Prof. Pal has held the post of a Visiting Professor at many international institutions. He has published more than 100 papers in reputed national and international journals and books. His research interests include the measurement of poverty, inequality and segregation, applied econometrics, health and nutrition and so on. Professor Pal’s name is included in the World 2013 Pearl Anniversary Edition in Marquis Who’s Who, inclusion in which is limited to those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their own fields of endeavor.

 

Premananda Bharati is currently a Visiting Professor at the Biological Anthropology Unit of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata. He was Professor and Head of the same unit before his retirement in 2016. He served at the institute for more than 30 years. His fields of interest include human biology, physical anthropology, growth, nutrition, poverty, gender issues and demography. He has taught at the Center of Statistics, Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Pretoria, South Africa. Prof. Bharati was awarded the International Man of the Year (1993/94) by the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England; and Man of the Year 1994 by the American Biographical Institute, North Carolina, USA. He is a fellow of the Human Biology Association, Michigan, USA. In addition to teaching, he has published more than 100 research papers in journals of national and international repute and completed a number of research projects. He has visited America, Europe, and Asia extensively in connection with short-term courses and has delivered invited lectures and presented papers at various international and national seminars and conferences.