4) Book Reviews
Prajnan, Vol. XLIX, No. 4, 2020-21 © 2020-21, NIBM, Pune Book Reviews An Economist's Miscellany: From the Groves of Academe to the Slopes of Raisina Hill Kaushik Basu New Delhi, Oxford University Press, March 2020, pp. xxi + 332, Rs. 995 Reviewed by Prof Sanjay Basu, Faculty, National Institute of Bank Management, Pune. In his introduction to Prof. Sukhamoy Chakravarty's Writings on Development, Rakshit (1997) outlines three necessary qualities for a front ranking development economist. These are: (1) An analytical ability of a very high order (2) A Deep Knowledge of Political, Economic and Social History of Nations and (3) A keen perception of problems pertaining to both formulation of policies and their successful implementation. In addition to all these traits, this delectable anthology contains a fourth attribute – Sense of Humour. For instance, the description of a tourist guide's speech as a public good (p. 50) reminds me of quiz competitions, at which I often picked up the right answers to esoteric questions from auditorium chatter – hall collection, in our parlance. A small joke simplifies a difficult concept and the discussion flows on like a stream. Indeed, on this substantive evidence, the author deserves the moniker Tusitala (teller of tales), a là Robert Louise Stevenson, whose burial ground he visited in Samoa. An Economist's Miscellany: From the Groves of Academe to the Slopes of Raisina Hill is a collection of eighty essays in newspapers and magazines, by Prof. Kaushik Basu, between 2005 and 2019. It covers a wide range of topics – inequality, market reforms, authoritarianism, policy perspectives, travelogues, scepticism, personal reminiscences and hobbies.
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