Research and Information System for Developing Countries

This article uses the lens of key financial actors to analyse the daunting challenge of Asia’s long-term infrastructure development. It examines three issues: (a) the historic role of infrastructure in Asian economic development; (b) the contribution of mega infrastructure initiatives (MIIs) (e.g., China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Japan’s Partnership for Quality Infrastructure) to filling the region’s large infrastructure investment gap; and (c) the effectiveness of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). While underlining infrastructure investment as a key driver of Asia’s economic miracle and emerging regionalism, the article highlights the region’s large infrastructure investment gap. It shows that MIIs have only partially filled Asia’s large infrastructure investment gap and there is a risk of an Asian ‘noodle bowl’ of multiple overlapping initiatives, which may raise transactions costs for small regional economies. It suggests that ADB’s honest broker and financing roles have helped to bring parties together in regional projects, but ADB operations can be improved. It ends with policy implications. JEL Codes: O16, O19, G20, G23, H54

The recognition of climate change as real and unprecedented has been acknowledged by global communities. Furthermore, fossil fuel energy consumption and territorial emissions are identified as major drivers of climate change. Data collected from the World Bank for BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) group of countries for the period from 1990 to 2018, and analyzed using Panel FGLS and Panel GEE models, revealed an inverted U-shaped relationship between GDP per capita and its square with fossil fuel energy consumption in BRICS countries. However, this relationship was not observed with territorial emissions. It is indicated that the BRICS group of countries is making efforts to reduce fossil fuel energy consumption, but investment in green technology is insufficient to reduce territorial emissions. Therefore, it is recommended that climate policies need to be more aggressively implemented to support investment in clean and green energy technology.

The study unravels the relationship between trade and connectivity and presents a narrative to re-energise the South Asian regional economic integration in the post-pandemic period. In addition, the study also examines the effect on conflicts and institutional factors in South Asian trade. The study uses the bilateral gravity analysis in 2SLS (Two-Stage Least Squares) framework to address the endogeneity issues. The study finds that South Asia may gain enormously if they reduce the conflicts across the border and secure improvement in both hard and soft infrastructure. Given that the trade is a dynamic concept, connectivity disruption costs cause havoc to the region, which then promotes dis-integration. Facilitating business beyond the border in post-pandemic requires an enhanced trade facilitation and connectivity in the region. The renewed and shared agenda of the South Asian regional cooperation in post-pandemic should, therefore, aim to reduce both intra- and inter- regional trade facilitation gaps as well as to expand the connectivity. The process of South Asian regional integration has to contribute to narrowing the gaps by providing resources for the development of trade infrastructure. Therefore, South Asia has to enhance its own connectivity and trade facilitation arrangement to take forward the agenda of South Asian integration.

This article tells us that regional integration can lead to substantial economic gains in the BIMSTEC region, particularly in the post-COVID-19 period. Regional integration in the BIMSTEC can be a building block for global integration. However, the benefits of the regionalism are likely to depend on the integration spirit of the BIMSTEC countries. This article discusses the next round of the integration of the BIMSTEC region at a time when Coronavirus-driven pandemic and its successive rounds have heavily affected the growth of the region. The responses to the current global uncertainties also suggest a greater scope of regional cooperation among the countries in the BIMSTEC region. Regional integration may help the BIMSTEC countries overcome divisions that impede the flow of trade in goods and services, people and ideas, particularly when all members have been facing a common challenge to beat the Coronavirus pandemic.

The article analyses the ex-ante effects of India’s possible alignment with G20 countries. The study considers G7, G12 and G20 countries as separate blocks. The study analyses India’s bilateral tariff and non-tariff liberalisation, free flow of factors of production, Global Value Chain (GVC) participation, output-oriented technological progress in manufacturing, transport and communication and the introduction of shipping technology in India. The study considers liberalisation in G7 standalone, G12 standalone, G20 standalone and also G20 comprehensive liberalisation. The study also considers India’s bilateral standalone liberalisation with G7, G12 and G20 countries separately using computable general equilibrium (CGE) analysis with the help of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) 10 database. The overall results indicate that strengthening of GVC standalone in the G20 region may bring maximum welfare to the region. Further, the sectors which may gain the most seem to be grain crops, meat and meat products, textiles and apparel, etc., and in terms of factors of production, all other factors of production would gain but land and natural resources seem to lose in terms of real returns to factor of production. Addressing issues related to factor movements and policies strengthening GVCs can bring about relatively higher growth and welfare, respectively, in the G20 nations as compared to other trade and industrial policies.

An essential characteristic of firm size distribution patterns in developing countries including India, is a bimodal distribution with a “missing middle”, which is widely accepted in development economics. We analyse data from the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), National Sample Survey (NSS) and Economic Census to assess the firm size structure of the whole non-farm sector. The contribution of the paper is that for the first time a comprehensive database is constructed to enable analysis of the size structure of India’s non-farm enterprises. The second contribution is that we find a deep distortion in India, with even a “small”-scale sector being very small, relatively. We examine briefly the policy-related causes that make India an outlier even among Asian economies in respect of size structure of enterprises. Finally, we argue that the historically policy-induced informality of enterprises is being entrenched by the current hiatus in state policy in even recognising the true nature of the problem of micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs), which holds back both their growth and employment.

The considerable similarity in the growth paths of the Chinese and Indian economies since their respective reforms has changed after the 2008 crisis. This article tries to understand the trajectories of different parameters of economic growth in the two countries, and how these changed after the crisis. Growth has declined in both the economies, more consistently in China, compared to India. The share of exports in GDP has also declined in both economies. The dependence of the Chinese economy on exports has decreased; however, its dependence on investment has increased. Investment’s share in GDP in China has increased, whereas it has decreased in India. The structure of the manufacturing sector in China has undergone changes, which is not the case for India. The increase in the share of services and decline in the share of manufacturing in China implies that the production structure is becoming less unbalanced. JEL classification: E58, E62, F32, F41

One of the primary goals of the space exploration community is to unambiguously detect past or present life outside of Earth. As such, a number of so-called life detection technologies, instruments, and approaches have been applied as part of past, current, and future space missions. As astrobiology is a truly interdisciplinary field within the realm of space exploration with major contributions from physical and biological sciences (among others), recently there has been development of a number of relevant techniques from scientific fields that have yet to be fully applied to extraterrestrial life detection. As a culmination of the 2021 Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (BMSIS) Young Scientist Program (YSP), we present a number of techniques drawn from various fields (including but not limited to, chemistry, materials science, biology, nanotechnology, medical science, astrophysics, and more) that have either been or have the potential to be applied to life detection research. These techniques broadly fall under three categories: instrumentation for in situ measurements of biosignatures within the solar system, calculations or observational techniques for remote measurements of exoplanet biosignatures, and technosignatures. We hope that this primer serves to inspire the field to consider applying more potential technologies from adjacent fields into any of these three categories of life detection.

After following import-substituting policies for nearly three decades, India opted for liberal economic regime in the early 1990s. Since then, it has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. However, concerns have been raised about the distributional consequences of liberalization. This article attempts to quantify the impact of trade on wage inequality in the Indian manufacturing sector. Estimating a relative wage equation with a panel of 49 manufacturing industries, this article found a positive association between trade and wage disparity in Indian manufacturing, but the association is contingent on the direction of trade. Our results show that after controlling skill-biased technological change and other variables, trade, especially exports to developed and developing countries, has an opposite impact on wage disparity.

This paper seeks to determine whether the BRICS group has lived up to the expectations that their influence in international economic governance will increase. Stellar economic performance and the resulting well-being are important factors that may cause this influence to grow. However, there has been increasing recognition that welfare does not depend merely on income but on a broader set of indicators as exemplified by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). BRICS may increase their influence through their achievements on the social front and their soft power. Using simple statistical methods to examine their macroeconomic performance the paper found that only China and India had done well and lived up to the initial expectations. The social achievements of the BRICS have also been limited. The BRICS have sought to translate their dissatisfaction with the IMF and the World Bank into establishment of the New Development Bank (NDB) to provide loans for infrastructure projects and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) to cover the needs for financing balance of payments deficits. The paper examines the working of these organizations to find out if they have been successful in meeting their objectives. The results of the analysis allows us to conclude that the NDB has been successful, unlike CRA, which proved to be ineffective.

The chapter focuses on addressing common and global challenges through leveraging South-South cooperation and science diplomacy. Science diplomacy can play an effective role in fostering South-South cooperation. SSC in STI will play an integral role in increasing the scientific capability of the Global South countries which is critical for strengthening the S&T ecosystem, required for technical innovation for finding solutions to national, regional, common, and global challenges. Science diplomacy can catalyse SSC in S&T and play a vital role in forging greater linkages between scientists and diplomats and bring forth Global South perspective in international issues and challenges and enhance greater role of the South in informed decision making in international negotiations on global challenges and SDGs.

The study examines the patterns of domestic energy consumption and fuel preference for cooking by households in rural and urban India over the past two and a half decades to track the progress towards the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and clean and modern cooking fuel. The fuel mix of households has been changing with an increase in income and infrastructure over time. The relatively affluent households tend to use cleaner fuels in larger proportions in their cooking fuel mix. The change is more visible in urban areas. In rural areas, the use of firewood, considered a harmful traditional fuel, for cooking purposes is still prevalent. This is due to the easy, cheap/and free availability of firewood in these areas. Logistic regression has been applied to determine the probability of LPG being the main source of cooking by households and the factors which, over time, influence the choice. The results show that the preference for LPG increases with an increase in the education level of members of a household, along with affordability.

The study attempts to analyse the economy-wide impact of Indo-Pacific alliance between India and rest of the 45 participating members using computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. We introduce four simulation scenarios in the general equilibrium model. The first scenario is the one in which India bilaterally liberalises trade in terms of both tariffs liberalisation alone and then removal of tariffs and reduction of non-tariff barriers together with all the countries of Indo-Pacific region. The second scenario is when India bilaterally liberalises trade with all the Asian countries of the Indo-Pacific region. The third scenario is when India bilaterally liberalises trade with all the countries of the Indo-Pacific region but excludes China from the region because of the current geopolitical reasons. The fourth scenario is the one when free trade is considered among all the countries in the Indo-Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific alliance seems to go beyond strategic alliance with the 46 Indo-Pacific participating countries, wherein the members gain due to potential movement of capital and welfare and economic gains because of tariff and non-tariff liberalisation among the member countries. The article suggests the road map for maximum welfare gains for India, keeping strategic and economic engagements with other member countries and sub-regions. JEL Code: F15

Transitioning to renewable and sustainable energy has been considered as one of the major drivers of keeping the global mean temperature rise well below 2 °C above the pre-industrial level as per the Paris agreement. Thus, energy policies of most of the countries at large have been aligned to sustainable energy with the objective of providing affordable and clean energy to all citizens along with decarbonizing the energy systems. Despite lots of effort put by global communities for cost-effective and environmentally friendly generation, distribution, and access to sustainable energy, there are many challenges to the realization of environmental sustainability and green energy. Therefore, analysis of economics and policies of energy and environment is of utmost importance before bringing any reforms to policies of sustainable development. In view of this, the book investigates the economics and policy aspects of both energy and environmental sustainability and interactions between them through many channels and suggests course of actions to help policymakers design effective policies for their respective countries. The current chapter is the snapshot of what the effort has been made in this book for the global policymakers and concerned stakeholders.

Responsible Research and InnovationResponsible Research and Innovation (RRI) (RRI) is largely identified as a concept developed in Europe and adopted mostly in Europe, particularly in research. Principles in RRI have been incorporated into policies and programs in Europe and elsewhere. While studies have pointed out the need to adapt/contextualize/transduce RRI in non-European countries and contexts, the extent to which this is possible is a big issue. Developing countries like ChinaChinaare adopting and contextualizing RRIResponsible Research and Innovation (RRI) to suit their needs and to enhance protocols/practices. this chapter takes IndiaIndia as an example and points out that RRI is relevant for IndiaIndia and at the same time some of the keys in RRI find a place in Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) policy and practice, although RRI as a concept is not acknowledged or recognized. This chapter argues that contextualizing RRI for IndiaIndia, particularly in the light of STI Policy (STIPScience, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP) of India) (under finalization) and Scientific Social ResponsibilityResponsibility (SSR) is feasible and desirable. While the former gives importance to Open ScienceOpen Science, Science Education (in the Indian context), Science CommunicationCommunicationand GenderGender, SSR opens up possibilities for enriching RRI. Similarly, RRIResponsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in theory and practice can benefit from interaction with ideas and practices developed in India such as AccessAccess, EquityEquityand InclusionInclusion, Scientific TemperScientific temper and Scientific Social ResponsibilityResponsibility. These ideas and practices may not be relevant in all countries in adopting RRI but can contribute to the diversity in RRI as a concept and practice.