"Intellectual" Discussions

  Section 1: Introduction A recent  recent working paper titled “ Income And Wealth Inequality In India, 1922-2023: The Rise Of The Billionaire Raj ” (Source: S1) (“Paper”) created quite a debate from both sides of the spectrum regarding inequality in India since 2014.    In this article, we shall look at some of my thoughts on the Paper. This shall cover the following aspects: Problems with wealth inequality calculations Growth trends in the incomes of the bottom 50% from 1993 to 2022 Problems with the savings rates assumptions Problems with using IT returns Poverty reduction post independence It should be noted that this article does not attempt to carry out alternate calculations but rather points out some issues with the Paper. The main data sources (not all inclusive) used by the authors of the Paper include (i) Income Tax Returns data, (ii) National income data, (iii) Indian Billionaire Rankings published by Forbes, (iv) Household consumption expenditure surv...

Section 1: Introduction The recently released fact sheet of Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2022-23 (Source: S1) has created quite a stir with one set of academics/ economists saying it is not comparable to the earlier surveys due to change in the methodology and other reasons while there is another set which argued the opposite. Though not comprehensive, some of the concerns have been addressed in an earlier article titled “ Debunking the K-shaped Recovery Theory ” (Source: S2) . However, in this article I shall not directly address the concerns raised on the issue of comparability with the earlier surveys but rather look at alternate indicators which may be used to benchmark the growth in consumption expenditure from 2011-12 to 2022-23. Considering the HCES is a relatively rare occurrence (there is one more going on for the year 2023-24 but it may not happen post that immediately), two benchmark indicators have been used for measuring consumption expenditure using ...