Economics is one of the many social sciences that, in the attempt of trying to understand how things work, delve into the subject matters of psychology, statistics, history, political science and sometimes, even forecasting. What makes economic policy making actually connected to the real world is experiences, anecdotes; so that if one good thing happens, more could be done to increasing the likelihood of the same happening again tomorrow in a more efficient manner;
Conversely, if a bad thing happens today, it becomes vitally fundamental for economic policy makers to take cognizance of what went south say, a decade ago when policies were being rolled out and fill in the loopholes to implement a better policy architecture today.
And therefore, knowledge of history becomes extremely important, which is then studied/documented in the form of data, events, statements and expressions of dissent/agreement, etc. so that it could be used by the future generations when it’s their turn to take care of the wheel works that drives the society and therefore, it’s fundamental ills- be it good, bad, ugly or even worse.
Before one delves into “economic problems”, one must in fact pay attention to understanding the “problems” in the said 2 words phrase. Within the context of this article’s premise, it wouldn’t necessarily be unfair to follow a rather, narrowed down approach to this;
Unlike “developed” countries, “developing/underdeveloped” countries don’t necessarily have the privilege of being categorized into the same category as their developed counterparts because the latter has already dealt with and sorted more than half the things its former counterparts just have to deal with.
Developing/underdeveloped countries must focus on a wide range of issues such as consistently performing GDP numbers, ensuring equitable and equal distribution, establishment of social welfare systems, etc. which in retrospect, most, in fact all the “developed” countries have in fact sorted all out already.
And therefore, it becomes rather fair to have the narrowed approach to “economics of crime” set specifically set within the context of “developing” countries. That said, this article shall use the example of India, a South East Asian economy, world’s largest democracy by population and the 2nd largest population size.
India’s example makes the most sense given how typical of a case it is of developing countries:
1. It is the world largest population; and by the virtue of its geographical territory, is also one of the densest.
2. As a mark of having an infant political foundation, populism driven by ethnic, social and communal difference still make the largest priming factors in deciding election outcomes and therefore, the policy making that follows.
3. At least in the first 55 years since independence, the country has consistently seen 5-6% unemployment rates, anti-incumbency in the political systems which then gives rise to an absence of a trend and therefore, over-all stability that is required for sustained development performance.
4. Efficient and relevant literacy rates have always been lacking and so have other indicators that reflect the well being of masses such as HDI, per capita income, life expectancy etc.
So, now that we’ve set the base for the “why” of using India, let’s quickly delve into the “how” India’s history with certain instances and issues (in hindsight) turned out the way it did and what do we learn from them:
1. 1975-1977
The erstwhile leadership in power imposed the draconian martial law imposed Emergency from 1975-1977 and it during the same time India experienced its first population boom since its independence in 1947.
· The licensing system, which eventually came to be known as “license raj” in India has in fact proven to be the platform which eventually gave rise to the very corrupt bureaucratic system in India. And corruption is in fact considered to be a dead weight loss in economics with a ripple effect of causing distrust and other market inefficiencies that hamper other economic systems too.
· The Pro-business approach taken during the 1990s was again the manifestation of populism directed towards the erstwhile industrialists in India which, come to think of it, hampered and delayed India into being able to house competitive and healthy market system within it.
· Similarly, populism, otherwise known as vote banks are often used in the forms of subsidies, loan waivers, tax benefits, etc. such that they distort the resource allocation for the public at large. Take of it like budget lines and indifference curves; if we pay attention to only one commodity in the market, be it by expenditure or preference, then the outcomes are surely going to be distorted. And that’s the exact thing populism does too; except, the criminals are vote bank seeking politicians and the victims are millions of Indians affected by their polarized policy implementation.
With the a/m kept in perspective
Crime may not necessarily be a view point of trying to understand the ailing economic problems, but come to think of it, the two symptoms do in fact function in a loop:
1.Economic problems trigger suffering which primes people to commit crimes in the name sake of making a living, being occupied, etc. and then those people are by law punished
2. But the lack of trust and sense of responsibility as often shown by agencies in charge of law and order cognitively primes people to fall much deeper into their economic problems as they have completely lost faith in the public service systems.
That said, it becomes extremely important for political machinery and therefore, their motivations to be aligned with the larger interest of the public who bring them into power.
Conversely, if a bad thing happens today, it becomes vitally fundamental for economic policy makers to take cognizance of what went south say, a decade ago when policies were being rolled out and fill in the loopholes to implement a better policy architecture today.
And therefore, knowledge of history becomes extremely important, which is then studied/documented in the form of data, events, statements and expressions of dissent/agreement, etc. so that it could be used by the future generations when it’s their turn to take care of the wheel works that drives the society and therefore, it’s fundamental ills- be it good, bad, ugly or even worse.
Before one delves into “economic problems”, one must in fact pay attention to understanding the “problems” in the said 2 words phrase. Within the context of this article’s premise, it wouldn’t necessarily be unfair to follow a rather, narrowed down approach to this;
Unlike “developed” countries, “developing/underdeveloped” countries don’t necessarily have the privilege of being categorized into the same category as their developed counterparts because the latter has already dealt with and sorted more than half the things its former counterparts just have to deal with.
Developing/underdeveloped countries must focus on a wide range of issues such as consistently performing GDP numbers, ensuring equitable and equal distribution, establishment of social welfare systems, etc. which in retrospect, most, in fact all the “developed” countries have in fact sorted all out already.
And therefore, it becomes rather fair to have the narrowed approach to “economics of crime” set specifically set within the context of “developing” countries. That said, this article shall use the example of India, a South East Asian economy, world’s largest democracy by population and the 2nd largest population size.
India’s example makes the most sense given how typical of a case it is of developing countries:
1. It is the world largest population; and by the virtue of its geographical territory, is also one of the densest.
2. As a mark of having an infant political foundation, populism driven by ethnic, social and communal difference still make the largest priming factors in deciding election outcomes and therefore, the policy making that follows.
3. At least in the first 55 years since independence, the country has consistently seen 5-6% unemployment rates, anti-incumbency in the political systems which then gives rise to an absence of a trend and therefore, over-all stability that is required for sustained development performance.
4. Efficient and relevant literacy rates have always been lacking and so have other indicators that reflect the well being of masses such as HDI, per capita income, life expectancy etc.
So, now that we’ve set the base for the “why” of using India, let’s quickly delve into the “how” India’s history with certain instances and issues (in hindsight) turned out the way it did and what do we learn from them:
1. 1975-1977
The erstwhile leadership in power imposed the draconian martial law imposed Emergency from 1975-1977 and it during the same time India experienced its first population boom since its independence in 1947.
This large population continues to have implications on India’s economic growth even today, as there is always a dearth of resources in terms of per capita income, social welfare schemes, and job opportunities, etc.
This not only curbed the expression of dissent by farmers, laborers and business owners who struggled due to the misplaced policy actions taken by the government, but had also hampered the economic growth to an extent that even after being such a large labor intensive economy available with such a large workforce, that the economy grew at a bare 1.7%
Come to think of it, the crime rates could’ve extremely high during the time, except it was only the fear of being arrested on a mere information glitch that curbed crime during the time.
2. Rapes
Unemployment among st the male workforce has often been used as a scape goat by rapist-sympathizers. Without delving much into the rationality or relevance of the said sympathy, it is clear that given how high the reported cases are for rape, unemployment is seriously one of the problems in a country such as India. And this is in fact the case, the state with the highest crime records in India- MP, UP and Rajasthan; all three of these do in fact account for the highest unemployment numbers too.
Come to think of it, the crime rates could’ve extremely high during the time, except it was only the fear of being arrested on a mere information glitch that curbed crime during the time.
2. Rapes
Unemployment among st the male workforce has often been used as a scape goat by rapist-sympathizers. Without delving much into the rationality or relevance of the said sympathy, it is clear that given how high the reported cases are for rape, unemployment is seriously one of the problems in a country such as India. And this is in fact the case, the state with the highest crime records in India- MP, UP and Rajasthan; all three of these do in fact account for the highest unemployment numbers too.
3. In retrospect
· The licensing system, which eventually came to be known as “license raj” in India has in fact proven to be the platform which eventually gave rise to the very corrupt bureaucratic system in India. And corruption is in fact considered to be a dead weight loss in economics with a ripple effect of causing distrust and other market inefficiencies that hamper other economic systems too.
· The Pro-business approach taken during the 1990s was again the manifestation of populism directed towards the erstwhile industrialists in India which, come to think of it, hampered and delayed India into being able to house competitive and healthy market system within it.
· Similarly, populism, otherwise known as vote banks are often used in the forms of subsidies, loan waivers, tax benefits, etc. such that they distort the resource allocation for the public at large. Take of it like budget lines and indifference curves; if we pay attention to only one commodity in the market, be it by expenditure or preference, then the outcomes are surely going to be distorted. And that’s the exact thing populism does too; except, the criminals are vote bank seeking politicians and the victims are millions of Indians affected by their polarized policy implementation.
Back in 2016, the federal government at Brazil (another developing country) issued a PSA for all its international tourists stating how they should be careful and alert about being robbed on the street as the crime rates in their cities have been high since the past couple of years.
While this could be taken as just another good Samaritan effort by the government there, it is important to know that the country had officially entered into a recession in 2014 and continues to since then. In fact in the year 2016 alone, the country contracted by 3.3% and reported a massive poverty rate of 26%.
With the a/m kept in perspective
Crime may not necessarily be a view point of trying to understand the ailing economic problems, but come to think of it, the two symptoms do in fact function in a loop:
1.Economic problems trigger suffering which primes people to commit crimes in the name sake of making a living, being occupied, etc. and then those people are by law punished
2. But the lack of trust and sense of responsibility as often shown by agencies in charge of law and order cognitively primes people to fall much deeper into their economic problems as they have completely lost faith in the public service systems.
That said, it becomes extremely important for political machinery and therefore, their motivations to be aligned with the larger interest of the public who bring them into power.
If and when the right set of policy implementation is effectively and efficiently done, not only can economic problems and crime be dealt with, but the diabolical loop comprising the two can be permanently collapsed out of existence, for good.
with that said,
this is Mayul
signing off :)
P.S : stay hydrated
My socials:
this is Mayul
signing off :)
P.S : stay hydrated
My socials:
Instagram: @mayulmanav
Great piece of work Mayul.
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