Economic development in India

The present book purports 'to examine the applicability of the urban bias thesis in the context of India's economic development. It starts with the hypothesis of rural-urban dicho tomy and elaborates the true connotation of class. The book critically examines the evidence of urban bias as given by Lipton and juxtaposes the new evidence from the Indian economy. It critically examines the question of allocative bias and the mechanism of resource transfer as explained by Lipton.

On the basis of recent data and evidence, the present book comes to the conclusion that the present development experience of India does not in any way smack of any urban bias strategy. On the contrary, the rural sector has been and is still being, pampered and catered to. Lipton's thesis does not appear to be relevant at all in the context of the paradigm of development that India has chosen as its strategy.

Chapter One of the book examines the concept of urban bias as given by Lipton and shows the falsifiability of the rural-urban dichotomy. Chapter Two critically analyses the evidence on income and expenditure patterns in India. It demonstrates that population is the villain of the whole show. Chapter Three examines critically the question of so-called allocative bias. The mechanism of resource transfer has been elaborated and re-examined on the basis of facts and data in Chapter Four. Chapter Five delineates the major conclusions of the study and outlines certain broad policies that can be followed for the balanced development of our rural and urban sectors.