New development: Exploring mainstream economics

Dr L Krishnamangol Singh *

There has been changing patterns in the study and research in economics. In recent years, development economics has attracted a good deal of attention and interest among a large number of economists and social scientists. In fact, development economics deals with a broad spectrum of development issues within the theoretical and conceptual framework of economic growth and development. It also seeks to evolve appropriate policy measures to address the various issues of growth and development facing in both developed and developing countries.

Modem economics or new economics has now emphasised on the relationship between "development" and "social opportunity". It is well known that "development" is now redefined to include not only income, production, and distributive justice, both also other social parameters including social equities, and the upward entire movement of the entire society from the low level social equilibrium trap to the more or higher level of integrated development that needs to take place within the society and economy as whole as per the principles of the State.

Thus, one needs not wrongly think that development is secondary over other parameters of social life. Marx considered the concept of society as a whole as the action of some individuals or the collective action affects the whole society or the body politics. It is in this context that the fulfillment of basic human rights, and right of the individuals is now included within the concept or definition of development that may be measured not only in terms of income, but also in terms of social, cultural, political, religious and other parameters.

Therefore, fulfillment of basic human rights includes development and development also includes fulfillment of human rights and the two are mutually reinforcing. In fact, the current economic thinking on economic and social issues or the economics of human behaviour emphasises on the relationship among the individuals, society, and the state as a whole.

And, there should not be trade-off between the society and state as the later can initiate effective measures for promoting development of the economy and society within the State. Today, in behavioural economics (i.e. the economics that deals with human behaviour and its relationship with the society and economy), the emphasis has been shifted from purely economic and social opportunity to participation at different levels. In fact, human behaviour may be rational or irrational.

And the person may be guided by his or her own decision. Sometimes, the decision is favourable to a particular person, but it may not be applicable to another person. Thus, there are a myriad of conflicts and contradictions in the society. Thus, it is essential that specific policy measures will be needed to address the specific issues as the intensity and incidence of development varies from one group to another group or from one region to other region.

Likewise, the individuals have different skills, aptitudes, behaviour, etc. In fact, it can be emphasised that the new economics of development needs to synchronise myriads of decisions of the individuals, groups or communities in order to evolve a mechanism of development that fulfils their genuine needs at appropriate levels irrespective of castes, creeds, classes, etc., and that this new mechanism needs to work within the democratic framework with State as the highest authority.

Thus, the behavioural economics dealing with the individual needs to cover a large number of groups in the society, and remove the irrational decisions in order to bring them within the democratic-fold that may be different forms without sacrificing the National and State interest in politics, economics, and other aspects of the society.

Thus, the new economics recognises that people are the ultimate source of power, but they should not wrongly use their potential power to cross the limit of human behaviour and development as it would lead to deregulation of the society without the state authority. Therefore, people's needs should not be the wrong needs. And, people also need not be at the receiving ends of economic and social opportunities as the percolation theory, which was very popular prior to 1991 (i.e. prior the period of command economy) has now been discarded.

Thus, the new economics of development and human behaviour emphasizes that there should be direct link between development and participation. And, it is now essential that the government needs to recognise people's participation by establishing a Participatory Institution of Development and Research. In fact, the various forms of participation should first center on this new Institution of Development and Policy Research.

And, the State government needs to provide regulatory support to such Policy Research and Development Institution. In an era when the Planning Commission has been abolished, the State Government of Manipur needs to fill up the vacuum of institutional change and development policies. In fact, it would be a pragmatic policy to induct various experts in the social institution in order to mobilise the public opinion and promote participative role of the people at appropriate levels.

In fact, I do not claim a space for this type of institution. But it is considered that such an institution will immediately help in addressing the public demands, and also in grappling with the irrational decisions of the human behaviour. Here the term "human behaviour" is basically concerned with decisions of the individuals, and their relationships with the development or the development issues.

In fact, the behavioural economics and development economics should be theoretically and conceptually interrelated or integrated in terms of micro and macro levels in order to address the various issues in development including poverty alleviation, generation of employment, economic and financial inequality, low per capita income and low economic growth rate, environmental crisis that involve climate changes and global warming.

To conclude, new development economics needs to explore the mainstream economics of development in the present context in order to identify the problems of development including climate changes, and global warming that emanate mainly from the wrong policies or irrational policies of the Government or of different countries, and the irrational decisions of the myriad of individuals in different countries that include both the developed and developing countries.

Finally, it can be safely concluded that neither the left wing economics nor the right wing economics can address the global issues of development, and also the issues of growth and development of different nations. Therefore, it is high time to explore a new mainstream economics in the present context of the global economic, social and environmental crisis including the issue of climate changes and global warming. It is in this context that we expect to move towards globalism.

And India including Manipur needs to take advantage of such a new economic thinking and policy shift. What is immediately required, therefore, is to combine both left wing and right wing economic policies and development in order to develop a new development economics that is expected to analyse and address the whole global development issues in the country including Manipur.