Ep 3: Petrol, Diesel and Custodial Murder

07/02/20 • 55 min

Why are petrol and diesel prices rising? What can the economic way of thinking reveal about custodial murder and the rule of law? Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul get together in episode 3 of Econ Central to discuss the events of the week gone by. The Book of the Week is The Power Broker by Robert Caro. And the AMA features two outstanding questions. Also check out:1. Should We Be Aatma Nirbhar? -- Episode 1 of Econ Central. 2. Green Shoots in the Desert Sand -- Episode 2 of Econ Central. 3. India’s Economy in the Time of Covid-19 — Episode 177 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 4. The Indian Economy in 2019 — Episode 153 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 5. More: The 10,000-Year Rise of the World Economy -- Philip Coggan. 6. Justice for Jayaraj and Bennix: Timeline of two shocking custodial deaths -- Megha Kavery for The News Minute.7. The Power Broker — Robert Caro. 8. The Death and Life of Great American Cities — Jane Jacobs. 9. Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing -- Robert Caro. 10. Robert Caro on Amazon. 11. Beware of the Useful Idiots -- Amit Varma. 12. Narendra Modi Takes a Great Leap Backwards -- Amit Varma (on DeMon). 13. DeMon, Morality and the Predatory Indian State -- Episode 85 of The Seen and the Unseen. 14. GST episodes of The Seen and the Unseen: 1, 2, 3. 15. Ponzi Schemes — Episode 142 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 16. Urban Planning -- an old short story by Amit Varma. Do also check out Vivek’s book, Bad Money, as well as Amit’s online course, The Art of Clear Writing.

Previous Episode

Ep 2: Green Shoots in the Desert Sand

What are these green shoots India's government is speaking of? Is our economy getting better? Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul give context to the hype in episode 2 of Econ Central. They also discuss the incentives of politicians in the Indo-China conflict and bust the Zero-Sum Fallacy. Also check out: 1. Should We Be Aatma Nirbhar? -- Episode 1 of Econ Central. 2. India’s Economy in the Time of Covid-19 -- Episode 177 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 3. The Nuances of Lockdown -- Episode 176 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Anup Malani). 4. The Indian Economy in 2019 -- Episode 153 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 5. The State of Our Farmers -- Episode 86 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Gunvant Patil). 6. India's Agriculture Crisis -- Episode 140 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Barun Mitra & Kumar Anand). 7. Democracy in Pakistan -- Episode 79 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Pranay Kotasthane & Hamsini Hariharan). 8. The India-Pakistan Conflict -- Episode 11 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Srinath Raghavan). 9. Our foreign policy is 8% growth -- Nitin Pai. 10. The Indian Armed Forces -- Episode 175 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Lt Gen Prakash Menon). 11. Stabilizing an Unstable Economy -- Hyman Minsky. 12. Why Minsky Matters -- L Randall Wray. 13. Ponzi Schemes -- Episode 142 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 14. India's Lost Decade -- Episode 116 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Puja Mehra). 15. Profit = Philanthropy -- Amit Varma. 16. India’s Problem is Poverty, Not Inequality -- Amit Varma. 17. On Inequality -- Harry Frankfurt. And hey, do also check out Vivek’s book, Bad Money, as well as Amit’s online course, The Art of Clear Writing.

Next Episode

Ep 4: The Roving Bandits of Uttar Pradesh

When gangster Vikas Dubey's men gunned down eight policemen in UP recently, they were responding to incentives, both ancient and modern. Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul lay them bare in episode 4 of Econ Central. Also discussed: the unseen effects of the PMGKAY, a book you must read to understand India's post-independence economics and why no country has an 'ideal' economy. Also check out: 1. PMGKAY Cost vs Actual Expenditure -- Harish Damodaran. 2. Agriculture: More from Less -- Economic Survey 2015-16. 3. The Delhi Smog -- Episode 44 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 4. The Real Reason Behind the North Indian Smog -- Vivek Kaul. 5. The State of Our Farmers — Episode 86 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Gunvant Patil). 6. India’s Agriculture Crisis — Episode 140 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Barun Mitra & Kumar Anand). 7. The Art and Science of Economic Policy — Episode 154 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vijay Kelkar & Ajay Shah). 8. In Service of the Republic — Vijay Kelkar & Ajay Shah. 9. Kanpur Bloodbath: The Anatomy of an Encounter -- NC Asthana. 10. Power and Prosperity -- Mancur Olson. 11. A Tale Of Two Bandits: Naxals And The Indian State -- Amit Varma. 12. The Evolution of Everything -- Episode 96 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Matt Ridley). 13. India Unbound -- Gurcharan Das. 14. Sweden’s Lessons for America -- Johan Norberg. And do pick up Vivek's books, India's Big Government and Bad Money!