Exploring India's Growth Path: Kartik Muralidharan's Talk At IIMB

Karthik Muralidharan, a Professor of Economics at the University of California San Diego, delivered a guest lecture at IIMB on the importance of state capacity for economic growth and effective governance. The talk was part of the 'Healthcare Economics: Theory and Practice' course, offered by IIMB faculty members Allen P Ugargol and Arnab Mukherji, Chairperson of the Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management. Muralidharan's insights offer valuable insights into economics and governance.

The professor's book, 'Accelerating India's Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Effective Governance,' focuses on improving state capacity in areas such as education, child development, farmer welfare and judicial vacancies.

The discussion emphasised the importance of prioritising preventive public health policies, enhancing policy effectiveness and enhancing public expenditure quality, with Muralidharan expressing optimism about data-driven progress.

Arnab Mukherji, said, “While most other books on related topics talk about why development stagnates, Karthik Muralidharan’s book gives us a roadmap for development and what it takes for humankind to do better. It talks about actionable ideas and how to move forward.”

Karthik Muralidharan, said, “India is doing reasonably well, now the question is how we can do even better making the country achieve its full potential”, he said, while discussing the crucial role of state capacity and effective governance for economic growth, across multiple sectors and for the entire nation, using examples from the Health sector.”