
Money and Finance

A five-minute loan to unlock micro-entrepreneurship in India
Micro-entrepreneurs are grossly underserved by traditional lenders, as they typically do not have collateral or credit histories to make them creditworthy. In this article, Pande, Memon and Goyal of Dalberg Global Development Advisors, describe how digital infrastructure created by ‘India Stack’ can help provide paperless, presence-less, and cashless credit to micro-entrepreneurs, in a way that is sustainable for lenders.

Aadhaar, demonetisation, and the poor
There is a view that an Aadhaar-centred apparatus of digital inclusion can shield the poor from the problematic effects of demonetisation. In this article, Silvia Masiero argues that constraints of technology ownership, access to informational networks, and infrastructural readiness prove the argument wrong. Other means are needed to reduce the severe humanitarian consequences of sudden cashlessness.

Demonetisation: A thunderbolt in search of a target
In this article, Ajit Karnik, Professor of Economics at Middlesex University, Dubai, examines the various rationales that have been trotted out to justify demonetisation and finds little evidence to back these up. In his view, this seems to have been done mainly because a dramatic gesture was required to keep the supporters of the current government enthused.

On demonetisation
On the evening of 8 November, the Prime Minister announced on national television that Rs. 1,000 and 500 notes are no longer legal tender, and must be exchanged at the banks for newly issued currency. This major policy intervention has sparked a country-wide debate. Will it curb black money? Is it going to nudge us towards a cashless society? How much will be the collateral damage from the liquidity shock and is it a price worth paying?

Post-demonetisation: Can the old notes return?
Banks in India are reported to have received about 87.7% of the demonetised currency notes so far. In this article, Badri Sunderarajan argues that when once all the old notes have come in, it would make sense to reintroduce them into the system as legal tender.

India’s demonetisation drive: Politics trumps economics
In this article, Siddhartha Mitra, Professor of Economics at Jadavpur University, argues that even though demonetisation fails the standard economic cost-benefit test with regard to its stated objectives, it may still make for sound political arithmetic.

Demonetisation: Some very counterintuitive effects in practice
Due to demonetisation, holders of black money lose if they cannot exchange their notes or sell these in the black market. It is widely reasoned that this implies an equal financial gain for the public authorities. In this article, Gurbachan Singh shows that this logic is flawed.

Will demonetisation lead to a protracted economic slowdown?
In this article, Pandey and Sengupta argue that the impact of the contractionary demand shock triggered by the note ban will gradually radiate from cash-intensive activities to virtually every sector of the economy.
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