Book Reviews
| DOI | 10.1177/0019556120150413 |
| Published date | 01 October 2015 |
| Author | Devesh Vijay |
| Date | 01 October 2015 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
BOOK REVIEWS I 743
that NPM philosophy cannot generate a uniform model
of
public sector
reforms, although they may be diffused from one state to another.
Chapter
16
discusses that managing public sector is complex as the
accountability framework is too broad compared to that
of
private sector.
It concludes that although strategic management is applied to public sector,
state management cannot be reduced to general models
of
management and
its model
of
strategy (p. 8). The collective goals
of
the public cannot be
compared with the few individual interests in the private finn.
The book has several strengths. It is written lucidly, with examples. The
book deals with more
of
economics and politics than issues
of
governance
per se. The book shows that state management is a mix
of
governance,
economics and politics. This book can serve as a primary reading for students
of
politics, public administration and economics.
---C. JEEVAN
KUMAR
Abhijit
V.
Banerjee and Esther Duflo, Poor Economics: Rethinking Poverty
and
the
Ways
to
End
It
, Vintage 2011/ 2014.
Despite a concerted attempt by nations to eradicate extreme poverty over
a past quarter century, about 700 million people or I 0%
of
world's population
remains below the subsistence mark
of
per capita daily consumption worth
$ 1.25 in 2015. Hidden behind this bland statement are grim worlds
of
severe undernourishment, pathetic housing and healthcare and, above all,
little hope or confidence about overcoming destitution without external aid.
Sadly, about three-fourth
of
this global underclass is concentrated in
just
forty nations
of
Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia where infant mortality,
stunting, maternal mortality and afflictions like malaria and diarrhea remain
upto 20 times more than the levels prevailing in the West
as
well as the
transitional economies
of
East Asia and Latin America now.
In recent years, some progress was witnessed in the fight against poverty
as the headcount across countries declined from about 25 per cent in 1990
to I 0 per cent within a quarter century. In this backdrop, many scholars
have proposed the adoption
of
a higher benchmark for poverty, namely,
daily consumption
of
two dollars per person while others have advocated
a multidimensional perspective on poverty tracked ·through monetary as
well as health, education and shelter criteria now.
By
these yardsticks, the
proportion
of
the poor in the total population would be as high as 50 per cent
even in fast growing economies like lndia.1 Clearly, sustained democracy
and a plethora
of
welfare measures promoted by the state
as
well as non-
govemment organisations have failed to eradicate poverty even in the new
millennium.
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