tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5043138489010794057.post4106338434808717976..comments2024-03-27T15:57:09.192+05:30Comments on Urbanomics: Priorities for a District Collector?Urbanomicshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16956198290294771298noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5043138489010794057.post-57128357164871533342018-01-16T02:40:06.584+05:302018-01-16T02:40:06.584+05:30Thanks for the comment. I am inclined to agree wit...Thanks for the comment. I am inclined to agree with you about the perils of including economic growth... Health, education, infrastructure and jobs are a good set of priorities...Urbanomicshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16956198290294771298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5043138489010794057.post-74107159380221172562018-01-15T19:45:38.262+05:302018-01-15T19:45:38.262+05:30The analogy you had drawn about United Nations han...The analogy you had drawn about United Nations handing down goals for sovereigns is rather apt. That immediately makes it clear to the reader the sub-optimal situation prevailing in the Districts. <br /><br />It is desirable that priorities are tailored to the conditions and the context of the District. If I were to draw up priorities for district administrators, I would say it is health, education, infrastructure and jobs. For Municipalities, it can be transport, traffic, sanitation, drainage, street lights, etc.<br /><br />However, there may be some Districts and Municipalities with some unique issues or challenges or priorities that do not fall under the above. In such cases, their objectives can be modified suitably or be different.<br /><br />Locating big industrial plants in Districts will be the responsibility of the Union and/or State governments with the District administration playing a facilitating role.<br /><br />District collectors can be given six months to draw up their priorities, upon taking office. Then, they can be evaluated on that basis and even offered financial incentives if they exceed goals set or if they do better than their peer group.<br /><br />I will avoid economic growth altogether. Indeed, I would be hesitant to give that as a goal for even Union and State governments. Economic growth, in my view, is a residual or a natural outcome of getting the ingredients and getting the plumbing of economics right.<br /><br />Far too many factors influence economic growth. Failure to achieve it brings pressure on governments to go for temporary fixes which could be harmful in the long run. Second, there is the risk of numbers being cooked up.<br /><br />In China, many cities are now admitting to overstating their growth numbers by about 20%. Christopher Balding questions if the government in Beijing is not doing so. In that case, he is wondering if China's true gross debt (public and private) debt ratio is not 375% instead of 300%. Similar issues will arise in India too.<br /><br />So, let us stay clear of economic growth as a goal for district administrators.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16978858400004505965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5043138489010794057.post-29738509541708696742018-01-15T19:45:17.118+05:302018-01-15T19:45:17.118+05:30The analogy you had drawn about United Nations han...The analogy you had drawn about United Nations handing down goals for sovereigns is rather apt. That immediately makes it clear to the reader the sub-optimal situation prevailing in the Districts. <br /><br />It is desirable that priorities are tailored to the conditions and the context of the District. If I were to draw up priorities for district administrators, I would say it is health, education, infrastructure and jobs. For Municipalities, it can be transport, traffic, sanitation, drainage, street lights, etc.<br /><br />However, there may be some Districts and Municipalities with some unique issues or challenges or priorities that do not fall under the above. In such cases, their objectives can be modified suitably or be different.<br /><br />Locating big industrial plants in Districts will be the responsibility of the Union and/or State governments with the District administration playing a facilitating role.<br /><br />District collectors can be given six months to draw up their priorities, upon taking office. Then, they can be evaluated on that basis and even offered financial incentives if they exceed goals set or if they do better than their peer group.<br /><br />I will avoid economic growth altogether. Indeed, I would be hesitant to give that as a goal for even Union and State governments. Economic growth, in my view, is a residual or a natural outcome of getting the ingredients and getting the plumbing of economics right.<br /><br />Far too many factors influence economic growth. Failure to achieve it brings pressure on governments to go for temporary fixes which could be harmful in the long run. Second, there is the risk of numbers being cooked up.<br /><br />In China, many cities are now admitting to overstating their growth numbers by about 20%. Christopher Balding questions if the government in Beijing is not doing so. In that case, he is wondering if China's true gross debt (public and private) debt ratio is not 375% instead of 300%. Similar issues will arise in India too.<br /><br />So, let us stay clear of economic growth as a goal for district administrators.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16978858400004505965noreply@blogger.com