I am a trained economist.

I guess I am politically very naive.

I am purely a technocrat and I reject all ideological labels.

I think about issues. I use my economic training to devise solutions.

It is important for India to stay the course on fiscal consolidation.

GDP is a function of capital, labour and how productively you use both.

Fiscal policy is a very important part of the tool kit for policy makers.

Business cycles in emerging markets behave differently from developed markets.

We need to realise that entrepreneurship is not necessarily increasing employment.

Unfortunately, governments do not have a philanthropic approach towards future governments.

There was never a perception that I was second-class relative to boys. That gave me confidence.

Countries with fiscal space should invest in physical and social infrastructure to raise potential growth.

I think GST is a great outcome. There is no ifs and buts about that. It is a transformational event for India.

If people expect high inflation and raise wages to reflect the high inflation, then it becomes self-fulfilling.

If you waive loans, it will encourage everyone to opt for more as they think they can get away with it in future.

With all the globalisation that has taken place, countries are a lot more interdependent and therefore 'coupled.'

Fiscal policy should balance growth, equity, and sustainability concerns, including protecting society's most vulnerable.

The biggest losers from international trade are always those whose skills have a cheaper competitor in a different market.

Monetary policy should remain data dependent, be well communicated, and ensure that inflation expectations remain anchored.

Being born into a Malayali family that followed a matriarchal system, I always felt loved and had a high sense of self-worth.

Across all economies, the imperative is to take actions that boost potential output, improve inclusiveness, and strengthen resilience.

The awareness has increased about the need to increase womenwomen participation in the workplace, but there are no amenities to assure that.

If a debt crisis results from government profligacy and mismanagement, rather than from a market failure, it is true that the central bank should not intervene.

Emerging market and developing economies have benefited from monetary easing in major economies but have also faced volatile risk sentiment tied to trade tensions.

Where fiscal space is low, fiscal policy needs to adjust in a growth-friendly manner to ensure public debt is on a sustainable path, while protecting the most vulnerable.

By promising to intervene in vulnerable markets in the event of excessive financial volatility, the IMF, as the largest player, would reduce coordination problems among investors.

One of the strengths of the U.S. economy is its ability to most efficiently employ resources both domestically and from around the world and outsourcing is one such example of this.

Rather than waiting for a crisis to erupt before intervening, the IMF should provide 'forward guidance' on how it will tackle potential disruptions in international financial markets.

In reality, while currency movements can have a significant impact on inflation in other countries, dollar movements have rarely had a meaningful or durable impact on prices in the U.S.

Harvard is famous for being an 'absorbing state' for faculty with almost no one leaving it for another institution, which is why the decision of granting tenure is a life long commitment.

To help resolve conflicts, the rules-based multilateral trading system should be strengthened and modernized to encompass areas such as digital services, subsidies, and technology transfer.

There is a need for greater multilateral cooperation to resolve trade conflicts, to address climate change and risks from cybersecurity, and to improve the effectiveness of international taxation.

An intensification of trade or geopolitical tensions - with negative repercussions for global growth and risk appetite - could affect economies that are highly dependent on foreign demand or external financing.

The term neo-liberal does not have a good definition. It's mostly used when you are angry with somebody or dislike someone, you call them a neo-liberal. Because otherwise, there is no concrete definition to the term.

Fiscal policy will need to manage trade-offs between supporting demand, protecting social spending, and ensuring that public debt remains on a sustainable path, with the optimal mix depending on country-specific circumstances.

I don't attach any labels to myself and if I can be of any help to Kerala in terms of thinking about some of the economic issues there, provide my input which can be taken or discarded, I thought that would be a good thing to do.

Having a proper understanding of countries' external positions - current accounts, stock positions, and currencies - is critical to highlight policymakers' shared responsibility to tackle external imbalances before they become too risky.

Opponents of central-bank intervention are right about one thing: monetary financing carries serious risks. In order to ensure that it is as safe and effective as possible, it must be used primarily in the event of self-fulfilling debt crises.

When I was doing my bachelors from Delhi University, India experienced its first major external financing and currency crisis in 1990-91. This inspired me to pursue graduate work in economics and was the foundation for my interest in international finance.

Portfolio investment, often called 'hot money' because of its volatile nature, can increase the economy's vulnerability to the vagaries of international finance. Foreign direct investment, on the other hand, is far more stable and driven by domestic fundamentals.

The advantages of globalization are actually much like the advantages of technological improvement. They have very similar effects: they raise output in countries, raise productivity, create more jobs, raise wages, and lower prices of products in the world economy.

The idea that RBI will be able to make a big transfer to the government was misplaced. It was a very good signalling device that the government was very serious about cracking down on corruption and black money. But I do not think it was very effective in curbing it.

Skilling is one area where some researchers are looking at outcomes and finding that while there are lots of people who are joining and completing skilling programmes, it is not getting fully translated into getting and keeping jobs. We need to understand how to fix this problem. The returns to having high quality skills are very high.

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