The Danish Institute for International Studies, DIIS, has the pleasure of inviting you to a presentation and discussion with Dr. Venkatesh Athreya, who will be speaking on:

The Impact of Neoliberal Reforms in India since 1991

Tuesday, 10 May 2005, 15.00-17.00
Danish Institute for International Studies
Main Auditorium, Pakhuset, Ground Floor
Strandgade 71, 1401 Copenhagen K

The government of India (GOI) embarked on a path of neoliberal economic reforms consisting of liberalization, privatization and globalization (LPG) policies in 1991, in the wake of what was diagnosed as a twin crisis-the fiscal crunch and the balance of payments crisis. It is now nearly a decade and a half since the reforms were launched, and a stock-taking would certainly be in order. It was initially argued by the proponents of reforms that LPG policies would replace the inefficient sector with the efficient private sector, and that with increasing openness of the economy, competitive forces would promote not only efficiency but also growth, leading over time, to significant reduction in levels of poverty and unemployment.
As the reforms process unfolded, there was an increasing obsession with the fiscal deficit, and a resulting steep decline in the government’s developmental expenditures, especially in rural areas. Agriculture was massively negatively impacted by the LPG reforms during a period of global decline in primary commodity prices. By the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the present decade, evidence emerged of a slowdown in GDP growth while data from the national sample surveys showed a steep decline in the rate of growth of employment, especially in rural areas. Although official statistics, which have been strongly contested, showed a substantial decline in the proportion of rural households below the abysmal official poverty line, the evidence seems to point in a somewhat different direction. LPG policies appear to have rendered the vulnerable sections of the population even more insecure than earlier, and food security has been eroded. The gender implications of the reforms have also been a matter of concern. Employment, rural livelihoods and sustainability of the LPG process are key emerging issues that need a fresh consideration.

Dr. Venkatesh Balasundaram Athreya obtained a Ph.D. degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin, USA in1975. He joined the Centre for Development Studies in Thriuvananthapuram in 1976 and the Post Graduate Centre of Madras University at Tiruchirapalli in February 1977 as Reader in Economics. He became a Professor of Economics in 1984 and has been the Professor and Head of the Department of Economics of Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli since June 1990.
Professor Athreya has published over 70 research papers and two books. He has been on several central and state government committees. He has also been a consultant to both governments and international agencies such as the UNICEF, UN Population Fund, Danida etc. Professor Athreya has been actively involved in the areas of gender, literacy and development as both planner and social activist. He coordinated the mass literacy campaigns in Tamil Nadu in the 1990s, and has been involved in social mobilization campaigns for gender equality and against female infanticide and feticide.

The seminar will be held in English.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required by e-mail to no later than 9 May 2005 at 12.00 noon.

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