The author of the book, Biplab Dasgupta, whose untimely death a few months ago has caused a big void, was an erudite scholar, respected teacher and affable parliamentarian with staunch Leftist leanings. After the introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP)/Structural Adjustment Package (SAP) in India in 1991, he undertook a painstaking and comprehensive analysis of the theoretical underpinnings of SAP implemented worldwide since 1980 and of the actual performance in several countries located in three continents, Africa, Latin America and Asia, and brought out in 1998 the book Structural Adjustment, Global Trade and the New Political Economy of Development. The book under review is a sequel to the 1998 book and he makes frequent references to it. The new book deals with the developments in regard to globalization since 1998 and focuses on the Indian experience with SAP, especially during the rule of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) covering the period 1998-2004.
January 2006, volume 30, No 1