Burgeoning unemployment and the feeble prospect of recovery in world economy are undoubtedly the most pressing problems facing both developing and developed countries today. Coming at this juncture, the book under review by the well-known heterodox economist, Deepak Nayyar, is indeed a welcome read. The common theme running through the collection of essays, written between 2010 and 2016, is that of the centrality of employment in bringing about sustainable growth and development in the contemporary world. The book is divided into three parts: employment and development; growth and development; and development, polity and society, with the essays being grouped into these three thematic clusters.
The first set of essays provides a macroeconomic perspective on some of the critical issues plaguing world economy and explores the challenges and the possible solutions to deal with these problems.
The first chapter of the volume examines the impact of the global financial crisis on developing countries and argues that the crisis provides an opportunity for rethinking macroeconomic objectives so as to make outcomes more conducive to development. In this context, the author argues that developing countries such as China, India and Brazil could weather the crisis better compared to other countries because they were relatively more restrained with regard to financial sector liberalization, had a large home market and adopted countercyclical policies to counter the effects of the crisis. The experience of these countries provides important lessons for other developing countries in reorienting their macroeconomic policies and objectives.