The Broken Ladder
The Paradox and Potential of India's One-Billion

This book explains the paradox of India's rapid growth and widespread poverty by looking at hundreds of life stories and the latest research.

Anirudh Krishna (Author)

9781108402507, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 August 2020

313 pages
15 x 23 x 2 cm, 0.49 kg

'Krishna presents detailed case studies of people he lives around, and this closeness keeps him from making glib judgements.' Vikram Johri, Business Standard

Despite becoming a global economic force, why does India win so few Olympic medals and have so many people living in poverty? Why have opportunities not become available more broadly? How can growing individuals assist with the task of building a growing economy? Krishna presents a refreshingly unusual perspective of emergent realities, drawing on the stories of everyday lives, of people like you and me and those less privileged. Through decades-long investigations, living in villages and slum communities, the author presents eye-opening details of missed opportunities and immense untapped talent that can be harnessed, with tremendous consequences for equity and growth. Offering possible solutions for inequality and those in need, The Broken Ladder is a comprehensive and fascinating account of development strategies in a fast-growing, yet largely agrarian, developing economy.

1. Dollar economy and rupee economy
2. Beyond 5-km villages
3. Blue-polygon slums
4. Preventing future poverty
5. Plumbing a deep talent pool
6. Attitudes, experiences, and information
7. Democracy at the doorstep
8. Looking ahead: growing the economy and developing individuals
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], Politics & government [JP], Anthropology [JHM]