This issue brief identifies the four main reforms that the new Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government must undertake to revive the manufacturing industry in India.

Narendra Modi was sworn in as India’s new prime minister on Monday, a little over a week after a landslide victory at the polls. The resounding win gives Modi much greater freedom to implement his agenda than any Indian leader in recent years, says international economics fellow Russell Green. What will Modi’s India look like, and how will it affect the U.S.? Green, who spent four years in India as the U.S. Treasury Department’s first financial attaché to that country, explains.

Cancer drug shortages are almost uniquely associated with generic drugs (small profit margins) and rarely with patented drugs (large profit margins). They are common in the U.S., but uncommon in Europe and elsewhere, where generic drug prices are on average higher than in the U.S. This suggests the main cause of drug shortages is economic.

A proposed inflation targeting (IT) approach to monetary policy has generated vigorous debate in India, where inflation has not dropped much below 10 percent for the past eight years.

Most recent reports on sexual harassment in Egypt draw a dim picture of women’s status not only in that country, but also in most parts of the region. A recent United Nations study revealed that 99.3 percent of Egyptian women have experienced some form of sexual harassment in the past year, primarily in the form of physical harassment. A recent public opinion survey showed that 85 percent of Egyptian women surveyed agree sexual harassment is the most urgent problem facing women and girls in transitional Egypt, despite the prevailing political and social instability in the country. Looking closely at these statistics, it is evident that sexual harassment is becoming not only a repugnant social phenomenon or political tool used by the regime to suppress women’s participation in the political and public spheres; it is also progressively becoming a barrier for women to play an active role in society and enjoy equal citizenship rights in their own country. Most importantly, harassment has become an impediment for both economic and social development in the country—a critical issue that requires immediate attention from policymakers, legislators, and society as a whole.

As of 2013, Colombia faces various challenges associated with managing an uncertain international economic environment and reversing adverse long-term trends, notably high domestic inequalities and the weakening of its manufacturing and agricultural sectors.

This testimony was delivered before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on February 12, 2013.

 

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Testimony of Kenneth B. Medlock III James A. Baker, III, and Susan G. Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics, and Senior Director, Center for Energy Studies James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Rice University To the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Washington, D.C. February 12, 2013

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Abstract

The authors analyze the excise tax…