Economic policy in India, and perhaps in many other countries, is constrained by powerful prevailing myths and prejudices. Sometimes these myths simply reflect lazy thinking or an apparent immunity to facts. Sometimes they are shored up by strong vested interests. Sometimes all three.
Whatever the reason, it is hard to dispute the potency of myths in economic policy-making. Here are my ten favourites, some old, some new. *Higher minimum support prices for foodgrains are good for farmers*. Not so. Yes, they are good for a powerful minority of farmers who have sizable marketable surpluses and ready access to government procurement programmes. But the majority of Indian farmers (especially poorer marginal farmers) are hurt by higher food prices for the simple reason that they are net buyers of foodgrains. And when you add in tens of millions of landless labourers, it is quite clear that inexorably higher MSPs for wheat and rice are often quite damaging for rural households. http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/jan/14/slide-show-1-ten-myths-of-indian-economic-policy.htm#contentTop--
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