Brad says
>>Brad DeLong wrote:
>>
>>>Rates of growth of GDP per capita, India:
>>>
>>>1950-1980 1.1% per year
>>>1980-1990 3.3% per year
>>>1990-2000 4.2% per year
>>>
>>>At the pace of the last decade, India's real productivity is
>>>doubling every seventeen years (compared to a doubling time of 65
>>>years before 1980).
>>
>>Any evidence on how this growth has been distributed? Are the
>>bottom 20-40% any better off, or is it mainly captured by a thin
>>urban middle class and the IT sector?
>>
>>Doug
>
>Average life expectancy in India is 63 years, 44% of Indians over 15
>are illiterate, 53% of Indians under 5 are malnourished. India's
>poverty rate appears to have held constant over the decade of the
>1990s. But I don't see how anything is going to push India's poverty
>rate down until education improves.
Were you an Indian, you would have to root for the Communist Party of
India (Marxist), then.
***** ...Despite overwhelming factors (cultural issues, population,
resources), India's literacy is steadily improving. India's literacy
rate at the time of independence (1947) was only 14% and female
literacy was abysmally low at 8%. In 1981 the literacy rate was 36%
and in 1991 it was 52% (males 65%, females 39%). The southern state
of Kerala was the first to reach "100% literacy" for a city (Kottayam
1989), then a district (Ernakulam 1990), and finally the whole state
(1991). Grassroot endeavors, inspired by Kerala's success, have led
literacy efforts throughout India. The following is the state-wise
literacy rate:
Source: Census of India 1991
States/Union
Territories
Total/Rural/Urban Literacy Rates (7 years & above)
INDIA*
Persons Males Females
Total 52.2 64.1 39.3
Rural 44.7 57.9 30.6
Urban 73.1 81.1 64.1
Kerala
Persons Males Females
Total 89.8 93.6 86.2
Rural 88.9 92.9 85.1
Urban 92.2 95.6 89.1
<http://www.mapsindia.com/overview/literacyrate.htm> *****
More on Kerala: <http://www.oneworld.org/ni/issue241/facts.htm>.
***** December 22, 1998
Make basic education a fundamental right, exhorts Amartya Sen
Arup Chanda in Calcutta
Nobel Laureate Prof Amartya Sen spoke more like a politician this
morning at Bolpur, a town adjoining Shantiniketan, when he urged the
common people to join in demanding basic education as a fundamental
right.
Sen was felicitated by the citizens of Bolpur. The meeting was
attended by Communist Party of India (Marxist) Member of Parliament
Somnath Chatterjee and many Leftist leaders.
In his brief speech, Sen said: "Basic education should be a
fundamental right and it should be demanded with a strong voice.
Expenses on basic education are within our country's reach. If India
cannot do it, it will not only reveal economic bankruptcy but
political bankruptcy."
Naturally, this went down well with the Leftist leaders who applauded
Sen loudly.
Noticing a large gathering of school students who showered flowers on
him as he came to the venue, Sen stressed on education. He observed:
"In India, there is more interest about higher education instead of
basic education."
He deplored the fact that even after 50 years of independence, half
the adult population and two-thirds of the women in our country are
illiterate. Comparing India with China, he said: "In China, they have
many things to be proud of. Every person gets basic education. The
tendency to obtain higher education in India is five times more than
in China, but none can find neglect of basic education in China. The
time has come when in our country total emphasis should be laid on
basic education."...
<http://www.rediff.com/business/1998/dec/22sen.htm> *****
Yoshie
