Economy
Economics Nobel: Discrete choices
THE BANK of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences, in memory of Alfred Nobel, has been awarded to Prof James Heckman for developing the theory and methods to analyse selective samples, and to Prof Daniel McFadden for developing the theory and methods to anal yse discrete choice. The broad area in which the prizes have been awarded is microeconometrics. Messers Tinbergen, Klein and Haavelmo were awarded prizes for macroeconometrics. Ragnar Frisch was one of the founders of econometrics. But his work was prima rily in microeconometrics. Messers Stigler and Becker were the two Marshallians, who applied the partial equilibrium approach to studies in industry and human behaviour. Both Prof Heckman and Prof McFadden were concerned with the methodology studies of m icro units, be it households, firms or units of labour, transport and choices.

Editorial
A costly sop
BY NOW ACCUSTOMED to the double-speak of the Centre (especially on matters of financial discipline, reduction of subsidies and the like), its latest move to placate the agitating paddy farmers of Punjab by reversing the decision not to procure sub-standa rd rice should come as no surprise to anyone. The sell-out decision would mean the Government will shell out Rs 350 crore more than what it actually should for the quality of rice it will be forced to procure. The Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, has claimed that no politics was involved in the decision to support Punjab's farmers; but there are, rightly, no takers for this brave assertion. The general perception is that the Centre has once again succumbed to political pressure and set an extremely unhealthy precedent with serious ramifications for the country's agriculture.

Environment
Petroleum industry pollutants -- Bugs do the cleaning up
A MICROBE, originally found in the oilfields of Gujarat, has turned out to be a potential candidate for rendering hazardous hydrocarbons into harmless substances.

Politics
Bureaucracy: The sloth-machine
IN A SPEECH in Chennai on December 26, 1985, L. K. Jha, of the Indian Civil Service, defined a bureaucrat as ``a strange creature who sits on files, sleeps over reminders, eats his own words, turns a deaf ear to complaints, and binds his hands and feet w ith red-tape.''

Cacophony and rhetoric in Agra
While the BJP-led NDA Government claims that, under its regime, no major communal riots have taken place, the RSS -- the leading light of the Sangh Parivar -- provokes outrage in the minorities by offering unsought advice on their religious faith. The mi norities do not need such advice, at least not from the RSS, which is not known for its religious tolerance.

Preposterous!
BE THOU ever so high, the Law is still above thee! Oh yeah? One wonders whether this aphorism is meant to be taken seriously in India however often it may be quoted. We, as citizens, have been treated to the nauseating spectacle of the big fish caught in the Law's net and facing trials walking in and out of court rooms waving their hands to the milling crowds of their sycophantic chamchas and sporting a broad grin as if they have just won the Nobel prize.

Technology
Simple research can be smart too
RESEARCH and development are the backbone of the pharmaceutical industry. The discovery of a new chemical entity (NCE) constitutes only 27 per cent of the total R&D cost. The remaining 73 per cent relates to the various other phases in the development of the drug. A look at the origin of 152 globally important drugs introduced in India between 1975 and 1994 reveals that most of the new drugs originated in other countries -- the US 45 per cent, the UK 14 per cent, Switzerland 9 per cent, and Japan and Ge rmany 7 per cent each.

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