Education is the new wealth and will allow for the transformation of developing economies in a rapid, extended and long-lasting fashion, said Dr Surjit Bhalla, noted economist, author and member of the PM’s Economic Advisory Council.

Speaking at a discussion hosted last evening by the Asia Society India Centre, on the theme of his recent book, Times they are a changing: The new wealth of nations , Dr Surjit Bhalla argued that education will help India and China (which had 40 per cent of the world’s population but just 5 per cent of its income in 1980) to reach the average per capita income of the world by 2028. The rapid development during this 48-year period will be the fastest growth that the world has seen in any period in history, Dr Bhalla said.

On the issue of gender gap, Dr Bhalla sounded optimistic about the improvements seen in India during the past few decades, especially in higher wages for urban women (in the age group of 15 to 24 years) as compared to their male peers in the same age group, when compared to the situation that prevailed a couple of decades ago when they earned only two-thirds of what their male counterparts earned.

Elaborating on another theme, the global death of inflation, Dr Bhalla forecast that there will be an increasing convergence in the average inflation rate of the developing nations with those of the developed world. The gap between the two is only around 160 basis points today and is declining, he said.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW