Op-eds

Mint Column – The Impartial Spectator

An urgent need to reform the country’s legislative processesMint, February 17, 2021.

There is no political freedom without economic libertyMint, February 3, 2021.

The judiciary mustn’t violate separation of powersMint, January 19, 2021.

The big lesson of 2020: pay more attention to tail risksMint, January 5, 2021.

Love jihad laws are a backlash to India’s own progressMint, December 22, 2020.

Agricultural reforms should start with our land policyMint, December 8, 2020.

The case for an economy of permission-less exchangesMint, November 24, 2020.

The American voting system is different but not worseMint, November 10, 2020.

The economics of India’s high prevalence of child bridesMint, October 27, 2020.

India should fix its warped state-citizen relationshipMint, October 13, 2020.

It’s chiefly rent seekers who oppose our farm reformsMint, September 29, 2020.

The best way to vaccinate most Indians in the least timeMint, September 15, 2020.

The GST Pact must hold for this tax reform to work outMint, September 1, 2020.

A people’s court must be open to public accountabilityMint, August 18, 2020.

A legal case that highlights an entire legally of bad lawsMint, August 4, 2020.

How more policing could reduce extra-judicial killingsMint, July 21, 2020.

Lessons for us from the #BlackLivesMatter AgitationMint, July 7, 2020.

Ease the sale of agricultural land to help our farmersMint, June 22, 2020.

India should use broadcast media to educate millionsMint, June 9, 2020.

The means and ends of a policy should not be confusedMint, May 26, 2020.

Markets work better for workers than regulations doMint, May 12, 2020.

India’s Centripetal structure is impeding governanceMint, April 28, 2020.

We have miles of roadblocks to remove before we sleepMint, April 14, 2020.

The lockdown maybe doing us more harm than goodMint, March 31, 2020.

Quarantine Diaries: Washington DC: Maintaining a two-leash distanceMint, March 28, 2020.

India must shut itself down to contain the corona virusMint, March 17, 2020.

The insidious role that incentives play in mob violenceMint, March 03, 2020.

Matters of personal liberty should not get short shrift,” Mint, February 18, 2020.

Like the curious incident of the dog that did not bark,” Mint, February 04, 2020.

Book Review: The Founding Moment – The document that defines an Indian citizen,” Mint Lounge, January 25, 2020.

Mint Long Story: Five Lessons from the Indian Constitution,” Mint, January 24, 2020.

Let this budget be a tide taken at the flood for reforms,” Mint, January 21, 2020.

India should value the loyalty of those who speak up,” Mint, January 07, 2020.

Adam Smith’s ‘man of the system’ retains its resonance,” Mint, December 24, 2019.

The inevitability of errors in determining citizenship,Mint, December 10, 2019.

India ought to distinguish ‘good corruption’ from bad,Mint, November 26, 2019.

Ronald Coase has a solution for Delhi’s air pollution problem,Mint, November 12, 2019.

Reality must catch up with all the rhetoric on reforms,Mint, October  29, 2019.

The story of a trio’s experiments with development,Mint, October  16, 2019.

Smoke and mirrors around India’s ban on e-cigarettes,Mint, October  8, 2019.

Hindi is not yet a language that fetches economic gain,Mint, September 17, 2019.

The man-made blunders that require quick redressal,” Mint, September 2, 2019.

The single-word answer to what women want,” Mint, August 19, 2019.

The trouble with legislation that’s difficult to enforce,” Mint, August 5, 2019.

The heroes and villains of 1969’s bank nationalization,” Mint, July 22, 2019.

Peace, easy taxes, and a decent administration of justice,” Mint, July 9, 2019.

A water exchange system could prompt efficient usage,” Mint, June 25, 2019.

A farmer Satyagraha for permission-less innovation,” Mint, June 11, 2019.

All said, eventually it will still be the economy, stupid,” Mint, May 28, 2019.

Coordination as a hurdle for the #MeToo movement,” Mint, May 14, 2019.

Justice is dead, long live the justices,” The Wire, May 6, 2019.

The gap between what people think and what people say,” Mint, April 16, 2019.

First-past-the-post elections and their perplexities,” Mint, April 1, 2019.

Economic growth is a moral obligation to the poor,” Mint, March 18, 2019.

The positive side of having coalition governments,” Mint, March 4, 2019.

UBI is actually Universally Botched by Indians,” Mint, February 18, 2019.

The latest NSSO report creates opportunity for labour reform,” Mint, February 4, 2019.

Time to move away from individuals, partisan politics,” Mint, January 8, 2019.

For the Indian farmer, Santa Clause came early this year,” Mint, December 25, 2018.

The Shackled Indian Farmer,” Mint, December 10, 2018.

Mumbai’s Policemen reduced to Statutes,”  Mint, November 26, 2018.

The government should respect RBIs stand,” Mint, November 13, 2018.

Doing Away with Visa requirement for India,” Mint, November 2, 2018.

Changing the Costs for the Rational Sexual predator,” Mint, October 16, 2018.

Too little cleanliness and too much godliness” Mint, October 2, 2018.

Rooting economic rights in dignity and consent,” Mint, September 18, 2018.

What RBI Data on demonetization tells us” Mint, September 4, 2018.

The upside-down Indian state,” Mint, August 21, 2018.

What do Indian women give up for safety?” Mint, August 7, 2018.

The fatal conceit: the hubris of India’s planners,” Mint, July 23, 2018.

Formalization of the Economy is a form of coercion,” Mint, July 9, 2018.

Simple Rules for a Complex World: GST Compliance,” Mint, June 26, 2018.

Simple Rules for a Complex World: GST Classification,” Mint, June 12, 2018.

India needs Jan Dhan, and not just Jan Dhan accounts,” Mint, May 29, 2018.

India has reached an institutional abyss,” Mint, May 15, 2018.

Evaluating the Panchayati Raj institutions at 25,” Mint, May 1, 2018.

What Kathua tells us about the purpose of outrage,” Mint, April 17, 2018.

India is a union of states, its time to act like one,” Mint, April 3, 2018.

India needs to trust its farmers and set them free,” Mint, March 20, 2018.

Dalit women subsisting without voice or options,” Mint, March 6, 2018.

Privatize public sector banks to prevent future Nirav Modis,” Mint, February 20, 2018.

India needs sewage systems, not free toilets,” Mint, February 6, 2018.

The elephant in the courtroom,” Mint, January 23, 2018.

2018 Resolution: allow for-profit schools,” Mint, January 9, 2018.

Rethinking India’s Tax System,” Mint, December 26, 2017.

State capacity freed is state capacity built,” Mint, December 12, 2017.

The judiciary needs a Ulysses Pact,” Mint, November 28, 2017.

The lessons of the Bolshevik Revolution,” Mint, November 14, 2017.

Online Lists to out sexual predators have a cost,” Mint, October 31, 2017.

The imperfect cogs in an economy,“ Mint, October 17, 2017.

Op-eds

Women won’t recover easily from India’s pandemic,” Bloomberg, December 19,2020.

The Real Deal? How to Make a great India-Us Trade Agreement?,” (with Daniel Griswold), National Interest, September 21, 2020.

Why India wants to claim Kamala,” Bloomberg, August 15, 2020.

In India, don’t hate the matchmaker,” Bloomberg, August 1, 2020.

How India’s most downtrodden embraced the power of statutes,” Bloomberg, July 8, 2020.

India’s states are a little to united,” Bloomberg, June 10, 2020.

“Swachh Bharat toilets without sanitation is why Dalits are at the receiving end,” The Print, October 2, 2019. 

Narendra Modi cannot wish India to an economic boon,” Real Clear Markets, September 30, 2019.

“Justice is dead, long live the justices,” TheWire, May 6, 2019.

“Budget 2018: A remnant of our socialist past,” Pragati, February 3, 2018.

“Demonetization and Welfare,” Mint, January 3, 2017. 

“1.25 Billion were shocked on November 8,” Real Clear Markets, November 29, 2016.

“India’s Currency Cancellation: Seigniorage and Cantillon Effects,” Alt+M, November 28, 2016.

Designing Private Cities, Open to All,” (with Alex Tabarrok), The New York Times, March 18, 2015

“Jawaharlal Nehru: the inveterate letter writer,” Mint, November 17, 2014

“A reluctant constitutionalist,” Mint, May 29, 2014

“India’s date with democracy,” Mint, June 13, 2013

“A Paternalistic Law,” The Indian Express, April 23, 2013

“Independent Judiciary, Interest Groups, and a Reason for Rules,” India in Transition, April 22, 2013

“Bringing Rules Centerstage,” The Indian Express, January 21, 2013

“Getting a Grip on Indian Corruption,” Wall Street Journal Asia, August 26th, 2011

“No Property Rights, No Peace,” Wall Street Journal Asia, October 4th, 2010

An Indian Tragedy Many Times Over,” Wall Street Journal, June 13th, 2010

Rolling Back India’s Reservations,” Wall Street Journal Asia, February 16th, 2010

A defence of and against offence,” Mint Lounge, July 11th, 2009

A Toxic Solution to the Crisis,” Mint, June 23rd, 2009

Judging Equality,” Wall Street Journal Asia, April 16, 2008

India’s Socialist Constitution,” Wall Street Journal Asia, January 22, 2008

Are we Free to be Foolish?,” Mint, December 10, 2007

Big Brother,” Wall Street Journal Asia, September 27, 2007

Property Rights and Wrongs,” Mint, May 24, 2007

Indian Property Wrongs,” Wall Street Journal Asia, May 21, 2007

Reverse Robinhood Land Reforms,” Mint, February 7, 2007