Urbanomics

Urbanomics

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Subsidies and international trade
The primary international trade challenge facing countries in manufacturing is that they must compete with China.
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Urbanomics
The distractions of development and public policy
Interestingly, the discourse of development is often marred by distractions.
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Urbanomics
Internal trade barriers and deregulation
In the context of the debate on deregulation, internal trade barriers are a significant but less discussed cost.
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Urbanomics
China made iPhone, iPhone made China?
Patrick McGee has written the definitive book on Apple’s relationship with China.
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Urbanomics
Domestic value addition in manufacturing - iPhone in China
As Patrick McGee has shown in a brilliant new book, the partnership between Apple and Foxconn to make the iPhone may have been a primary contributor to…
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Urbanomics
Some thoughts on reviving manufacturing
Manufacturing has undergone transformational shifts in the last three decades.
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Urbanomics
Programs and ideas are a distraction in development
Arguably, the biggest distraction in development is the disproportionate importance given to the idea of designing programs or schemes to address…
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Urbanomics
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Observations on the rare earth metals trade
Very few industries have generated as much discussion as the rare earth minerals and their extraction, processing, and refining.
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Urbanomics
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Insights from development - WB takeaways
Some time back, the World Bank published a compilation of useful insights that have emerged from its development work over the decades.
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Urbanomics

May 2025

Is there a cost-structure constraint to the Indian economy?
This blog has long argued that India has an aggregate demand problem (see this), and this requires creating more productive jobs and broad-basing…
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Urbanomics
Deregulation is rarely a stroke-of-pen reform
There’s a widespread belief that deregulation, as the name appears to suggest, is about the elimination of certain regulations.
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Urbanomics
Trump policies and Corporate America
The excessive focus on merchandise trade deficits and tariffs, while important, overlooks several important imbalances facing the world economy.
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Urbanomics
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