This book is a compilation of selected papers presented at the ISI (Indian Statistical Institute) Platinum Jubilee Conference on Comparative Development held at the ISI, Delhi, India. The papers cover new and well-established topics in development economics. Some of these include political economy, role of public outrage in delivering justice and the political economy of general strikes, economics of happiness, economics of labour, agricultural economics, macroeconomics and public finance. These topics are analyzed from the perspective of developing countries. The book will be of interest to both researchers and graduate students in development economics.

International Differences in the Determinants of Life Satisfaction (J F Helliwell et al.) Unequal Chances: The Intergenerational Transmission of Economic Advantage under Marital Sorting (T Lakshmanasamy) Addressing Equity Issues in Watershed Development Projects in Bhil Adivasi Areas of Western Madhya Pradesh (R Banerjee) A Theory of the Corrupt Keynesian (T Aidt & J Dutta) On Effecting Institutional Change (S Majumdar & S Mukand) On the Political Economy of General Strikes (A Sarkar) Public Outrage and Criminal Justice: Lessons from Jessica Lal Case (B O'Flaherty & R Sethi) Lobbying for Trade Regime and Tariff Settings (K Yamamoto) Labor Retrenchment Laws and Their Effect on Wages and Employment: A Theoretical Investigation (K Basu et al.) Work Migration and Investment in Origin Communities (G Mansuri) Labour Market Reform and Poverty: The Role of Informal Sector (S Marjit et al.) Measuring Harm due to Child Work and Child Labour: Patterns and Determinants for India (D Mukherjee & S Das) Development Strategy: The State and Agriculture Since Independence (T N Srinivasan) Land-Use Changes and Agricultural Growth in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, 1901 2004 (A Kurosaki) The Natural Interest Rate in Emerging Markets (A Goyal) Intergovernmental Transfer Rules, State Fiscal Policy and Performance in India (P Roy & A Raychaudhuri) Tax Evasion and Administrative Costs (R Prasad) Inequality, Public Investment and Deficits in India (E D'Souza) Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol (P Chander) Recent Trends in Microfinance Institutions: Some Theoretical Implications (S Ghosh & E V Tassel)