All entries for Sunday 24 April 2005

Breach of Trust

The Telegraph, 24.04.2005

Dipankar Dasgupta has used an isolated incident to make sweeping generalizations about the market economy. First, a market economy creates a dynamic society in which companies compete to deliver better results. In a free market, a consumer can choose from a wide range of goods and services, and a supplier also endeavours to provide the best at the cheapest possible rates.

Problem may arise in a free market when the regulatory framework is not vigilant enough — there is nothing wrong with the concept per se. Even if we concede Dasgupta’s point about markets breeding corruption, a more relevant criticism could be that in India, it is more expensive to adhere to rules than to break them. Doing business in India is a costly affair, which forces firms to cheat their way out. The real solution lies in making compliance cheaper and evasion expensive.

: 24 Apr 2005 11:11 |  Comments (5) |  Close comments |  Report a problem