Freebies or Rights: What is India's approach to welfare spending?
About this episode
The episode discusses whether state expenditure on welfare is a right or a freebie, featuring insights from economist Reetika Khera.
The resilience of a nation’s economy is determined by the quality of its human capital. Other things being equal, a country with a healthy and educated population will grow much faster than one with a semi-literate and undernourished one. And yet, has historically, and consistently, under-invested in health and education – neglecting them even in years of high economic growth. There is a strong tendency to dismiss state expenditure on people’s well being a as ‘freebies’ or ‘revdi’. But are they freebies or are they basic rights that people can demand from the state? Guest: Reetika Khera, professor of economics at IIT, explores this question in her book, ‘Freebies or Rights: Understanding Social Policy in ’, which maps ’s welfare architecture and its effectiveness. Host: G Sampath Producer and editor: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: G Sampath
Guest: Reetika Khera
Topics covered
- welfare spending
- human capital
- health and education
- economic growth
- social policy
Keywords
- welfare
- freebies
- rights
- economic policy
- education
- healthcare
- India
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: IIT
Books & works: Freebies or Rights: Understanding Social Policy
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