Annual Conference of Indian Association for Research in National Income & Wealth, 2015

THEME 1

·         National Income Statistics: Data and Measurement Issues

·         Alternative Sources of Data for National Accounts - Adoption of micro-surveys/Big Data

Due to limitation of resources, large-scale surveys by the official agencies have long time gaps. As a result, national accounts statisticians use dated information till the time the survey is repeated. Also, certain administrative datasets lack the desired level of disaggregated information required for their appropriate classification and transformation to national accounts. Alternative datasets available for use in the inter-survey period or datasets that can be used as auxiliary information along with the administrative datasets may be suggested with specific guidelines on their likely use.

·         Measurement and treatment of seasonality in production and consumption

Seasonal variation in any short-term indicator affects the quality of projections made on the basis of these indicators. Projections being fundamental to policy formulation and planning, effect of seasonality needs to be appropriately factored into the models devised for the purpose. India with its cultural and climatic diversity across regions has its own specific seasonal peaks and troughs. Original research work is invited in the field of measurement and treatment of seasonality in estimates of production and consumption in the Indian context.

·         Assessing the impact of calamities in national accounts aggregates

Natural calamities affect the economy both at national and regional level. In certain disaster prone areas, loss of assets due to a calamity may need to be treated as 'capital consumption' rather than 'capital losses'.  How such effects are accounted for or to be accounted for in national accounts compilation in India may be documented with specific data inputs. Also, various valuation norms available or in use for measuring the losses can be discussed.

THEME 2

·         Sectoral Studies

·         Impact of NPAs of financial sector on macro-aggregates

Across the globe, the financial sector acts as the catalyst for the country's economy. The banks, especially public sector banks, are more than mere agents of financial intermediation and carry the additional responsibility of achieving the government's social agenda as well. Because of this close relationship between the financial sector and economic development, the growth of the overall economy is intrinsically correlated to the health of this sector. This being the case, increase of non-performing assets (NPAs) in financial sector, particularly in public sector banks, is a serious concern.  NPAs can also be seen as indicators of stress in the sectors where they occur.  The major dimensions of NPAs as also their relationships with the macro-aggregates need to be analysed for better understanding of the sources, implications and possible remedies.

·         Role of PPPs in India's growth story

Public Private Partnerships involved in the construction of roads and bridges operate as a company with a proper Company Identification Number (CIN). However, as regards the agency outsourcing the project to the PPP, say NHAI, the project is monitored by its project ID and not the CIN. With a multitude of such PPPs operating in India, it becomes essential to look for ways to quantify the output and contribution of PPPs in the national accounts, which becomes difficult with such disparate sources. Researchers may suggest approaches that could be used for the valuation of PPPs or present an analysis of the importance of PPPs in the Indian context.

THEME 3

·         Sustainable Development: Targets, Indicators and Challenges Faced by Statistical System

·         Tackling inequalities in wealth, income and consumption

Tackling inequalities in wealth, income and consumption is the first and foremost concern of sustainable development. There are many alternative measures formulated to study inequality. Measurement and use of inequality indicators can inform a wide range issues of interest not only to economists, but other social scientists as well. An examination of 'catching-up' hypothesis of laggard regions, vis-à-vis the leader ones, with respect to income and consumption expenditure could also play a meaningful role towards policy formulation.

·         Fostering sustainable development

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are accompanied by targets and indicators focused on measurable outcomes. The goals and targets under SDGs integrate economic, social and environmental aspects and recognize their inter-linkages in achieving sustainable development. SDGs have placed a demand on national statistical systems to be available at greater levels of disaggregation to allow for use of auxiliary information to compile the indicators. Researchers may present the analysis of SDGs in the Indian context or make an attempt to highlight the datagaps in the official system for the purpose.