Kerala's Economy: Performance, Problems, Prospects edited by B A Prakash; Sage Publications, New Delhi, 1994; pp 418, Rs 375.
THE volume under review purports, as indicated in the preface, to make an assessment of the performance of Kerala's economy, and to examine the problems and prospects of the economy during the period from 1956 (when the state was formed) to 1991. While this is admittedly a genuine objective, the justification given for the publication, namely, that while a good volume of literature is available on the performance, problems and prospects of the Indian economy, the position regarding studies on regional economies, as for example Kerala, is 'extremely different' (Preface, p 11) docs not agree with facts. As is well known there is already a fairly extensive literature on Kerala's economy. In fact, the EPW HAD devoted three special issues (Nos 35-37) in 1990 to highlight the unique features of the Kerala economy. In addition, a good number of scholarly articles on the same theme have appeared from time to time in EPW and other journals of repute. Be that as it may, the present work is still welcome as it attempts to offer new insights.
