The Unequal Republic and the Egalitarian State: Democracy, Authoritarianism, and the Politics of Redistribution in India and China
In this conversation with Professor Vamsi Vakulabharanam, we explore the relationship between democracy and economic inequality by examining the divergenttrajectories of China and India, as detailed in his recently published book, Class and Inequality in China andIndia, 1950-2010 (Oxford University Press, 2024). Through a comparative lens, Vamsi probes how political regimes—one authoritarian, the other democratic—shaped theeconomic responses to inequality in each country.
While both nations began their postcolonial histories with ambitious visions of development, their political systems…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.