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The Pre-kautilyan Period: a sustainable model through ancient economic ideas and practices

Author

Listed:
  • Satish Deodhar

    (Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad))

  • Sriram Balasubramanian

    (International Monetary Fund (IMF))

Abstract

A number of studies have been conducted in the recent past throwing light on Kautilya’s contribution to economic policy much earlier than contributions from western scholars. In his treatise Arthashastra, Kautilya informs that his contribution was based on received knowledge and gives credit to his predecessors whose specialized works have been lost with the passage of time. Fortunately, however, this knowledge is interspersed in ancient Vedic and Puranic treatises. In this paper, we conceptualize a 5-pillar sustainable economic model through the lens of the ideas emanating in these ancient treatises. These include individual economic and social well-being through Dharma; collective strength through governance mechanisms; wealth creation through Artha; sustaining wealth through market facilitation, labor and private sector participation; and building institutional capacity through coinage, money creation and public finance. Cumulatively, the 5-pillar model resonates very well with some of the Kautilyan concepts as well as modern economic policy trends.

Suggested Citation

  • Satish Deodhar & Sriram Balasubramanian, 2020. "The Pre-kautilyan Period: a sustainable model through ancient economic ideas and practices," Working Papers 0199, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    • Handle: RePEc:hes:wpaper:0199
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Sriram Balasubramanian & Mr. Paul Cashin, 2019. "Gross National Happiness and Macroeconomic Indicators in the Kingdom of Bhutan," IMF Working Papers 2019/015, International Monetary Fund.
    3. Vinod, H. D. (ed.), 2012. "The Oxford Handbook of Hindu Economics and Business," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199782048.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ancient Indian Texts; Arthashastra; Ramayana; Mahabharata; Economic History; History of Economic Thought; India; Kautilya; Political Economy; Sanskrit; Vedas;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B11 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Preclassical (Ancient, Medieval, Mercantilist, Physiocratic)
    • B15 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary

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