‘Policymaker’s Journal’ review: The essential lightness of being

Kaushik Basu recalls with candour and wit his stint as chief economic adviser to the Manmohan Singh government and his years at the World Bank

It is said that economists — like the Oscar Wilde character Lord Darlington’s view of cynics — know the price of everything and the value of nothing. An economist may know the precise remuneration for an hour of a person’s work, and yet draw a blank on happiness, loyalty and love. But Prof. Kaushik Basu’s newly published diary, Policymaker’s Journal: From New Delhi to Washington, D.C., affirms that love for economics isn’t always a diminishing condition. He chronicled his quick takes on work and life during the years he was chief economic adviser from 2009 to 2012, and chief economist of the World Bank from 2012 to 2016. The diary reverberates with irreverence and makes for delightful reading. It captures the author’s many moods but stops short of having an in-depth discussion. There are no exposes, no skeletons tumble out from his working days with the government. Humour and wit in place, his opinions are candid. Readers will laugh over the silliness of important people in big jobs, worry about problems facing the world and wonder about the big questions of life.