Raghuram Rajan: 'Colonial Mentality' Holding Back India January 21, 2010

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Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2009/11/08/Great_Expectations_Indias_Next_Aspiration

Professor Raghuram Rajan argues that a "colonial mentality" is hindering India's economic growth and urges Indians to take a more proactive role in building up the country's "academic human capital."

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India has the potential manpower of 200 million college graduates and 500 million skilled workers, and the ability to generate over 10 percent of world trade in the next 15 years, provided leaders prioritize this goal. What must be done to fulfill these great expectations? - World Economic Forum

Raghuram Rajan is the Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.

Dr. Rajan is also currently an economic advisor to the Prime Minister of India. Prior to resuming teaching in 2007, Dr. Rajan was the Economic Counselor and Director of Research (in plain English, the Chief Economist) at the International Monetary Fund (from 2003). Since then, he has chaired the Indian government's Committee on Financial Sector Reforms, which submitted its report in September 2008.

Dr. Rajan's research interests are in banking, corporate finance, and economic development, especially the role finance plays in it. His papers have been published in all the top economics and finance journals, and he has served on the editorial board of the American Economic Review and the Journal of Finance. He has also written a book with Luigi Zingales entitled Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists. He is currently at work on a book entitled Fault Lines: How Hidden Cracks Still Threaten the World Economy.