Even as the world’s economy undergo changes as a result of the digital revolution, renowned economist Kaushik Basu believes that creative education and health sectors will play a key role in countries emerging as winners in the future. Basu noted at the Gujarat Institute of Development Research’s (GIDR) seventh Pravin Visaria Memorial Public Lecture that concentrating on creative education and health sectors will be crucial for countries like India to emerge as winners in the future.
“As we go into the next phase, different countries will have challenges. New winners and losers will emerge. Take any nation, even India, and some would argue that it is a definite winner while others will argue that it is a sure loser. As is always the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. When you look at it closely, India is performing well in certain areas but failing in others… I believe that there will be two dominant sectors in the globe, and nations who establish themselves in these sectors will be major participants. These are the areas of creative education and health “Basu, a former Chief Economic Advisor to the Indian Government and Carl Marks Professor of International Studies at Cornell University, noted.
“Because menial labour will be phased out, people who foster creative education will be at the forefront. Because health will account for a substantial portion of GDP, there is a lot of room for expansion in this area. These two industries will have a significant impact “In his talk titled “The Changing Nature of the Global Economy and Labor Markets: What May the Future Hold,” Basu went on to say more. According to the latest World Bank statistics, while India was the fastest growing country in terms of GDP growth in 2021, at 8.7%, India’s growth rate for the two years 2020-21 was neither high nor low, at 0.8 percent. “We are at a point where we need to think about the creative process moving ahead,” said Basu, referring to lessons India may take from past precedents such as Argentina and the United States in terms of investing in education.