Demonetisation and Remonetisation in India

Abstract

The recent demonetisation in India is an issue of potentially wider relevance that requires further analysis. This brief article places the current evidence into a wider context, indicates how the process has been managed so far and then raises some searching questions concerning the role of the Indian state. Particularly, to what extent can this kind of measure be seen as evidence of responsible governance in the wider context of ‘Modinomics’, relating to claims that government should be less of a spender than an enabler? Wider elements of epistemology, asking how we know what we think we know about India’s black economy and informal sector are also gaining prominence in such endeavours.