Relevance of Constitutional Economics in India’s Post-Neoliberal Era

Abstract

Traditionally, constitutional economics prefers a constitutional constraint legitimized by rule of law over economic constraint when public policy decisions are made. However, pragmatic politics considers both these types of restraints as too feeble in the electoral games. Very often, ideologies drive the passions for political decision making. In this paper, we examine why electoral logic and economic logic may not be sufficient for the transformative vision of constitution in contexts where huge social inequalities prevail. We show this through demonstration of the interplay of Indian economic policies and constitutional values. We argue that in the build up towards neo-liberal era, constitutional values were systematically sidelined. However, the crisis of neo-liberalism forces us to look for alternative policy making approaches, and the Constitutional economics can provide some viable options.