This blog is a technical journal. A wide variety of articles show up here. Most articles pitch new ideas in some field or the other. But there are some patterns. Recognising these design patterns is useful in parsing and writing articles. This article is an attempt at describing some of these design patterns.
This is an article which is a 1000-2000 word summary of a new research paper. The summary is written for the (sophisticated) readership of this blog; it is not at the level of a newspaper articles. There is the luxury of space (1000-2000 words), floating objects (tables, graphs, equations) and links. Most readers will stop at reading the summary, a few will click on the link and read the paper.
Examples:
In an ideal world, all new law would be preceded by a notice-and-commment process. In India, this takes place some times. An important class of articles are those that critique draft law or recently enacted law.
Examples:
After the fact, it is important to look back at policy initiatives. What was the problem in the world that the initiative set out to solve? Did the problem get addressed as was originally intended? Under the Indian Financial Code, these kinds of post mortems would be mandatory.
Examples:
The market economy bubbles with activity every day. It's often interesting to take a deep dive into an event and better understand it. This generally yields general insights into how markets work.
Examples:
Government committee reports are a vital part of the Indian policy process. Many committee reports make novel contributions to the analysis of problems and to the range of solutions that are within the realm of possibility. They are key pillars of the literature in Indian public policy.
Examples:
Many times, it is useful to pull together multiple writings into a unified set of links, that shine the light on an issue of contemporary interest. The thumb rule that is worth applying is: would it make sense to make a mini e-book where each of these writings are a chapter?
Examples:
How would a recent event have worked out if a hypothetical policy framework have been in place? These are very interesting exercises in which we can visualise the clanking machinery that is proposed.
Examples:
There are endemically low standards of quality in the drafting of law in India. `Drafting hall of shame' articles show examples of law (either Parliamentary law or Subordinate legislation) where there are egregious errors in drafting. The articles border on humour, showing outrageously bad examples, performing a certain name-and-shame function. They help foster a new culture of better drafting of law in India.
Examples:
These articles are literature surveys that show what is known and what is not known, at a point in time.
Examples:
For some conferences/workshops, it's possible to put all the ideas of the meeting into your head, and write a state of the art article. Some of the articles above have come about in this fashion. When you do this, you must ensure that the article is readable and interesting, in and of itself. A log of what you heard in the meeting does not pass muster.
These articles push on the frontiers of technique.
Examples:
These are analytical articles which pose questions and obtain persuasive answers to them.
Examples:
Unveiling a paper
This is an article which is a 1000-2000 word summary of a new research paper. The summary is written for the (sophisticated) readership of this blog; it is not at the level of a newspaper articles. There is the luxury of space (1000-2000 words), floating objects (tables, graphs, equations) and links. Most readers will stop at reading the summary, a few will click on the link and read the paper.
Examples:
- Judicial review of the Speaker's certificate on the Aadhar Bill by Pratik Datta, Shefali Malhotra and Shivangi Tyagi, 1 March 2017.
- Towards a privacy framework for India in the age of the internet by Vrinda Bhandari and Renuka Sane, 2 November 2016.
- Legislative strategy for setting up an independent debt management agency by Radhika Pandey and Ila Patnaik, 6 October 2016.
- UIDAI's public policy innovations by Ram Sewak Sharma, 8 September 2016.
- Dating the Indian business cycle by Radhika Pandey, Ila Patnaik and Ajay Shah, 7 September 2016.
- Measuring the transmission of monetary policy in India by Rajeswari Sengupta, 1 September 2016.
- The measurement of Indian manufacturing GDP: problems and some solutions by Amey Sapre and Pramod Sinha, 30 August 2016.
- Banks are unfair in their role as financial advisors / distributors by Monika Halan and Renuka Sane, 13 August 2016.
- Motivations for capital controls and their effectiveness by Radhika Pandey, Gurnain K. Pasricha, Ila Patnaik and Ajay Shah, 5 April 2016.
- Foreign currency borrowing by Indian firms: Towards a new policy framework by Ila Patnaik, Ajay Shah and Nirvikar Singh, 3 April 2016.
Analysis of draft law or recently enacted law
In an ideal world, all new law would be preceded by a notice-and-commment process. In India, this takes place some times. An important class of articles are those that critique draft law or recently enacted law.
Examples:
- Protecting retail investors' interest in the bond market by Ritika Chhabra and Anjali Sharma, 27 February 2017.
- TRAI's consultation towards a net neutrality framework in India by Amba Kak, Mayank Mishra and Smriti Parsheera, 23 January 2017.
- SEBI's proposals on advisors and distributors by Renuka Sane, 22 November 2016.
- Weaknesses of recent moves on capital controls for outbound capital flows by Gausia Shaikh and Bhargavi Zaveri, 29 October 2016.
- SEBI's proposal to regulate social media: Where did we go wrong? by Ajay Shah and Bhargavi Zaveri, 15 October 2016.
- Analysis of the recent proposed SARFAESI amendments: are these consistent with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code? by Rajeswari Sengupta and Richa Roy, 29 May 2016.
- Rajasthan's land title reforms: The need to identify the right interventions by Bhargavi Zaveri, 21 May 2016.
Post-mortem of a new policy initiative
After the fact, it is important to look back at policy initiatives. What was the problem in the world that the initiative set out to solve? Did the problem get addressed as was originally intended? Under the Indian Financial Code, these kinds of post mortems would be mandatory.
Examples:
- Measuring outputs v. outcomes: Did the restriction on foreign investment in rupee-debt work? by Anurag Dutt, Arpita Pattanaik and Bhargavi Zaveri, 6 January 2017.
Watching markets work
The market economy bubbles with activity every day. It's often interesting to take a deep dive into an event and better understand it. This generally yields general insights into how markets work.
Examples:
- Watching markets work: The dramatic events of 8 November 2016 by Anurag Dutt, Sargam Jain, Ajay Shah and Susan Thomas, 4 December 2016.
- Watching markets work: The `surgical strikes' of 29 September 2016 by Susan Thomas, 9 November 2016.
Unveiling a government committee report
Government committee reports are a vital part of the Indian policy process. Many committee reports make novel contributions to the analysis of problems and to the range of solutions that are within the realm of possibility. They are key pillars of the literature in Indian public policy.
Examples:
- Establishing the Financial Redress Agency by Dhirendra Swarup, 27 January 2017.
Table of contents
Many times, it is useful to pull together multiple writings into a unified set of links, that shine the light on an issue of contemporary interest. The thumb rule that is worth applying is: would it make sense to make a mini e-book where each of these writings are a chapter?
Examples:
- RBI reforms in the light of the demonetisation episode by Ajay Shah, 16 February 2017.
- Questions of law in demonetisation by Pratik Datta, Radhika Pandey, Suyash Rai, Shubho Roy, and Ajay Shah, 18 November 2016. When this article came up, it only posed three questions. In later days, articles appeared which answered two out of the three questions.
Policy counterfactuals, alternative histories
How would a recent event have worked out if a hypothetical policy framework have been in place? These are very interesting exercises in which we can visualise the clanking machinery that is proposed.
Examples:
- How would demonetisation have shaped up under an improved RBI board? by Bhargavi Zaveri, 25 January 2017.
Drafting hall of shame
There are endemically low standards of quality in the drafting of law in India. `Drafting hall of shame' articles show examples of law (either Parliamentary law or Subordinate legislation) where there are egregious errors in drafting. The articles border on humour, showing outrageously bad examples, performing a certain name-and-shame function. They help foster a new culture of better drafting of law in India.
Examples:
- Drafting hall of shame: A mistake in the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 by Aditya Singh Rajput and Shubho Roy, 30 March 2017.
- Mistakes in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code by Shefali Malhotra and Rajeswari Sengupta, 18 November 2016.
- Criminal sanctions for a new concept of exchange control violations by Pratik Datta, 11 December 2015.
The state of the art
These articles are literature surveys that show what is known and what is not known, at a point in time.
Examples:
- Emerging themes around privacy and data protection, by Vrinda Bhandari, Amba Kak, Smriti Parsheera and Renuka Sane, 12 April 2017.
- Household finance in India: The state of the art, 2016 by Renuka Sane, 16 October 2016.
- The great Indian GDP measurement controversy by Rajeswari Sengupta, 10 September 2016.
- Indian bankruptcy reforms: Where we are and where we go next by Ajay Shah and Susan Thomas, 18 May 2016.
For some conferences/workshops, it's possible to put all the ideas of the meeting into your head, and write a state of the art article. Some of the articles above have come about in this fashion. When you do this, you must ensure that the article is readable and interesting, in and of itself. A log of what you heard in the meeting does not pass muster.
Novel methods and their applications
These articles push on the frontiers of technique.
Examples:
- Sophisticated clustered standard errors using recent R tools by Dhananjay Ghei, 15 June 2016.
Original quantitative research
These are analytical articles which pose questions and obtain persuasive answers to them.
Examples:
- Direct participation in the Indian equity market: First estimates of some basic facts by Anurag Dutt, Renuka Sane and Susan Thomas, 11 November 2016.
- Evaluating IRDA's orders by Ashish Aggarwal and Rhythm Behl, 2 November 2016.
- The Diwali effect in Delhi air quality by Dhananjay Ghei, Arjun Gupta and Renuka Sane, 28 October 2016.
- Describing Delhi's air quality crisis by Dhananjay Ghei, Arjun Gupta and Renuka Sane, 13 October 2016.
- Are fleeting orders by high frequency traders a source of market abuse? by Nidhi Aggarwal and Chirag Anand, 29 August 2016.
- The gains to US GDP from a Doing Business score of 100 by Dhananjay Ghei and Nikita Singh, 11 July 2016.
- Understanding judicial delays in India: Evidence from debt recovery tribunals by Prasanth Regy, Shubho Roy and Renuka Sane, 18 May 2016.
It's feasible to take all the information from some conferences or workshops and turn it into a cutting-edge article. Some of the aforementioned articles were inspired in this way. When doing this, you need to make sure that the piece is readable and engaging on its own. It is unacceptable to submit a transcript of the meeting's proceedings.
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