M Bhoj Reddy & EV Ram Reddi Endowment Lecture Series themed ‘Governance in Action’ was organised by the Foundation for Democratic Reforms on 14th November, 2019. Governance in Action is aimed at providing a platform to facilitate open and informed public discourse, while encouraging deliberations on the state of Indian democracy and governance, suggesting viable reforms. 

The topic of the lecture was: ‘Are we frittering our Demographic Dividend? Education and Health in Human Capital for India’s Future’, organized in collaboration with the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI). The lecture was delivered by Prof Lant Pritchett and Prof Jeffrey Hammer.

Prof Lant Pritchett is the RISE Research Director at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. Previously, he was Professor of the Practice of International Development at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has written on a range of development issues including but not limited to economic growth, education, state capability, development assistance and methods of project evaluation. His talk focused on an approach to policy based on the argument of “capability first, not good policy first” integrated with the educational policy debate.

Prof Jeffrey Hammer is the Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor in Economic Development at the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. His research interests include economic development, public economics and health, particularly in South Asian countries. His current research is on the quality of medical care in India, determinants of health status and improving service delivery through better accountability. His talk focused on evidence based health policy in India.