Between Numbers and Narratives
In this lecture, Prof. Anant will look at how numbers and narratives shape public policy, revealing the choices behind metrics and the stories that influence their impact.
About the lecture
Public policy in India and elsewhere leans heavily on numbers, growth, poverty, literacy, inflation, and employment. These metrics guide decisions but are shaped by institutional choices and assumptions that are far from neutral. Narratives, meanwhile, move faster than data and often shape public understanding long before verified evidence arrives. This lecture examines how measurement systems gain authority, how numbers are framed within institutional and ethical contexts, and how narratives influence the reception of evidence in policy debates. It draws on Indian and global examples related to economic progress, poverty measurement, and inflation targeting.
About the speaker
TCA Anant retired as a Member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in January 2023. Before joining the UPSC, he served as Professor and Head of the Department of Economics at the Delhi School of Economics (DSE), University of Delhi. He previously held key national roles, including Chief Statistician of India and Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (2010 – 18), and Member Secretary of the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR) (2006 – 09).
His research spans labour economics, industrial organisation, law and economics, and econometrics. He studied economics at the Delhi School of Economics and Cornell University.