Rajesh Jain

From the book “Missing in Action“: “A fundamental concept underlying economic reasoning and public policy is the property rights system. To an Indian, the phrase ‘right to property’ conjures up the image of a rapacious zamindar exploiting peasants. This narrative has fostered a zero-sum perception—owning property is assumed to have occurred in the context of the violation of someone else’s human rights. This perception has, in turn, meant that the enforcement of property rights has always been weak in India. Once a fundamental right, the right to property under the Indian Constitution was deprecated to a constitutional right by the 44th amendment. Now the State can go about violating an individual’s right over their property, as long as it can couch this takeover is being done under vaguely defined ‘public interest’.”

Shane Parrish: “Here is something counterintuitive: it’s easier to do something daily rather than a few times a week…Doing something every day turns desired behavior into default behavior. When willpower is lacking, routine takes over.”

Technology Review: 10 breakthrough technologies of 2023. “CRISPR for high cholesterol, AI that makes images, a chip design that changes everything (RISC-V), Mass-market military drones, Abortion pills via telemedicine, Organs on demand, the inevitable EV, James Webb Space Telescope, Ancient DNA analysis, Battery recycling.”

Nathan Baschez: “You’ve probably heard the phrase “writing is thinking” before. The idea is that as you put thoughts into words, the thoughts themselves start to change, and new thoughts emerge. I’ve experienced the transformative power of putting words to paper, and it alone is a great reason to take the time to write. But there are also other, less well-publicized benefits to writing. Here are five use cases that I’ve found to be most useful and interesting…Writing is managing, engineering, searching, testing, and leading.”

Tanay Jaipuria on the state of Generative AI. “The rapid speed of development of Generative AI is transforming the way we think about technology. Not only has it opened up a world of creative possibilities, but it has also made numerous everyday tasks easier and more efficient.”

WSJ: “If India’s economy had kept pace with China over the past 40 years, India would currently have a GDP of $10 trillion instead of $2.73 trillion. Between the military spending an economy of that size can support and the economic and political clout it would give Indian businesspeople and diplomats, there would be no “China threat” in the Indo-Pacific. When and if the gap between India and China begins to close, the balance of power in Asia will also start to shift, and China will need to rethink its approach to regional and world politics. America’s problem in Asia is not that China is too rich. It is that India is too poor. In the short to medium term, the imbalance between the two Asian giants requires the U.S. to work with our allies to keep Chinese ambitions and power in check. But even as we focus on the clear and present danger, we must keep the big picture in mind. The U.S. and India have disagreed and will disagree on many things, but America’s national interests are firmly tied to India’s success.”

Eamonn Butler: “As Richard Cobden realised, the non-material, non-economic benefits of trade are also profound. Regardless of their economic impact, the choice, innovation, and progress that are brought by trade improve our lives and the world we live in. Trade brings us better clothing, a better diet, better healthcare, better technology and much else. Peace, which is not only valuable in its own right but also essential to economic life, is also promoted by trade, because trade demands that we deal with people from outside our own country and culture. To trade well with others, we must come to understand – and respect, or at least tolerate – their values. Such familiarity diminishes any hostility we may have towards them.” [via CafeHayek]

FT: “It is a quarter of a century since the first quantum bits, or qubits, were hooked together to make a rudimentary quantum computer. With their ability to represent both the ones and zeros in traditional computers at the same time, qubits are the most basic components of systems that could far surpass today’s computers in solving certain types of problem. Since then, headway has depended less on hard science than on applied engineering: creating more stable qubits that can hold their quantum state for more than a tiny fraction of a second, linking them together in larger systems and coming up with new forms of programming to exploit the characteristics of the technology…The quantum age is unlikely to unfold with the same sense of metronomic inevitability. It has the potential to deliver big surprises, both on the upside and downside. A global race is on to devise new techniques to control and exploit quantum effects, and to create far more effective algorithms — raising the possibility of sudden leaps in performance.”

Token Dispatch: “A soulbound token is a type of token that is unique in the way that it is tied to an individual’s identity. It is called “soulbound” because it is bound to the identity of the person who holds it and can only be transferred or used by that person. This differs from traditional tokens, which can be freely transferred between individuals without restrictions. The concept of soulbound tokens is based on the idea that every individual has a unique digital identity, which can be verified using blockchain technology. Linking a token to an individual’s identity can represent ownership of digital assets, such as digital collectibles, virtual real estate, and other forms of digital property. Additionally, soulbound tokens can be used as a form of identification, allowing individuals to prove their identity online and access certain services or platforms.”

WSJ: “The World Trade Organization, the embodiment of [the] rules-based order, has increasingly been sidelined as countries turn to export controls, subsidies and tariffs to promote domestic industries or kneecap adversaries….[The] clash exemplifies the tensions chipping away at the world trading system. Under the WTO and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, members tacitly agreed not to invoke national security, says William Reinsch, a trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. That tacit agreement no longer exists. If others follow U.S. precedent, “the whole system is useless: It invites everyone to make a national security claim every time.””

WSJ: “Once suitable only for making prototypes, 3-D printing is now reliable enough for mass-produced commercial products, upending the way manufacturing works…3-D printing, also known as “additive manufacturing,” generally works by adding tiny layers of material—usually powdered metal or plastic—one at a time to form an item, and fusing them with binding agents, lasers or other methods. Thus, parts are “grown” instead of forged, cast, molded, or machined as in traditional manufacturing. Just a decade ago, this kind of manufacturing was, with rare exceptions, suitable only for creating prototypes. What’s different now is that newer technology lets these systems print objects strong enough to be used in finished products—and relatively quickly. Recently, for example, General Motors made 60,000 weatherproof seals using 3-D printing, in plastic, rather than making them the old-fashioned way, to make sure it could deliver its 2022 Chevy Tahoe on time. The forthcoming Cadillac Celestiq, an “ultra-luxury” vehicle, will include more than 100 3-D-printed parts. BMW is making broad use of 3-D-printed parts throughout its lineup. Mercury Marine is producing its newest V12, 600-horsepower outboard motor with 3-D-printed molds.”

Bloomberg: “Since the end of the Cold War, however, progressives and conservatives have largely converged in a broad consensus about globalization, international finance and liberal free trade. As the old ideological battles over economic interests became increasingly irrelevant, fights over cultural, national and racial identities began to take their place. Instead of clear interests, politics now appeal more and more to people’s emotions, about what it means to be British (or English), or American, or Jewish, or White, gay, transgender or Black. When those emotions involve existential fears of losing status to outsiders, or immigrants, or ethnic and religious minorities, extremist appeals become much more potent.”

S Shanthi writes about proficorns: “Proficorns is basically a term used for companies that are profitable. Rajesh Jain, founder and managing director, Netcore Cloud, who apparently coined the word defines proficorn as a company having four characteristics: profitable, private, promoter-funded and having a reasonable valuation (say, $100 million or more). In a 2020 blogpost, he spoke about how and why he coined this word. “In a recent Netcore Advisory Board meeting, one of the members remarked that Netcore had built a very interesting and different model – of profitable growth, without raising external capital. This needed to be talked about more, as an alternative to the “unicorn” growth model – where lots of capital is raised and burnt through quickly in the quest for rapid growth at all costs. As I was listening, a word came to my mind – “profi-corn”. I said it aloud, and everyone loved it. I spoke about this in a US visit earlier this year, and got a positive response – the word has a certain ring to it,” he writes. This word has gained traction today at the back of a slowdown in funding and companies, including many unicorns, resorting to steps like layoffs in order to sustain their businesses. Many stakeholders from the ecosystem are coming out in the open to talk about profitability while quoting examples of successful bootstrapped companies such as Zerodha and Zoho.”

WSJ: “Good relationships keep us healthier and happier. Period. If you want to make one decision to ensure your own health and happiness, it should be to cultivate warm relationships of all kinds.”

David Brooks: “A society can get a lot wrong as long as it gets the big thing right. And that big thing is this: If a society is good at unlocking creativity, at nurturing the abilities of its people, then its ills can be surmounted.he economist Tyler Cowen suggests a thought experiment to illustrate this point. Take out a piece of paper. In one column, list all of the major problems this country faces—inequality, political polarization, social distrust, climate change, and so on. In another column, write seven words: “America has more talent than ever before.” Cowen’s point is that column B is more important than column A. Societies don’t decline when they are in the midst of disruption and mess; they decline when they lose energy. And creative energy is one thing America has in abundance.”

WSJ: “The [US] government and companies are spending billions on a frenetic effort to build up domestic manufacturing and safeguard the supply of chips. Since 2020, semiconductor companies have proposed more than 40 projects across the country worth nearly $200 billion that would create 40,000 jobs, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. It’s a big bet on an industry that is defining the contours of international economic competition and determining countries’ political, technological and military advantage. “Where the oil reserves are located has defined geopolitics for the last five decades,” Intel Corp. Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger declared at a Wall Street Journal conference in October. “Where the chip factories are for the next five decades is more important.”…While one barrel of oil is much like another, semiconductors come in a bewildering range of types, capabilities and costs and depend on a multilayered supply chain spanning thousands of inputs and numerous countries. Given the economies of scale, the U.S. can’t produce all of these itself.”

Matt Gorniak: “The best way to view the world of B2B Commerce is in 3 stages. First, it was a world of spreadsheets and lots of manual processes. Second, where most B2B companies are today – a world built around making it easier for the seller to sell. Tools like CRM, CPQ, ERP etc. make sales processes faster and more efficient for the seller.  Third is the new age of B2B where new kings will be crowned. Today it’s not about just making it easier for sellers to sell. What’s changed is that now it’s about making it easy for buyers to buy. B2B winners will make it easy for customers to buy on their terms. They will show more or their product and deliver amazing, seamless, and efficient product experiences that keep their customers coming back.”

Ramachandra Guha: “The degradation of the Indian party system is more or less complete, with one set of political parties becoming family firms, and another set becoming quasi-religious cults exalting their leader as a living god. The broader consequences of this depressing trend remain to be examined. The political party is arguably the most important institution of modern society, on whose healthy functioning democracy itself vitally depends. If parties themselves operate in a culture of deference and obedience, if they mandate family-worship or hero-worship, what does this signify for the wider political culture? If a leader wants only praise from his party colleagues, would he ever be inclined to promote a free press? If a leader demands unquestioning loyalty from party members, why would he, when in power, not then demand unquestioning support for his mala fide acts of policy from the bureaucracy, the police, the media, or the judiciary?”

The Economist writes that India’s “rocketing Internet growth has stalled”. It writes: “Of the country’s roughly 1bn mobile-phone users, a third still use old-fashioned dumbphones, mainly for voice calls. And recent data suggest that they are not about to upgrade them. All but a tiny proportion of Indian internet users get online using their phones. Yet the number of wireless broadband connections is flat. In October last year, the latest month for which figures are available, the telecoms regulator counted 790m wireless broadband connections, barely exceeding the previous peak of 789m, which was recorded in August 2021. (The number of subscribers is lower than this, because many people have more than one connection.) Smartphone sales are down. After growing for a decade, sales peaked at 161m units in 2021, according to idc, a market researcher, which reckons that last year the number fell to 148m. Meanwhile the average smartphone price has surged, from $163 before the pandemic to $220 in 2022.”

Evan Armstrong: “Self-improvement is great and productivity is wonderful, but something about this vein of thought feels off. When I try to follow this advice, I may temporarily get more stuff done, but it comes at the expense of my soul. I feel like an obsessive-compulsive lumberjack, hyper-focused on marginal improvements in my sawing technique—until one day, as I finish my labors, I realize I accidentally clear-cut the forest for the trees. The little things we do to make ourselves better may end up draining us dry. Instead, I would argue for the unoptimized life…We get so caught up in the daily grind, in the pursuit of the next step of the ladder, that we miss the point of being. I think the default state of life is that we will get filled up with small things. Whether small productivity improvements or minor inconveniences, it doesn’t matter. Either take away our chance to focus on something more.”

WSJ: “Studies show that for optimal health, it’s best to consume most of your calories earlier in the day rather than later — for example by eating a large breakfast, a modest lunch, and a small dinner. This pattern of eating aligns with our circadian rhythms, the innate 24-hour clock that governs many aspects of our health, from our daily hormonal fluctuations and body temperatures to our sleep-wake cycles…Studies show that a meal consumed at 9 a.m. can have vastly different metabolic effects than the same meal consumed at 9 p.m. This emerging field of research, known as chrono-nutrition, represents a paradigm shift in how nutrition researchers think about food and health. Instead of focusing solely on nutrients and calories, scientists are increasingly looking at meal timing and discovering that it can have striking effects on your weight, appetite, chronic disease risk and your body’s ability to burn and store fat.”

WaPo: “In a new working paper…, Aviv Ovadya and co-author Luke Thorburn of King’s College London make the case for what they call “bridging systems” — algorithms designed to elevate posts that resonate with diverse audiences. They see the approach as an antidote to today’s toxic Twitter and Facebook feeds, which tend to highlight the most attention-grabbing content, even if it’s polarizing. Social media that reward pure engagement — likes, shares, angry comments — have an inherent “bias toward division,” Ovadya argues. The headlines, pictures and videos that thrive tend to be those that immediately appeal to a specific audience, whether that’s vaccine skeptics on Instagram, conspiracy theorists on YouTube or teens with eating disorders on TikTok. And if that content also repels or alienates another group, that negative engagement can amplify it further.”

WSJ: “For years, researchers thought it was impossible to change your personality. It was fully formed by early adulthood and that’s it. But now, a body of research by personality psychologists shows that we can change, that many of us want to, and that we’re often happier when we do. A key is to start small. Use your strengths to change your weaknesses and fake it until you make it. “Changing your personality is similar to losing weight,” says Nathan Hudson, an assistant professor of psychology at Southern Methodist University, who studies personality change. “Just setting the goal won’t help; you’ve got to take actionable steps and stick with it.””

Noah Smith: “I’ve been writing a series of development economics posts, trying to highlight successes (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Poland, Turkey), failures (Pakistan, Haiti, Ukraine), and countries that are somewhere in between (Philippines, Jamaica). In general, I’ve been trying to think about these stories using the framework offered by the economist Ha-Joon Chang and the author Joe Studwell. Essentially, the idea is that A) it’s much better in the long run to be a manufacturing country than a natural resource country, and B) exports are really important for importing foreign technology and business practices. This theory — which is now getting a little bit of renewed attention from economists — is a refinement of the industrial policy ideas of Alexander Hamilton, Friedrich List, and various economists at the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry.”

Economist: “Industrial policy is just about as old as industry itself. Scarcely had Britain’s Industrial Revolution got going when Alexander Hamilton, America’s first Treasury secretary, argued for protection of his country’s industry, declaring that Adam Smith’s arguments in favour of free trade “though ‘geometrically true’ are ‘practically false’”. America, France and Germany industrialised behind tariff barriers. After the second world war scores of governments tried to help industrialisation along, with seeming success in places like Japan and South Korea, and rather different results elsewhere. Policy today is of a different sort: pursued by countries already at the technological frontier, in a world of complex global supply chains. Yet past research still holds valuable lessons…Interventions often raise costs and thus hurt consumers. Messrs Baldwin and Krugman judged the Japanese were made worse off, on net, by the effort to build a chip-exporting industry. Because the output of one industry is often the input for another, help for upstream producers can inflict pain down the supply chain. Reviewing efforts to boost steel industries across 21 countries, Bruce Blonigen of the University of Oregon found such interventions sharply cut the export competitiveness of downstream industries.” More: “Just as America wants to be at the cutting edge of semiconductor production, so do governments in Asia and Europe. All have national champions, and scores of startups vying for a slice of the action. As America and its allies offer more aid, these firms will lap it up. In the process, there will be a duplication of efforts across borders, a waste of public funds and recrimination between countries meant to be co-operating. It may take hundreds of billions of dollars to relearn why America was once an opponent, not an advocate, of subsidies.”

Tim Martinez: “Is every customer/client the same? Is it possible that some customers are better to acquire than others? Maybe because they turn into recurring patrons or that they have a higher appreciation for the product/service you offer. It could be that some customers are simply a better fit for your offering thus making them more loyal and better advocates. Or to put it even more bluntly, maybe their $ is simply more profitable. Conversely some customers are simply the opposite. They drain, take all they can and end up being an expense on time, energy and capital. Revenue is king – yes, but some kings turn into tyrants and dictators. Your job is to know the difference.”