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The Indian economist Jayati Ghosh leads with Joseph Stiglitz a think tank called ICRICT, which campaigns for a reform of the taxation of multinationals. The European Commission is presenting this September 30 in the Council of European Ministers a solidarity contribution on the superprofits of the energy giants.
Brussels does not propose a tax, nor a tax, because that would require a unanimous vote, while Europe has within it several tax havens which would have opposed this question. She offers a « contribution » exceptional. It is a question of taxing up to 33% the extraordinary profits made during the crisis. Profits will be taxed « indus » exceeding by more than 20% the average profits of the previous three years. This contribution would bring in, according to Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European executive, 140 billion euros. Europe could thus achieve what Jayati Ghosh has been fighting for for years. Who is this committed woman?
His model
Wrapped in her Indian sari, Jayati Ghosh listens attentively to her interlocutor. And it is with the ardor of her twenty years that she told us about her battles. Born 67 years ago in Bangkok, she returned with her parents, civil servants, to India where she studied sociology at the University of Delhi and economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University where she still teaches today. At 22, it was a great friend of her father who became her model: “Ashok Mitra was an economist. He wrote a lot and his works were much discussed at the time. He had a column in a well-known Indian newspaper. He wanted to change the world. Entering the left-wing government of West Bengal as Minister of Finance in 1977, Ashok Mitra initiated land reform, redistributed land and gave more power to local authorities. And he worked to make education more inclusive. I think that I made mine this mixture of literature, economic analysis and political and social engagement, which characterized it. »
The economy to understand the social
Jayati Ghosh regularly denounces caste-based discrimination which, despite its prohibition by the Indian Constitution, persists. She is convinced that economics makes it possible to understand social changes. Subject of his doctorate at the University of Cambridge, in 1984: a non-capitalist solution to the problem of the rental of agricultural land. Author of important books on economics, committed internationally, the co-president of theICRICT keep your feet on the ground: “Our job as privileged educated people, particularly in developing countries like India and especially when you are born a woman, is to spread this knowledge that you have received, to analyze it so that ordinary people can understand it. Too many things are left to political power alone. »
The lobbying of the countries of the South
Faithful to his vocation, Jayati Ghosh writes regularly in the newspapers. Thus, it considers that lobbying or “representation of interests” is not the prerogative of large groups. This is the reason for his commitment to l’International Development Economics Associates, IDEAs, a network of more than a thousand economists and researchers around the world who work for a better understanding of the countries of the South. Countries that sometimes see themselves as victims of globalization.
To put an end to the sacrosanct GDP
The economist believes that the countries of the South have the capacity to change things, particularly within the United Nations. Jayati Ghosh was recently appointed adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on economic and social affairs. His battle horse: how to measure the increase in the standard of living of a country and its enrichment other than with this good old GDP. “There are at least five other criteria that come into play. Namely: the labor market with median salaries, often below the average salary. Men and women taken separately. Second criterion, the time devoted to paid work compared to unpaid work and free time. Always, by gender. The last three are: access to food, carbon emissions per capita and the amount of grain needed to feed the population. With this kind of information, we will know how people live,” says the economist.
And for people to live better, multinationals must pay their taxes. A fair return of things, summarizes Jayati Ghosh. Before concluding : “Life is uncertain and short. Do what you can to make things better for someone, somewhere. »