Archive - Gentle Leviathan

Dispatch #111: When good intentions backfire - Rethinking incentives in public policy

This dispatch explores how misaligned incentives in governance can derail policy outcomes and how smarter, context-aware design can fix them.

Jun 21 •

Dispatch #110: Why better policies need smarter states?

This dispatch argues that the state capacity must be understood in terms of its alignment with specific policy design tasks such as analytical…

Jun 15 •

May 2025

Dispatch #109: What makes a policy work? Connection, not complexity

This dispatch unpacks why well-designed policies fail—and how a state’s ability to connect policy-making with implementation through Vertical Policy…

May 17 •

April 2025

Dispatch #108: Crossing the river by feeling the stones

A deep dive into China’s policy experimentation machine—how it learns, where it falters, and why even "feeling the stones" can sometimes lead…

Apr 19 •

Dispatch #107: When good intentions backfire: The unseen cost of India's labor law reform

This dispatch unpacks how a well-meaning labor law in India backfired—driving more workers into informal jobs—and offers lessons on how thoughtful…

Apr 13 •

Dispatch #106: Why public policy students need public choice theory—Even if they don’t like it

This post explores why public choice theory—despite its relevance to real-world governance—remains missing or misunderstood in public policy curricula.

Apr 6 •

March 2025

Dispatch #105: Escaping the middle-income trap

In this dispatch, we explore the World Development Report 2024 and its insights on the middle-income trap.

Mar 9 •

February 2025

Dispatch #104: India’s evolving consumer economy: Lessons from the Indus Valley report

This dispatch explores how India's consumption patterns are evolving, from the rise of premiumization to the dominance of gated communities, with…

Feb 23 •

Dispatch #103: Markets, knowledge, & the power of decentralization: Revisiting Hayek

This dispatch explores Friedrich Hayek's timeless essay The Use of Knowledge in Society, breaking down his argument on decentralised knowledge & the…

Feb 15 •

January 2025

Dispatch #102: 'Bande Mein Tha Dum'

This dispatch dives into Prakash Magdum’s book 'The Mahatma on Celluloid' and four films that bring the Mahatma to life on screen.

Jan 30 •

Dispatch #101: Building better governments: Simplifying public sector capacity

This dispatch explores the concept of public sector capacity, breaking it down into three critical components: state capacity, organisational routines…

Jan 25 •

Dispatch #100: Democracy through strength-Understanding the pathways to democratic reforms in developmental Asia

This post covers the key themes of Dan Slater & Joseph Wong's book 'From Development to Democracy' which explains why some countries in Asia have…

Jan 19 •

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