Common good vs individual interests

Book review of Economics for the Common Good

Economics for the Common Good

Jean Tirole 

Princeton University Press

563 pages; Rs 2,014

This November was not the first time health concerns, a result of the smog that engulfed the National Capital Region (NCR), have dominated the public discourse. In fact, the issue has been discussed ad nauseam with almost clockwork-like precision every year. Yet, nothing changes. 

Principal among the causes for high pollution levels is the burning of paddy stubble in the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab. The explanation is pretty straightforward. The combined harvesters used to harvest paddy cannot cut the crop close enough to