Note ban and election results 2017: Good politics is bad economics

Demonetisation move proves a roaring success for PM Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party

Let us acknowledge one fact straight up that elected leaders never take an economic decision without considering its political ramifications first. Now we must acknowledge that politically, demonetisation was a roaring success for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party, even as it was bad economics.
 
That last statement goes against the grain of what the October-December quarter gross domestic product data showed. However, a number of economists believe that there will be a downward revision to the seven per cent headline figure as the informal sector is never properly captured in the first provisional estimates.