Drain of wealth

What’s the connection between a ban on arrack and jewellery from some homes in remote rural India? Answer: hard liquor. With arrack banned, habitual drinkers have to pay more to access their daily fix via costlier hard liquor. The result: the gold bangles, nose rings, and rings worn by their womenfolk have begun to vanish from their homes and find their way into the hands to pawn brokers, according to an economist.