The issue consists of four research papers and an interview with Prof. K L Krishna. In the first paper, �Does Government Deficit Crowd Out Private Investment? An Empirical Analysis for National and Sub-National Governments�, the authors, Pushpa Trivedi, Sangita Misra, Kaushiki Singh and Lavanya Ammu, have attempted to examine crowding out evidence by exploring the link between Gross Fiscal Deficit (GFD), on the one hand and real interest rates and private investment, on the other, using time series framework for the central government and panel framework for 23 state governments for the period 1980-81 to 2017-18. The results confirm the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between GFD, adjusted for cycles, and real rate of interest for central government for the study period, thus supporting financial crowding out. The study also reveals that the government should continue its commitment towards fiscal discipline as any deterioration in public finances risks crowding out private financing via higher real rates (as observed for central government) and lower private investment (as observed for state governments), besides adding to market volatility through uncertainty about sovereign ratings/credibility and complicating monetary policy. The study further reveals that the state governments should continue their efforts towards fiscal consolidation, trying to finance their deficit, less via market borrowings and more through their own revenues.

In the second paper, �Monetary Policy Transmission in India: Interest Rate Puzzle�, the authors, Kajleen Kaur and Ananya Ghosh Dastidar, have attempted to study the impact of the policy interest rate (both nominal and real interest rates) on the output gap in India and explore whether the Reserve Bank�s switching to inflation targeting has hampered the growth objective, using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) cointegration approach for the period from May 2001 to March 2015. The study finds evidence of interest rate puzzle in India for the study period, wherein the output gap and interest rate (both nominal and real) are found to have a direct relation. The study highlights the presence of some other factors such as business mood, investment uncertainty, presence of parallel economy or the time period which was dominated by global financial crisis and its aftermath as the possible reasons for the decline in growth rate.

In the third paper, �Optimal Resource Allocation for SQM: A Comparative Case Study in Pharmaceutical Industry�, the authors, Sanjay Kaushik and Harjit Kaur, have attempted to suggest an optimal allocation of resources for implementing Strategic Quality Management (SQM) strategies in the two pharmaceutical companies using Analytic Network Process (ANP) technique and Goal Programming (GP) operations research technique. ANP technique is used to assess the gap between desired and actual resource allocation and GP is used for optimal allocation of resources. The results of ANP indicate that some of the quality strategies were over-resourced, while others were under-resourced in both the companies. The study further reveals that both the companies are not allocating their resources efficiently to implement various quality strategies.

In the fourth paper, �Assessing the Determinants of FDI in Emerging Markets: Do Natural Resources and Institutions Matter?�, the authors, Anup M Nandialath and Tim Rogmans, have attempted to examine the robustness of the relationship between natural resources and country-level institutional variables on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region using Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) approach for the period 1988-2008. The study reveals that the FDI flows are determined by per capita GDP and oil prices and the variables have a positive coefficient and are statistically significant. The results indicate that GDP per capita has a positive and significant effect on FDI in the MENA region with a conditional posterior sign equal to one. The study also reveals that oil prices have a significant positive impact on FDI into the region.

The current issue also features an interview with Prof. K L Krishna, an eminent econometrician of contemporary times. The candid expression of his thoughts on the research trends across the globe will certainly inspire the research community at large.