The Budget for 2006-07

Never have economic ideas found such resonance in a Mauritian Budget as in the one presented on June 9 by Finance Minister, Mr Sithanen, for fiscal year 2006-2007. Good Economics offers the right incentives, recognises the importance and limits of the State, realises the constraints, threats and possibilities of modern times. Bad Economics yields the wrong incentives, delves into ideological debates, attempts to perpetuate the rents and privileges associated with bygone eras. Good Economics has finally arrived.

Race Fixing

There is no worse form of regressive wealth transfer than the one that occurs every Saturday at the Champs-de-Mars racecourse in Port-Louis, the capital of Mauritius. Factory workers, bricklayers, fishermen flock in their thousands along with rich stable owners and their wives in fancy hats. World-class jockeys never cease to praise the warmth and enthusiasm of the public, not knowing perhaps that it consists of some desperate souls gambling away their weekly wage. In principle, race betting ought to be a zero-sum game, minus some administrative charges. But it is widely believed, rightly or wrongly, that races are often fixed among rich punters, stable owners and jockeys. So, why do the small punters bother?