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The article discusses feminist theories of political economy and economic development, focusing particularly on notions of the new middle class in India. The authors assert that the idea of a new middle class is both a political and popular culture construct and they track its origins and development in both colonial and post-colonial India. Other subjects explored include national identity, women's social roles and status, the social impact of globalization, modernity, and the political activity of the middle class.

There has been a resuscitation of the view that the state can play an important role in the industrialization process. But, for states to be successful in fostering development, they need a considerable degree of internal cohesiveness, which is generally supplied by the presence of a robust, Weberian bureaucratic corps. This article argues that, while internal cohesiveness is indeed critical, bureaucratic rule following can produce results in the opposite direction, depending on the interagency relations that obtain within the state. The effect of interagency relations is demonstrated through an examination of India and Korea. Both have worked to foster industrialization, and both are endowed with relatively healthy bureaucracies. However, the Indian state was paralyzed and fragmented, while its Korean counterpart did secure the requisite internal coherence. Not only did the culture of rule following fail to generate a cohesive state in India, but it, in fact, worked against such an outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]