Via Marginal Revolution.com: Faux Indian Government
A fake government office has been discovered in northern India that collected taxes, provided civic services and even handed out birth and death certificates, a report said Monday.
An office was set up outside Jhansi town in Uttar Pradesh state and 20 people were employed to carry out jobs such as street sweeping.
Officials believe the operation originally started as a scam to collect fees from residents in return for one municipal janitor.
But the leader of the operation, named as Shyam Valmiki, allegedly branched out, opening a functioning office that employed a team of janitors.
“He later seems to have decided to carry on with the office as it did not appear to be a loss-making proposition,” an unnamed police officer was quoted by Times of India saying.
(My italics)
Which naturally leads one to ask - were they providing the services better than the government run offices?
This also has some relevance to the fascinating discussion about industrialists v. entrepreneurs that’s going on in the comments of Leela’s post. My quick Taka 1.372 (under prevailing exchange rates): the appropriate distinction is to worry about is between access capitalists and entrepreneurs/industrialists, rather than between industrialists and entrepreneurs. Managerial ability should not be as easily discounted as I have seen in it be in that discussion. Just ask the Indian guy who’s about to be appointed CEO of Citibank.
OK, back to Administrative law. ‘Cause lawyers are uncommonly bad managers.
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December 17, 2007 at 4:13 pm
fug
access capitalists are those who exploit social inbreeding profitably?
you know, i think my latent non interest in the run on the mill gets the better of me in these things. Im looking for innovators who push my buttons, just so i can rush and hug them.
Why do i warm to the Hamdard complex(medicine, publications like hamdard Islamicus), go weak at the knees at Tata funding my old prof to push the envelope with his 40%ish efficient solar cells and adore my turkish mavi jeans(displaced levis in turkey through sheer class). In desh i really am awestruck by the refresh 360s and the animators, as well as the SMEs that actually generate most employment.
what word do you suggest for these corporate actors that move, inspire and manufacture that which strikes me as real? if its entrepreneur then surely that category must be distinguished from others.