Every year, the Kerala State Planning Board publishes the Economic Review, a comprehensive account of the state’s economy, presented to the legislature with the budget. It runs to hundreds of pages, covering everything from agriculture and industry to health, education, local government and the environment.
Its strengths
Breadth. Few documents bring together so much information about the state in one place. For anyone starting research on a Kerala policy question, it is the first place to look.
Consistency. Because it appears every year in a broadly similar structure, it allows comparison over time.
Department data. It includes data supplied by government departments that is not always published elsewhere.
Its limitations
Description more than analysis. The review reports what happened more than it explains why, and rarely evaluates whether programs achieved their aims.
Data access. Much of the data appears in tables within the document. Publishing the underlying data in machine readable form would make it far more useful to researchers and journalists.
Timing. Some figures necessarily lag by a year or more.
How to use it
Read the review alongside the budget documents and, where possible, the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General. Use it as a map of what is known, and a guide to the questions that need asking.
[Placeholder publication. Replace with real CRGD review.]