During college days, i recall reading in the "problem of the indian economy" textbook, why India's progress has been slow thus far. One of the reasons cited was our family setting- we are dwellers, who continue to live in the same house all our lives, 'lounging' around, particularly in joint families, on the community wealth (in this specific case, family wealth). this was suggested to have a 'free rider' effect, with unproductive units of society been propagated to generations and forth.


I was dumbfounded and enamored, totally in support of the view. Today, I believe my utter faith in the concept may have been somewhat exaggerated. With experience of having lived in both the US and India, i feel there are some noteworthy:

1. The US housing burder may be temporarily 'eased' off if a number of individuals move in with their families.

2. Family budgets may stand to benefit by virtue of 'large scale', with a number of basic expenses such as food, telephone, electricity, rent, etc. being spread over a larger base and thus reducing the per-head burden.

3. in-house chores and service costs of basic jobs such as gardening, plumbing and other handywork may be reduced by transferring loads to unemployed members- thereby increasing their productivity and reducing outward cash flow for the family as a whole.

4. older members of the family may be able to reduce their healthcare expenditures by having a family member take care of them. as a corollary, their health may actually improve in a more vibrant household, psychologically speaking (considering several millions of americans are in depression).

the free rider effect i mentioned earlier may well turn out to be a boon in this case. However, everything in life is a double-edged sword. For instance, the increase in homicidal tendencies may actually increase the litigation expenses in some families (kidding!). We as Indians have historically failed to protect what is our own- yoga, ayurveda, learning from the Vedas and so on. Will we hold on to our good values letting go of the bad?