Prosperity Podcast

Our guest Ms. Darshana Shrestha is the 3rd Vice-president of Federation of Woman Entrepreneurs Associations of Nepal. She also founded and is the CEO of Nature Nepal, a skincare brand. Over a decade of advocating for women entrepreneurs in Nepal, she has worked with women entrepreneurs across the country and has closely followed the growth of entrepreneurship. In this episode, we spoke to her about the challenges and prospects facing women entrepreneurs in digitalisation of their businesses.

Follow FWEAN:

Website: http://www.fwean.org.np/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FWEAN

On MA-Udhyami Campaign for Digitalizing Women’s Business amidst Covid-19: http://www.fwean.org.np/newspage-35-supporting+women+entrepreneurs+to+digitalize+their+businesses

Prosperity Podcast is presented by Samriddhi Foundation. New episodes release on Tuesday at 6 PM every fortnight. To learn more about Prosperity Podcast, you can visit our website www.samriddhi.org If you have comments or feedback for us, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

“एकदमै राम्रो नीति बनेको थियो तर कार्यान्वयन हुन सकेन ” भनेर हामीले धेरै सुन्ने गरेका छौँ । के यस्ता कार्यान्वयन नै हुन नसक्ने  नीतिलाई पनि राम्रा नीति मान्न सकिन्छ ? सार्वजनिक नीति भनेको के हो ? कस्तो नीतिलाई असल सार्वजनिक नीति मान्न सकिन्छ ? आजको एपिसोडमा हामीले नेपालको नीति निर्माण प्रक्रियासँग गाँसिएर आउने यिनै प्रश्नहरूबारे समृद्धि फाउनडेसनका निर्देशक दिपेन्द्र चौलागाईंसँग छलफल गरेका छौँ ।

समृद्धि फाउन्डेसनद्वारा प्रस्तुत गरिएको Prosperity Podcast को नयाँ एपिसोड हेरक दुई साताको अन्तरालमा मंगलबार साँझ ६ बजे रिलिज हुन्छ । Prosperity Podcast बारेमा थप जान्न हाम्रो वेभसाइट www.samriddhi.org मा जानुहोस् ।  हाम्रो लागि राय सल्लाह र सुझाव भएमा हामीलाई [email protected] ईमेल पठाउनुहोस् ।

Markets make rich the richer and poor the poorer.

Markets lead to monopolies and syndicates.

We hear these statements thrown around very often. But are they true? Why are we doubtful of competition and the free market? In today’s episode, we examine some of these statement about markets in Nepal with our guest Mr Ashesh Shrestha. He is a Master of Economics student at the University of Texas at Austin. He previously worked as a researcher at Samriddhi Foundation.

Prosperity Podcast is presented by Samriddhi Foundation. New episodes release on Tuesday every fortnight. To learn more about Prosperity Podcast, you can visit our website www.samriddhi.org If you have comments or feedback for us, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

Related readings:

Read more about other myths in ‘Twenty Myths about Markets’ by Tom G. Palmer here:

http://tomgpalmer.com/wp-content/uploads/papers/myths_about_markets_ii.pdf

Read the publication ‘Cost of Public Education: An Assessment of Basic Education’ here: https://samriddhi.org/publications/cost-of-public-education/

Read researcher Roopali Bista’s article ‘Motorbike - A luxury or need’ here:

https://samriddhi.org/news-and-updates/motorbike-a-luxury-or-need/

Dinesh Gautam, founder of Hriti Foundation, and Shristika Neupane, a student and researcher at Bikalpa An Alternative, share their thoughts on what role young people play in policymaking. Dinesh started writing on public issues at the young age of 15 and has since continued to examine the policy environment in Karnali. At Hriti, his team conducts research to identify policy measures that help promote markets and entrepreneurship in Karnali. With her research works, Shristika is also dedicated to making it easier for entrepreneurs to start and operate businesses in Province 1. She is motivated by seeing the impact her work has in informing both public and policymakers about the consequences of policy actions. She hopes her work can help them make the right policy decisions towards the growth of the province. Both of these researchers have much to share about why young people like them need to be engaged in policymaking.

Prosperity Podcast is presented by Samriddhi Foundation. New episodes release on Tuesday at 6 PM every fortnight. To learn more about Prosperity Podcast, you can visit our website www.samriddhi.org If you have comments or feedback for us, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

Visit Hriti Foundation’s website: http://www.hriti.org/ 

Follow Hriti Foundation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HritiFoundation

Visit Bikalpa An Alternative’s website: http://bikalpa.org/

Follow Bikalpa An Alternative on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bikalpaanalternative

Related readings:

नेपाल भरको जनप्रतिनिधिमध्य ४० percent युवा हुनुहुन्छ। - https://nepalmag.com.np/opinion/2020/06/17/1592387029

The Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection collected Rs 11.8 million through fines from various businesses during the first four months of the fiscal year. Despite the market inspections conducted by the department and other federal and local agencies, consumer protection remains a challenge. In this episode, we talk to Ms. Ayushma Maharjan about why common consumer protection measures the government uses, such as price control, quality control, and profit margin fixation, do little to protect consumers. She suggests that consumer protection laws first need to acknowledge that consumers are rational and make purchases that are best for them. She adds that legislations should focus on protecting consumers from violation of contracts between consumers and businesses rather than stipulating the terms of transaction between the two parties. Ms. Maharjan is a researcher at Samriddhi Foundation. In addition to consumer protection, she has done extensive research on education, agriculture, and public procurement.

Prosperity Podcast is presented by Samriddhi Foundation. New episodes release on Tuesday at 6 PM every fortnight. To learn more about Prosperity Podcast, you can visit our website www.samriddhi.org If you have comments or feedback for us, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

Related readings:

Continuing our conversation on property rights, we speak to Mr. Akash Shrestha about the moral foundations of property rights. Mr. Shrestha is the Research Manager at Samriddhi Foundation.  From Aristotle to Richard Pipes, he traces the arguments in favor of property rights and concludes that property rights are fundamental to freedom. He also shares his observations on why property rights are important for the prosperity of Nepalis.

Prosperity Podcast is presented to you by Samriddhi Foundation. New episodes release on Tuesday at 6 PM every fortnight. To learn more about Prosperity Podcast, you can visit our website www.samriddhi.org If you have comments or feedback for us, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

Dr. Bhimarjun Acharya is a leading constitutional expert of Nepal. In this episode, we spoke to him about the history of property rights in the constitutions of Nepal. The right relating to the property is recognized as a fundamental right in the Constitution of Nepal 2015. He opines that the current constitution secures citizen’s right to property. However, he says that the rise in the trend of undermining this right by some sections of Nepali politics is concerning. He says that Nepalis must remain vigilant of their rights.

To learn more about Prosperity Podcast, you can visit our website www.samriddhi.org If you have comments or feedback for us, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

In this episode, we spoke to a writer and an enthusiast of the political economy, Mr. Murahari Parajuli. He has written extensively on liberal values and has translated ‘Foundations of a Free Society’ and ‘Capitalism: An Introduction’ into Nepali language. In this episode, he explains that our understanding of freedom needs to extend beyond the routine exercises of political freedoms, such as voting and peaceful protests and invites us to examine how the increasing role of the government in the everyday lives of citizens is shrinking the space for individual freedom. He also shares his observations of how the ‘socialism-oriented economy’ as enshrined in the Constitution has fared in the last five years and warns us against the pitfalls of socialism. However, he remains hopeful that Nepalis will continue to defend their liberties.

To learn more about Prosperity Podcast, you can visit our website www.samriddhi.org If you have comments or feedback for us, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

Links to articles:

समानता सरकारले ल्याउँछ कि स्वतन्त्रताले? - https://www.setopati.com/opinion/209704

Download स्वतन्त्र समाजकाे आधारशिला - https://samriddhi.org/publications/foundations-of-a-free-society-nepali/

Download पुँजीवाद: एक परिचय - https://samriddhi.org/publications/an-introduction-to-capitalism-nepali/

Find Murahari Parajuli on Twitter: @muraharip

Hundreds of thousands of Nepalis leave the country every year in search of economic opportunities. Does that mean we do not have work in Nepal? We believe that we could definitely create meaningful job opportunities in Nepal itself if our policies made it easier for citizens to pursue their entrepreneurial aspirations. Today, our guest is Mr. Basanta Adhikari who heads Bikalpa - An Alternative, a public policy institute based in Biratnagar, and he and his group have set out to advocate for just those policies. In this episode, we talk about his team’s endeavour to educate the policymakers and the public alike on building such a facilitative policy regime through their many works including the Campaign for Economic Freedom.

To learn more about Prosperity Podcast, you can visit our website www.samriddhi.org If you have comments or feedback for us, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

Learn more about Campaign for Economic Freedom here: http://bikalpa.org/campaign-for-economic-freedom/

Follow Bikalpa - an alternative on Facebook to stay updated - https://www.facebook.com/bikalpaanalternative/

Here are the links to articles, videos, and concepts we discuss in this episode:

सम्बतका हिसाबले संसारभन्दा आगाडि छौं तर नेपाल किन गरिब ? - https://www.koshionline.com/2020/07/16/210564.html

बस्तु तथा सेवाको मूल्य कसले निर्धारण गर्ने? सरकारले कि बजारले ? - http://bikalpakhabar.com/2020/08/929/

Are public servants incarnations of God? - https://youtu.be/BBnHzCEHyBk

For the inaugural episode of Prosperity Podcast, we discuss the state of affairs and economic freedom in Nepal with Surath Giri. Surath Giri is a policy researcher turned entrepreneur. He currently runs Onion Films Nepal, an audio-visual production company, and Nepal Language & Research Solutions, a translation and research agency. He is also the founding president of Nepal Prosperity Institute, a think tank working to promote market economy and entrepreneurship in Nepal. Moreover, he is also the curator at Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub. He creates and hosts the podcast The Nepali Economist.

To learn more about the podcast, you can visit our website www.samriddhi.org You can send us your comment and feedback at [email protected]

Listen to Surath’s podcast, The Nepali Economist here: https://anchor.fm/thenepalieconomist

You can check out Nepal’s ranking in The Economic Freedom of the World: 2020 Annual Report here: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/economic-freedom

Read more about the O-ring theory of development here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-ring_theory_of_economic_development