Unique Economic Growth in India and Chinabr The New School - The New Schoolbr Prosperity and Inequality: Debates in India and China Keynote Address by Kemal DervisIndia and China are emerging as major players in the global political economy of this century, having enjoyed record growth rates for the past five years. Yet each faces major social and economic challenges. Both countries are dealing with growing social unrest, widespread poverty, and rising energy needs in a world market shaped by dwindling oil supplies.China's growth is creating massive disparities between its urban and rural sectors, resulting in protests against state authority and restless migrant populations. Citizens face a steady degradation of public health due to runaway industrial growth, while capitalists chafe against the state's tight control of the market. In India, the epidemic of suicides among farmers and episodes of violence against minorities have cast doubts on the benefits of wholesale economic liberalization, unfettered foreign investment, and growth, which are also being challenged by the rise of judicial activism and of an active, vocal civil society.The India China Institute at The New School, now in its third year of sponsoring fellowships, public debates, and research collaborations between experts in India, China, and the United States, is hosting "Prosperity and Inequality: Debates in India and China," a major conference exploring these issues.