Other consulting firms are coy about plans to reduce costs, but in the past the industry has dealt with slowdowns by recruiting fewer new staff and encouraging surplus consultants to seek jobs elsewhere.

ECONOMIST: Management consulting

Inventing work for even more surplus commissioners as enlargement proceeded, and diverting resources and staff to their use, would be an intolerable strain.

ECONOMIST: The challenge awaiting Romano Prodi

Mr Sinha could have cut staff (the railways alone are estimated to have 500, 000 surplus workers).

ECONOMIST: India