After a boom in the early twenty-first century, India witnessed a macroeconomic reversal marked by a slowdown in growth that has lasted a little longer than the boom. At the same time, a fresh criterion of governance, namely inclusion, has emerged and become a priority for the state. Written against the backdrop of these developments, the essays in this volume represent a range of perspectives and methods pertaining to the study of growth and its distribution in India.
The essays in Section I take the long view of growth in the country. They represent issues of abiding interest and provide the canvas upon which the rest of the articles may be seen as placed. Section II takes a macro view of the recent history of the economy. The essays explore the reasons for the shift from a regime of high growth and low inflation to one of low growth and high inflation, deconstruct the ‘dream run’ of the economy over 2003–08, and evaluate the United Progressive Alliance government’s performance.
Section III comprises essays that study the economy at the next level down, covering its agriculture, industry and services. Another essay reflects upon the desirable space for finance in India, a topic that has assumed some relevance after the global recession. Finally, the essays in Section IV address the emergence into the public sphere of the idea that growth must be inclusive. Accordingly, the essays here assess the extent to which recent growth has been inclusive, approaching the issue from various angles.
Assembling authoritative voices on the economy of contemporary India, this volume will be indispensable for students of economics, management, development studies and public policy. It will also prove useful to policymakers and journalists.
Pulapre Balakrishnan is Professor, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.
Introduction: Pulapre Balakrishnan
I. The Long View of Growth in India 1. ‘Economic Growth in Independent India, Lumbering Elephant or Running Tiger?’: Deepak Nayyar 2.‘Politics of Economic Growth in India, 1980–2005, The 1980s’: Atul Kohli 3. ‘Politics of Economic Growth in India, 1980–2005, The 1990s and Beyond’: Atul Kohli 4. ‘Structural Breaks in India’s Growth, Revisiting the Debate with a Longer Perspective’: Neeraj Hatekar and Ambrish Dongre
II. Recent Growth and Structural Change 5. ‘Growth in the Time of UPA, Myths and Reality’: Maitreesh Ghatak, Parikshit Ghosh, Ashok Kotwal 6. ‘India’s Dream Run 2003-08, Understanding the Boom and Its Aftermath’: R Nagaraj 7. ‘The Macroeconomic Reversal’: Pulapre Balakrishnan 8. ‘The Stunted Structural Transformation of the Indian Economy: Agriculture, Manufacturing and the Rural Non-Farm Sector’: Hans P. Binswanger-Mkhize
III. The Sectors 9. ‘Agricultural Policy Strategy, Instruments and Implementation: A Review and the Road Ahead’: Bhupat M Desai, Errol D’Souza, John W. Mellor, Vijay Paul Sharma, Prabhakar Tamboli 10. ‘Temporal and Spatial Variations in AgriculturalGrowth and Its Determinants’: Ramesh Chand and ShinojParappurathu 11. ‘Manufacturing Trade Deficit and Industrial Policy in India’: Sudip Chaudhuri 12. ‘India’s Services Sector, Gateway to Development?’: Archana Aggarwal 13. ‘Does FDI Contribute to Growth? Evidence from the Capital Goods Sector in India’: Aditya Mohan Jadhav, V. Nagi Reddy 14. ‘Anatomy of India’s Merchandise Export Growth, 1993-94 to 2010-11’: C. Veeramani 15. ‘Financial Sector Reforms: Realities and Myths’: R.H. Patil
IV. Inclusion 16. ‘Inclusive Growth under a Neo-liberal Policy Framework, Some Critical Questions’: Indira Hirway 17. ‘Double-Digit Inclusive Growth, Not without Robust Agricultural Growth’: Kirit S Parikh, Probal P Ghosh, Hans P Binswanger-Mkhize 18. ‘Sectoral Labour Flows and Agricultural Wages in India, 1983-2004: Has Growth Trickled Down?’: M.Eswaran, A.Kotwal, B.Ramaswami and W.Wadhwa 19. ‘Has Growth Been Socially Inclusive during 1993-94 – 2009-10?’: Sukhadeo Thorat, Amaresh Dubey 20. ‘Income Inequality in India: Pre- and Post-Reform Periods’: Sandip Sarkar, Balwant Singh Mehta 21. ‘Explaining Employment Trends in the Indian Economy: 1993-94 to 2011-12’: Santosh Mehrotra, Jajati Parida, Sharmistha Sinha, Ankita Gandhi 22. ‘How Close Does the Apple Fall to the Tree? Some Evidence from India on Intergenerational Occupational Mobility’: Sripad Motiram and Ashish Singh
Notes on the Authors