Infrastructure Development in India and China: A Comparative Analysis

Global interest in India and China, the two Asian giants, is more than mere curiosity. Never before have such large economies with combined population of 2.3 billion grown so fast for so long (World Bank 2007a). For the last two decades, both India and China have grown at twice the global rate. If this trend continues for next few decades, with their vast labor supply, favorable demographics, and aspirations for reaching the developed world per capita income and consumption standards, these economies can be expected to have a significant impact on the world economy. A large number of studies on China and India focus on comparing sources of economic growth, poverty reduction and inequality issues, political structures, policy and institutional reform processes, trade, or foreign direct investment policies in these two economies. Infrastructure, with its critical input in this spectacular performance, remains in the background. This chapter aims to contribute to the ongoing comparative analyses of these two economies in infrastructure development.