IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/iuiwop/0778.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Is the Elephant Stepping on its Trunk? The Problem of India's Unbalanced Growth

Author

Listed:
  • Douhan, Robin

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

  • Nordberg, Anders

    (Uppsala University)

Abstract

It is often assumed that recent success in the high-technology software industry will lead India's development. However, evidence suggest that basic manufacturing industry is stagnant. This paper proposes a mechanism that ties these two trends together. A big-push type of model, featuring linkages between firms, demand spill-over, and technology choice is elaborated. By imposing different cost structures on the manufacturing and high-technology industries the model describes outcome in terms of distribution between sectors. It is found that a policy which promotes a high-technology sector can have negative effects on the manufacturing industry as well as aggregate income. Directing resources towards infrastructure, on the other hand, benefits all sectors and increases aggregate income. The results from the model are found to correspond with the recent development pattern in India.

Suggested Citation

  • Douhan, Robin & Nordberg, Anders, 2008. "Is the Elephant Stepping on its Trunk? The Problem of India's Unbalanced Growth," Working Paper Series 778, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:0778
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.ifn.se/wfiles/wp/wp778.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Srinivasan, T. N., 2004. "China and India: economic performance, competition and cooperation: an update," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 613-636, August.
    2. Chenery, Hollis B, 1975. "The Structuralist Approach to Development Policy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 65(2), pages 310-316, May.
    3. Kamakshya Trivedi, 2002. "Regional Convergence and Catch-up in India between 1960 and 1992," Economics Series Working Papers 2003-W01, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    4. Kochhar, Kalpana & Kumar, Utsav & Rajan, Raghuram & Subramanian, Arvind & Tokatlidis, Ioannis, 2006. "India's pattern of development: What happened, what follows?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 981-1019, July.
    5. John McLaren, 2000. ""Globalization" and Vertical Structure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(5), pages 1239-1254, December.
    6. Paul Krugman & Anthony J. Venables, 1995. "Globalization and the Inequality of Nations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(4), pages 857-880.
    7. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
    8. repec:fth:iniesr:430 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Kiminori Matsuyama, 1995. "Complementarities and Cumulative Processes in Models of Monopolistic Competition," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(2), pages 701-729, June.
    10. Mrs. Poonam Gupta & Mr. James P. F. Gordon, 2004. "Understanding India’s Services Revolution," IMF Working Papers 2004/171, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Dani Rodrik & Arvind Subramanian, 2005. "From "Hindu Growth" to Productivity Surge: The Mystery of the Indian Growth Transition," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 52(2), pages 193-228, September.
    12. Antonio Ciccone, 2002. "Input Chains and Industrialization," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 69(3), pages 565-587.
    13. Paul Krugman, 1991. "History versus Expectations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 651-667.
    14. Markusen, James R, 1989. "Trade in Producer Services and in Other Specialized Intermediate Inputs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(1), pages 85-95, March.
    15. Murphy, Kevin M & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1989. "Industrialization and the Big Push," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(5), pages 1003-1026, October.
    16. Gans, J.S., 1995. "Fixed Cost Assumptions," Papers 95/47, New South Wales - School of Economics.
    17. Krugman, Paul, 1981. "Trade, accumulation, and uneven development," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 149-161, April.
    18. Ragnar Nurkse, 1957. "Reflections on India's Development Plan," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 71(2), pages 188-204.
    19. Gans, J.S., 1995. "Industrialisation with a Menu of Technology: Appropriate Technologies and the "Big Push"," Papers 95/36, New South Wales - School of Economics.
    20. repec:hhs:iuiwop:430 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Self, Sharmistha & Grabowski, Richard, 2004. "Does education at all levels cause growth? India, a case study," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 47-55, February.
    22. Fafchamps, Marcel & Helms, Brigit, 1996. "Local demand, investment multipliers, and industrialization: Theory and application to the Guatemalan highlands," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 61-92, April.
    23. Zilibotti, Fabrizio, 1995. "A Rostovian model of endogenous growth and underdevelopment traps," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1569-1602, October.
    24. Young, Allyn A., 1928. "Increasing Returns and Economic Progress," History of Economic Thought Articles, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, vol. 38, pages 527-542.
    25. Parente, Stephen L & Prescott, Edward C, 1994. "Barriers to Technology Adoption and Development," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(2), pages 298-321, April.
    26. Rioja, Felix K., 1999. "Productiveness and welfare implications of public infrastructure: a dynamic two-sector general equilibrium analysis," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 387-404, April.
    27. Kamakshya Trivedi, "undated". "Regional Convergence and Catch-up in India between 1960 and 1992," Economics Papers 2003-W01, Economics Group, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
    28. Gans, Joshua S., 1998. "Time Lags and Indicative Planning in a Dynamic Model of Industrialization," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 103-130, June.
    29. Temple, Jonathan R. W., 2001. "Generalizations that aren't? Evidence on education and growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(4-6), pages 905-918, May.
    30. Barry Bosworth & Susan M. Collins, 2008. "Accounting for Growth: Comparing China and India," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(1), pages 45-66, Winter.
    31. Montek S. Ahluwalia, 2002. "Economic Reforms in India Since 1991: Has Gradualism Worked?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 67-88, Summer.
    32. Westphal, Larry E, 1990. "Industrial Policy in an Export-Propelled Economy: Lessons from South Korea's Experience," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 4(3), pages 41-59, Summer.
    33. Yanrui Wu, 2007. "Service Sector Growth in China and India: A Comparison," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 07-04, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ohlsson, Henry, 2011. "The legacy of the Swedish gift and inheritance tax, 1884–2004," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(3), pages 539-569, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gancia, Gino & Zilibotti, Fabrizio, 2005. "Horizontal Innovation in the Theory of Growth and Development," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 3, pages 111-170, Elsevier.
    2. Azariadis, Costas & Stachurski, John, 2005. "Poverty Traps," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 5, Elsevier.
    3. Antonio Ciccone, 2002. "Input Chains and Industrialization," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 69(3), pages 565-587.
    4. de Fontenay, Catherine C., 2004. "The dual role of market power in the Big Push: from evidence to theory," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 221-238, October.
    5. William Darity & Lewis S. Davis, 2005. "Growth, trade and uneven development," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 29(1), pages 141-170, January.
    6. Donald R. Davis & David E. Weinstein, 2008. "A Search For Multiple Equilibria In Urban Industrial Structure," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 29-65, February.
    7. Da Rin, Marco & Hellmann, Thomas, 2002. "Banks as Catalysts for Industrialization," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 366-397, October.
    8. Baldwin, Richard & Forslid, Rikard, 2023. "Globotics and Development: When Manufacturing Is Jobless and Services Are Tradeable," World Trade Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(3-4), pages 302-311, October.
    9. Kiminori Matsuyama, 2004. "Financial Market Globalization, Symmetry-Breaking, and Endogenous Inequality of Nations," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 72(3), pages 853-884, May.
    10. Singh, Nirvikar, 2008. "India’s Development Strategy: Accidents, Design and Replicability," MPRA Paper 12453, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Ghosh, Madhusudan & Ghoshray, Atanu & Malki, Issam, 2013. "Regional divergence and club convergence in India," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 733-742.
    12. Pranab Bardhan, 1993. "Economics of Development and the Development of Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 129-142, Spring.
    13. Erumban, Abdul Azeez & Das, Deb Kusum & Aggarwal, Suresh & Das, Pilu Chandra, 2019. "Structural change and economic growth in India," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 186-202.
    14. Joseph F. Francois & Douglas Nelson, 2002. "A Geometry Of Specialisation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(481), pages 649-678, July.
    15. Crafts, Nicholas & O’Rourke, Kevin Hjortshøj, 2014. "Twentieth Century Growth*This research has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) / ERC grant agreement no. 249546.," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 6, pages 263-346, Elsevier.
    16. Bjorvatn, Kjetil, 1999. "Third World regional integration," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 47-64, January.
    17. Marco Da Rin & Thomas Hellmann, "undated". "Banks as Catalysts of the Big Push," Working Papers 98, IGIER (Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research), Bocconi University.
    18. Murata, Yasusada, 2002. "Rural-urban interdependence and industrialization," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 1-34, June.
    19. Knaap, T., 1998. "A survey of complementaries in growth and location theories," Research Report 98C44, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    20. Catherine deFontenay, 2000. "Market Power and the Failure of the Big Push: Evidence and Theory," Econometric Society World Congress 2000 Contributed Papers 1269, Econometric Society.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Industrialization; India; Industrial Structure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O25 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Industrial Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:0778. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Elisabeth Gustafsson (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iuiiise.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.