Synopses & Reviews
Most discussions of India's substantive economic growth since the 1990s tend to focus on national level statistics or on particular sectors such as the financial and call service sectors or on the pharmaceutical industry. But with a population of 1.2 billion, India demands to be treated like a collection of individual "countries," rather than a unified nation. Ten of its states have populations equaling or exceeding that of the United Kingdom. If the state of Uttar Pradesh were a country, it would be the fourth largest, behind China, India, and the United States. These facts pointedly tell us that if we are to understand the ongoing experiment in economic reforms and poverty alleviation, we must study India at the level of the state.
In this spirit, State Level Reforms and Growth and Development in Indian States provides the first-ever comprehensive analysis of growth at the highly diverse state level. The authors argue that when the national government loosened its stronghold on industry and services, state governments were able to shape the fortunes of their citizens through state-level policy reforms. Because of this, every Indian state experienced accelerated growth, unlike China during the first two decades of its development when the eastern half flourished as the western half lagged. Every Indian state has grown faster in the last decade than any other decade in the post-independence era. In fact, some of the poorest states, notably Bihar and Orissa, have been growing the fastest.
Professors Panagariya and Chakraborty and Dr. Rao refute the common assumptions that growth has not occurred or that poverty has not been reduced in all Indian states. The recent reforms have also led to improved access in every state to basic amenities such as permanent houses, electricity, water, and sanitation. These accomplishments notwithstanding, regional inequality on a per capita basis has grown as well. Reforms in state-controlled sectors such as agriculture, industry, healthcare, and education have not advanced as far as some analysts previously predicted. The authors outline the reforms in these areas and draw on the experience of states that have successfully carried out some of them. The authors pay special attention to reforms in the areas of education and health while recognizing that the Indian constitution vests in the states much of this legislative and other authority and while considering the real absolute rise in income, literacy, and health status across all the states.
Review
"This book presents the first-ever state-level assessment of growth, development, and reform of India. The book is systematic, comprehensive, data-driven, and thoughtfully and carefully argued. Indeed, this book will stand as a landmark in our understanding of India's growth experience over the last 30 years. This book will be a revelation to those who study India's growth, and will almost certainly become a classic reference in this field." --Rajeev Dehejia, Associate Professor of Public Policy, New York University
"This original, interesting and thorough study is very detailed in its presentation and evaluation of a wide range of state level data on social, economic, and political variables. Alongside the main analytical findings, it engages a number of important questions and debates that have emerged around the question of policy reform in general and about the Indian reform experience in particular. It is certain to serve as a readily-accessible reference for interested scholars and policy analysts and as a guide for future state-level reforms for policy makers." --Pravin Krishna, Chung Ju Yung Distinguished Professor of International Economics and Business, John Hopkins University
"This work by Professor Arvind Panagariya and his colleagues is a seminal contribution towards understanding India's saga of economic transformation. This is the first systematic study that looks at India's post-reforms growth experience at the level of states. By analyzing major growth determinants such as development expenditure, agriculture productivity, infrastructure, accumulation of human capital, etc., the study offers many new insights on the 'catch up' by lagging regions. It is a must-read for all who care about promoting regional equity and India's co-operative federalism." --Vijay Kelkar, Chairman, India Development Foundation, New Delhi
Synopsis
Most discussions of India's recent economic growth focus on progress and policies at the national level. But with a population of 1.2 billion, several of the states in India are larger than many of the countries in the world. Therefore, a more complete understanding of India's ongoing experiment in economic reforms requires a study at the state level.
State Level Reforms, Growth, and Development in Indian States provides the first-ever comprehensive analysis of growth and reforms in the highly diverse states of the country. The authors argue that when the national government loosened its controls on industry and services, state governments began shaping the fortunes of their citizens through state-level policy reforms, resulting in faster growth in every state over the last decade than any other decade in the post-independence era. In fact, some of the poorest states, notably Bihar and Odisha, have been growing the fastest.
Professors Panagariya and Chakraborty and Dr. Rao refute the common assumptions that growth has not occurred or that poverty has not been reduced in all Indian states. The recent reforms have also led to improved access in every state to basic amenities such as permanent houses, electricity, water, and sanitation. These accomplishments notwithstanding, regional inequality on a per capita basis has grown as well. The authors analyze the economic transformation that has taken place in the largest eighteen states of India and suggest reforms in areas of agriculture, industry, services and urbanization that can further accelerate this transformation. They also provide a comprehensive analysis of education and health in the states.
About the Author
Arvind Panagariya is a Professor of Economics and Indian Political Economy at Columbia University, Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a former Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank. Panagariya has written prolifically on global trade policy issues and economic reforms in India. The author of a dozen books, he has also published technical papers in many leading journals and other publications. Professor Panagariya writes an influential monthly column in the
Times of India and has been honored with the Padma Bhushan by India.
Pinaki Chakraborty is Economic Adviser to the Fourteenth Finance Commission of India. He is also Professor at National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi. He served as Fellow, Senior Economist, and Economist at NIPFP, New Delhi and as Associate Professor at the Centre for Development Studies. His research areas are macroeconomics and public finance, tax policy and reforms, and federalism and intergovernmental fiscal issues. He has published his research papers in both national and international journals.
Dr. M. Govinda Rao is a well known scholar in public finance in India. Presently, he is a Member of the Fourteenth Finance Commission, Government of India. His past positions include Director of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy in New Delhi and Director of the Institute for Social and Economic Change in Bangalore. Dr. Rao was also a Member of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. He has chaired and was a member of several committees. He has written extensive publications in referred journals in addition to his 14 books and monographs.
Table of Contents
Series Editors' Note
Preface
1. Introduction: The States of India
Part I: Growth, Development and Economic Transformation
2. Growth and Development in the Indian States: An Overview
3. Economic Transformation in Indian States
Part II: State Level Policies and Reforms for Rapid Transformation
4. States' Development Expenditures and Implications for Regional Development
5. Policies for Faster Growth in Agriculture
6. Industry and Services: What the States can Do
7. Urban Development
Part III: Social Sectors: Progress, Policies and Future Reforms
8. Health Outcomes in the Indian States
9. Health Infrastructure and Other Proximate Determinants of Health Outcomes
10. Health Policy Reform
11. Elementary Education: Outcomes and Policies
12. Higher Education: Progress and Prospects
Appendix: Converting the GSDP to the Common 2004-05 Prices
References
Index