Export Instability, Investment, Export Growth and Economic Growth in India

Abstract

The “Export-led Growth Hypothesis,” as it is known in the literature, is still a popular issue in both theoretical and empirical research. According to the export-led growth hypothesis (ELGH), a key factor in determining growth is the expansion of exports. It asserts that growing capital and labour inputs into the economy as well as exports can contribute to a country’s overall growth. The association between economic development, export growth, export fluctuation, and real effective exchange rate (REER) in India from 2001 to 2021 is examined in this paper using a multiple linear regression analysis model. Additionally, the impacts of foreign exchange, export fluctuation on investment, and import of capital goods have also been studied. The autocorrelation is also tested using the Durbin-Watson (D-W) test. Investigation of the association between income growth and exports in the context of India reveals that the country’s exports haven’t increased significantly enough to prove the theory of export-led growth. For instance, ceteris paribus, one per cent change in exports over time is expected to result in a 0.007 per cent increase in GDP. Weaker global demand, inflation, dropping exports, and growing global trade conflict all contribute to a weaker-than-expected positive link between GDP and exports. However, the findings have also shown that one per cent rise in instability increases GDP by 5.04 per cent. Furthermore, research has indicated that export instability does contribute to import for capital goods and demonstrates the relationship between investment and export instability is positive but not statistically significant. The result for policy is that, in order to decrease the negative impacts of export fluctuations, India should concentrate on those goods in which it has a competitive edge. The primary factors of the excessive volatility and restricted growth must be fully investigated in order to mitigate instability, and inherent flaws must be addressed.