Globalization, Cities, and Firms in Twentieth-Century India

Abstract

This article explores the linkages between globalization, cities, and firms in twentieth-century India. Since the interwar period in the early twentieth century, India withdrew from the global economy, reintegrating only in the 1990s. This reshaped the metropolitan hierarchy in India in specific ways, whether through international migration and creation of new supply chains before 1991 or by foreign direct investment in the final decade of the twentieth century. Firms—both Indian and multinational—had to respond to different waves of globalization and accordingly made location choices that in turn shaped the urban evolution. More broadly, this article points to the relevance of integrating urban history more closely with business history in studies of globalization.