India's economic growth: A conundrum

Abstract

This article reviews three major works which appeared on Indian economy and economic policy during 1993–1996. The first of these is India: Macroeconomics and Political Economy. 1964–1991 by Vijay Joshi and Ian Little, which was published in 1994 as a part of the World Bank project entitled, Macroeconomic Policies, Crisis, and Growth in the Long Run, involving studies of the macroeconomic histories of 18 countries. The second again by Joshi and Little, is India's Economic Reform, 1991–2001, was published in 1996 which carried the Indian story up to 1995 within an analytical frame, the authors presented in their first volume, and also speculated about what may happen in future. The third is a book by Ashok Desai, My Economic Affair, published in 1993, which while containing analytical underpinnings and policy biases similar to those of Joshi and Little, presented a wider political and institutional perspectives on the Indian economic policy, enriched by an insider's view of economic policy making. A review article on the first volume of Joshi-Little was prepared by the author but by the time it was due to appear, the second volume of Joshi-Little came out. A delay in the publication of the first Joshi-Little proved to be a blessing in a way as their second volume showed how well the authors' analytical framework in their earlier volume served to assess the direction, content and the limitations of the Indian economic reforms initiated in 1990–1991. Apart from this, the clubbing three books together helped the author of this review to depict a more complete picture of the Indian economy, economic policy and the political constraints faced by the policy makers, as viewed by the academians and the practioners.