Policies, Institutions and Industrial Development

At the beginning of the 1990s, India adopted radically new economic policies which opened up the economy to foreign investment and international trade. In spite of these changes, Indian industry has not yet shown the kind of growth it was expected to. To better understand the reasons for this, Professor Degnbol Martinussen studies the interaction between policies, institutions and industrial development in India over the period 1951-2000. In particular, he focuses on how different economic policies and institutional arrangements have impacted on patterns of industrial growth and transformation. The author does this through as systematic comparative analysis of the period before and after 1991. While the focus is on India, the book draws on the experiences of Europe and the Far East in order to provide a comparative theoretical framework which outlines the basic institutional preconditions for industrial development. This analysis incorporates the changing global and regional conditions for policy formulation and industrial development. Part one of the book deals with theoretical perspectives while the subsequent parts analyse variously the pattern of Indian industrial development, the economic crisis of 1991, institutional constraints on policy implementation, and the new economic policies and their impact on the industrial and corporate sectors as well as on foreign investment and collaboration. The author also discusses the theories and international debates concerning the role of the state, the state market problematique and the implications of globalisation. Based on extensive interviews with key decision-makers over three decades and with its emphasis on the role of institutions, this book is an important contribution to the ongoing debate on liberalisation and Indian economic policies. It will be of interest to those involved in development economics, industrial development, international trade, globalisation and policy studies. It will also be of interest to industrialists and bureaucrats.