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Indian Regional Income Inequality: Estimates Of Provincial Gdp, 1875-1911

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  • Paul Caruana-Galizia

Abstract

After constructing a dataset on Indian provincial GDP per capita between 1875 and 1911, I examine it for levels and trends of provincial income inequality. Cross-sectional dispersion of income was initially high, but declined over time. In terms of levels, internal Indian inequality compared well with a number of European states. Testing for unconditional beta-convergence, I found a tendency for provinces to converge to their steady-state at a rate of 0.6 per cent; 6.7 per cent when controlling for province and year fixed-effects. These results indicate that the likely forces of convergence (mainly driven by transport and communication infrastructure advances) trumped forces of divergence (heterogeneity in social and geographical characteristics). I made no formal attempts to uncover the true drivers of provincial dynamics. Future research would do well to test the dynamic effects of observable provincial geographical and political characteristics on growth.

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  • Paul Caruana-Galizia, 2013. "Indian Regional Income Inequality: Estimates Of Provincial Gdp, 1875-1911," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 1-27, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rehdxx:v:28:y:2013:i:1:p:1-27
    DOI: 10.1080/20780389.2013.805510
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Roy, Tirthankar, 2011. "Economic History of India, 1857-1947," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, edition 3, number 9780198074175.
    2. Kerstin Enflo & Martin Henning & Lennart Schön, 2014. "Swedish regional GDP 1855–2000: Estimations and general trends in the Swedish regional system," Research in Economic History, in: Research in Economic History, volume 30, pages 47-89, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    3. Schulze, Max-Stephan, 2007. "Regional income dispersion and market potential in the late nineteenth century Hapsburg Empire," Economic History Working Papers 22311, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    4. Donaldson, Dave, 2010. "Railroads of the Raj: estimating the impact of transportation infrastructure," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 38368, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Dave Donaldson, 2010. "Railroads of the Raj: Estimating the Impact of Transportation Infrastructure," NBER Working Papers 16487, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alvaredo, Facundo & Bergeron, Augustin & Cassan, Guilhem, 2017. "Income concentration in British India, 1885–1946," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 459-469.
    2. Javier Mejía, 2015. "The Evolution of Economic History since 1950: From Cliometrics to Cliodynamics (La evolución de la historia económica desde 1950: de cliometría hasta cliodinámica)," Tiempo y Economía, Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, vol. 2(2), pages 79, December.
    3. José Aguilar-Retureta, 2015. "Regional income distribution in Mexico: new long-term evidence, 1895-2010," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2015/323, University of Barcelona School of Economics.
    4. José Aguilar Retureta, 2016. "Explaining regional inequality from the periphery: The mexican case, 1900-2000," Documentos de Trabajo (DT-AEHE) 1608, Asociación Española de Historia Económica.
    5. Marc Badia-Miró, 2015. "The evolution of the location of economic activity in Chile in the long run: a paradox of extreme concentration in absence of agglomeration economies," Estudios de Economia, University of Chile, Department of Economics, vol. 42(2 Year 20), pages 143-167, December.

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