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A tale of two states: Maharashtra and West Bengal

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  • Amartya Lahiri
  • Kei-Mu Yi

Abstract

In this paper the authors study the economic evolution between 1960 and 1995 of two states in India ? Maharashtra and West Bengal. In 1960, West Bengal?s per capita income exceeded that of Maharashtra. By 1995, it had fallen to just 69 percent of Maharashtra?s per capita income. The authors employ a \"wedge\" methodology based on the first order conditions of a multi-sector neoclassical growth model to ascertain the sources of the divergent economic performances. Their diagnostic analysis reveals that a large part of West Bengal?s development woes can be attributed to: (a) low sectoral productivity, especially in manufacturing and services; and (b) sectoral misallocation in labor markets. These patterns, together with additional evidence on developments in the labor market, the manufacturing sector, and voting behavior, suggest a systematic worsening of the business environment in manufacturing in West Bengal during this period.

Suggested Citation

  • Amartya Lahiri & Kei-Mu Yi, 2006. "A tale of two states: Maharashtra and West Bengal," Working Papers 06-16, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedpwp:06-16
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    Cited by:

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    2. Gupta, Abhay, 2007. "Indian Economy - TFP or Factor Accumulation: A Comprehensive Growth Accounting Exercise," MPRA Paper 10316, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Viktoria Hnatkovska & Michael Devereux, 2009. "International and Intra-national Real Exchange Rates: Evidence and Theory," 2009 Meeting Papers 1213, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    4. Saibal Ghosh, 2017. "Labour laws and innovation: Evidence from Indian states," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 60(2), pages 175-190, June.
    5. Ghosh Saibal, 2017. "Political Federalism and Innovation: Are de jure Labor Regulations Absolute?," Asian Journal of Law and Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 8(3), pages 1-15, December.
    6. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Peter J. Klenow, 2009. "Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(4), pages 1403-1448.
    7. Shu-Shiuan Lu, 2012. "East Asian growth experience revisited from the perspective of a neoclassical model," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 15(3), pages 359-376, July.
    8. Saibal Ghosh, 2018. "Corporate investment and political federalism: does judicial efficiency matter?," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 263-285, December.
    9. Mukherji, Arnab & Mukherji, Anjan, 2012. "Bihar: What Went Wrong? And What Changed?," Working Papers 12/107, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
    10. Kausik Gangopadhyay & Debasis Mondal & Thasni T, 2024. "The Decomposition of Productivity Growth for India: Before and After 1991," IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, , vol. 13(1), pages 90-100, January.
    11. Utsav Kumar & Arvind Subramanian, 2011. "India's Growth in the 2000s: Four Facts," Working Paper Series WP11-17, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    12. Suparna Chakraborty & Keisuke Otsu, 2012. "Deconstructing Growth - A Business Cycle Accounting Approach with application to BRICs," Studies in Economics 1212, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    13. Mishra, Ankita & Mishra, Vinod, 2018. "Is there conditional convergence in the per capita incomes of BIMAROU states in India?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 429-437.
    14. Marijn A. Bolhuis & Swapnika R. Rachapalli & Diego Restuccia, 2021. "Misallocation in Indian Agriculture," NBER Working Papers 29363, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Sohini Sahu, 2015. "Source of Service Sector TFP Growth in India: Evidence from Micro-data," South Asian Journal of Macroeconomics and Public Finance, , vol. 4(1), pages 62-90, June.
    16. John Bailey Jones & Sohini Sahu, 2017. "Transition accounting for India in a multi-sector dynamic general equilibrium model," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 299-339, November.
    17. Ankita Mishra & Vinod Mishra, 2018. "Re-examination of convergence hypothesis among Indian states in panel stationarity testing framework with structural breaks," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(3), pages 268-286, January.
    18. Subhash C. Ray & Abhiman Das & Kankana Mukherjee, 2017. "Labor-Cost Efficiency with Indivisible Outputs and Inputs: A Study of Indian Bank Branches," Working papers 2017-04, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    19. Gangopadhyay, Kausik & Mondal, Debasis, 2021. "Productivity, relative sectoral prices, and total factor productivity: Theory and evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    20. Hansen, G.D. & Ohanian, L.E., 2016. "Neoclassical Models in Macroeconomics," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & Harald Uhlig (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 2043-2130, Elsevier.

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    Keywords

    India;

    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology

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