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Information technology and productivity: Evidence from India's manufacturing sector

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  • K.J Joseph

    (Centre for Development Studies)

  • Vinoj Abraham

    (Centre for Development Studies)

Abstract

While India's remarkable performance in IT software and service exports may be inspirational for other Indian industries and more so for other countries in the south, the moot question is how has India fared in terms of harnessing this technology for enhancing manufacturing productivity. This paper is an attempt at addressing this issue by analyzing an unpublished data set on the investment in computers and software at the industry level made available by the CSO. The study finds that low level of IT investment intensity in the manufacturing sector notwithstanding, IT investment does have a positive and significant impact on both partial and total factor productivity. The findings of the paper suggest that in a context wherein the policy makers are concerned with low levels of growth in manufacturing output and productivity, policy measures and institutional interventions towards promoting IT diffusion in the manufacturing sector is likely to give rich dividends.

Suggested Citation

  • K.J Joseph & Vinoj Abraham, 2007. "Information technology and productivity: Evidence from India's manufacturing sector," Centre for Development Studies, Trivendrum Working Papers 389, Centre for Development Studies, Trivendrum, India.
    • Handle: RePEc:ind:cdswpp:389
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    Cited by:

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    3. Erumban, Abdul A. & Das, Deb Kusum, 2016. "Information and communication technology and economic growth in India," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 412-431.
    4. K L Krishna & Abdul A Erumban & Bishwanath Goldar & Deb Kusum Das & Suresh Chand Aggarwal & Pilu Chandra Das, 2018. "ICT investment and economic growth in India: An industry perspective," Working papers 284, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics.
    5. Das, Bibhunandini, 2019. "What Determines Computer literacy across Indian Household? A State-level Analysis," MPRA Paper 109526, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    7. Mitali Gupta & Manik Kumar, 2018. "Impact of ICT Usage on Productivity of Unorganised Manufacturing Enterprises in India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 61(2), pages 411-425, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    India; Information Technology; Productivity; Manufacturing sector;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L6 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology

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