The Making of Miracles in Indian States: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Gujarat
Arvind Panagariya and M. Govinda Rao
Abstract
The book studies three Indian states that grew in excess of 8% per year for a decade in the twenty-first century: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Gujarat. Despite differences of geography, size, resource endowments, and initial levels of development, several common features tie their experiences together. First, accelerated growth has permitted acceleration in the growth of development expenditures in all three states, which has helped improve connectivity to markets. Alongside, poverty has seen accelerated decline. Second, the composition of growth matters. Growth in high-value commodities such as ... More
The book studies three Indian states that grew in excess of 8% per year for a decade in the twenty-first century: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Gujarat. Despite differences of geography, size, resource endowments, and initial levels of development, several common features tie their experiences together. First, accelerated growth has permitted acceleration in the growth of development expenditures in all three states, which has helped improve connectivity to markets. Alongside, poverty has seen accelerated decline. Second, the composition of growth matters. Growth in high-value commodities such as fruits and vegetables, commercial crops, dairy, and animal husbandry in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat has led to accelerated reduction in rural poverty. But the failure of labor-intensive industry has stunted migration of workers out of agriculture into industry. Third, the quality of leadership that brings improved governance with it is central to improved outcomes in the states. Visionary leaders—Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh, Nitish Kumar in Bihar, and Narendra Modi in Gujarat—played a critical role in the making of all three miracles. Fourth, the three studies also bring out the importance of pro-market reforms and the adoption of technology in development. Finally, the studies show that good economics can also be good politics: voters reward the chief ministers who bring about significant improvement to the people’s lives.
Keywords:
Andhra Pradesh,
Bihar,
Gujarat,
development,
Indian states,
Chandrababu Naidu,
Nitish Kumar,
Narendra Modi,
education,
health
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2015 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780190236625 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: April 2015 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190236625.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Arvind Panagariya, editor
Columbia University, Professor of Economics and Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy,
M. Govinda Rao, editor
National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi, and Member of the Fourteenth Finance Commission of the Government of India, Director
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