This paper explores the causes of India`s productivity surge around 1980, more than a decade before serious economic reforms were initiated. Trade liberalization, expansionary demand, a favorable external environment, and improved agricultural performance did not play a role. We find evidence...

This paper examines the evolution in a few public institutions over time in India. It presents three types of evidence: on institutional outcomes (such as losses in power generation, backlogs in disposal of court cases); on perceptions-based measures of governance, some going back to the 1960s;...

This paper marks the first attempt at examining the growth performance across Indian states for the 2000s, a period also marked by the global financial crisis. Four key findings are reported. First, consistent with the fact that the 2000s was the best ever decade for Indian macroeconomic...