A quantitative framework of firm dynamics is developed where the size of the informal sector is determined by financial constraints and the burden of taxation. Improving access to credit for formal sector firms increases aggregate TFP and output while reducing the size of the informal sector....

India has witnessed a series of policy reforms since 1991, which aimed to increase productivity of the manufacturing sector. Did these reforms increase productivity in manufacturing plants? We address this question using rich data from the Annual Survey of Industries in India spanning three...

Markups vary systematically across firms and are an important cause of productivity dispersion. However, whether markup dispersion represents mis-allocation depends on sources driving the dispersion. This paper provides evidence on the role of demand-side factors in shaping the dispersion of...

The expansion of enterprise level datasets has led to the emergence of a large body of literature on patterns of employment and job dynamics across different enterprise types. In the context of India, where MSMEs have been traditionally supported and encouraged by different policy initiatives to...

This paper reconsiders two questions relating to India's economic growth: structural breaks in growth and the impact of equipment investment on aggregate economic growth. First, statistical tests of structural change show that economic growth in post-independence India has witnessed four...

We study the implications of two historical institutions, direct British rule, and the heterogeneous land tenure institutions implemented by the British, on disparity in present day development using district level data from India. Using nightlights per capita as a proxy for district level per...

Employment surveys of large scale have shown that while rural women's employment has grown over the decades, the fate of the employment is still casualised and self employed. Economic growth and higher rural income has not been able to minimise discrimination of job type or wage, in fact it...

India’s growth performance has improved significantly over the past 20 years, but has been uneven across industries and states. While some service industries, notably in the information and communications technology sector, have become highly competitive in world markets – yielding...

This paper reconsiders two questions relating to India's economic growth: structural breaks in growth and the impact of equipment investment on aggregate economic growth. First, statistical tests of structural change show that economic growth in post-independence India has witnessed four...

Among fast growing developing countries, India is distinctive for the role of the service sector. However, sceptics have raised doubts about both the quality and sustainability of the increase in service sector activity and its implications for economic development. Using National Accounts...