Nagesh Kumar

• PhD
• Director and Chief Executive at Institute for Studies in Industrial Development

So, this session really is about what's happened to global trade in the last couple of decades, of course, really since the global financial crisis, trade dependency has levelled off, peaking at around 60% in 2008, 2009.

India has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic as the fastest-growing large economy (having grown at 8.2% in 2023–24), that is the fifth largest in the world, on the way to becoming the third largest in a few years.

India has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic as the fastest-growing large economy. What are the prospects of India further accelerating its growth rate and emerging as the next growth pole of the world economy, which would be required to realize India’s Vision 2047 of a developed economy? This article explores the key opportunities, prospects, and...

Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) has many opportunities and important challenges for developing countries such as India. This article takes stock of India’s opportunities in harnessing IR4.0 for inclusive development, and the challenges that the revolution presents before the country. It argues that with India’s extant capabilities in ICT software...

Biodiversity conservation is a cross-cutting theme across all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Businesses can significantly augment global efforts to conserve biodiversity and abate biodiversity loss. Through targeted policy instruments, G20 countries can catalyse business engagement in biodiversity conservation and al...

One of the largest and richest economies of the world in much of the human history, India emerged from the colonial rule in 1947, as one of the poorest countries. Much has been achieved over the past 75 years in both economic and social terms. However, many challenges remain that need to be addressed over the next quarter century. In this essay, an...

Regional economic cooperation and integration has assumed a new urgency for countries in Southern Asia in the aftermath of the global financial crisis with the advanced economies, traditional locomotives of the world economy, facing a new normal of slowdown.

Despite robust economic growth, poverty reduction and other indicators of socio-economic progress achieved over the past decades, Asia and the Pacific countries suffer from a number of gaps in the access to social and physical infrastructure such as access to healthcare and education, drinking water, sanitation and electricity among other deprivati...

After experiencing slow growth for much of the post-Independence period, the Indian economy has experienced powerful changes of significant magnitude since the mid-1980s. Post-reform India has defied established economic patterns and, in the process, created a few paradoxes. In this concise edition of The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Economy in th...

As a subregion with huge unmet needs for physical infrastructure, South Asian countries welcomed the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a new multilateral development bank (MDB) to help close some of their financing gaps. Not only were the South Asian countries among the founding members of the new bank, they have a...

The implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has just ended and a new more comprehensive international development agenda—the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—has taken its place. An assessment of India’s performance on the MDGs is, therefore, crucial at this time to draw lessons for the SDGs. While India has made major gains i...

Despite geographical contiguity, Southern Asia remains among the least integrated sub-regions in the world. In the context of changed global context in the aftermath of the global financial crisis requiring the engines of growth to be rebalanced in favour of regional sources, inability to exploit the potential of regional economic integration and r...

G-20 has consistently supported ‘open, rules-based, transparent and non-discriminatory WTO-based trading system’. It also called for successful outcome of the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali in December 2013. Against that background, it is important to examine whether this commitment to open and rules based non-discriminatory WTO-based multi...

The Asia and Pacific region has emerged as the growth pole of the world economy especially since 2000. However, in the aftermath of the 2008–2009 global financial crisis, sustaining the dynamism of Asian and Pacific economies would require a rebalancing in favor of greater domestic consumption and exploiting the potential of regional economic integ...

In the post-crisis period the ability of the Asia Pacific region to sustain its growth rates has become uncertain given the subdued growth prospects of the advanced economies. Asia-Pacific will have to rely more on investment and consumption within the region for sustaining its growth rates. Closing the wide infrastructure and development gaps coul...

It has been a little more than sixty years since the foundations of India's national system of innovation were laid, and it is time to look back and examine what form it has taken. What are the achievements of the Indian system of innovation? How has it performed in terms of building industrial capabilities and promoting development? Using the 'Nat...

from comments of Professor K.L. Krishna on an earlier draft besides feedback of participants. The usual disclaimer applies.

Introduction India's recent economic performance has attracted widespread attention. With an average annual rate of growth of 8% sustained over the past few years and a robust outlook for the future, India is emerging as a driver for growth in Asia. Economic reforms undertaken since 1991 have deepened India's economic integration with the world eco...

Indian and Chinese enterprises have emerged as important outward investors in recent times with their involvement in a number of prominent Greenfield investments and acquisitions. The theory of international business posits that the ownership of some unique advantages having a revenue generating potential abroad combined with the presence of intern...

The recent spate of large cross-border acquisitions - for example, Tata Steel-Corus, Hindalco-Novelis, and Tata Motors-Jaguar/Land Rover - and greenfield investments by Indian companies have helped in focusing attention on the emergence of new corporate players on the global scene. India's emergence as a source of foreign direct investment outflows...

SSC and TDC in Asia-Pacific have grown in importance over the past decades with the rising complementarities and emergence of growth poles in the region and due to attention paid by the governments to regional economic cooperation. Asian emerging countries have been cooperating with their partner countries within and outside the region primarily th...

Development of infrastructure is one of the key priorities of East Asia Summit (EAS) countries. By constructing an Infrastructure Index for 104 countries comprising all the EAS members, this paper examines the levels of infrastructure attainment of EAS countries in a comparative global perspective over time and space. It makes observations on the g...

To exploit the locational advantages or synergies between the member countries of the regional trading bloc besides facilitating businesses reaping the economies of scale and specialization.

This article analyses the trends, patterns and determinants of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) by Indian enterprises, which has increased markedly since the onset of reforms. It finds that the sharp rise in OFDI since 1991 has been accompanied by a shift in the geographical and sectoral focus of Indian investments. It develops an analytica...

Examines the influence of technology imports on levels of company finances or in-house R&D spending in 43 Indian manufacturing industries. Using recession analysis finds that industries dominated by foreign controlled firms spent lower on R&D per unit of income than the rest, and that import of technology by local firms under licence had a positive...

This paper examines the Indias RTAs policy in Asia and the emerging patterns of efficiency-seeking industrial restructuring unleashed by it. Section 2 provides a discussion of the analytical relationship between RTAs, patterns of trade, FDI resulting from the industrial restructuring. It also summarizes some examples of industrial restructuring of...

The Look East Policy followed by India since 1991 has made the east Asian region the country's largest trade partner. This article examines, from an Indian perspective, the prospects and challenges for the annual East Asian Summit, which was launched in 2005, to pave the way for broader regional cooperation in Asia that could become the third pole...

The Indian economy has emerged as one of the largest and most dynamic economies of the world in recent history, with robust macrofundamentals. It has adopted reforms to deepen India's integration with the global economy. While all the different parameters of socio-economic development indicate rapid strides made by the country, the challenges faced...

This paper has analyzed the trends, patterns and determinants of outward Investments by Indian enterprises that have increased notably since the onset of reforms. It finds that the sharp rise in outward investments since 1991 has been accompanied by a shift in geographical and sectoral focus of Indian investments. It develops an analytical framewor...

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Most developing countries now offer a welcoming attitude to FDI. After following a somewhat restrictive policy towards FDI, India has liberalised her policy regime considerably since 1991. This liberalisation has been accompanied by increasing inflows and also by changes in the sectoral composition, sources and entry modes of FDI. The increasing re...

There is now a growing recognition of the importance of regional economic integration in Asia for generating growth impulses from within, especially in the wake of the east Asian crisis. Voices emanating from different parts of the region support pan-Asian cooperation and integration. Against this background, the paper examines the relevance of a b...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) emerged as the most important source of external resource flows to developing countries over the 1990s and has become a significant part of capital formation in those countries despite their share in the global distribution of FDI remaining small or even declining. FDI usually flows as a bundle of resources including...

The ongoing attempt to harmonise and strengthen the intellectual property protection (IPP) regimes worldwide, as part of the TRIPs Agreement, appears to be adversely affecting technological activity in the developing countries by choking the knowledge spillovers from industrialised countries to developing countries. Furthermore, the implementation...

This paper examines the relevance of a multilateral framework on investment from a developing country perspective in the light of available evidence on the role of FDI in development. It also suggests the policy options that developing countries may consider at the Cancun Ministerial Conference on the issue of Trade and Investment. Further, it refl...

Information and communication technologies or ICT, has emerged as a key engine of growth in the 1990s. A sharp increase in the growth performance of the US economy during the second half of 1990s averaging 4.4 per cent per annum (compared to 3.1 per cent during the early 1990s) has been largely attributed to productivity gains resulting from a succ...

This paper analyzes the determinants of location of overseas R&D activity of US and Japanese multinational enterprises (MNEs) in a three-dimensional setting. Large domestic market, the abundance of low cost R&D manpower, and the scale of national technological effort favour the location of overseas R&D in a country. Tests covering sectoral composit...

This paper analyzes the determinants of location of overseas R&D activity of US and Japanese multinational enterprises (MNEs) in a three-dimensional setting. Large domestic market, the abundance of low cost R&D manpower, and the scale of national technological effort favour the location of overseas R&D in a country. Tests covering sectoral composit...

While in general it is admitted that host governments' policies may play an important role in extracting the benefits of FDI for development, a more exact analysis of the relative role of different policy measures in shaping the magnitudes and quality of FDI inflows is not available. Such an analysis has become even more improtant now in the contex...

This paper discusses, from a developing country perspective, issues concerning the ongoing review of the Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures and the move of the industrialised countries to bring the investment issue on the WTO agenda. Bringing an agreement on investment, beyond TRIMs, on the WTO agenda will not be in the interests of the...

Export-led growth has been the mainstay of the spectacular performance of the Indian software industry. However, continued growth at the blistering pace set in the 1990s faces significant challenges in the form of growing scarcity of talent, rising wage costs and emerging competition. Besides, the recent slowdown in the US has lowered growth estima...

In an increasingly globalizing and knowledge-based world economy, the declining importance of R&D activity in India is a matter of concern. This paper analyzes the determinants of R&D behaviour of Indian enterprises over the 1990s in the context of the reforms of 1991 and their impact on the R&D behaviour of MNE affiliates and local enterprises. Th...

This paper reviews the performance of the Indian economy during the 1990s in terms of certain broad macro-economic indicators. It provides a brief sketch of the economic reforms so far, analyses their impact and makes recommendations for the second generation of reforms.

Explaining the Geography and Depth of International Production: The Case of US and Japanese Multinational Enterprises. — This paper analyzes the determinants of intercountry variation in the extent and depth of the presence of foreign affiliates of US and Japanese MNEs, using an extended model of the location of foreign production in a four-dimensi...

A competition policy is more, not less, important with liberalised FDI inflows. THis is because of growing mergers and acquisitions by multination enterprises concentrate market power. Unlike greenfield investments, M and As may not add to the stock of capital in the country, nor bring in new knowledge or lead to knowledge spillover. The hope-for b...

The paper reviews the emerging patterns of informal sector activities in information technology (IT) services sector in India and examines the potential and policies for creating 'decent' urban informal sector jobs in it. Drawing upon a field survey, the study shows that informal sector activities in the software and related services present tremen...

Multinational Enterprises, Regional Economic Integration and Export-Platform Production in the Host Countries: An Empirical Analysis for the US and Japanese Corporations. — This paper analyzes determinants of export orientation of overseas affiliates of US and Japanese MNEs for the 1982–1994 period. The author contends that production geared to MNE...

This paper puts together new data on the technology generation and technology transfers in the world economy over the 1975-1995 period to examine the emerging trends and patterns. In particular we examine the trends in the country and corporate concentration in the technology generation in terms of indicators of R&D activity, patent ownership and r...

This paper employs Probit and Tobit models to analyse the determinants of probability of undertaking R & D activity and the intensity of R & D expenditures for a sample of 291 Indian manufacturing firms. The empirical findings suggest that the probability of undertaking R & D increases with the firm size only up to a certain level, while R & D inte...

This paper develops an analytical framework to explain the determinants of location of overseas research and development (R&D) by multinational enterprises (MNEs) in terms of the nature and extent of foreign direct investment (FDI) and host country resources and policy regimes. Empirical findings for US MNEs suggest that MNEs prefer to locate their...

Flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) are increasingly being seen as a very important channel for the transfer of technology, capital and entrepreneurship. Developing countries compete vigorously among themselves to attract greater volumes of FDI with a variety of policy instruments. This paper provides a selective review of the growing body of...

A good deal of theoretical and empirical literature has debated the role of MNEs in the expansion of manufactured exports from developing countries. Prevailing opinion is that MNEs have played an important role in the rapid growth of manufactured exports of Asian NTEs. Empirical studies, however, have reported mixed findings on their role. This is...

FDI flows originating in developing countries have evolved in terms of increasing magnitudes as well as in terms of their motivations. In the initial round, developing country FDI were essentially horizontal in nature, generally destined to other developing countries seeking markets. Using case studies of FDI from selected Asian developing countrie...

This paper analyses the evolution of India's FDI position during the post-independence period in comparison with government policy and levels of industrialization and development. Since independence, India has pursued a strategy of industrialization with active governmental intervention. Domestic enterprises accumulated considerable capability in t...

This paper discusses different forms of international inter-firm linkages for transfer of technology, capital and other resources, e.g. foreign direct investment, licensing and other contractual modes, strategic alliances and internationalization of developing country enterprises. The paper summarizes recent trends with special reference to develop...

This article analyses the interfirm variation in export behaviour of Indian enterprises in 13 manufacturing industries using Tobit models. The main contention of the analysis, which is supported by the empirical findings, is that the technology factor could be important for explaining export behaviour of developing country enterprises in medium and...

This paper examines the role of structural and policy factors in explaining a country's attractiveness as a base for export-oriented production by U.S. MNEs. Empirical analysis finds wage rates and industrial capability to be important determinants of export-oriented production attracted by a country. Exports generated by relocation are found to be...

In order to maximize the revenue productivity of their intangible assets, affiliates of MNEs are more likely to pursue non-price rivalry than their host country counterparts. The choice of rivalry is expected to get reflected on different aspects of firms' conduct and performance. Comparing the behaviour of two groups of firms in 49 Indian industri...

Zusammenfassung Die Bestimmungsgründe für interindustrielle Unterschiede im Anteil des firmeninternen Handels. Das Verhalten US-amerikanischer multinationaler Firmen. — Die Autoren untersuchen die Bestimmungsgründe der interindustriellen Unterschiede im Anteil der firmeninternen Exporte und Importe am Handel von US-amerikanischen Muttergesellschaft...

This paper examines the determinants of profit margins of affiliates of multinational enterprises and local firms in forty-three Indian manufacturing industries to seek explanations of the superior performance of the former. The empirical analysis finds support for the proposition that multinational enterprises and local firms constitute different...

Book Review of P. Manmohan Pillai and Jayashree Shah, Multinational Corporations and National Technological Capability, Monograph Series, 13, Sardar Patel Institute of Economic and Social Research, Ahmedabad, 1988, pp. iv+90, price Rs. 70

Zusammenfassung Immaterielle Vermögenswerte, Internalisierung und ausländische Produktion: Direktinvestitionen und Lizenzvergabe in Indien. - Ausländische Direktinvestitionen sollen entsprechend den neuen Theorien nur in solchen Industriezweigen eine Form der ausländischen Produktion sein, in denen immaterielle Vermögenswerte, die durch Internalisi...

This paper makes a compelling case for public intervention for fostering industrial development. We have also summarized evidence that suggests that present day developed countries have extensively employed infant industry protection, industrial policy and performance requirements, soft intellectual property protection regimes, subsidies, governmen...

Japan has emerged as a major source of FDI outflows especially since the mid-1980s. Japanese corporations have also set up production bases in many countries in East and Southeast Asia which feed back to their home market or third countries. The export-platform production by Japanese MNEs has moved over time from East Asian countries to Southeast A...

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