India's Reform of External Sector Policies and Future Multilateral Trade Negotiations

Working Papers from Economic Growth Center, Yale University

Abstract: I evaluate India's transition from an inward-oriented development strategy to greater participation in the world economy. While tariff rates have decreased significantly over the past decade, India is still one of the more autarkic countries. Despite improvement over the past in export performance, India continues to lag behind its South- and East Asian neighbors. Second, official debt flows have been largely replaced by foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio investment in the 1990s. India's ability to attract FDI would be greatly enhanced by further reforms. I argue that India's participation in a future round of multilateral trade negotiations would benefit India. I outline the further reforms most needed: reform of labour and bankruptcy laws, real privatization, and fiscal consolidation. These involve taking on entrenched vested interests, including political parties and governments in states. Enacting them requires political courage and risk taking which in India, as in most societies, are rare.

Keywords: India; Antidumping; Developing Countries; Economic Reform; Export Performance; Foreign Direct Investment; Intellectual Property Rights; Multilateral Trade Negotiations; Quantitative Restrictions; Real Exchange Rate; Tariff and Non-tariff Barriers; World Trade Organization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F13 F14 F15 F21 F35 H54 K31 O34 O38 O53 P11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 72 pages
Date: 2001-06
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Working Paper: India's Reform of External Sector Policies and Future Multilateral Trade Negotiations (2001)
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