Is there any relationship between Economic Growth and Human Development? Evidence from Indian States

The paper attempts to analyse the relationship between economic growth and human development for 28 major Indian States during four time periods ranging over last two decades: 1983, 1993, 1999-00 and 2004-05. To construct Human Development Index for Indian States, we consider the National Human Development Report 2001 Methodology. The objective of this exercise to understand at what degree and extent the per capita income (as an indicator of economic growth) has influenced the human development across Indian States. To understand the rural – urban disparity in the achievement of human development, the Human Development Index is constructed for rural and urban areas separately for each of the States. The result shows that that per capita income is not translating into human well being. This perhaps in another way might signify the rising influence of other variables in determination of the HD achievements of a state. The result shows the need for further investigation to determine the underlying factors (other than per capita income) which influence HD achievements of a State.Economic Growth; Human Development; Human Development Index Methodology; Economic Liberalisation; Indian States

Environment, Human Development and Economic Growth after Liberalisation : An Analysis of Indian States

Economic growth does not necessarily ensure environmental sustainability for a country. The relationship between the two is far more complicated for developing countries like India, given the dependence of a large section of the population on natural resources for livelihood. Under this backdrop, the current study attempts to analyze the relationships among Environmental Quality (EQ), Human Development (HD) and Economic Growth (EG) for 14 major Indian States during post liberalisation period (1991-2004). Further, for understanding the changes in EQ with the advancement of economic liberalisation, the analysis is carried out by dividing the sample period into two : Period A (19901996) and Period B (19972004). For both the sub-periods, 63 environmental indicators have been clustered under eight broad environmental groups and an overall index of EQ using the HDI methodology. The EQ ranks of the States exhibit variation over time, implying that environment has both spatial and temporal dimensions. Ranking of the States across different environmental criteria (groups) show that different States possess different strengths and weaknesses in managing various aspects of EQ. The HDI rankings of the States for the two periods are constructed by the HDI technique following the National Human Development Report 2001 methodology. We attempt to test for the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis through multivariate OLS regression models, which indicate presence of non-linear relationship between several individual environmental groups and per capita net state domestic product (PCNSDP). The relationship between EQ and economic growth however does not become clear from the current study. The regression results involving individual environment groups and HDI score indicate a slanting N-shaped relationship. The paper concludes that individual States should adopt environmental management practices based on their local (at the most disaggregated level) environmental information. Moreover, since environmental sustainability and human well-being are complementary to each other, individual States should attempt to translate the economic growth to human well-being.Environmental Quality, Economic Liberalisation, economic growth, Human Development, India

Environment, Human Development and Economic Growth after Liberalisation: An Analysis of Indian States

Economic growth does not necessarily ensure environmental sustainability for a country. The relationship between the two is far more complicated for developing countries like India, given the dependence of a large section of the population on natural resources for livelihood. Under this backdrop, the current study attempts to analyze the relationships among Environmental Quality (EQ), Human Development (HD) and Economic Growth (EG) for 14 major Indian States during post liberalisation period (1991-2004). Further, for understanding the changes in EQ with the advancement of economic liberalisation, the analysis is carried out by dividing the sample period into two: Period A (1990–1996) and Period B (1997–2004). For both the sub-periods, 63 environmental indicators have been clustered under eight broad environmental groups and an overall index of EQ using the HDI methodology. The EQ ranks of the States exhibit variation over time, implying that environment has both spatial and temporal dimensions. Ranking of the States across different environmental criteria (groups) show that different States possess different strengths and weaknesses in managing various aspects of EQ. The HDI rankings of the States for the two periods are constructed by the HDI technique following the National Human Development Report 2001 methodology. We attempt to test for the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis through multivariate OLS regression models, which indicate presence of non-linear relationship between several individual environmental groups and per capita net state domestic product (PCNSDP). The relationship between EQ and economic growth however does not become clear from the current study. The regression results involving individual environment groups and HDI score indicate a slanting N-shaped relationship. The paper concludes that individual States should adopt environmental management practices based on their local (at the most disaggregated level) environmental information. Moreover, since environmental sustainability and human well-being are complementary to each other, individual States should attempt to translate the economic growth to human well-being.Environmental Quality; Economic Liberalisation; Economic Growth; Human Development; India

The Structural Relationship between Current and Capital Account Balance in India: A Time Series Analysis

The long run relationship between current account balance (CAB) and capital account balance (KAB) and the repercussions of capital account convertibility (KAC) on growth process of a country is a much debated issue. In particular, in the aftermath of the Southeast Asian crisis, the limitation of the liberal capital regime for a developing country like India is often highlighted in the literature. However, the probable impact of introducing KAC on CAB in India generally is discussed theoretically. Though some of the existing studies in India have earlier focused on this research question, they have done so by exogenously assuming the existence of a single structural break in the interrelationship between CAB and KAB. The present study intends to bridge the gap in the literature by raising two empirical questions: first, how far KAC is likely to destabilize the CAB and second, measuring the strength of the interrelationship between CAB and KAB. The current paper also contributes to the literature by incorporating multiple endogenous structural breaks in the empirical analysis. The empirical findings do not support any long term relationship between capital and current account balance and reveals that two significant structural breaks are observed in 1993-94 and 2003-04.International Capital Movements, Foreign Exchange, Current Account Adjustment