The "V-Factor": Distribution, Timing and Correlates of the Great Indian Growth Turnaround

Abstract

The ratio of Indian to US per capita output over the past 45 years has displayed a distinctive "V"-shaped pattern. We show that a strikingly similar V-shaped pattern is visible not just in aggregate output .figures, but also as the primary determinant of long-term movements in the cross-sectional distribution within the All-India total, at both sectoral and state output levels. We also carry out preliminary investigations of correlates of the "V-Factor", using a new panel data set for Indian states from 1960 to 2005 that extends and encompasses all previous datasets relevant to macroeconomic analysis of the Indian states.