Is Liberalisation Associated with Higher Productivity? A Case Study of Punjab Manufacturing

Abstract

Productivity is an important concept in the context of the economic growth of a nation. The rate of productivity in accelerating the pace of economic growth is well recognised in both the theoretical as well as empirical literature on growth. The significance of productivity for economic growth was highlighted by Kuznets (1966) when he showed that rapid gain in industrial productivity was the crucial underpinning of Western Industrialization. The Indian Economy was thrust into throes of rapid change in the nineties when the then government of India adopted the New Economic Policy. Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization — became the three planks by which the Indian Economy was propelled into the fusion. This process has had maximum impact on the manufacturing sector, as it has radically changed its business environment and future growth dynamics. All the states of Indian union have been affected differently due to the structural changes. In response to changed policy regime different sub sectors of industry of Punjab have responded differently to adjust optimally. The present research work focuses on studying the response of manufacturing industries in Punjab to the changed policy regime after the advent of liberalisation and privatisation process in India. The present study analyses the trends in value added, labour, capital as well as trends in labour, capital and total factor productivity for sixteen industrial groups on the organised manufacturing sector for the period 1980 — 81 to 2002 — 03 and also for two sub periods, period I, 1980 — 81 to 1990 — 91 and period II, 1991 — 92 to 2002 — 03. The present study tries to examine the trends in partial productivities as well as total factor productivity in the two sub periods to see whether there has been an improvement in productivity in the post 1991 period, the period associated with liberalisation and globalisation. The study tries to analyse the industries which have been showing better performance in terms of partial and total factor productivity and also study the trends of the industries which have not performed well in the period of analysis.

Keywords

Liberalisation Productivity and Manufacturing

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