Current Issue

Vol. 54,  No. 1,  2024

Emerging Perspectives of Intra-Industry Trade in India’s Manufacturing Sector

Riya Das ¹ and Amiya Sarma^2
1D.H.S.K. Commerce College, Dibrugarh, Assam, India and ²Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam, India

Abstract: This study explored India’s multilateral intra-industry trade trends, noting a substantial rise, especially since 2000s. A focused examination within specific industries identifies electronic and transportation commodity groups as the principal drivers of this escalating trend. The analysis centered on factors influencing India’s intra-industry trade (IIT), emphasizing on revealed comparative advantage (RCA) and an outward-oriented trade policy. The RCA-IIT relationship unveils an inverted U-shaped curve. Significantly, a positive relationship emerges between IIT and an outward-oriented trade policy, highlighting the impact of trade liberalization on enhancing IIT. These findings hold crucial policy implications, indicating the role of trade liberalization initiatives in increasing IIT in India.

Key Words: Merchandise trade; Liberalization; Intra-industry trade (IIT); Revealed comparative advantage (RCA); Tariff; Manufacturing sector.

Convergence of Greenhouse Gases in South Asia

Swati Sinha Babu
Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, West Bengal, India

Abstract: This study examines convergence with regard to principal anthropogenic green house gases (GHGs), i.e., carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) emissions for selected Asian countries. Beta convergence (both conditional and unconditional) and sigma convergence methods have been employed to understand the issue of convergence among the selected countries covering the time period of 1990-2022. Employing Poirier’s (1974) spline function approach, we have estimated the growth rate of GHGs over three decadal periods 1990-1999, 2000-09 and 2010-22 for each country individually. Results of beta convergence indicate convergence with respect to all the emissions. Sigma convergence result also confirms the same. Spline function results show that the growth rates of all the GHGs has declined for majority of the countries in the last decade, i.e., 2010-2022.

Key Words:Convergence, Beta, Sigma, Asian countries, Spline function, Greenhouse gases

Does Formalisation Matter for Informal Sector Enterprises? Evidence from a Primary Firm Survey in Assam, India

Alok Ranjan Dutta
Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh, Assam, India

Abstract: This paper examines the effect of levels of formality on the performance of informal manufacturing firms. Research on the benefits of formalization on the microenterprises is scarcer, particularly in India, a country with a large informal sector. We follow prior works to argue that informal firms function at different levels of informality. Our article tries to assess the effect of the levels of formality on the firm level outcomes. It uses primary data from a survey of 205 informal manufacturing enterprises from the Indian state of Assam. Tools employed in our study include ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, and a multinomial logit regression. Findings reveal that effect of formality differs across the measures of firm performance. A higher level of formality is found to have a positive relationship with labour productivity, and growth of the enterprises, but its effect is found weak on the mixed income accruing to entrepreneur’s household.

Key Words: Unregistered manufacturing sector, Informal sector, Formality, Performance, Enterprise, Firm.

Estimating Income and Price Elasticities for Services Exports and Imports: Evidence from India

Bimal Jaiswal and Ananya Dixit
University of Lucknow, Lucknow, India

Abstract: This paper aims to estimate the income and price elasticities of services exports and imports for India during the post-GATS period, i.e., 1995-2019. For this purpose, the study uses the ARDL cointegration approach and finds that in the long-run, the services exports of India are positively and significantly income elastic, while the price elasticity is negative and insignificant. However, Indian services imports are found to be positively and significantly elastic to income as well as prices in the long- run. Also, Indian imports are more responsive to income than to prices. The implication of the empirical findings has been explored on India’s Current Account Deficit.

Key words:Services exports, Post-GATS, Income and price elasticities, ARDL approach to cointegration, Current account deficit, Services imports.

Measuring Financial Inclusion in Haryana by using Wroclaw Taxonomic Methodology: An Evidence from Commercial Bank

Mamta Rani and Manoj Siwach
Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, Haryana, India

Abstract: The main aim of this paper is to study the extent of financial inclusion in Haryana. Secondary data has been used to construct financial inclusion indexes for the periods of 2012 and 2022. Financial inclusion in Gurugram district was at a high level with a Financial Inclusion Index (FII) value of 0.14 in 2012 and once again held the first position in 2022 with an FII value of 0.23. However, the situation is alarming in Nuh district. Nuh remained at the bottom of the rankings in both 2012 and 2022, with FII values of 0.76 and 0.79, respectively. In the year 2022, Gurugram, Panchkula, Ambala, Faridabad and Kurukshetra are the top performing districts in Haryana. On the other hand, Nuh, Palwal, Jind, Bhiwani, and Mahendragarh are classified as poor-performing districts.

Key words:Banking system, Financial inclusion, Credit, Index, Initiatives, Wroclaw taxonomic.

Rural Economic Transformation and Narrowing Rural-Urban Divide: A Study of Rural-Urban Middle-Class Households from Purba Bardhaman District, West Bengal

Suparna Pal
University of Burdwan, Bardhaman, West Bengal, India

Abstract: This article examines the contemporary economic changes in rural areas and the resultant shrinking of the rural-urban divide. The rural economy of West Bengal is facing structural transformation. This transformation is the outcome of economic reforms that opened up various sectors of the economy, causing economic diversification. For a long time, the rural economy was dominated by agriculture. However, due to economic reforms and resultant economic transformation, rural West Bengal is becoming more dependent on non-farm activities. This shift from farm to non-farm activities is being facilitated by rural middle-class households, which are acting as catalysts for economic transformation in rural areas. The transformed rural economy has reduced the rural-urban gap, reflecting the new pattern of occupations. To comprehend this economic pattern, we carry out a micro-study across rural and urban middle-class households in Purba Bardhaman district in West Bengal. Drawing on secondary data and micro-level empirical studies, this research reveals that the structural transformation has expanded the opportunities for non-farm activities in rural areas. The educated rural middle-class is capitalizing on these opportunities, actively engaging in non-farm activities and reshaping the economic landscape. As a result, there is a clear and discernible narrowing of the gap between rural and urban occupational patterns.

Key words:Economic diversification, Farm worker, Non-farm economy, Rural middle-class, Structural transformation.