Rethinking India's Growth-Obsessed Economic Policy: From Chasing Trillions to Creating Jobs

Sinha, Rishabh (2024): Rethinking India's Growth-Obsessed Economic Policy: From Chasing Trillions to Creating Jobs.

Abstract

India's economic policy has long been obsessed with high growth rates, often sidelining other crucial goals like job creation, which has lagged significantly. In light of this slow job growth, critics are now pushing for a greater emphasis on employment, arguing it's vital for sustaining economic progress. However, this paper argues that these criticisms are misguided. The connection between job creation and growth is both theoretically and empirically weak. Moreover, these critiques mistakenly prioritize economic growth as the end goal despite its tenuous link to welfare metrics such as job creation. Instead, the paper calls for a fundamental shift in policy focus: from chasing growth targets to addressing concrete measures of economic well-being, such as robust job creation, to more effectively enhance societal welfare and tackle broader socioeconomic issues.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Economic policy; Economic growth; Jobs; Employment; Welfare; India
• Subjects: E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E6 - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook > E60 - General; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J0 - General > J08 - Labor Economics Policies; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O40 - General

References

Chakravorti, B (2024): “How India Can Fix Its Employment Crisis,” Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston. Gaddis, J L (2005): “The Cold War: A New History,” The Penguin Press, New York. Invest India (2024): “Make In India,” Invest India, Vigyan Bhavan Annexe, New Delhi Weblink. Jones, C I and P J Klenow (2016): “Beyond GDP? Welfare across countries and time,” American Economic Review, Vol 106, No 9, pp 2426-2457. Kuznets, S (1934): “National Income, 1929-1932.” National Bureau of Economic Research, pp 1-12. Mohapatra, S and S Pohit (2024): “Charting the path to a developed India: Viksit Bharat 2047,” National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi. NITI Aayog (2024): “Vision for Viksit Bharat @ 2047: An Approach Paper,” NITI Aayog, NITI Bhawan, Government of India, New Delhi. Lepenies, P (2016): “The power of a single number: a political history of GDP,” Columbia University Press, New York. Pilling, D (2019): “The Growth Delusion: Wealth, Poverty, and the Well-Being of Nations,” Crown Publishing Group, New York. Pincus, J and J A Winters, eds. (2002): “Reinventing the world bank,” Cornell University Press, Ithaca. Press Information Bureau (2022a): “‘Make in India’ completes 8 years, annual FDI doubles to USD 83 billion,” Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, New Delhi. Press Information Bureau (2022b): “The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 76th Independence Day,” Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, New Delhi. Solow, R M (1956): “A contribution to the theory of economic growth,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol 70, No 1, pp 65-94. Swan, T W (1956): “Economic growth and capital accumulation,” Economic Record, Vol 32, No 2, pp 334-361. Sinha, R (2024): "Are lockdowns more effective than voluntary measures in checking mobility during a pandemic?," ResearchGate, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.13753.99685. Sinha, R (2024): "When Political Instability Stifles Growth in Stable Regimes: Insights from India's Emergency," ResearchGate, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.22713.58729. World Bank (2024): “World Development Indicators Database,” World Bank Group, Washington DC.