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Trade
Trade liberalisation and intergenerational occupational mobility in urban India
While the trade reforms of the 90s led to a rapid increase in trade in India, there are concerns regarding the likely impact of the reforms on inequality. This column shows that innovation induced by international trade led to an increase in the employment share of high-skill occupations, which in turn, allowed an increasing number of sons from underprivileged backgrounds to enter better occupations than their respective fathers.
India-ASEAN economic linkages: Challenges and way forward
India’s ‘Look East’ policy picked up steam with the conceptualisation of the Indian-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement in 2003. This column analyses the broad trends in India-ASEAN trade over the past decade, delves into the challenges involved in the economic relationship, and explores possible options for the way forward.
Creating a services value chain between India and Thailand
In the past two decades, India has signed several bilateral and regional comprehensive free trade agreements with Southeast Asian countries, which are likely to enhance services trade, investment and cooperation in the region. This column explores the prospects for creation of a services value chain between India and Thailand. It contends that integrating services may facilitate growth in Indian manufacturing by supporting production networks.
Getting more out of India's 'Tourist Visa on Arrival' scheme
The Government of India has extended the ‘Tourist Visa on Arrival’ scheme - now expected to be renamed ´Visa Online (ETA)´ scheme - from five countries in 2010 to 44 countries in 2014. In this article, Natasha Agarwal and Magnus Lodefalk highlight some of the limitations in the design and implementation of the scheme, and make recommendations for maximising its economic benefit and effectiveness.
Boosting Indo-Pak agricultural trade
Despite close geographical proximity of India and Pakistan and implementation of SAFTA almost a decade ago, trade potential between the two countries remains largely unexploited. This column analyses trends in Indo-Pak trade in agriculture, which constitutes 43.6% of total Indo-Pak trade, and highlights opportunities for expanding trade in this sector.
Mega-trading blocs: Where does India stand?
Emerging multilateral trading agreements, resulting in mega-trading blocs, seem to be replacing global negotiations through the WTO. In this article, Sharmila Kantha assesses the potential impact of these trading agreements on India, and contends that Indian policymakers and businesses would need to factor them into their future plans.
International trade, domestic labour laws and India’s manufacturing sector
India has a multitude of restrictive labour laws and these have been found to adversely affect economic performance of manufacturing firms. This column illustrates how the impact of trade liberalisation on the domestic manufacturing sector depends on labour laws. It contends that more flexible labour laws will enable India to compete better in global markets.
Protectionism under the guise of food security
India has backed out of the commitment it made at the WTO negotiations in Bali in November 2013. The implicit explanation is that the government needs to accumulate food grain stocks to provide subsidised grain to the poor and ensure food security. In this article, Kotwal, Murugkar and Ramaswami critique this reasoning and India’s position on the issue.
India's WTO problem: A proposal
India is threatening to block the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement unless its agricultural policies are exempted from multilateral scrutiny. This article contends that while India’s objectives on agriculture are valid, its tactics in withholding support for TFA are perhaps less so. India should withdraw its opposition, reformulate its position on agriculture to persuade others of its merits, and revisit the WTO issue in the near future.
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