Cited by 111Historical Economic and Social StudiesIndian Economic and Social DevelopmentEconomic Growth and Productivity

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 23 of the 74 references it cites were found in a registry or an index, and 51 are not checked yet.

Economic History and Modern India: Redefining the Link

Open access

Roy, Tirthankar·2002·Journal of Economic Perspectives

DOI 10.1257/089533002760278749

Open this paper in CoChat — free account Open PDF

Abstract

This paper argues that to restore the link between economic history and modern India, a different narrative of Indian economic history is needed. An exclusive focus on colonialism as the driver of India's economic history misses those continuities that arise from economic structure or local conditions. In fact, market-oriented British imperial policies did initiate a process of economic growth based on the production of goods intensive in labor and natural resources. However, productive capacity per worker was constrained by low rates of private and public investment in infrastructure, excessively low rates of schooling, social inequalities based on caste and gender and a delayed demographic transition to lower birthrates and the resultant heavy demographic burden placed on physical capital and natural resources.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1257/089533002760278749

Cites

23 of 74 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

History, Institutions, and Economic Performance: The Legacy of Colonial Land Tenure Systems in India
Banerjee, A., & Iyer, L. (2005) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/0002828054825574 · Cited by 1,268
ReOrient: Global Economy in the Asian Age
Adshead, S. A. M., & Frank, A. G. (1999) · The American Historical Review · doi:10.2307/2649595 · Cited by 1,088
Why Isn't the Whole World Developed?
Easterlin, R. A. (1981) · The Journal of Economic History · doi:10.1017/s0022050700042674 · Cited by 625
The Cambridge Economic History of India
(1982) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/chol9780521226929 · Cited by 482
Private Investment in India 1900–1939
Bagchi, A. K. (1972) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511563218 · Cited by 334
Landscapes of Disaster: Water, Modernity, and Urban Fragmentation in Mumbai
Gandy, M. (2008) · Environment and Planning A Economy and Space · doi:10.1068/a3994 · Cited by 295
The culture of entrepreneurship
Chakraborty, S., Thompson, J. C., & Yehoue, E. B. (2016) · Journal of Economic Theory · doi:10.1016/j.jet.2015.12.007 · Cited by 233
The Intimate Enemy
Berger, M. E., Bach, G. R., & Wyden, P. (1969) · The Family Coordinator · doi:10.2307/582238 · Cited by 214
The Origins of Industrial Capitalism in India: Business Strategies and the Working Classes in Bombay, 1900-1940
Irschick, E. F., & Chandavarkar, R. (1997) · The Journal of Interdisciplinary History · doi:10.2307/205968 · Cited by 206
Traditional Industry in the Economy of Colonial India
Roy, T. (1999) · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511497421 · Cited by 171
Self-citation
Towards a Reinterpretation of Nineteenth-Century Indian Economic History
Morris, M. D. (1963) · The Journal of Economic History · doi:10.1017/s0022050700109271 · Cited by 122
Deindustrialization in 18th and 19th century India: Mughal decline, climate shocks and British industrial ascent
Clingingsmith, D. L., & Williamson, J. G. (2007) · Explorations in Economic History · doi:10.1016/j.eeh.2007.11.002 · Cited by 120
Globalization and the Great Divergence: terms of trade booms, volatility and the poor periphery, 1782-1913
Williamson, J. G. (2008) · European Review of Economic History · doi:10.1017/s136149160800230x · Cited by 109
Agricultural Trends in India, 1891-1947: Output, Availability, and Productivity
Thorner, D., & Blyn, G. (1967) · Pacific Affairs · doi:10.2307/2754668 · Cited by 95
The Origins of Globalization
de Zwart, P., & van Zanden, J. L. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108551410 · Cited by 91
Towards a Reinterpretation of Nineteenth-Century Indian Economic History
Morris, M. D. (1968) · The Indian Economic & Social History Review · doi:10.1177/001946466800500101 · Cited by 80
An Economic Rationale for the West African Scramble? The Commercial Transition and the Commodity Price Boom of 1835–1885
Frankema, E., Williamson, J. G., & Woltjer, P. J. (2018) · The Journal of Economic History · doi:10.1017/s0022050718000128 · Cited by 78
The Economic History of India, 1857-1947
Roy, T. (2011) · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198074175.001.0001 · Cited by 77
Self-citation
The Growth of Large-Scale Industry to 1947
Morris, M. D. (1983) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/chol9780521228022.014 · Cited by 75
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC): Infrastructure, Social Savings, Spillovers, and Economic Growth in Pakistan
McCartney, M. P. (2020) · Eurasian Geography and Economics · doi:10.1080/15387216.2020.1836986 · Cited by 73
Colonialization of the Indian Economy, 1757 - 1900
Habib, I. (1975) · Social Scientist · doi:10.2307/3516224 · Cited by 61
Studying a Colonial Economy—Without Perceiving Colonialism
Habib, I. (1985) · Modern Asian Studies · doi:10.1017/s0026749x00007654 · Cited by 60
Agricultural Labourers in Modern India and Pakistan.
Grad, A. J. (1953) · Pacific Affairs · doi:10.2307/2753311 · Cited by 59
‘Beltway Bandits’ and ‘Poverty Barons’: For‐Profit International Development Contracting and the Military‐Development Assemblage
Nagaraj, V. K. (2015) · Development and Change · doi:10.1111/dech.12164 · Cited by 59
Reinterpretation of Nineteenth Century Indian Economic History
Chandra, B. (1968) · The Indian Economic & Social History Review · doi:10.1177/001946466800500103 · Cited by 52
Rising A sia and postcolonial geography
Raghuram, P., Noxolo, P., & Madge, C. (2013) · Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography · doi:10.1111/sjtg.12045 · Cited by 52
Commodity Prices over Two Centuries: Trends, Volatility, and Impact
Williamson, J. G. (2012) · Annual Review of Resource Economics · doi:10.1146/annurev-resource-110811-114502 · Cited by 34
Trends in Real Wages in the Jute Textile Industry from 1900 to 1951
Mukerji, K. (1960) · Artha Vijnana Journal of The Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics · doi:10.21648/arthavij/1960/v2/i1/117068 · Cited by 32
Liability of Foreignness in Historical Context: German Business in Preindependence India (1880–1940)
Lubinski, C. (2014) · Enterprise & Society · doi:10.1017/s1467222700016098 · Cited by 32
Trend in Real Wages in Cotton Textile Mills in Bombay City and Island, from 1900 to 1951
Mukerji, K. (1959) · Artha Vijnana Journal of The Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics · doi:10.21648/arthavij/1959/v1/i1/117152 · Cited by 29
Trend in Real Wages in Cotton Textile Industry in Ahmedabad from 1900 to 1951
Mukerji, K. (1961) · Artha Vijnana Journal of The Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics · doi:10.21648/arthavij/1961/v3/i2/116965 · Cited by 27
The Political Economy of Underdevelopment
Bagchi, A. K. (1982) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 26
ARTISAN CLOTH-PRODUCERS AND THE EMERGENCE OF POWERLOOM MANUFACTURE IN WESTERN INDIA 1920-1950
Haynes, D. E. (2001) · Past & Present · doi:10.1093/past/172.1.170 · Cited by 25
Global Trade and Indian Politics: The German Dye Business in India before 1947
Lubinski, C. (2015) · The Business History Review · doi:10.1017/s0007680515000707 · Cited by 22
Interwar Housing Speculation and Rent Profiteering in Colonial Calcutta
Bhattacharyya, D. (2016) · Comparative Studies of South Asia Africa and the Middle East · doi:10.1215/1089201x-3699007 · Cited by 21
Spatial Inequity and National Territory: Remapping 1905 in Bengal and Assam
Ludden, D. E. (2011) · Modern Asian Studies · doi:10.1017/s0026749x11000357 · Cited by 21
Top Indian wealth shares and inheritances 1966–1985
Kumar, R. (2019) · Cliometrica · doi:10.1007/s11698-019-00198-7 · Cited by 19
The Changing Landscape of Women’s Leadership in India and Korea From Cultural and Generational Perspectives
Chaudhuri, S., Park, S., & Kim, S. (2018) · Human Resource Development Review · doi:10.1177/1534484318809753 · Cited by 19
Structures of Power
Kale, S. S. (2014) · Comparative Studies of South Asia Africa and the Middle East · doi:10.1215/1089201x-2826037 · Cited by 19
A Rule of Proprietary Right for British India: From revenue settlement to tenant right in the age of classical legal thought
Chaudhry, F. I. (2015) · Modern Asian Studies · doi:10.1017/s0026749x14000195 · Cited by 17
The Demographic Effects of Colonialism: Forced Labor and Mortality in Java, 1834–1879
de Zwart, P., Gallardo‐Albarrán, D., & Rijpma, A. (2021) · The Journal of Economic History · doi:10.1017/s0022050721000577 · Cited by 14
Colonialism, Landlords, and Public Goods Provision in India: A Controlled Comparative Analysis
Verghese, A. (2018) · The Journal of Development Studies · doi:10.1080/00220388.2018.1487057 · Cited by 14
Dynamism and enervation in North Indian agriculture: the historical dimension
Stokes, E. (1978) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511563416.012 · Cited by 13
Governance Evolution and Impact on Economic Growth
Raju, A. S., Balasubramaniam, N., & Srinivasan, R. (2019) · IGI Global eBooks · doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-9860-2.ch097 · Cited by 10
Factor markets and the narrative of economic change in India, 1750–1950
Roy, T. (2009) · Continuity and Change · doi:10.1017/s026841600900705x · Cited by 9
Self-citation
The Terms of Trade between the United Kingdom and British India, 1858–1947
Appleyard, D. R. (2006) · Economic Development and Cultural Change · doi:10.1086/500031 · Cited by 7
The Transition between the Old and New Traditional Economies in India
Rosser, J. B., & Rosser, M. V. (2005) · Comparative Economic Studies · doi:10.1057/palgrave.ces.8100059 · Cited by 7
City connectivity via global intra‐firm linkages: An analysis of Indian cities
Das, S. P. (2022) · Journal of International Development · doi:10.1002/jid.3689 · Cited by 6
The lepers, lunatics, the lame, the blind, the infirm and the making of asylums and benevolent charities: the Indian merchant class and disability in colonial India
Kaul, S. C., Sandhu, M. S., & Alam, Q. (2021) · Journal of Management History · doi:10.1108/jmh-07-2020-0046 · Cited by 6
Exploring the Effects of Globalization on Silk Weaving Tradition of Bishnupur Region in West Bengal, India
Banerjee, A., & Chakrabarti, G. (2020) · The Oriental Anthropologist A Bi-annual International Journal of the Science of Man · doi:10.1177/0972558x20913660 · Cited by 6
Extractive Institutions? Investor Returns to Indian Railway Companies in the Age of High Imperialism
Bogart, D., & Chaudhary, L. (2018) · Journal of Institutional Economics · doi:10.1017/s1744137419000237 · Cited by 6
Development of Indian Tax System: Pre and Post-Colonial Influences
Kapoor, S., & Singh, A. (2023) · FIIB Business Review · doi:10.1177/23197145231164816 · Cited by 5
Organizational memory and institution theory: A postcolonial perspective
Lahiri, M., Bhandarker, A., & Behrens, A. (2021) · Thunderbird International Business Review · doi:10.1002/tie.22189 · Cited by 5
The Rise and Fall of Indian Economic History 1920–2013
Roy, T. (2014) · Economic History of Developing Regions · doi:10.1080/20780389.2014.922843 · Cited by 5
Self-citation
Natural trading partners versus empires in East and Southeast Asia regional integration (1840-1938)
Ayuso‐Díaz, A. (2021) · Journal of the Japanese and International Economies · doi:10.1016/j.jjie.2021.101184 · Cited by 4
India's De-Industrialization Under British Rule: New Ideas, New EvidencePreprint
Clingingsmith, D. L., & Williamson, J. G. (2004) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.558264 · Cited by 4
Rising Asia: Case of Japan, South Korea, China and India
Hong, P. C., & Park, Y. W. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-13-7635-1_3 · Cited by 3
Governance Evolution and Impact on Economic Growth
Raju, A. S., Balasubramaniam, N., & Srinivasan, R. (2015) · Advances in finance, accounting, and economics book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-8274-0.ch012 · Cited by 3
A Short History of India’s Economy: Pre- and Post-Independence Period
Shrotryia, V. K., & Singh, S. V. P. (2020) · Economic and Regional Studies / Studia Ekonomiczne i Regionalne · doi:10.2478/ers-2020-0029 · Cited by 2
Environmental Struggles and Innovations in India: An Historical Perspective
Bandyopadhyay, J. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-44037-8_3 · Cited by 2
Modernization, weather variability, and vulnerability to famine
D’Alessandro, S. (2011) · Oxford Economic Papers · doi:10.1093/oep/gpr014 · Cited by 2
Entrepreneurial relationship marketing in 19th century India – The case of railway contractor Joseph Stephens
Lagrosen, S. O., & Roy, A. (2020) · Business History · doi:10.1080/00076791.2020.1821659 · Cited by 1
Economic Growth and Structural Change: The Case of India
Mino, K. (2022) · Creative economy · doi:10.1007/978-981-15-9305-5_2 · Cited by 1
Income Mobility and Poverty Dynamics Across Social Groups in Rural India, 1993–2005
Dubey, A., & Verschoor, A. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-10-6014-4_9 · Cited by 1
From Grain to Gold: The Regeneration of New Delhi’s Dhan Mill Compound
Katoch, M. (2021) · The urban book series · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-73457-2_8
The First Globalization
Basu, D. R., & Miroshnik, V. W. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-79895-6_1
Consequences of British Industrialization
Basu, D. R., & Miroshnik, V. W. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-47368-6_4
Western European Expansionism in India, China, and Indonesia
Bhattacharyya, S. (2020) · Frontiers in economic history · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-58736-9_5
Extractive Institutions? Investor Returns to Indian Railway Companies in the Age of High ImperialismPreprint
Bogart, D., & Chaudhary, L. (2018) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3293873
Internalization of IJVs and Institutions
Dalbehera, S. K., Raghunath, S., Srinivasan, R., Patibandla, M., & Nagadevara, V. S. (2016) · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · doi:10.1057/978-1-137-54468-1_5
Colonialism, Landlords, and Public Goods Provision in India: A Controlled Comparative AnalysisPreprint
Verghese, A. (2017) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3015265
A robust estimation of the terms of trade between the United Kingdom and British India, 1858–1947
Ghoshray, A. (2015) · Economic Modelling · doi:10.1016/j.econmod.2015.08.002
Références
(2009) · De Boeck Supérieur eBooks · doi:10.3917/dbu.banqu.2008.02.0305
Review of periodical literature published in 2002
(2004) · The Economic History Review · doi:10.1111/j.0013-0017.2004.00276.x

Research works printed but not linked: 4

Chandra Bipan, 1992, The Indian Economy: Problems and Prospects. Bimal Jalan, ed. New York: Viking, 1
Mukherjee Moni, 1973, Sankhya, 35, 133
Sarkar Sumit, 1983, Modern India, 1885
Thorner Alice, 1962, Economic Weekly, 14, 28

Sorted by citations

History, Institutions, and Economic Performance: The Legacy of Colonial Land Tenure Systems in India
Banerjee, A., & Iyer, L. (2005) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/0002828054825574 · Cited by 1,268
Direct versus Indirect Colonial Rule in India: Long-Term Consequences
Iyer, L. (2010) · Review of Economics and Statistics · doi:10.1162/rest_a_00023 · Cited by 339
“Some authors also hold the view that resource endowments or area characteristics are the major determining forces of long-term outcomes and that colonial rule plays only a minor part (e.g., Herbst, 2000, on Africa, or Roy, 2002, on India).”
Landscapes of Disaster: Water, Modernity, and Urban Fragmentation in Mumbai
Gandy, M. (2008) · Environment and Planning A Economy and Space · doi:10.1068/a3994 · Cited by 295
The culture of entrepreneurship
Chakraborty, S., Thompson, J. C., & Yehoue, E. B. (2016) · Journal of Economic Theory · doi:10.1016/j.jet.2015.12.007 · Cited by 233
Why Europe grew rich and Asia did not: global economic divergence, 1600-1850
Parthasarathi, P. (2012) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.49-4578 · Cited by 203

See all 111

Authors: Roy, T.
Affiliations: Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (IN)
Corresponding author: Roy, Tirthankar
ORCID: Roy, Tirthankar
Venue: Journal of Economic Perspectives
Publisher: American Economic Association
Published: 2002-08-01
Volume: 16
Issue: 3
Pages: 109-130
ISSN: 0895-3309 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1257/089533002760278749
OpenAlex: W1968190335
Cited by: 108
References: 24
Citations by year: 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 6
FWCI: 8.14
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: bronze
doi.org
Locations: The Journal of Economic Perspectives (publishedVersion)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Historical Economic and Social Studies
Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Indian Economic and Social Development
Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Economic Growth and Productivity
Keywords: Indian economic history, colonialism, British imperialism, economic growth, labor-intensive manufacturing, infrastructure investment, caste inequality, gender inequality, demographic transition, economic structure, modern India

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Economic History and Modern India: Redefining the Link

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Self-check

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Related

Metadata

Record

About these checks