The Service Sector in India's Development

This book analyzes the Indian service sector's heterogeneity.

Gaurav Nayyar (Author)

9781107475922, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 18 December 2014

312 pages, 19 b/w illus. 111 tables
23 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.5 kg

'Based on a study of the exceptional Indian experience, Gaurav Nayyar's book is a major work to advance our understanding of services-led growth with results that can be widely generalized. I highly recommend this book for its very lucid, insightful, and deep analysis of many interrelated developments, which have the potential to transform the socioeconomic profile of most developing countries in the coming years.' Harsha V. Singh, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization

A striking aspect of India's recent growth has been the dynamism of its services sector. In 2010, it accounted for 57 percent of the country's GDP and 25 percent of its total employment. The results do not conform to the growth experience of currently industrialized countries or other developing economies. Is the increasing share of the service sector in India's total output simply notional, as several activities that were earlier classified in the industrial sector are now subsumed in services' value added, or because the relative price of services has increased over time? No. The sector's growth is real - it is linked to household final demand, policy reforms and increased service exports. Is this service-led growth process sustainable? That remains an open question because the service sector is highly heterogeneous, ranging from software services and business process outsourcing to wholesale and retail trade and personal services. These subsectors vary considerably in the context of different economic characteristics that are important for development.

1. Introduction
2. Services: concepts, measurement and India's national accounts
3. The demand for services in India: a mirror image of Engel's Law for Food?
4. The nature of employment in India's services sector: educational requirements and quality
5. Labour productivity in India's urban informal services sector: a comparison with agriculture
6. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: International business [KJK], Political economy [KCP], Development economics & emerging economies [KCM], Asian history [HBJF]