British Colonial Institutions and Economic Development in India

46 Pages Posted: 27 Oct 2006 Last revised: 19 Dec 2022

See all articles by Shilpi Kapur

Shilpi Kapur

University of Washington - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Sukkoo Kim

Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: October 2006

Abstract

We explore the impact of British colonial institutions on the economic development of India. In some regions, the British colonial government assigned property rights in land and taxes to landlords whereas in others it assigned them directly to cultivators or non-landlords. Although Banerjee and Iyer (2005) find that agricultural productivity of non-landlord areas diverged and out-performed relative to landlord areas after 1965 with the advent of the Green Revolution, we find evidence of superior economic performance of non-landlord regions in both the pre- and the post-independence periods. We believe that landlord and non-landlord regions diverged because their differing property rights institutions led to differences in incentives for development.

Suggested Citation

Kapur, Shilpi and Kim, Sukkoo, British Colonial Institutions and Economic Development in India (October 2006). NBER Working Paper No. w12613, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=938406

Shilpi Kapur (Contact Author)

University of Washington - Department of Economics ( email )

Box 353330
Seattle, WA 98195-3330
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Sukkoo Kim

Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Economics ( email )

One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130
United States
314-935-4961 (Phone)
314-935-4156 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
88
Abstract Views
1,472
Rank
520,585
PlumX Metrics