Raghuram Rajan and Rohit Lamba on India's Untraveled Path to Prosperity

Video & Timestamps

On Thursday, May 23, Raghuram Rajan and Rohit Lamba joined Markus’ Academy for a conversation on their new book “Breaking the Mold: India’s Untraveled Path to Prosperity.”

Raghuram Rajan is the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth. He was the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India between September 2013 and September 2016. Between 2003 and 2006, Dr. Rajan was the Chief Economist and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund.

Rohit Lamba is an economist at New York University, Abu Dhabi.

Watch the full presentation below. You can watch all Markus’ Academy webinars on our Markus’ Academy YouTube Channel.

Timestamps:
[0:00] Markus’ introduction and poll questions
[6:47] The old pathway to growth and India’s job problem
[19:46] The new pathway
[46:44] Q&A

Summary

• A summary in three bullets
  • The book’s conceptual point is that, with China having driven rents down from low-skilled manufacturing, and with rise in automation and near and re-shoring of supply chains, how can countries with a demographic dividend grow? How should we think about structural transformation after the global industrialization?
  • There is a new pathway for growth for India based on services, both direct and those embedded in manufacturing, as the leading export sector. Rather than pursuing industrial policy, India should focus on fixing its deficiencies, prioritizing human capital in addition to the physical capital. This includes investing in education and healthcare, fostering innovation and creativity in high value-added sectors, and doubling down on democracy and rule of law.
  • India currently has a severe jobs problem. Promoting job creation is important because it will allow India to leverage its demographic dividend. The key question is: will India grow old before it grows rich?
• Click here to download the full summary