Economic revival of west Bengal key issues and lessons

Abstract

In the recent years, studies conducted on West Bengal economy have indicated that the economic performance of the state has been steady lately. The major parameters indicate that it has, in fact, out performed other states in the last three years. This study intends to explore the trend and nature of economic growth of the state vis-a.-vis the national growth pattern and examine the factors that have contributed to the growth process. The methodology to be adopted would be both "Quantitative" and "Qualitative" .The quantitative methods will be used to examine the trends and also to assess the revival theory in the backdrop of the growth pattern. The time periods will be analysed to identify the specific period since when growth patterns have registered a significant change. A sectoral analysis will follow to probe into sectoral and subsectoral performance and identify any structural changes across and within sectors. The qualitative aspect will include a detailed study of the policies on agriculture, industry, services, in particular Information Technology related, over a period of time to focus on how the current policies have evolved and how the policies have impacted growth. It will also involve semi-structured interviews with the academicians, bureaucrats and politicians and industrialists on their perceptions about the West Bengal economy in general and their view on the change in environment and what have been the catalysts to the change. It will then be seen whether the responses corroborate the findings of the previous analysis. After the analysis of growth patterns and the linkage with the factors promoting it, the gaps, particularly in state policies will be identified. In order to address the shortcomings, suggestions will be framed for firming up the state policies.