ABSTRACT

Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 promising robust economic management and more employment. The campaign promise of “maximum governance, minimum government,” created hope that Modi would transform India’s economy by removing obstacles to growth and job creation. We assess the Modi government’s economic policies from 2014–2019 focusing on salient initiatives like demonetization, bankruptcy law, GST reforms, and “Make in India.” We argue that Modi’s economic policies must be understood, first and foremost, as a political strategy to build political support and ensure the BJP’s hegemony through the next decade. In addition, we show that Modi’s success in building his personal image as a decisive leader perversely triggered institutional changes such as centralization of decision-making and political management of information that diminished India’s state capacity and led to policies that failed to address, and in many cases exacerbated, India’s economic problems.

摘要

纳伦德拉·莫迪 (Narendra Modi) 于 2014 年上台，承诺稳健的经济管理和更多的就业。“最大治理，最小政府”的竞选承诺让莫迪希望通过消除增长和创造就业机会的障碍来改变印度的经济。我们评估了莫迪政府 2014 年至 2019 年的经济政策，重点关注非货币化、破产法、商品及服务税改革和“印度制造”等突出举措。我们认为，莫迪的经济政策首先必须被理解为一种政治战略，以建立政治支持并确保人民党在未来十年的霸权。此外，