How do India and China grow?

This article aims to compare the development strategies and trajectories of the two economic giants of Asia, India and China. There are two ways to approach this task. One is to investigate each case in deep detail on the presumption that each of the two countries is so huge and so unique that comparisons with other, smaller countries may be unhelpful or superfluous. Several thorough case studies have appeared in recent years (e.g., Krueger, 2002, and Lardy, 2003), and so have comparative studies painting the experience of the two countries with a broader brush (e.g., Ahya and Xie, 2004). Here, the strategy will be to compare and contrast the economic growth performance of India and China against the background of the recent literature on the determinants of economic growth around the world. To this end, the article aims to review briefly some of the salient differences and similarities between India and China and to ponder their implications for economic performance over the long haul.