Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: The Political Economy of Subnational Industrial Promotion in India and Mexico

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This Doctoral dissertation research moves beyond the existing literature on the politics of economic development by focusing on the political economy of industrial promotion programs at the subnational level. Market-oriented reforms in combination with administrative decentralization have increased the importance of subnational governments for promoting industrial development, yet we do not have adequate explanations for either the level or the type of subnational government action in industrial promotion. This Doctoral Dissertation Research combines in-depth qualitative comparison of industrial policy in three states in both India and Mexico with a large-n cross-sectional time-series analysis of sub national policy choice. Focusing upon variations both in the level and type of subnational development policy, the research enhances our understanding of the ways in which institutional context shapes policy choices among policy alternatives. The Ph.D. student draws on a variety of types of evidence, including interviews with elected officials, political party leaders, ministry bureaucrats, domestic industrialists, labor union officials, leaders of industrial associations, and foreign investors; surveys of industrial development offices and private sector development organizations; examination of legislative records; and measures of institutional factors, including executive power, legislative professionalism, the competitive balance of the party system, and labor and business strength. Using these types of information, the study explores the factors guiding developmental policy choice on the basis of a comparative analysis of state-level politics in India and Mexico. By bridging the gap separating the study of development efforts that rely upon the statist promotional policies from those emphasizing market-oriented policies of deregulation, the current study contributes to theoretical work on the political economy of development, enhances our understanding of subnational politics in emerging market nations, and establishes a stronger theoretical basis for understanding the ways in which variations in institutional context shape choices among development strategies. 0135674