Enablers and Obstacles for UK-India Trade: Banks and Diasporas

印度是英国在英联邦内最重要的贸易伙伴，占英联邦进口的近四分之一。然而，作为两国贸易总额的一部分，英印贸易都很小。例如，印度占英国进口总额的2%，而中国占7%。这个为期三年的项目，与非学术合作伙伴印度工商联合会（FICCI）共同设计，将通过研究影响英印贸易的两个领域来调查为什么会出现这种情况：出口导向型印度小型制造公司的信贷作用，以及英印侨民网络在塑造英印供应链和贸易中的作用。主题一侧重于中小企业的信贷获取。小企业占工业单位的95%，占制造业增加值总额的40%，占出口总额的35%。企业的增长在很大程度上受到信贷获取的影响，一个关键问题是中小企业是否受到信贷限制，这反映在印度储备银行的优先部门贷款目标中，但关于这一主题的证据很少，因为印度的大多数研究都是基于大型的数据集，主要是上市公司，这些公司报告审计信息。我们打算分析有目的收集的调查数据，以研究中小企业信贷限制及其对出口的影响。主题二侧重于英印移民关系如何影响印度制造商的贸易和供应链。尽管其规模和潜力巨大，但关于散居侨民如何支持贸易及其与正式贸易政策之间关系的系统研究尚不存在。差距包括侨民网络目前究竟如何促进贸易，以及哪种类型的正式和非正式侨民网络在帮助两国之间的贸易方面最重要。我们的目标是了解什么类型的信息是共享的，以及在增加印度和英国公司之间的贸易中最重要的。这将包括深入了解印度公司如何接收有关开展业务的内容、方式以及与谁开展业务的信息。这些问题具有政策意义，因为设计支持性政策以加强两国之间的贸易取决于理解散居网络究竟是如何加强贸易的。目前还没有适合回答这两个问题的数据，因此一个主要项目目标是对印度制造公司进行两次调查。第一个以中小企业为重点，将收集有关其需要和从银行和非正式来源寻求信贷的经验的详细信息。第二个项目将收集纺织和服装部门公司的散居网络信息，涵盖小型、中型和大型公司。本调查还将对公司所有者进行少量定性访谈，以深入探讨散居网络的作用。传播和影响是项目的关键板块。我们的研究结果对学术受众（贸易经济学家、公司管理、散侨学者、全球供应链）和非学术受众（关注贸易和行业的公务员、负责英印双边贸易关系的政策人物、商业和金融媒体、英印双边投资）都有价值。该项目将利用国王学院印度研究所、国王商学院和印度工商联合会的重要网络，让印度和英国的公务员、银行家、企业领袖和学者参与进来。选定的一些人已经同意成为项目顾问组的一部分，他们将直接影响项目。我们将在宣传活动中更广泛地分享项目进展和成果：2022年5月在班加罗尔举行的研讨会和2023年1月在伦敦举行的会议。最后，该项目将产生重大产出：出版物（5篇期刊文章和合编卷）；两个调查数据集将通过英国数据服务（UK Data Service）公开，以及一些政策文件/博客将通过项目网站、其他博客、报纸专栏和社交媒体传播。

India is the UK's most important trading partner within the Commonwealth, accounting for nearly a quarter of Commonwealth imports. Yet as a proportion of either country's total trade, UK-India trade is small. For instance, India accounts for 2% of total UK imports against China at 7%. This three-year project, co-designed with non-academic partner the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), will investigate why this is the case by examining two areas which shape UK-India trade: the role of credit for export-oriented small Indian manufacturing firms, and the role of UK-India diasporic networks in shaping UK-India supply chains and trade.Theme one focuses on credit access for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Small firms constitute 95% of industrial units, account for 40% of total value addition in manufacturing and 35% of exports. Firms' growth is strongly shaped by access to credit, and a key concern is whether SMEs are credit constrained, as reflected in the Reserve Bank of India's priority sector lending targets, but there is little evidence on this topic because most studies in India are based on datasets for larger, mostly listed firms which report audit information. We intend to analyse purpose-collected survey data to study SME credit constraints and the implications for exports.Theme two focuses on how UK-India diasporic links shape trade and supply chains for Indian manufacturers. Despite its size and potential, systematic studies of how the diaspora supports trade and the relationship between it and formal trade policies, are missing. Gaps include how exactly diasporic networks currently facilitate trade, and what types of formal and informal diasporic networks are most significant in aiding trade between the two countries. We aim to understand what type of information is shared as well as most significant in increasing trade between Indian and UK firms. This would include insights into how Indian firms receive information about what, how and with whom to do business. These questions have policy implications because designing supportive policies to strengthen trade between the two depends on understanding how exactly diasporic networks do and can strengthen trade.Data suited to answering both questions do not currently exist, so a major project-objective is to undertake two surveys with Indian manufacturing firms. The first, focused on SMEs, will gather detailed information about their needs and experiences of seeking credit from banks and informal sources. The second will gather information on diasporic networks from firms in the textile and garments sector, spanning small, medium and large firms. This survey will also undertake a small number of qualitative interviews with firm owners to probe the role of diasporic networks in depth.Dissemination and impact are key project planks. Our findings will be of value to academic audiences (trade economists, firm management, scholars of diasporas, global supply chains) and non-academic ones alike (trade and industry-focused civil servants, policy figures responsible for UK-India bilateral trade relations, business and finance media, UK-India bilateral investment). The project will leverage the significant networks of the King's India Institute, King's Business School and FICCI to involve Indian and UK civil servants, bankers, corporate leaders and academics. A select number have agreed to be part of a project advisory group who will shape the project directly. We will share project progress and findings more widely at dissemination events: a workshop in Bangalore in May 2022 and London conference in January 2023. Finally, the project will create significant outputs: publications (5 journal articles and a co-edited volume); two survey datasets that will be made publicly available via the UK Data Service, and a number of policy papers/blogs to be disseminated via a project website, other blogs, newspaper columns and social media.