India and the great divergence: an Anglo-Indian comparison of GDP per capita, 1600–1871

Stephen Broadberry, Johann Custodis and Bishnupriya Gupta

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Estimates of Indian GDP are constructed from the output side for 1600-1871, and combined with population data. Indian per capita GDP declined steadily during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries before stabilising during the nineteenth century. As British growth increased from the mid-seventeenth century, India fell increasingly behind. Whereas in 1600, Indian per capita GDP was over 60% of the British level, by 1871 it had fallen to less than 15%. These estimates place the origins of the Great Divergence firmly in the early modern period, but also suggest a relatively prosperous India at the height of the Mughal Empire. They also suggest a period of "strong" deindustrialisation during the first three decades of the nineteenth century, with a small decline of industrial output rather than just a declining share of industry in economic activity.

Keywords: Britain; comparison; Indian GDP (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N10 N30 N35 O10 O57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo, nep-gro and nep-his
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (40)

Published in Explorations in Economic History, January, 2015, 55, pp. 58-75. ISSN: 0014-4983

Downloads: (external link)
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/56838/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: India and the great divergence: An Anglo-Indian comparison of GDP per capita, 1600–1871 (2015)
Working Paper: INDIA AND THE GREAT DIVERGENCE: AN ANGLO-INDIAN COMPARISON OF GDP PER CAPITA, 1600-1871 (2012)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:56838

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library LSE Library Portugal Street London, WC2A 2HD, U.K.. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by LSERO Manager ().