Structural transformation in India: The Role of the Service Sector
Rafael Serrano-Quintero
No 2023/451, UB School of Economics Working Papers from University of Barcelona School of Economics
Abstract:
Contrary to the experience of industrialized countries, productivity growth of Indian services has been consistently faster than manufacturing. In this paper, I document that (i) the fastest growing industries in services grow faster than in manufacturing; (ii) faster productivity growth in services than in manufacturing is not because of sluggish manufacturing productivity; (iii) the supply of skilled workers in India is skewed towards tertiary education and (iv) the service sector is the most skill intensive; (v) returns to schooling are larger for the high-productivity services. To quantify and rationalize these facts, I construct a multi-sector model of estructural change with high and low-skilled workers. The calibrated model suggests that the large supply of high-skill workers combined with higher skill intensity in the service sector seem to be behind the services take-off. The data imply that service sub-sectors are gross substitutes while manufacturing sub-sectors are gross complements. This will accelerate productivity growth in services and decelerate productivity growth in manufacturing.
Keywords: Structural transformation; Productivity; Human Capital; India. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O41 O47 O51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 70 pages
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ewp:wpaper:451web
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