This Economic Premise examines the link between highways and spatial development. The Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) highway project in India—5,846 km of highways linking four major urban hubs—improved the connectivity and market accessibility of districts close to the highway compared to those...

We investigate the impact of the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) highway project on the Indian organized manufacturing sector using enterprise data. The GQ project upgraded the quality and width of 5,846 km of roads in India. We use a difference-in-difference estimation strategy to compare non-nodal...

This paper investigates the urbanization of the Indian manufacturing sector by combining enterprise data from formal and informal sectors. We find that plants in the formal sector are moving away from urban and into rural locations, while the informal sector is moving from rural to urban...

There is a consensus that jobs are vital in translating economic growth into lasting poverty reduction and social cohesion. But who creates jobs is an understudied field. This Economic Premise argues that there is a strong link between initial levels of young and small firms and subsequent job...

Policy makers in both developed and developing countries want to accelerate spatial development, make cities more competitive, attract new entrepreneurs, boost economic growth, and promote job creation. These are commendable goals given that city populations in developing countries are expected...

Despite rapid economic growth, gender disparities in women’s economic participation have remained deep and persistent in India. What explains these gender disparities? Is it poor infrastructure, limited education, or the composition of the labor force and industries? Or is it deficiencies in...

Can service be a growth escalator? The world is experiencing its third industrial revolution, and services are at the forefront of this revolution. Services have already surpassed industry as a source of economic growth and job creation, in both developed and developing economies. In the...

South Asia has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, yet it is also home to the largest concentration of people living in debilitating poverty. How do the two coexist? The paradox of South Asia is that growth has been instrumental in reducing poverty rates, but poverty rates have...

Should developing countries focus on the development of urban infrastructure and in general facilitate the location of employment in its large cities to exploit the still important agglomeration economies? Or should they develop infrastructure in medium-density locations to remove some of the...

South Asia is the second most violent place on earth after Iraq. Conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan have attracted global attention. Parts of India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal have experienced long-running conflict. Conflicts result in death, misery, social trauma, destruction of infrastructure,...