Determinants of Export Decision of Indian Firms: A Primary Data Analysis

This paper reports the findings from a purposive survey of 400 firms across different regions in India and in selected industry segments. It analyses the factors determining firms' decision to export and their performance, in particular, the role of infrastructure constraints and internal costs. These include physical, financial and human infrastructure; trade costs, tariffs, institutional factors such as conflict resolution, political stability, corruption, anti-competitive practices, macroeconomic policy, labour regulation, and intensity of competition, etc. The findings of this paper are relevant to the broader debate on Indian economic development. From a policy perspective the paper contributes to an exploration of the relative importance of infrastructure constraints and domestic costs on exports. It emphasizes the distinctive features of India's past path of development and suggests its possible future course of action.