Is the elephant stepping on its trunk? The problem of India´s unbalanced growth

It is often assumed that recent success in the high-technology software industry will lead India’s development. However, evidence suggests that basic manufacturing industry is stagnant. This paper proposes a mechanism that ties these two trends together. A big-push type of model, featuring linkages between firms, demand spill-over, and technology choice is elaborated. By imposing di¤erent cost structures on the manufacturing and high-technology industries the model describes outcome in terms of distribution between sectors. It is found that a policy promoting a high-technology sector can have negative effects on the manufacturing industry as well as aggregate income. A policy directing resources towards infrastructure benefits all sectors and increases aggregate income. The results from the model are found to correpond with the recent development pattern in India.