The Promise and Default of the “Kerala Model”

Kerala, a southern state in India has consistently outdone other states with regards to human development indicators, with greater welfare and development standards than in the rest of India. Much of this development is fuelled from remittances sent home from Gulf countries. This paper looks into the Kerala Model which shows economic development without economic growth, by alligning migration and development theories to ground-level statistics and critically analyzing both. The paper concludes with remarks on the sustainability of the Kerala Model.