Why an India-Indonesia comparison seems fairer than an India-China pairing

The economies of India and Indonesia are run on similar lines; while we may aspire to be a democratic if smaller version of China, we may only manage to be a larger and more accomplished Indonesia

T N Ninan 

T N Ninan

It has become obvious that comparisons between India and China make less and less sense. Though both are geographically large and populous, and firmly positioned as the two fastest-growing large economies, they have been on different economic growth trajectories for four decades, such that the Chinese economy is now five times India’s.

China is in another league in the power game, while India is losing traction in its own neighbourhood. China is increasingly more accomplished when it comes to technology acquisition and absorption, quality of education and the elimination of poverty, and ...

First Published: Sat, May 12 2018. 00:32 IST