Mukim, Megha (2011) Industry and the urge to cluster: a study of the informal sector in India. SERC Discussion Papers (SERCDP0072). Spatial Economics Research Centre (SERC), London School of Economics and Political Sciences, London, UK.
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Abstract
This paper studies the determinants of firm location choice at the district-level in India to gauge the relative importance of agglomeration economies vis-à-vis good business environment. A peculiar characteristic of the Indian economy is that the unorganised nonfarm sector accounts for 43.2% of NDP and employs 71.6% of the total workforce. I analyse National Sample Survey data that covers over 4.4 million firms, in both unorganised sectors – manufacturing and services. The empirical analysis is carried out using count models, and I instrument with land revenue institutions to deal with possible endogeneity bias. I find that buyer-suppler linkages and industrial diversity make a district more attractive to economic activity, whilst the quality and level of infrastructure are also important. I conclude that public policy may be limited in its ability to encourage relocation of informal firms.
| Item Type: | Monograph (Working Paper) | 
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| Official URL: | http://www.spatialeconomics.ac.uk/SERC/publication... | 
| Additional Information: | © 2011 Megha Mukim | 
| Divisions: | Urban and Spatial Programme | 
| Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions | 
| JEL classification: | O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development | 
| Date Deposited: | 28 Mar 2011 10:42 | 
| Last Modified: | 11 Sep 2025 04:26 | 
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/33592 | 
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