Dance of the Elephant, Walk of the Dragon: How India and China are reshaping the world in different ways

Is India’s economic growth model better than China’s? India and China are global economic powers but with different growth trajectories and completely different styles of governance. While the comparison between the Asian neighbours is inevitable, how does the future of these two large economies stack up? As ancient Asian civilizations having river valley origins and global economic giants of the medieval period, India and China share many characteristics. There is, however, much that is different, which will define the future of the two nations. This book examines the policies, institutions, markets, infrastructure, public finance and political economies of the two countries and their enabling environments for economic growth. It also examines potential or little understood dangers of disproportionate growth in the context of the environment, population, and future economic and social stability. These alone, however, are not sufficient to tell the complete story or suggest a tealeaf reading of their possible futures. The book, therefore, also offers a synoptic look at history, culture, beliefs, society, law, some aspects of ethnography and anthropology, their respective constructs of modern nation states, and the role these may have played in the past or may play in the future, to better understand the future trajectories of India and China.