Was Culture a Major Factor in

India’s Most Recent Growth?

Roshanth Shantharuban

Wish to study economics at university Particularly interested in the fields of

developmental economics and economic history

“Why did the Industrial Revolution take place in Britain?”

“Was culture a Major Factor in South Asia’s most Recent Growth?”

Initial Ideas

Decided to choose question 2 However needed to narrow it down to

one country Chose India Decided my final title

Final Idea

Had to gain 10 degree-level sources Searched for a general book describing the

basic laws of the field Then looked for more specific sources Went to LSE and UCL libraries and searched

internet, found several sources Started to make general notes on each source Devised research questions Organised notes into specific research questions

Initial Planning

“Animal Spirits” Arkelof & Shiller “Beyond Divergence” Roy “Review of Indian Work Culture” Jhunjhunwala “Gender Effects on Consumption in India”

Subramaniam “Fighting Corruption in India” Hanna “Implications of an Economic Theory of

Conflict” Mithra & Ray Economist Articles

Sources

Mock exams (had to change appendix) Difficulty in finding some resources (Had to

change certain areas of the plan) AS level exams (Changed when I was going to

write the essay) CCF camp (Had to move forward deadline for

some parts of production log)

Obstacles

Religion Family Values Governmental Practice Business Culture

Content

Concluded that Culture was a major factor However, whether this impact was positive or

negative was debatable

Conclusion

Questions?