Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP8007
Authors: Stephen Broadberry; Bishnupriya Gupta
Abstract: This paper provides estimates of Indian GDP constructed from the output side for the pre-1871 period, and combines them with population estimates to track changes in living standards. Indian per capita GDP declined steadily between 1600 and 1871. As British living standards increased from the mid-seventeenth century, India fell increasingly behind. Whereas in 1650, Indian per capita GDP was more than 80 per cent of the British level, by 1871 it had fallen to less than 15 per cent. As well as placing the origins of the Great Divergence firmly in the early modern period, the estimates suggest a relatively prosperous India at the height of the Mughal Empire, with living standards well above bare bones subsistence.
Keywords: Indian GDP; comparison; Britain
JEL Codes: N10; N30; N35; O10; O57
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| British living standards increase (N14) | Indian living standards decrease (O15) |
| Indian per capita GDP decline (F69) | British living standards increase (N14) |
| early modern period (N93) | great divergence between Indian and British living standards (F54) |