India’s leaders must deal with three economic weaknesses

When shashi tharoor, a stalwart member of parliament for the opposition Congress Party, criticises the current growth model as “trickle-down economics” that doesn’t trickle down, he has a partial point. Estimates of this nature are fuzzy, but from 2000 to 2022, the wealth share of the top 1% of Indians grew from 33% to 41%, making India the second-most unequal major country in the world, after Brazil. In other ways, though, the problem is a lack of trickle up. The economy is not allowing those with low incomes to become a source of growth.

India’s economy has three intertwined deficiencies: its poverty means there is not enough demand; there are not enough people in the workforce; and there is not enough geographical spread in the benefits of growth. The progress that the country has made in reducing the effects of poverty through redistribution goes some way to minimising the pain of these deficiencies; the standard of living is improving (see charts). But if economic growth is to last, these deep-seated deficiencies must be addressed.