| Type | Conference presentation |
| Event | Sixth Development Convention |
| Organized by | Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) |
| Location | Chennai, India |
| Date | February 22–24, 2007 |
| Slides | Download the presentation (PDF) |
A talk delivered at the Sixth Development Convention, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai (February 22–24, 2007).
In short: Do foreign manufacturing firms in India export, or sell mainly to the domestic market? An analysis of what shapes their export behaviour — and why a large domestic market can actually pull them away from exporting.
About the lecture
This presentation analysed the export performance of foreign manufacturing affiliates in India — whether they exported, how that changed over time, and what factors drove their export orientation. The findings carry a counter-intuitive edge: several conditions usually thought to attract foreign investment turn out to reduce the share of output those firms export.
What the lecture covered
- Rising volumes, falling share — foreign firms’ export volumes and intensities grew over time, but their share of India’s total manufactured exports declined, and exporting was concentrated in a few industries.
- A large domestic market pulls inward — domestic market size and strong domestic competition were associated with foreign firms focusing more on the home market rather than exporting.
- Spillovers and policy push outward — domestic firms’ own export activity had a positive spillover effect, import competition pushed firms toward external markets, and a liberal policy regime improved export orientation.
- Method and policy reading — panel analysis across 14 industries over 14 years (fixed-effects and FGLS), pointing to the need to encourage market-seeking FDI to also undertake exports.
Get the slides
The full presentation is available as a PDF:
⇩ Download the presentation (PDF)
Related research on this site
This presentation led to the author’s published work:
- Beyond Local Markets: The Evolution of Foreign Companies in India — the related journal article (Pradhan, Das & Paul, Eurasian Journal of Business and Economics, 2011).