Law and the Economy in India

Since the economic reforms of the 1990s, India’s economy has grown rapidly. To sustain growth requires a well-developed legal infrastructure for conducting business. But India’s legal infrastructure is in urgent need of reform, plagued by problems. In this incisive volume, renowned economists Tirthankar Roy and Anand V. Swamy begin by tracing the origins of the current Indian legal system. They show how India inherited an elaborate legal system from the British colonial administration, even as they examine the contents and historical antecedents of these laws, including how they have stifled economic development.

Weaving the story of India’s heralded economic transformation with its social and political history, they show how inadequate legal infrastructure has been a key impediment to the country’s economic growth during the last century. A stirring and authoritative history of a nation rife with contradictions, it is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand India’s current crossroads – and the factors that may keep its dreams unrealized.