On industrial performance: Technology, policies and institutions in the Indian petrochemical industry.

摘要

India's petrochemical industry presents a paradox. Though India's public sector enterprises in general have been sharply criticized for poor performance its public enterprise dominated petrochemicals sector has performed well by international standards. In trying to explain this paradox, this dissertation examines three broad questions: What are the measures of industrial performance? What are the determinants of industrial performance and, in particular, the role of industrial policy? And how can our understanding of industrial performance improve the design of industrial policy?;How have these factors affected sectoral performance? The technological characteristics of production and products affected managerial autonomy in several dimensions, vis-a-vis international capital as well as domestic political and bureaucratic groups. The positive impact of greater managerial autonomy at the firm level was generalized to sectoral performance, given the importance of large firms in sectors with economies of scale and scope. Performance was also helped by the external source of finance--the World Bank--as much for the money as the Bank's role in reducing intra-governmental transaction costs. The analysis highlights institution building at the firm level and market creation as important performance indicators. Limits to performance posed by the nature of the state and the decay of public institutions are also revealed.;The dissertation concludes that an understanding of the technological underpinnings of industry should precede any analysis of policies and policy formulation and, subsequently, of implementation and outcomes. Furthermore, while the trajectory of policies is strongly influenced by both state and international factors, eventual outcomes are substantially mediated by domestic institutions.;The dissertation examines a vertical slice of the Indian petrochemical industry--from macro, state policies to micro, shop-floor aspects. After establishing that the performance of this sector, spearheaded by a state owned enterprise, Indian Petrochemicals Limited, has been noteworthy, the dissertation subsequently explains this result by examining key variables: the technological underpinnings of the industry; the role of state and international actors, in this case the World Bank; and the role of the dominant firm. The last is analyzed by testing for firm level "learning" and its causes.