Understanding Trade Geographies of ‘The Rest’: A Case of India

By : Purva Yadav

Page No: 347-368

Abstract
The nature and structure of the global integration triggered by trade vary across countries based on their natural, socio-economic, and political intricacies. The paper empirically analyzes the emerging trade geographies of ‘the rest’ with an example of India. An attempt is made to capture geographical bias in the trade pattern of India, and also to gauge the role played by core geographical elements, such as distance and proximity. The analysis is confined to a sample of 67 and 81 trade partners in 1990 and 2016 respectively. Empirical findings suggest (i) Geographical bias is evident, however, the degree of bias varies across countries; (ii) Large economic size of the trading partner and geographical proximity do influence bilateral trade. Preliminary findings assert that the friction of distance on trade flows between India and her major partners is invariant in the globalized era;(iii) Trade relations are predominantly influenced by the economic factors relative to socio-cultural proximity.

Author :
Purva Yadav
Assistant Professor, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/ATNAGI.2021.41.02.9