Comparative Development Experience of India, China, and Pakistan

Definitions and key concepts related to the economic development and structural reforms of India, China, and Pakistan from 1947 to the present.

Command Economy (Statism)

An economic system adopted by China in $1949$ where the state owns all resources and the government decides what, how, and for whom to produce.

Great Leap Forward (GLF)

A campaign launched in China in $1958$ aimed at rapid industrialization on a massive scale by encouraging industries in rural backyards and establishing communes.

Commune System

A system in rural China where land was collectively cultivated by households; by $1958$, approximately $26,000$ communes covered nearly the entire farm population.

Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

An era introduced by Mao in $1965$ (running from $1966$ to $1976$) during which students and professionals were sent to work and learn from the countryside.

Mixed Economy

The economic model adopted by India where the public sector serves as the flagship and the private sector plays a secondary role.

Inward-Looking Trade Strategy

A policy focused on self-reliance and import substitution rather than exports, followed by India between $1950$ and $1990$.

NITI Aayog

The policy-making body in India that replaced the Planning Commission to shift the economy toward market-demand and supply-driven growth.

Dual Pricing

A reform-era price system in China where fixed quantities of inputs and outputs were transacted at government-set prices while the remainder was traded at market prices.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

Designated areas created specifically to attract foreign investors and capital to China after the $1978$ reforms.

Township and Village Enterprises (TVEs)

Enterprises owned and operated by local collectives in China that were allowed to produce goods during the industrial reform phase.

One-child norm

A population control policy introduced in China in the late $1970s$ that led to a decline in the sex ratio and a disproportionately ageing population.

Liberty Indicators

Measures of civil and political freedoms, such as constitutional protection of rights and judicial independence, which are not currently weighted in the Human Development Index (HDI).

Classical Development Pattern

The sequential shift of employment and output from agriculture to industry and then to the service sector, a path followed by China.

BRICS

A regional economic grouping consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

SAARC

An organization of $8$ South Asian nations: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, and Afghanistan.

G-7

A grouping comprising the top $7$ most economically powerful nations in the world.

G-20

A grouping of the top $20$ economies, of which India and China are members.

First Five Year Plan (India)

Announced for the period $1951$–$56$.

First Five Year Plan (China)

Announced in $1953$.

First Five Year Plan (Pakistan)

Announced in $1956$ and also known as the Medium Term Development Plan.

State Owned Enterprises (SOEs)

Public sector firms in China that were retained during reforms but forced to face competition from private firms and TVEs.